Charles Dickens, born on 7 February 1812 on Portsea Island (Portsmouth), Hampshire, is known for creating some of the best-known fictional characters in literature. We all are familiar with Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Little Nell, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Samuel

Finland declared its independence after the Russian Revolution in 1917. Finland had been ruled by Sweden since the late thirteenth century, but in 1908, Finland became part of the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy. Prior to this, in

Born on 3 February 1874 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Gertrude Stein was a central figure in the Parisian art world between 1903 and her death in 1946. Her Paris Salon at 27 rue de Fleurus “brought together confluences of talent and

About a month ago, I recorded 13 Ejercicios con niveles de dificultad written by Blanca Layana Gómez. Back in summer of 2022, I came across Blanca and her works when I was writing an article about living Latina composers. I

Viral pandemics are pretty dire affairs, with millions of people falling sick and dying. COVID-19 hit us right in the face, mercilessly taking advantage of our human vanities and frailties, praying on our complacency, deceits, and political nonsense. In one

“Put your hands up and step away from the podium…” This is the feeling that many musicians have when a prominent soloist appears on stage not in their usual guise, but as a conductor. It’s a bit like trying to

Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954) is known as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, but he saw himself primarily as a composer for whom conducting was “the roof under which I have taken refuge in life because I was

Classical music has a reputation for being altogether too serious. It’s an often-repeated cliché based on the great fear of being locked in a concert hall for several hours without the use of mobile phones. Granted, classical composers didn’t make