We found some Sound Effects albums the other day and were exploring the sounds that they collected. Under Bells, we found bells from all continents and bells of all sizes, from small meditation bowls to bike bells to doorbells to

Born in Amsterdam on 4 March 1929, conductor Bernard Haitink imparted an uncommon strength of character and conviction to the players. Undemonstrative in performance, his restrained demeanour was the result of his intensive study of the scores even before rehearsal.

The Internationally renowned cellist Giovanni Sollima flouts categorization. His mesmerizing personality and his genre-defying music sets him apart. A lean figure with salt and pepper hair, he appears on stage alone, dressed in black, and he beguiles us with his

When I was studying music at school in the UK in the 1980s (I took music at O- and A-Level, in addition to studying the piano privately), I was often the butt of jokes that I had “taken the easy

When he was thirty-one years old, Ludwig van Beethoven cracked. In a touristy town just outside of Vienna, he sat down and wrote arguably the most famous letter in classical music history. It was a cry from the depths of

Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) was a scientist and medical doctor who considered music his favourite hobby. Regardless, his compositions place him in the front rank of Russian composers, as his music had a strong lyric vein that reflects the character of

Born in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk on 25 February 1989, Pavel Kolesnikov studied both the piano and violin for ten years, before focusing on the piano. A graduate of the Moscow State Conservatoire he won several major piano competitions

Although he was overshadowed during his lifetime by his more flamboyant colleague Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) is today acknowledged as one of the most gifted and versatile French composers. His most famous work, the main theme from the prelude