On 20 June 2023, Christophe Rousset and “Les Talens Lyriques” premiered the recently rediscovered opera Fausto by Louise-Angélique Bertin (1805-1877). That exceptional setting by a recognized female composer and friend of Hector Berlioz had been lost except for a piano
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Leoš Janáček (1854–1928), unlike his contemporaries, really only started to be a composer in mid-life, so his work emerged, fully formed and of ‘startling originality’, later in his life than for most. His reputation up to around 1916 was really
Starting with a hoot of a boat whistle, we’re off on an adventure. For our heroine, the boat trip is one with destination disaster but for us, we get a treat in Kurt Weill’s music for the musical Marie Galante.
Ludwig van Beethoven has gone down in classical music history as a great, defiant, wild-haired composer genius. However, being a genius doesn’t always pay the bills. So throughout his life, Beethoven often took on piano students to supplement his income…at
Czech composer Vítězslav Novák (1870–1949) initially studied law at Prague University before taking up music as a student of Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) at the Prague Conservatory. His early interest was folk songs, particularly from the Slovak and Moravian areas, and
Henriëtte Bosmans has one of the most fascinating biographies in twentieth-century music history. She was a celebrated piano soloist and composer. Her love for great women performers inspired deeply beautiful works for both cello and voice. And when the Nazis
South African cellist, singer, and composer Abel Selaocoe has a remarkable and inventive approach. Taking the cello to places rarely explored, he showcases the tremendous range of expression of the cello from the classics through non-Western musical traditions. His extraordinary