‘It’s really an unsuccessful event, or a harsh word – failure – that makes people learn. To define ‘successful’ is difficult, but for me, it’s that no matter how hard you try, how high you’ve reached, there’ll always be somebody

Kiss of Life Sinfonia concertante in B flat major, Op. 41 Bassoon Concerto in G minor Wind Quintet in B flat major, Op. 56, No. 1 Between 1777 and 1778, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart spent a total of five months in

Not just another Russian pianist With a deep respect for tradition and musicians from his homeland, the Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin carries this unique Russian spirit with him when dazzling audience around the world, particularly with his playing of Prokofiev’s

The immediate outcome of the 1917 Russian revolution, in part the result of heavy military setbacks during WWI, was the utter dismantling of Tsarist autocracy. Not only was the Emperor forced to abdicate; his entire family was summarily executed. Vladimir

On the road, with bravery The first time I heard pianist Sa Chen’s performance was back in the 90s, in Newcastle. It was also the first time I ever heard of her name. Though she just won the fourth prize

The transitional period between Bartolomeo Cristofori’s pianoforte designs of the 1720’s and the essentially modern-day instruments produced by John Broadwood, Ignaz Pleyel and Sébastien Érard around the turn of the 19th century not only coincides with the approximate lifetimes of

Regarded by the Times as having ‘passion, precision, warmth, a gold blend’, the Jerusalem Quartet was founded in 1993. Since then, it has been active in the international music scene, performing worldwide and collaborating with renowned performers like Mitsuko Uchida,

The tradition of the touring piano virtuoso did not start with Sigismond Thalberg or even Franz Liszt. This distinct honour should rightfully be bestowed upon the Czech pianist and composer Jan Ladislav Dussek, who was born 12 February 1760 in