“Music is text and rhythm, and sound last of all” 400 years ago, the Italian composer, singer, teacher and instrumentalist Giulio Romano Caccini (1551-1618) passed away in Florence. He wasn’t a particularly pleasant individual, and frequently guided by envy and

‘We’re all on the same side’ German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt plays Dutilleux’s Tout un monde lointain with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta on 1 December. It’s not his first visit to Hong Kong – he was in Hong Kong previously for

“Give me a laundry bill and I will set it to music” When Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) spontaneously decided to retire in 1829, he was universally considered the most popular opera composer in history. No other composer enjoyed his prestige, popular

Planting and Harvesting I chat with István Várdai when he is in Helsinki, after a long tour of concerts across China and Europe. He continues his travels to Hong Kong on 5 November, playing a recital with pianist Sunwook Kim.

“Inspiration does not willingly visit the lazy” Ten days after the successful premiere of his Sixth Symphony in 1893, a raging cholera epidemic claimed the life of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), one of Russia’s most famous composers. His music appealed

Something Beautiful and Something Natural 21 year-old Croatian pianist Ivan Krpan makes his Hong Kong debut this October, playing a programme of Beethoven, Busoni, and Liszt. Before Hong Kong, Ivan travels to Venice and Milan, playing some of the repertoire

“I esteem what deserves esteem” In 2018 we celebrate the 350th birthday of François Couperin (1668-1733), a composer described as “the epitome of French music” by both Debussy and Ravel. Couperin was undoubtedly the most famous member of a family

‘Stay in Touch with the World’ ‘Part of being a musician is not just practice. There are so many people who spend so many hours in the practice room, their minds don’t grow, and that’s really sad. You really need