‘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

It is generally acknowledged that no single operatic composer influenced Richard Wagner as decisively as Carl Maria von Weber. When Richard was nine, Weber came to Dresden to rehearse and conduct his opera Der Freischütz. In his autobiography, Wagner gives

In 1884/85, a wealthy patron of classical music named Jeanette Thurber set out to establish a uniquely American school of classical music composition. To accomplish this ambitious undertaking, she founded in quick succession the National Conservatory of Music of America

Last month, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, led by chief conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, performed a six-concert tour in China. This included visiting Qingdao and Wuhan ‒ two cities where few big orchestras get to play, due to the financial constraints of

Do you know the Land where the Lemon Trees blossom? Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, “Italian” Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Sergiu Celibidache Music Score In 1786, the polymath genius Johann Wolfgang von Goethe embarked on a secret

The turn of the 20th century was the golden age for violinists. Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, Mischa Elman, Fritz Kreisler, David Oistrach and Yehudi Menuhin, considered the greatest violinists of all time, graced us with their presence. At least in

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