When I walk into my music studio I see Zoltán Kodály’s Sonata for Cello and Piano. It is prominently displayed and beautifully framed with Kodály’s signature splashed across the title page. Kodály was an important figure in our house. He

Broadway on my Mind! Morton Gould: Chorale and Fugue in Jazz Some composers effortlessly move between the worlds of popular and classical music. Take for example Morton Gould (1913-1996), an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist who was equally at

“J’écris ce qui me chante” – “I write of that which sings to me”Francis Poulenc In 1916 in Paris, Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), a largely self-taught composer, was introduced by a close friend to Adrienne Monnier’s bookshop ‘La Maison des Amis

Last month, I had the chance to attend an orchestral concert directed by Pinchas Zukerman, featuring both Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra – of which he is Music Director – and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. I was apprehensive about this

The Human Hands Here are some facts you may not know about your hands. With 34 muscles, 27 bones, 48 named nerves and at least 123 ligaments in each hand, the human hand is known for its ability to carry

‘Help! We need a piece to show off our instrument!’ This was perhaps something like the conversation between the Érard company and Maurice Ravel when, in 1904, the Pleyel harp company commissioned Claude Debussy to write a piece for their