Claudio Monteverdi‘s final masterpiece, L’incoronazione di Poppea (1642), stands as a singular monument in the history of Western music. Departing from the mythological allegories that defined early opera—such as his own Orfeo (1607)—Poppea is the first major operatic work to

On a seriously rainy and gloomy afternoon in Hong Kong, I decided to finally read a book that’s been on my bucket list for quite a while. It’s a 1997 biography titled The Last Prodigy: A Biography of Erich Wolfgang

For many of us, specifically if you’re not a wind player, the composer Anton (Antoine) Reicha is practically unknown. He does, however, appear frequently as a footnote in books on Beethoven. They were teenage buddies in Bonn and even played

The third of Frances Wilson’s essays celebrating Wigmore Hall. People, programmes and new challenges Wigmore Hall has a broad remit and, in addition to lunchtime, evening and Sunday morning concerts, offers a lively education programme, masterclasses and study days, music

In the afternoon of 27 May 1840, the greatest violinist the world had ever known died at the age of 57. Niccolò Paganini had revolutionised violin technique and essentially invented the concept of the virtuoso performer. His legendary 24 Caprices,

You have likely never heard her name, but Marion Bauer was one of the most influential musical personalities in American history. Not only was she a pioneering composer in an era when professional women composers were often looked down on,

Engagements are often long, carefully negotiated preludes to marriage. For many composers, however, they were anything but. Short engagements – lasting four months or less – have happened in classical music history for all kinds of reasons: desire, scandal, social

Samuil Feinberg was born in the Ukrainian city of Odesa on 26 May 1890. With its unique blend of Russian, Yiddish, and Ukrainian cultures, the city gave birth to a substantial number of exceptional pianists ranging from Benno Moiseiwitsch to