Benjamin Britten was admitted to the National Heart Hospital on 2 May 1973. Under the care of the cardiologist Graham Hayward, Britten’s medical history noted a heart murmur in infancy and an episode of pneumonia. Aortic regurgitation was detected in

Examine the Reasons Behind the Decline in Music Audiences After Covid There has been a fair amount of commentary in the UK in recent months about a noticeable drop in audience numbers for concerts as live music returns to (almost)

By the early 1970s, Aaron Copland stopped composing. As he wrote, “It was exactly as if someone had simply turned off a faucet.” He felt lucky to have been given so long to be creative, and was resigned to the

Rudolf Buchbinder has been described as “the greatest natural pianist talent,” a performer “whose interpretations flow from a unique fusion of spiritual insight and intellectual rigour.” In fact, the critic Joachim Kaiser praised Buchbinder’s “innate ability to reveal fresh ideas

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

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