The violin concerto by Jean Sibelius is, without doubt, one of the most frequently recorded and performed concertos. However, things did not look all that promising after the first public performance in Helsinki on 8 February 1904. Originally, Willy Burmester

We go to concerts for a variety of reasons: to be moved emotionally, to be entertained, and as a social event. There was a time, prior to the nineteenth century, when engaging with what is now generally called “classical music”

When Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman told American audiences during his debut recital at Disney Hall in Los Angeles “Get your hands off my country,” he stirred up the seemingly endless debate whether classical music and political advocacy can or should

Benjamin Britten once described the process of putting music on paper in the following way, “Composing is like driving down a foggy road toward a house. Slowly you see more details of the house—the colours of the slates and bricks,

Writing a dedicated composition for a famous soloist can sometimes be a trying process. In 1879, Dvořák’s publisher Simrock commissioned the composer to write a violin concerto. Giving Dvořák free reign in artistic matters, the publisher did specify that the

One of the greatest joys (and frustrations!) of being a pianist is the vast and myriad repertoire available for our instrument, from early Baroque wonders to brand-new contemporary fancies. One could spend a lifetime learning only the works of Chopin

The great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich was committed to the composers of our time. Any composer who hoped to write for the cello in the 20th century fantasized about Rostropovich playing their work. As astonishing as it sounds, he performed 105

With the maturation of recording and streaming technologies, it is now possible to listen to the best of classical music in the comfort of our own places. This tremendous change, from having to dress up decently for “physical” concerts to