André Rieu is one of today’s most successful classical performing artists. In fact, he is one of the most successful touring artists in the world, easily outselling most popular music acts. Rieu founded the Johann Strauss Orchestra, the largest private

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was a master of orchestration and his 1844 book on the subject was the standard not for years, but for decades after his death. He lived his life with his heart on his sleeve and works such

The Theater auf der Wieden, located in the then-suburban Wieden district of Vienna existed only for 14 years, between 1787 and 1801. For most of this period, the director of the theater was the German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and

Let’s address one of the elephants in the music room; do we really recognise and pay attention to quality nowadays? Do we even understand what it is? How many of us can recognise high from low levels of quality? How

Clara Haskil has been trumpeted as the quintessential pianist’s pianist, and yet many music lovers don’t know who she is. It’s time to fix that. Today we’re looking at the incredible true story of the life and tragic death of

Violinist Alina Ibragimova is known for her gripping performances delivered with grandeur and ease. Above all, her intellectual focus, architectural sweep, and the sheer beauty of her tone are shared in interpretative humility that conveys the emotional depths of the

More poking around the Gallica site and we happened on a section that deals with sound that can be sent – but using the post instead of the internet. One of the early inventions for communicating via sound was the

There is always one survey or another around that asks noted pianists to name their favourite pianists of all time. In one such survey, Stephen Hough and Angela Hewitt neglected to mention Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein and instead chose