Pablo de Sarasate looked every inch the 19th-century virtuoso. Impeccably dressed, with a finely trimmed moustache, he carried himself with aristocratic poise. He commanded the room before he even played a single note. Audiences who heard him perform on his

A set of short anonymous poems in Boston’s Musical Herald did a poetical job of setting out the history in limericks, along with unique rhyming spellings. We’ll start with Gluck: An ancient musician named GluckThe manner Italian forsuckHe fought with

The French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) lived the Romantic life like no one else. He painted his life into his music, he conducted his love affairs in public, and never stepped back when he could step forward. From this

A surprising number of great composers owe their reputations to a particular performer who first championed their music. These partnerships – whether rooted in romance, platonic friendship, sheer admiration, or some mix of all three – helped to shape the

Polish composer Paul Caro (1859–1914) came from a background in the metals industry: his grandfather had started an iron and wool trading company, his father was the founder of the Hermina ironworks, he and his two brothers worked in the

On 21 March 1925, Monte Carlo staged the first performance of L’enfant et les sortilèges (The Child and the Spells), by Maurice Ravel. The première of Ravel’s second and final opera was a resounding success, and the composer praised an

It is almost impossible to talk about one without the other, as the sibling pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque are, according to the New York Times, “the best piano duo in front of an audience today.” (New York Times) They

Before Ludwig van Beethoven became one of the greatest composers in history, he was a child prodigy pianist from Bonn, Germany. Born into a musical family, his father helped train him as a musician…but also subjected him to horrific abuse.