We are so fortunate that we can witness some of the work of legendary maestros of the last century via recordings and YouTube. Oftentimes their reputations are well known among aficionados of orchestral music. We musicians have a history, a

Gustav Klimt started his career as architectural decorator just as the Ringstrasse program of monumental building entered its final phase – in fact, he had been hired to decorate the interior staircase of the Fine Arts Museum. He subsequently became

Caius College Choir is one of Britain’s leading collegiate choirs. The College was founded in 1348 but the musical tradition stems from the late nineteenth century when the well-known composer of church music Charles Wood became Organist. The choir in

One of the most significant innovations of the Mannheim Orchestra was to standardize the orchestral instrumentation. It normally consisted of strings — first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses — and pairs of flutes, oboes, bassoons, French horns,

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first visited the city of Mannheim — a little side trip after a performance in Munich — in 1763. Accompanied by his parents and his sister Nannerl, he only stayed for a couple of days before the

Musical Offering, BWV 1079 Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra Ton Koopman Frederick the Great of Prussia, affectionately known as “Der Alte Fritz” (Old Fritz) is generally known as a brilliant military campaigner who established the reputation of Prussian military might. In addition,

Clara, Ludwig, or both? Robert Schumann (1810-1856) had one of the most fascinating and varied biographies of all the nineteenth-century German composers. Forced by his guardian to study law, he rebelled against its pharisaical quibbling at age nineteen and moved