After winning the prestigious Prix de Rome, the young Charles Gounod (1818-1893) arrived in the Eternal City of Rome in 1840. After experiencing a spell of melancholy and homesickness, which he described “this kind of shroud in which I was

Anatoly Lyadov (1855–1914) was condemned with faint praise: ‘Most recollections of this kind, likeable man suggest that he could have achieved so much more if he had not been so idle.’ A case in point was his commission from Diaghilev.

For many, the chrysanthemum is the symbol of Asia. The flower originated in East Asia, and China is the place where it developed its earliest characteristics. It was first cultivated in China as early as the 15th century BCE, and

As a student of Carl Nielsen, Poul Schierbeck (1888-1949) made important contributions to the literature of Danish songs. Initially, like so many of his contemporaries Schierbeck had engaged in law studies, but the lure of music prompted him to study

Mermaids are women of the sea: half female with a scaled fishy tail. Sirens, in a word, are evil mermaids. Mermaids want good and sirens want evil. Now how have composers dealt with them? Kit Turnbull: 3 Cautionary Tales British

By the time Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) had penned his final opera at the tender age of 37, he had become one of the wealthiest and most influential musicians in Europe. Coming from very humble beginnings indeed, he composed up to

The pianist Ignacy Paderewski (1860-1941) was a favorite with concert audiences but not universally beloved by music critics. In the event, Paderewski was much more than just a rich, irresistibly handsome, wild-haired composer and musician whose concerts generated a level

The Hungarian violinist Joseph Szigeti (1892-1973) carried the nickname “The Scholarly Virtuoso.” That nickname is hardly surprising as Szigeti authored a number of books. Among them, we find a pedagogical treatise addressing technical challenges and innovations in twentieth-century repertoire, and