Death has been on our minds, collectively and individually, more than usual during this time of COVID. A number of famous people have died during the pandemic, though not necessarily as a direct result of it but merely due to

Composed between 1919 and 1921, La Valse by Maurice Ravel premiered on 12th December 1920 in Paris. On that occasion, Camille Chevillard conducted the Lamoureux Orchestra of Paris in a performance of the orchestral version. Ravel and Alfredo Casella had

On 10 December 1875, Antonín Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings in E major premiered at Prague’s Žofín Palace. The work was immediately recognized for its emotional appeal and overriding sunny disposition. A review of the premiere, published on 16 December, states,

Musical tourism to Italy was in full swing by the middle of the 18th century. Italian cities and courts welcomed streams of musicians in search of performing opportunities, official appointments or commissions, and steady jobs. And that included the three

The small garrison town Hämeenlinna is located roughly 100 kilometers north of Helsinki. When Jean Sibelius was born in Hämeenlinna on 8 December 1865, the town was located in the Grand Duchy of Finland, at that time an autonomous part

Being stuck in front of an empty page is quite a common phenomenon for artists, regardless of the medium or format of the art. The writer’s block is the result of the creator not being able to produce new works,

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was the rising star on the Viennese music scene in the last decade of the 18th century. He made his name by showcasing his talents as a pianist, and he composed and performed piano sonatas of

When Claude Debussy was working on his opera, Pelleas et Melisande, he wrote “Berlioz was never, properly speaking, a musician of the theater.” Debussy’s comment mirrored the thoughts of contemporary critics and scholars who suggested that Berlioz was more successful