July is a month of extremes in classical music history. It gave us some of the most consequential births in the canon – among them, Janáček, Mahler, and Liszt – and also tragically claimed some of its greatest lives, including

Yvonne Lefébure (1898–1986) was born on 29 June 1898 in Ermont, in the northern suburbs of Paris. At age 8, she was introduced to the French pianist Marguerite Long, who spoke with her parents about having her pursue serious musical

Trying to choose a single “best” violinist for each decade of the twentieth century is a fool’s errand – but an instructive one. The process is less about choosing stars and more about understanding what greatness meant in different decades,

The American lyric baritone Thomas Hampson is one of the most important interpreters of the German Lied tradition, especially known for his interpretations of Gustav Mahler‘s music. He has made over 170 recordings during his career, and to celebrate his

How physical and psychological adversity shaped some of classical music’s most radical voices There is a persistent myth in the telling of great artistic lives: that genius triumphs despite its hardships. The more honest — and more interesting — story

The oldest wind instrument is also the world’s most universal. A special exhibition at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix, Arizona—The Magical Flute: Beauty, Enchantment and Power—traces the flute‘s extraordinary role in society and its evolution over the millennia.

The year 2026 marks both the 120th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich‘s birth and the fiftieth anniversary of the death of the British composer Benjamin Britten. Today, the two composers, who lived on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain, are not

As a dedicated champion of contemporary music, Gérard Caussé served as principal violist of the Ensemble Intercontemporain under Pierre Boulez. Caussé has greatly expanded the viola repertoire through close collaborations with living composers, and to celebrate his birthday on 26