Cecilia Bartoli, born in Rome on 4 June 1966, was already an established star when she turned seriously to Mozart‘s music. Initially, she focused on Mozart’s mezzo roles, which often portray passionate or conflicted characters. However, she soon began to

In 2009, Chinese pianist Zhang Haochen and Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii shared the Gold Medal at the 13th edition of the famous Van Cliburn Competition. With the Silver Medal going to South Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son, it started what

French pianist Michel Dalberto, winner of the Clara Haskil Prize and the First Prize in the Leeds International Piano Competition, selected the music of Franz Schubert for his first commercial recording. His recording of two piano sonatas by Franz Schubert

We know that Joseph Haydn is called the “Father of the Symphony” and the “Father of the String Quartet.” But did you know that he also composed about 45 piano trios? Probably the best known of all Haydn’s compositions in

Born in Budapest on 30 May 1952, the Hungarian pianist and composer Zoltán Kocsis (1952-2016) studied with Pál Kadosa, Ferenc Rados and György Kurtág at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, obtaining his diploma in 1973. He caused a

On a seriously rainy and gloomy afternoon in Hong Kong, I decided to finally read a book that’s been on my bucket list for quite a while. It’s a 1997 biography titled The Last Prodigy: A Biography of Erich Wolfgang

For many of us, specifically if you’re not a wind player, the composer Anton (Antoine) Reicha is practically unknown. He does, however, appear frequently as a footnote in books on Beethoven. They were teenage buddies in Bonn and even played

In the afternoon of 27 May 1840, the greatest violinist the world had ever known died at the age of 57. Niccolò Paganini had revolutionised violin technique and essentially invented the concept of the virtuoso performer. His legendary 24 Caprices,