Some years in classical music history are transitional, but 1826 was seismic. In a single twelve-month span two hundred years ago, the final pillars of the Classical era were falling, while the Romantic era was being built up by a

Few composers loom larger in Western music history than Johann Sebastian Bach – and few are surrounded by as many myths. Over the centuries, Bach has been described as everything from a neglected genius labouring in obscurity to a joyless

100 years ago, the Chinese film composer Huang Zhun was born in Huangyan, Zhejiang province, China. She composed music for more than 40 films and helped to create the musical language of early Chinese socialist cinema. To commemorate her centenary,

In 1960, Columbia Pictures released the romantic biopic Song Without End, tracing the love affair between pianist/composer Franz Liszt and the married Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein. One would assume that this real-life story of forbidden love would make a great

This article is a continuation of Episode 1 | The Venice of the North: A Republic’s Musical Startup, Episode 2 | The Business Animal of Opera House: Reinhard Keiser’s Baroque Empire and Episode 3 | The Baroque Silicon Valley: Christoph

The Swiss-German composer, pedagogue, and pianist Joachim Raff suffered a fatal heart attack in the night from 24 to 25 June 1882. That’s about as precise as we can be in terms of his passing. However, we do know that

So, you want to try to learn how to play the cello? You wouldn’t be alone. Audiences love the cello. Its golden tones are the closest sounds to the human voice, and whenever there is a romantic or heartbreaking scene

Classical music has never been as conservative as its stereotypes suggest. Long before experimental music became a genre, composers were already employing unexpected objects on the concert stage: tools, machines, noisemakers, and more. Here are some of the strangest instruments