The Belgian countertenor and conductor René Jacobs made his début in 1974, singing the role of “Clerio” in Cavalli’s Erismena in Amsterdam. Performing with many leading early and Baroque ensembles, Jacobs eventually founded his own group, “Concerto Vocale,” in the
On This Day
Leonard Bernstein’s comic operetta Candide boasts the dubious distinction of representing the most frequently revised and rewritten composition in the 20th Century. Initially, in 1956, Bernstein produced a musical version of Voltaire’s 1759 novelette Candide, adapted by the American playwright
Japanese-American violinist Midori has been described as a “visionary artist, activist and educator whose unique career has transcended traditional boundaries through her relentless drive to explore and build connections between music and the human experience.” An astounding child prodigy who
The Italian baritone Tito Gobbi (1913-1984) was one of the great operatic figures of his time. Throughout his celebrated career, there were few who could match him as a singing actor, and he distinguished himself in a variety of roles.
Sir Georg Solti was probably best known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-serving music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was also famous for his exuberant and forceful podium personality,
150 years ago, on 20 October 1874, the leading American composer of art music of the early 20th century, Charles Edward Ives, was born in Danbury, Connecticut. Ives was a unique figure as he remained an amateur throughout his mature,
He was called “the child with golden hands,” and Nelson José Pinto Freire grew up to become one of the greatest pianists of his generation. His brilliance of technique was matched by interpretive depth and “the cleanness of his musical
As we commemorate the passing of Frédéric Chopin on 17 October 1849, we are once again reminded that he was one of the greatest pianists the world has ever known. But what is more, Chopin also left the finest body