Belgian violin virtuoso Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931) wrote his six violin sonatas, Op. 27, after hearing a performance of J.S. Bach’s six violin sonatas. One writer noted ‘these sketches, almost improvisations, emerged as six intimate portraits in music of his friends

The process of adapting a piece of music for a scoring other than that of the original dates back for centuries. For one, by fashioning transcriptions and arrangements of orchestral works or operas, the public gained access to the latest

Dr. J. Clarence Chambers (1910–2006), in his studies at Amherst College, became the rehearsal pianist for the music department’s operetta performances. He graduated in 1934 from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and did his internship at Harlem Hospital.

When composers are seeking to broaden their reach, they often look backwards to music for children or, their personal circumstances change so that children enter their adult world. Such was the case for Robert Schumann when he created his Album

The Italian composer and guitarist Carlo Domeniconi (b. 1947) took his education at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro and at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and combined with his interest in Turkey (he founded the classical guitar course at

It was in the summer of 1912 when hot off the heels of the sumptuous ballet score Daphnis et Chloé – his biggest creative undertaking to date – Ravel took some time off composing to recover and wait for inspiration

Ralph Vaughan Williams’ 1910 Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis was his consummate mix of all that interested him: folksong and the glories of English music from earlier centuries and their modal scales. His form was the 17th century

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was one of the all-time great composers. Restless and resourceful, Handel was a workaholic musician of great charisma with a genius for invention. For most of his life—at least during his time in London—Handel operated as