Can you be a true artist without reflecting the times, without a compelling message? Nina Simone, the “High Priestess of Soul,” was one of the first African American women who openly expressed her feelings and philosophy through her music during

In May 2015, Argentinian-born pianist Daniel Barenboim unveiled a new piano bearing his name. From the audience’s perspective, it looked just like any other modern grand piano. However, once you actually open the lid and peer inside, you’ll immediately notice

Now that we’ve had a complete tour of the orchestra with a look at all the principal instruments, we can do one last look at the rarely-used instruments that are called for by composers. In the strings, we have the

Every year on August 6, Japan becomes a nation of mourning. Seventy years ago, the city of Hiroshima was incinerated by an atomic bomb nicknamed “Little Boy.” Three days later the utter destruction of Nagasaki followed. At the human cost

Isabelle Vengerova. Her students would wait in fearful anticipation dreading her bitingly acerbic pronouncements—to name a few—Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Lucas Foss, Gary Graffman, Abby Simon, Gilbert Kalish, Lillian Kallir and Menahem Pressler, an illustrious group of musicians, pianists and

Classical music and comedy might seem a weird juxtaposition, but there have always been classical music jokesters even in Haydn’s day. His Symphony No. 45 the Farewell instructs the musicians to blow out their candles, which lit their music, and

As you walk around the cities in Europe, read the walls. In London, Blue Plaques tell you about the famous people who lived in ‘a house on this site.’ If you’re at 20 Frith Street in London, look up for

These might be thought of as the best toy-set in the world: things to bang, things to crash, things to ring, things to thump, and it’s all music! We can divide the percussion section into two parts: tuned and untuned