Chopin of the Créoles Louisiana-born Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) spent most of his life as a touring concert pianist. Son of a Jewish businessman and a Créole mother, the boy was quickly recognized as a musical prodigy and departed for

‘Humanity in Every Note’ I catch up with French coloratura soprano Sabine Devieilhe in London, in between her performances of Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment at Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House. After winning a unanimous First Prize at the Paris

“The Pianistic God of Thunder” Countless highly talented individuals populate the musical universe, but very few get immortalized in poetry. But that’s exactly what happened to the Czech pianist and composer Alexander Dreyschock (1818-1869). The prolific Danish author Hans Christian

‘Variation and Contrast’ Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra has made waves as the first ever Music Director of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Born in New York, she has worked with orchestras all over the globe, including the Berlin Radio

“The Mozart of the Champs-Élysées” Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) was of outstanding significance in popular music of the 19th century. He composed some of the catchiest tunes and melodies ever written, and he exerted a powerful influence on subsequent composers for

Pablo Ferrández, Berlin-based Spanish cellist and Instagram superstar, makes his Hong Kong debut this month with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, playing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto.

The North German Schubert Carl Loewe (1796–1869) might no longer be a household name. However, in his time, he was a close friend of Schumann, Weber and Mendelssohn. In fact, he conducted the first performance of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream

Making her Hong Kong debut this month is Chinese soprano Ying Fang, singing in Mahler’s Second Symphony with the HK Phil. Now based in the USA, Ying is a principal soprano of the Metropolitan Opera, and also travels frequently for