“People Who Make Music Together Cannot Be Enemies” Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) unexpectedly died on 28 December 1963 in Frankfurt. And while the general public mourned the loss of a highly respected musician, he had lost all influence on the next

George Gershwin’s Song-Book George Gershwin, born on 26 September 1898, developed a distinctive musical style that combined classical, jazz, and popular music in a ground-breaking fusion unique to American music. Renowned for his remarkable dexterity as a songwriter, he literally

“I set down a beautiful chord on paper—and suddenly it rusts” The music of Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) is marked by an intense expressiveness, an unpredictable flow of ideas, an innate sense of drama, and a natural lyricism. Turning his back

“I am in a prison: One wall is the avant-garde, the other is the past, and I want to escape” 100 years ago, on 28 May 1923, the Hungarian composer György Ligeti (1923-2006) was born in the little Transylvanian town

“My musical life started with hearing contemporary music” The American composer Elliott Carter (1908-2012) blended the “achievements of European modernism and American ultra-modernism into a unique style of surging rhythmic vitality, intense dramatic contrast, and innovative fracture.” Glowing accolades aside,

“My music exists to give pleasure” The son of the former director of the Conservatory of Le Mans, Jean Françaix (1912-1997) was a prodigious musical talent. He received his early musical instructions from his father and composed his first piano

“An Authentic Genius” A scholar writes, “the works of Lukas Foss (1922-2009) spring from a distinct personality: enthusiastic, curious, and receptive to every kind of musical idea…he was one of his era’s most communicative and representative composer-performer.” It’s not surprising

“Mathematical formulas translated into beautiful and convincing music” In 2022 we celebrate the centenary of the birth of Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), an artist of fierce originality who produced some of rawest and wildest music in history. He belonged to a