In 1809, the French army under Napoleon once again set their sights on the city of Vienna. On short notice, the imperial family fled the city, but it was decided that Vienna should nevertheless be defended. French howitzers bombarded the

As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “…but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” And while the mega rich have long attempted to find ingenious ways of avoiding tax payments, during Johann Sebastian Bach’s

Repertoire for Two Piano Players Performance by two piano players simultaneously sharing a single piano requires not only a level of intimacy unique to chamber music, it also presents its own set of technical challenges. Despite a number of notable

Catherine the Great (1729-1796), born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, ushered in what many considered to be the “Golden Age of Russia.” She freed Russian nobles from compulsory military service and enthusiastically supported the ideas of the Enlightenment. She established a

Several years before Puccini charmed the operatic world with his musical setting of Carlo Gozzi’s theatrical fairytale “Turandot,” Ferruccio Busoni completed his opera by the same name in 1917! As early as 1905, Busoni had composed incidental music for the

Between 1796 and 1799, Beethoven did not have a permanent address in Vienna, at least not that we know. He was busily engaged in establishing his reputation, and rubbed shoulders with royalty and with Joseph Haydn. He played a piano

Much has been written about the women in Beethoven’s life, and undoubtedly you have either read or seen one or the other fictional take on the matter. It all seems a bit muddled and mysterious, so let’s try to unravel

In Greek mythology, Virgo is the Goddess of Innocence and Purity, called Astraea. She was the daughter of the Titan Astraeus, the god of dusk, and Eos, the goddess of dawn. She lived on earth alongside humans during the Golden