Acknowledged as “the most profound proponent of Czech orchestral music,” conductor Jiří Bělohlávek has died aged 71. He is best remembered for his radiant interpretations of Janáček and Martinů, two towering voices that forcefully carried the rich legacy of Czech

I am sure you have seen popular culture caricatures of double-chinned, middle-aged chaps with fluffy powdered-wigs playing keyboard instruments producing a metallic sound? The instrument, of course, is the harpsichord and it has been around for a while. The earliest

At his death at age 100, just one month short of his 101st birthday, the Polish and later American pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski (1892-1993) had one of the long-lasting careers in the performing arts. His age puts him with other pianists

Synaesthesia is a physiological ‘condition’ which literally means “a fusion of the senses”. Its incidence is considered to be about one in every two thousand people, though it may be far commoner, and it is more common in women than

Beethoven specialist Ely Ney (1882-1968) made her name largely in Germany. She began her piano studies with the encouragement of her grandmother, studying first in Cologne and then in Vienna. She had 2 lessons with Theodor Leschetizky and more with

It doesn’t matter how often I’ve been to concerts in the past. The incredible sounds and excitement of an orchestra plowing through the best and most beloved symphonies at full steam still sends shivers down my spine! The sheer range

Driven from Europe not by politics but by his health, the Polish pianist Ignace Tiegerman (1893-1968) moved to Cairo in 1931 to help his asthma. He became the centre of piano education in Cairo for the next thirty years.

The other day I was talking about John Cage’s infamous work 4’33” with one of my students, while giving the student an overview of music history. When we got to 20th century music, it was the student, not me, who