For every composer, the first work of a series is a serious undertaking. For the composers who followed Beethoven, the symphony was a particularly daunting mountain. Gone were the days of a composer writing hundreds of symphonies: Haydn wrote 106,

I don’t understand why a good many people think that classical music is deadly dull and boring. Many of the stories and anecdotes surrounding these exceptional expressions of human creativity could easily become box office hits at your local cinema.

We primarily remember the Viennese theatrical impresario Emanuel Schikaneder as collaborator and librettist on Mozart’s Magic Flute. However, Schikaneder was also directly responsible for several compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven. You see, Schikaneder and his troupe of performers appeared in

Henriette Sontag (1806-1854) was an operatic soprano of international renown. No other than Hector Berlioz wrote the following glowing critique, “She unites all the qualities we like to find in an artist: sweetness never surpassed, agility almost fabulous, expression, and

Just when we thought that the virus news from China could not get much worse, comes a report from Wuhan province that a deadly strain of Bird flu has been detected on the southern border of Hubei province. The good

Robert Casadesus (1899-1972) was far better known as a pianist than as a composer, but in his compositions, we find an interesting side view on this most French of French pianists. In his 1954 work, Homage à Chausson, Casadesus paid

As soon as you start trading wildlife for food, scary things can, and will happen. The newest virus capturing the world’s attention is a bug belonging to the coronavirus family that originated in a live-animal market in Wuhan, in Hubei

As a freelance musician, Ludwig van B. was always looking for ways to make money. The dedication of works to nobility and/or friends, although a rather uncertain source of income, was one possible revenue stream. However, much depended on the