Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) was one of the most celebrated pianists of the nineteenth century. It was said that he played faster than Liszt and louder than Chopin. In addition, he was also a highly original composer comparable to Hector Berlioz.

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) had a rather limited involvement with opera. However, he did complete three one-act operas between 1892 and 1905. Aleko was written as a graduation piece at the Moscow Conservatory in 1892, and it earned him high honours

Did you know that Ludwig van Beethoven composed 722 works, but only 138 of them carry opus numbers? Opus numbers are actually work numbers assigned by Beethoven’s publishers during his lifetime. The basic question is, why on earth did Beethoven

Over the course of his life, Claude Debussy (1862-1918) contemplated over 50 theatrical projects, yet in the end, he only completed two: Pelléas et Mélisande occupied him between 1893 and 1902, and the ballet Jeux, for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, dates

The Polish-Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki, born on 23 March 1995 in Calgary, Canada, has built an international career since his early teens. Primarily recording for Deutsche Grammophon, he has shown an affinity with Chopin’s music from childhood. Feeling intimately connected

The German conductor, composer and pianist Wilhelm Taubert (1811–1891), born on 23 March 1811, was part of a Berlin circle of musicians that included Felix Mendelssohn, Giacomo Meyerbeer, and the singer and writer Eduard Devrient, the librettist of two of

Did you know that Johann Sebastian Bach actually has two birthdays? I think that’s just wonderful, as it gives us the opportunity to celebrate the music of the greatest of all composers twice. There is an explanation, of course. When

When Yunchan Lim became the youngest person ever to win a gold medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of 18, he instantly gained superstar status. His Rachmaninoff performance at the Cliburn received millions of views