Amongst 20th-century pianists, Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950) has achieved almost mythical status. Conductor Herbert von Karajan repeatedly said, “It was no longer piano playing, it was music, released from all earthly weight, music in its purest form, in a harmony that

The Polish virtuoso violinist, composer, and pedagogue Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880) was one of the greatest violinists of the 19th Century. As a performer, he dazzled audiences with his impeccable technique, expressive phrasing, and wonderfully warm and rich tone. As a

In 1865, Antonín Dvořák decided to write two full-scale symphonies, both nearly an hour in length. Composed within a couple of months, both works are imaginative and arresting, “yet clearly overlong.” At that time, Dvořák was basically unknown as a

A biographer reports, “A violent thunderstorm struck Vienna in the afternoon of 26 March 1827. At 5:45 pm, a sudden flash of lightning was reported, and the dying man suddenly raised his head, stretched out his own right arm majestically—like

It is somewhat ironic that not a single Hungarian town in which Béla Bartók spent his youth is now within Hungarian boundaries. At the time of his birth on 25 March 1881, the town of Nagyszentmiklós was part of the

Completed in early 1826, Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 130 premiered on 21 March 1826 as part of the concluding subscription concert by the Schuppanzigh Quartet. The work immediately caused great puzzlement, as we read in a contemporary review, “The most

Chinese-born bass-baritone Shenyang came to the world’s attention in 2007 when he won the “BBC Cardiff Singer of the World” competition. Ever since he has established himself as one of the finest voices of his generation. He has accumulated an

Isabelle Faust was born in Esslingen, near Stuttgart, on 19 March 1972. When her father decided to take up the violin as a hobby, he took his five-year-old daughter along during his lessons. While her father only showed modest talents,