There is nothing more irritating to reporters and music aficionados than a superstar who makes himself unavailable. For well over 30 years, Radu Lupu basically refused to talk to the press. As such he was termed a “woolly recluse,” referring

Giacomo Puccini lived life to its fullest. He loved fine cigars, expensive spirits, and fell in love at the drop of a hat. He was an addicted gambler and hunter and loved nothing more than fast cars and speedboats. Puccini

It has been over a year since part one of Classical Music Beyond the Concert Stage was published. One year passed, and I discovered more TV commercials using classical music. Some of them were found and inspired by our readers

Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 has the reputation of being one of the most technically challenging piano concertos in the piano repertoire. It first sounded on 28 November 1909 in New York City with

Classical music is a term often used to describe traditional academic — also sometimes wrongly called, serious music. It is generally defined as the formal musical tradition of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk, jazz, or

Shinichi Suzuki was one of the most influential pedagogues in music education for children. His famous “Suzuki Method” is based on creating a positive environment that fosters musical immersion at an early age. Suzuki strongly believed that “every child was

Two Hong Kong-born pianists explore and celebrate the inventiveness and brilliance of polyphony in a concert of works by Beethoven, Busoni, Brahms, Franck, and J.S. Bach, the supreme master of the art and craft of counterpoint. Warren Lee brings part

Hidden in the decoration of medieval books are many different kinds of illustrations – some of them show people doing everyday things, others show animals doing everyday human things. And then, in some special ones, we see animals playing musical