Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the most productive composers in classical music history. The size and consistency of his output are all the more extraordinary when you consider how many deaths of loved ones he endured, and how intimately

In a recent recording, the four Fantasias Brasileiras by Francisco Mignone are presented by the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero, with Fabio Martino as piano soloist. These four works, written between 1929 and 1936, are fascinating piano

When it comes to symphonies, orchestra lovers certainly have their favourites. Think Beethoven’s Eroica, or Dvořák’s New World, or Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique. These classics have earned their place in the canon. The downside? They’ve occasionally overshadowed other brilliant works by the

There are 88 keys on a piano, and the number 88 has long been the secret handshake among pianists. So when the calendar flips to November 8, also seen as 8/11 in many places, it’s less of a coincidence and

César Franck’s genius flowered astonishingly late. Until his 50s, he composed mostly sacred choral works, songs, and early orchestral essays that met with indifference. Public acclaim eluded him as even his 1841 Trio dedicated to Franz Liszt faded quickly. Yet

Leonora von Stosch Speyer is a particularly fascinating figure in the history of classical music. Not only was she a celebrated violin soloist, but also a noted patroness of many composers in the early 1900s. She also became a celebrated

In the summer of 1976, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the cathedral of sound built by Richard Wagner himself, witnessed something extraordinary. The Green Hill had crowned Germanic sopranos for a century, including Lilli Lehmann, Kirsten Flagstad, and Astrid Varnay. And then

She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice, the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields, and the first woman to become a professor at