The French Revolution was the dramatic backdrop to countless extraordinary life stories. Pianist and composer Hélène de Montgeroult had one of the most interesting. Over the course of her life, she faced political turmoil, violence, and unspeakable loss, but persevered

The days are getting shorter, and Christmas and New Year ads are everywhere. We’re clearly coming up in winter. That made me wonder: what’s the best recording of Vivaldi’s Winter from his Four Seasons? Today, I went to find some

At the time of his death on 28 December 1937, Maurice Ravel was the most celebrated composer in France. For a number of scholars, however, the significance of his music and the nature of his artistic legacy remained elusive. And

Composed in 1999, the second symphony by Chinese composer Xia Guan (b. 1957) carries the title of Hope. Guan sees hope as the ‘driving force in life’ and believes that without hope, he couldn’t even imagine what life would be

The world of classical music has been graced by a wide variety of truly legendary pianists. In addition to the example set by their astonishing playing, these giants have often shared insights about their art in interviews or in articles,

The first modern experience many people had with drought was the American Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Decades of poor land management and the destruction of the topsoil meant that the fertile land just blew away in the wind. The

“…part of an actor’s task is to make the audience forget that they know the plot of a drama and surprise them with each event. The same applies in music: we have to play each piece as if it were

Countless scholars, performers, and conductors have asked the almost impossible question of how Bach’s music sounded when it was performed for the first time. This question really caused a great stir some decades ago with Joshua Rifkin suggesting that what