Tōru Takemitsu (1930-1996) fell in love with western classical music via American forces radio broadcasts during the post-war U.S. occupation of Japan. In fact, he “considered the radio as his first real teacher.” Almost exclusively focused on Western musical styles

When Astor Piazzolla went to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, he was embarrassed by his non-classical music past, and that he played tango music with a bandoneón in a cabaret at night. No matter how hard he tried to

Throughout his life, Johannes Brahms equated corporeal infirmity with frailty of character. An avid outdoors enthusiast, who boasted that he had never consulted a physician or taken any medication, Brahms confidently asserted the connection between a healthy body and a

The outstanding French pianist Pascal Amoyel takes on the chameleon-like Franz Liszt in this recording of the Harmonies poétiques et religieuses (S.173) in this two-disc set that also include the Ballade No.2 (S. 171) and the Liebestraüme, (S. 541).

Giacomo Meyerbeer first visited Italy in 1816. He only planned for a brief study tour, but in the event, it gradually extended itself to nine years! During that time, the composer produced seven operas, starting with the semi-serious Romilda e

If we look at Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) we see a musician who came to embody the best of classical music. He was a conductor, most famously making his debut in 1943 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra on a moment’s

The 2005-film Brokeback Mountain—an adaptation of the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, which featured two married cowboys in love with each other—brought the issue of mixed-orientation marriages to public attention. However, this type of marriage between partners of differing

Maurice Ravel was small and slender in stature, standing about 162 centimeters, with an unusually large head in relation to his body. He was an avid walker and swimmer and until the age of 50 he was perfectly healthy. Ravel