György Cziffra, born in Budapest on 5 November 1921, must be counted among the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. “Born with outstanding talent in circumstances of dire poverty, he survived war, imprisonment and hard labor as a political prisoners,

After the quadrille had had its day, the waltz took the dance floors of Europe by storm. The title for the dance comes from the German meaning to revolve and that twirling motion was the primary characteristic of the form.

Once he had reached the age of 75, Gabriel Fauré retired as head of the Paris Conservatoire in October 1920. He was excited to finally have the time to devote himself entirely to composition, and “produced a series of works

Rehearsing and Performing Film Music in Orchestral Concerts I look out across the audience from my seat on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall. The audience is slowly filling the building, couples holding hands, parents with young children, and…

The city of Catania, at the beginning of the 19th century, was considered the jewel of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Picturesquely located on Sicily’s east coast, it sits at the base of Mount Etna, one of the tallest

Daniel Müller-Schott, born on 2 November 1976 in Munich, Germany, started his musical education on the recorder, but soon began to take cello lessons at the age of five. The reason he decided on the cello was because his mother,

I have recently been listening to a lot of Frédéric Chopin’s music, and I am constantly in awe of the unbelievable and imaginative sound world he was able to create. It is a world of incredible passion and of poetry,

Conductor Alondra de la Parra, born on 31 October 1980 in New York City has “gained widespread attention for her spellbinding and vibrant performances, making her one of the most compelling conductors of her generations.” Her performances attract an unusually