“Learning about Beethoven is a joyful journey without end” British journalist and newscaster John Suchet has had a lifelong fascination with Ludwig van Beethoven, from the moment he discovered the great German composer’s music in his twenties. Beethoven’s music, in

After the rigorous opening stages and the announcement of semi-final results, the 12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition took a well-deserved rest. Well, not everybody had that kind of luxury, of course. When I ran into one of the finalists during

At long last, I encountered an international piano competition where I wholeheartedly agreed with ( and applauded ) the jury’s choice of all the finalists. At this 2024 Hamamatsu Piano Competition, it seemed that exquisite musicianship was the vital requisite

I had no idea that chamber music could still draw such a huge crowd. Well, when it is part of the biggest and most prestigious piano competition in Asia, the 12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, I probably shouldn’t be surprised.

In a very interesting double bill, Greek National Opera (GNO) put together Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide and its followup, Iphigénie en Tauride, which is set 20 years after the first opera. The first opera, which received its premiere on 19

Cassandra, the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, was a most unfortunate character in stories of the Trojan War. Granted the power of prophecy by the god Apollo if she would sleep with him, he tainted the

Verdi’s Rigoletto has had countless outings at New York’s Metropolitan Opera since 1883. But to make it worthwhile, the house needs access to a baritone who can handle the tricky part vocally, fill the cavernous theatre, but also can imbue

The Yellow Label just released a disk featuring Daniil Trifonov, surely one of the most astounding pianists of our age. Titled “My American Story-North”, Trifonov, a pianist of jaw-dropping technique and outer-wordly interpretive skills, takes us on a highly personal