Moonlight, Eroica, Jupiter, Unfinished, Clock, Four Seasons, New World— have you wondered how certain pieces of music got their names so ubiquitous you can probably guess the works and identify the composers? Classical music can be divided into those that

Oscar Wilde, master of the killing bon mot and martyr of Victorian sexuality, isn’t often thought of in terms of music. His stories and plays have a constant following; The Importance of Being Ernest is once again on the London

Another piece for children that, like Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, served as an introduction to the instruments of the orchestra was George Kleinsinger’s memorable Tubby the Tuba. Tubby gets tired of always only being the support for

A number of music critics have called Frank Sinatra the “greatest singer of the 20th century.” The only child of an Italian immigrant couple, Sinatra entered show business at a very early age. And by the time he reached his

During the 1970’s, the perceived elitism and dissonant sounds of atonal academic modernism were gradually giving way to artistic expressions that favored a synthesis of familiar styles. By reintroducing traditional elements of musical styles—openly influenced by popular music and world

As the 19th century idea of death as a close and regular companion faded away, the elegy in the 20th century began to change character. If we look at a work by the Hungarian composer Eugene Zádor (1894–1977), we can

Sergei Rachmaninoff was deeply wounded when critics admired him as a pianist but never acknowledged him as a composer. Battling severe bouts of depression he dejectedly confided in Marietta Shaginyan “that he would concentrate fully on playing and would stop

Russian composers have created some of the most memorable music for children, starting with Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) created the ballet The Nutcracker for the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. It was given its premiere on 18