Franz Grillparzer, Ignaz Castelli, and Eduard von Bauernfeld were all friends of Schubert and appear in the 1868 ‘Schubertiade’ drawing done by Moritz von Schwind, where they are standing behind the women on the right side of the picture.

British pianist Stephen Hough sparked a lively debate recently by suggesting that classical concerts could be “shorter” to attract younger or new audiences, or to allow venues and musicians to offer two concerts in one evening. He also hinted that

When Prince Heinrich II, Count of Reuss-Gera, died on 13 December 1635, he knew exactly what would happen at his funeral as he had designed it all himself. The texts, from scripture and from 16th century writers, such as Martin

Nights in the Gardens of Spain The marriage of Napoleon III to Eugenie de Montijo in 1853 heralded a French artistic fascination with the Iberian peninsular. Some of the best Spanish music of the late 19th century, particularly in the

“One day I must be able to improvise freely on the keyboard of colors: the row of watercolors in my paintbox” Paul Klee (1879-1940), son of a German music teacher and a Swiss mother, started studying violin as a child,

When I was a starving music student—how do you like that cliché—I variously performed in venues ranging from medieval churches to lusty palaces filled with debauchery and sin! But no matter where I played, there was one single constant; my

The world recently lost Sir Neville Marriner, a man who had a worldwide impact on music and musicians. Those of us who were lucky to know him and work with him have been forever enriched.