Unlike others, I often find it difficult to recall my first encounter with a certain composer. So, for Beethoven, it could have been his Für Elise, Symphony No.5 (ta-ta-ta duh) or something else – I don’t know. But anyways, as

How often a listener returning from a recital by an important performer remains unsatisfied. Not because of the imperfection of the artist’s playing but because of lack of penetration into the composer’s ideas – ideas that the amateur has cultivated

Chopin was inspired by the antics of a small dog chasing its tail to write his Waltz No. 6 in D-Flat Major, Op. 64, No. 1. His publisher, Breitkopf & Härtel, added a title on it to let people know

The saying goes this way, quality over quantity. But what if the saying was: quantity creates quality? What if instead of focusing on one or the other, one would lead to the other? In order to grow, a composer —

Composers, especially from the Romantic period onward, have sought to evoke places, real or imagined, in their music – from the awe-inspiring grandeur of the Alps in Liszt‘s Vallée d’Obermann to Debussy‘s shimmering pagodas, the heady sounds, scents and scenes

We did a survey of Beethoven monuments and it turns out that there are basically two kinds. The most traditional is Beethoven in full glower, standing or sitting and thinking of things far beyond the knowledge of mere mortals. The

Lockdowns have given this correspondent plenty of time to review the next crop of promising young singers. All under 40 years old, these performers have enormous talent and are likely to be on the cusp of stardom once the theatres

Writers, artists and musicians all understand this dilemma – when do we “let go” of that article or book manuscript, painting or piece of music? Given half the chance, most of us would happily continue tinkering and refining ad infinitum,