Kirill Petrenko, currently chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, was born on 11 February in Omsk, a city in Siberia “that made its living from the arms industry and petrochemicals.” Petrenko recalls that it was a closed city for foreigners,

Combining phenomenal technical brilliance and dramatic outfits, Yuja Wang is one of the hottest tickets on the classical music stage. Born in Beijing, China, on 10 February 1987, Yuja Wang comes from an artistic family. Her mother, Zhai Jieming, is

He was born in 1845 in Vezprém, Hungary, and in the 85 years of his life, was one of the most important violin teachers of the late 19th and early 20th century. He taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatory for

I started piano lessons at the age of six, and it was a lot of fun. There were so many exciting things to explore, and thankfully I had a very nice and knowledgably teacher. At that age, I didn’t get

Music has long been associated with royalty, from coronation anthems to music for royal fireworks, and much more. To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), a UK music and education charity based in

Francis Poulenc: La voix humaine In the early 1920’s, Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) had been the unofficial spokesman for a group of six composers emphasizing directness, simplicity, clarity and humor. “Les Six,” comprising George Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud,

After the enormous success of Aida in 1871, Giuseppe Verdi decided on an early retirement. He still had things to say, but as a composer who had been at the forefront of Italian musical taste for two decades, he now

In one way or another, this seemingly never-ending pandemic has greatly affected each and every one of us. It has severely restricted our freedoms and abilities to travel, affected our livelihoods, and occasionally left deep scars on our psychological wellbeing.