Occasionally I come across the suggestion from other professional musicians and even some teachers that certain repertoire is the exclusive preserve of the professionals and should be left well alone by “amateurs”. This includes the final piano sonatas of Beethoven

They are among the most admired and revered, yet simultaneously most feared figures in classical music. And yes, you guessed correctly, I am talking about orchestra conductors! When we think of all the hugely talented and revolutionary conductors of the

For the majority of people in the known Universe, the name Aaron Gordon is not necessarily a household name. Yet, he makes roughly 4.5 million US dollars a year chasing after an orange ball in the National Basketball association. No

If you are passionate about the chamber music of the twentieth century, chances are that the works are due to Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (1864-1953) — one of the most notable patrons of our time. Without her vision we would not

Fifty years have passed since China’s Cultural Revolution, during which citizens were severely oppressed by restrictions on culture. Unbelievably, the incendiary spark of the Cultural Revolution was a critique titled “Notes on the New Historical Drama ‘Hai Rui Dismissed from

In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, F sharp major and minor, C sharp major and

The death of Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, age 87, on 27 July 2016, brings to an end life of the most famous composer from Finland since Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). He studied at the Sibelius Academy and the Juilliard School before

Narrowing a list of “great pianists” down to 10 was not an easy task – there are so many who merit inclusion! And readers will inevitably have their own personal list of pianistic heroes and heroines. But I hope this