For nearly three centuries, the string quartet has been celebrated as the most intimate kind of classical music: a simple, heartfelt conversation between four equal voices. Because of that intimacy, composers have often turned to writing string quartets when reacting

Credit: Christian Tucci

In an earlier article, we listened to the piano works of Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877–1952) and discovered a treasure trove of Romantic brilliance. His lush and melodic music certainly carried the torch of late Romanticism, and he developed a style that’s

Piano etudes don’t have to be dry technical drills. In the hands of a talented composer, they can become miniature works of art. While names like Chopin, Liszt, and Debussy tend to dominate discussions of the genre, women composers across

Over the centuries, composers have often turned to the violin to express emotions like loneliness, nostalgia, and grief. In this list of ten of the saddest violin concerto slow movements, we’re traveling from the Baroque Era breathlessness of Vivaldi’s Four

There is no other sound in the classical music world like a solo viola. It’s not quite a violin, and not quite a cello; instead, it’s an otherworldly cross between the two. There have been a number of works for

The Madrid International Festival of Sacred Art (FIAS) is a major annual festival dedicated to sacred Baroque music. Presenting vocal and instrumental music in historically informed chamber settings, this particular ARTE programme explores lesser-known works by George Frideric Handel. George