Doctors in the 19th century in opera began to reflect the change in the field – now fewer are allied with the black arts and there are more specialties. Doctors can be heroes in the opera, they can be the

Why is it that some pianists have become so closely associated with specific composers? Is it due to personal preference, that they feel a particular affinity with certain composers, or simply like their music? Or is the association one which

Kathleen Battle, born on 13 August 1948 in Portsmouth, Ohio, has been called “one of the very few most beautiful voices in the world.” Possessing a distinctive, light, and nimble voice, Battle has won international acclaim for soubrette opera roles,

Anna Amalia (1723-1787) of Prussia was the younger sister of Frederick II of Prussia. Eleven years younger, she benefitted from the new musical focus he brought to the court. Anna Amalia played the harpsichord, flute, and violin, with her first

On the occasion of his 70th birthday, Leoš Janáček received his first honorary doctorate from the Masaryk University in Brno. The composer was predictably proud and signed his correspondence and all his compositions as “Dr. Ph. Leoš Janáček” thereafter. It

Alexander Glazunov, born on 10 August 1865 in St Petersburg, was a musical prodigy. His father Alexander was in the publishing business, and his mother Yelena, née Gromova, was a professional pianist. From his earliest years, Glazunov was blessed with

We’re so used to the piano being a large black hole in the middle of the living room, or, perhaps, a smaller black hole on the side of the living room, as an upright piano placed against the wall. In

Put Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe or La Valse, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, or Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances—or pretty much anything by Prokofiev or Mahler—in front of me and I’ll play them happily over and over, and I have. But dear readers