Franz Liszt (1811–1886) created the genre of the symphonic poem, but they weren’t without controversy. Eduard Hanslick, the premiere critic of mid–mid-19th-century Vienna thought little of them, noting that the addition of the extra-musical programmes did not justify what he

Widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his time, the stellar career of Emil Gilels was initially smothered during the opening years of World War II. Universally admired for his superb technical control and polished tone, Gilels returned

I have written before about how some repertoire is considered “off limits” to amateur pianists, and should remain the preserve of the professional. I think what such an attitude demonstrates is how the “core canon” of piano repertoire is held

Charles Gounod kept working during the final year of his life. He suffered a variety of afflictions and ills but composed sacred music and penned his memoirs and essays. When he returned home from playing the organ for Mass at

Raphaël Pichon, who literally grew up in the shadow of the Palace of Versailles, has had dual careers as a countertenor, and later as the founder and director of the historically oriented choir “Pygmalion.” With a decided gift for drawing

In 1876, after returning from a trip to Bayreuth to see the first complete Ring cycles, Edvard Grieg and his friend John Paulson (1851–1924) travelled up and down Norway. As a treat for the poet Paulson, Grieg took 4 sonatas

Maria Anna Mozart, known to her family as Nannerl, is one of the great what-ifs of music history. She was the sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, an inspiration and constant companion to him, one of her generation’s great piano prodigies,

This new anthology is a result of EVC Music’s #CallToWomenComposers worldwide search for talented but not yet published women composers and includes new piano works by twenty-two women composers inspired by Chopin’s Nocturnes. The project was initiated by Rose McLachlan,