English composer Gerald Finzi (1904–1956) wrote to a friend about his love / hate relationship with the year’s end: ‘I love New-Year’s Eve, though I think it’s the saddest thing of the year’ and in his 1926 piece, Nocturne (New

The 1980 documentary From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China provides a fascinating look at China’s cultural and political landscape in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. Isaac Stern’s journey to China not only offered a glimpse into the

These days, with the horrors that are unfolding on every continent, we look for peace. But what, exactly, might we be looking for? Australian composer Malcolm Williamson (1931–2003) moved to London when he was in his 20s and started on

John Eliot Gardiner Conducts Chabrier, Stravinsky and Debussy With Isabelle Faust Visions of innocence evoke an ethereal glimpse into a world untouched by the burdens of experience, where purity lingers untainted by complexities and disillusionments. These fleeting moments capture the

Poet Placide Cappeau (1808–1877) was so inspired by the new stained glass windows in his church in Roquemaure, France, that he wrote a poem, ‘Minuit, chrétiens’ in its honour. It’s a powerful poem urging Christians to use midnight as the

We still have conflicting reports as to the actual premiere date of Borodin’s Symphony No. 1. Some commentators place that event on 23 December 1868, while others located it on 4 January 1869. The proximity of these dates suggests that

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) created his Berceuse in early 1880, first for violin and piano. It was heard by the publisher Julienne Hamelle who immediately snatched it up for publication. The work, for muted violin and piano, has a rocking accompaniment,

It’s difficult today to imagine how one would feel as the first woman member of the New York Philharmonic or any orchestra for that matter. At age thirty-one, in 1966, Orin O’Brien won the position and joined this illustrious group,