Musical European instruments have come a long way and are now created using a blend of plastic, metal, and various types of wood. However, there are also many traditional instruments from different cultures worldwide. It’s incredible to discover that some

In the classic Christmas counting carol, The 12 Days of Christmas, on the 12 days following Christmas, the singer’s ‘true love’ sends him a present each day, plus the present from the day(s) before. The 12 Days of Christmas are

Looking at the climate terrors of 2023, we can only anticipate what 2024 might hold. The historical calamity of the Flood seemed to affect everywhere last year. But when you look at the music for flood (and for how we’re

“Every time you play a great piece of music, there is a new discovery. Every time.” – Mitsuko Uchida, pianist MITSUKO UCHIDA ~ Beethoven Piano Concerto # 5 / BSO /Andris Nelsons “I am interested in music as ecstasy, as

As we celebrate the birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven on 17 December, we are once again reminded that the composer and thinker elevated musical expression to a new level of consciousness. From his early days, it was clear that Beethoven

Uruguayan-American composer Miguel del Águila (b. 1957) was commissioned by Buffalo Philharmonic principal cellist Roman Mekinulov for a cello concerto. Specifically a ‘concerto in tango form that would explore the less classical sound and technique of the cello’. Mr. Águila

In 1932, Mexican composer Carlos Chávez wrote incidental music for a staged performance of Jean Cocteau’s version of Sophicles’ Antigone. Cocteau had created the play a decade earlier and called it a ‘contraction’ of the original. The original, one of

Truth be told, I am almost apprehensive when watching or reading the morning news these days. Front pages and screens are full of yet more atrocities against humanity, and the death of innocent people from around the world is treated