“We need to have the bravery to trust the music itself to be its own biggest advocate” Helen Charlston, mezzo-soprano The above quote comes from a recent interview by Helen Charlston. It reflects a deep conviction in the inherent power

Johanna Bordewijk-Roepman is one of the most compelling – and still unfairly overlooked – figures in 20th-century Dutch classical music. A largely self-taught composer who came into her own in midlife, she forged a distinctive voice despite formidable obstacles: rigid

The exceptional and legendary Alicia de Larrocha, born on 23 May 1923 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, won four Grammy Awards after being nominated fourteen times, along with a Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts and other prizes and various

You may not know the name of pianist Magda Tagliaferro, but after hearing her play, you will remember it forever. She was an extraordinary pianist and musician who came of age with some of the greatest French composers of the

Beethoven‘s symphonies – and recordings of his symphonies – are ubiquitous in the classical music world, so of course many musicians and music lovers have made lists of their favourites. Have you ever wondered if there’s a slightly more objective

As soon as Richard Wagner had put the finishing touches on Lohengrin on 28 April 1848, he became embroiled in the stirrings of the 1848 Revolutions. He delivered a fiery speech, denouncing the evils of money and speculation, which he

Today, Sara Itzig Levy is probably best known as the great-aunt of Felix Mendelssohn. However, she was so much more than that. She was also one of the brightest lights of Berlin salon culture, a patron of some of the

I. A Peasant’s Ambition in the Eternal City When Antonio Vivaldi arrived in Rome for the 1724 Carnival season, he was a composer determined to conquer the prestigious and notoriously fickle Roman opera market. His weapon of choice was Il