George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (c. 1866-1949) was more than a composer. His life as a philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, and movement teacher was an important part of early 20th-century philosophical inspiration. He taught that people are not conscious of themselves and

With the normalising of a piano at home in the 19th century, music opened up to the masses in a way never anticipated in the 18th century. One of the results of this was music that would have normally been

Taking Stephen Lias’s set of six pieces, Imaginary Folksongs, as the title for their new recording, saxophone and piano Duo HaLo, with Andrew Harrison on sax and Jason Lo, play music that places equal emphasis on both sides of the

In his exploration of the early piano works of Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915), French pianist Clément Lefebvre speaks of coming to the edge of the abyss when he plays the finale of the Russian composer’s Piano Sonata No. 3. This is

French conductor Pierre Monteux (1875–1964) always seemed to be the right man at the right time. As a student of violin and viola at the Paris Conservatoire, his fellow students included George Enescu, Fritz Kreisler, and Alfred Cortot. Upon graduation,

Two of the four works on this new album of piano quintets, played by Peter Donohoe on piano and I Musicanti (Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay, violin; Robert Smissen, viola; Ursula Smith, cello; and Leon Bosch, double bass and director) were the results

Olivier Latry, titular organist of the Great Organ of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, brings us an album of the organ music of the greatest of Protestant composers, J.S. Bach, on the Cavaillé-Coll organ of the very Catholic of cathedrals, Notre-Dame

Long before Paris became the world’s music centre, it was Vienna. From Haydn through the Strauss family, there was always a place for music in Vienna. The State Opera, the Vienna Philharmonic and many other orchestras, and the opportunities for