Probably the most important 20th century French composer of the avant-garde, Pierre Boulez was born on 26 March 1925 in Montbrison, a small town in the Loire department to Léon and Marcelle (née Calabre) Boulez. He tirelessly worked on behalf

As German troops bombarded the city of Paris, Claude Debussy died in 25 March 1918. The chaotic situation did no permit a public funeral, but a lonely funeral cortège nevertheless made its way through deserted streets, passing the Tuileries, and

On 21 March, I always celebrate the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach by listening to as many of his compositions as possible. Basically, it’s Seb overdose for an entire day, and I simply can’t get enough. As you might have

He was described as “a pianist with a technique that conquered almost every obstacle, a sound that commanded the colors of the rainbow and an intellect and imagination that permitted an authoritative grasp of possibly the largest repertory in pianistic

With his Cello Concerto in B minor, Op.104, Antonín Dvořák created one of the all-time greatest works in the genre. Yet curiously, Dvořák had written in 1865, “The cello is a beautiful instrument, but its place is in the orchestra

Although he published it second, Chopin’s Piano Concerto in F minor was actually the first concerto he composed. Written before he had actually finished his formal education, Chopin was the soloist in the premiere of the work on 17 March

When it comes to religious eroticism, nothing beats Jules Massenet’s Thaïs, composed to a libretto by Louis Gallet and based on a novel by Anatole France. The action takes place in Alexandria and the Thebaid desert in Egypt in the

In 1774 the poet Matthias Claudius (1740-1815) published a short poem titled “Death and the Maiden.” The poem is designed as a dialogue, contrasting a young woman’s fear with the reassurance of death. Claudius creates opposites and connections between the