On 21 November 2024, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Frank Martin, one of the foremost composers of the 20th century. Born in Switzerland, Martin had access to both French and German musical traditions, and he eventually

Anton Rubinstein, Russian pianist, composer, conductor and teacher, was one of the greatest pianists of the 19th century. His playing was compared with Liszt’s, and he combined a prodigious technique with musicianship, scholarship, and a richly poetic temperament. Anton Rubinstein

In 2014, Elim Chan won the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition as the first female conductor to win the competition in its history. “When I won that competition,” she explained, “history wasn’t something that came into my mind straight away…

“I endeavoured to reduce music to its proper function,” wrote Christoph Willibald Gluck, “that of seconding poetry by enforcing the expression of the sentiment, and the interest of the situations, without interrupting the action or weakening it by superfluous ornament.”

During his time, Johann Nepomuk Hummel was considered to be one of Europe’s greatest composers and greatest pianists. He was Mozart’s most famous student, a protégé of Joseph Haydn, and Beethoven’s friend and chief competitor. With his forward-looking compositions, he

One of the foremost cellists of his generation, Leslie Parnas, enjoyed a distinguished career as a performer and a pedagogue. Known for his technical prowess and gorgeous depth of tone, Parnas exhibited profound musicality and “an aggressive approach to phrasing.”

Widely considered “a force of nature,” Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel has a rich, warm, vibrant voice that is capable of expressive pianissimos as well as roaring fortissimos. Highly analytical in his interpretations as well as in his vocal technique, “Terfel

Commentators and critics suggest that pianist Orion Weiss has a “powerful technique and exceptional insight” and that he commands a “head-spinning range of colours that have dazzled audiences around the world.” To be sure, he has performed with major orchestras