Classical music anniversaries in November span nearly four centuries, from Jean-Baptiste Lully’s birth in 1632 to Nelson Freire’s death in 2021. This month gave us the births of Bellini, Borodin, Falla, Joplin, and Hindemith; the deaths of Mendelssohn, Rossini, Tchaikovsky,

Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625) has been called the “English Palestrina,” and Glenn Gould’s favourite composer. He compared Orlando Gibbons to Beethoven and Webern. He suggested, “Like Beethoven in his last quartets, or Webern at almost any time, Gibbons is an artist

Johann Sebastian Bach is a favourite composer for many musicians; his intricate, intellectual works are the musical equivalent of Holy Scripture. But the person behind the music was decidedly human. He was an orphan and a father of twenty –

Classical music history is filled with famous rivalries, but some of the most interesting stories are about composers and their musical best friends. From Johannes Brahms and violinist Joseph Joachim to Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland, these relationships offered the

Beethoven’s violin teachers never turned him into a virtuoso; that was never their job. His calling card was always his dynamic pianism, not his violin playing. But his relationship with the instrument didn’t keep him from writing some of the

In the 19th century, women cellists faced a barrier that women violinists and pianists didn’t: before the rise of the endpin, playing the cello required sitting with the instrument held between the knees, which audiences considered unseemly. However, beginning in

I have played the violin for nearly thirty years. I started on a ¼-size violin as a child. I’ve been in a youth orchestra, attended a summer chamber music festival as a teenager, and studied with well-known teachers. I’ve played

In 2026, Steve Reich celebrates his 90th birthday. In 2027, it will be Philip Glass’. Two figures in the history of contemporary classical music who have redefined the landscape holistically. Two composers who have revolutionised how music was conceived and