Franz Liszt dipped into the inspirational melody pool of Schubert’s music time and again in his search for creating new sounds for the piano. Liszt wanted to both reproduce the song and, at the same time, make it a pianistic

Originally created for piano and orchestra, Isaac Albéniz’s Rapsodia española received its premiere with Albéniz as the piano soloist with the Orquesta de la Sociedad de Conciertos, Tomás Bretón conducting, in March 1887. Albéniz’ version for piano four-hands came that

Composers of German Lied have the ability, especially starting with Schubert, to bring a deeper meaning to poetry. A poetic reading of Goethe’s Der Erlkönig can convey the voices of the characters, but it’s Schubert’s piano that provides the horse

Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782–1871) became a serious composer when he hit his 40s. His first grand opera, La Muette de Portici (1828) was also the start of his success. His discrete and nuanced operas, set to the librettos by the dramatic

Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), whose name is linked almost as one word with that of the librettist W.S. Gilbert for their 14 comic operas created between 1871 and 1896, was, before that partnership, an accomplished composer of many other genres

The 19th century saw the idea of travel hit everywhere. There was the Grand Tour, the novels where one went from home to exotic Brighton now changed to novels where one went around the world or even to the moon.

Verdi’s Rigoletto, with its story of seduction and deception at the court of the Duke of Mantua, culminating in a murder attempt that goes horribly wrong, was most famous for the Duke’s philandering song, La donna è mobile. In his

Henry (Henri) Vieuxtemps (1820-1881), from Belgium, was one of the top violinists of his time. In the mid–19th century, the Franco-Belgian violin school set the standard for the world and Vieuxtemps was one of the leaders. His father was a