Alexander Glazunov, born on 10 August 1865, was Russia’s greatest symphonist in the generation immediately following Tchaikovsky, and he subsequently passed down his legacy to his most famous student, Dmitri Shostakovich. A prodigious musical talent, Glazunov began his studies with

Reynaldo Hahn, born on 9 August 1874 (1874–1947), is widely known for his beautiful art songs that capture emotion with elegance and subtlety. It is hard to believe, but his French mélodies were initially dismissed as merely evocative of the

The prolific Russian-Soviet composer Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881-1950) is sometimes referred to as the “Father of the Soviet Symphony.” Throughout his career, ranging from pre-Revolutionary Russia to the late Stalin era, he composed a total of 27 symphonies. In terms of

At the height of his career, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky (1903-1976) was widely considered one of the greatest string players of all time. His playing possessed a glorious low-register sound, and his vibrant tone had infinite shadings. Piatigorsky was able to

Born on 3 August 1970 in Vilnius, Lithuania, Itamar Golan has collaborated with the most outstanding instrumentalists of our time for more than three decades. Since his early years, Itamar Golan’s passion has been chamber music, and his contributions are

Pietro Mascagni wrote fifteen operas, an operetta, several orchestral and vocal works, as well as songs and piano music. Yet, he is best remembered for his 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria Rusticana. Cavalleria Rusticana became the prototype for operatic verismo, and its

In August 2019, pianist Alice Sara Ott shared the news on Instagram that she’d been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. In that report, she was optimistic that with the advances in medical treatment, people with this central nervous system disease could

Are there still works by great composers that are practically unknown? Let’s take Robert Schumann, for example, and I wonder if professional pianists really know every single work he has written for the instrument. Professionals probably do, but as an