La Mer (1890) Philadelphia Orchestra Riccardo Muti Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (1894) London Symphony Orchestra André Previn Stéphane Mallarmé L’après-midi d’un faune (1867) Original in French English translation My encounter with Claude Debussy began with his 24 preludes. I

Mozart’s early experience with Italian opera is documented in Daines Barrington’s report to the Royal Society in London, published in 1769. “At nine, the prodigy could already, in improvised recitatives and arias, ape operatic styles suited to anger and tenderness”.

In 1589, Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) the most prominent Spanish composer of the generation between Cristóbal de Morales and Tomás Luis de Victoria, embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands. He departed Venice on 14 August and traveled via the

Opera chorusmaster, a profession steeped in mystery and nuance. An invaluable member of the opera company, he or she is a general training the troops by day and commanding them on the battlefield by night. This is no mere choral

We would be entirely wrong to assume that musical duels were in the exclusive domain of the 19th Century. Far from it, throughout the 17th and 18th Centuries, musicians busily battled in musical contests that measured technical facility and improvisational

Heralded by NPR as “recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble,” the genre-defying string quartet’s gripping performance style has drawn critical acclaim from classical, world and rock music scenes. One of the quartet’s