Gioachino Rossini’s opera “The Barber of Seville” is one of the most fun operas in the entire repertoire. It’s full of humour and romantic encounters, and for a change, nobody dies. The story is set in Sevilla, Spain during the

See here for the history of the prize. 1960s When we look at the awards for the 1960s, we see a distinct turn away from large symphonic works towards quartets and works that include new technology, such as electronic tape.

Frédéric Chopin suffered from serious and chronic health problems throughout his short life. Already in his teens, Chopin suffered from frequent respiratory problems that included coughing, headaches, and the swelling of the cervical lymph glands. Biographers and doctors have detailed

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” This quote from the French artist Edgar Degas could be paraphrased for music – Music is not what you hear, but what you make others hear. In other

On 16 October 1945, the United Nations founded the Food and Agriculture Organization. To commemorate this day, countries around the world annually celebrate World Food Day on 16 October. The FAO is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to achieving food security

On 14 October 1990, five days after announcing his retirement from conducting, Leonard Bernstein died in his New York apartment at “The Dakota.” Bernstein had been ill for years as he suffered from emphysema, asthma attacks and bouts of bronchitis

Following the line from Franz Liszt, through his pupil Emil von Sauer, French pianist Monique de La Bruchollerie (1915-1972) was one of the great pianists of her day, which ended far too quickly. Her family was one of musicians, with

The Pulitzer Prize was first awarded in 1917, following instructions left by newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer in his 1904 will. The Pulitzer Prize in Music was established in 1943 after being converted from an annual scholarship for “the student of