“Giant in the Shadows” 100 years ago, Max Reger (1873-1916), one of the giants of music in Germany passed away prematurely at age 43. He was an exact contemporary of Rachmaninoff, one year younger than Scriabin, and one year older

Let’s dance! The reputation of Léo Delibes (1836-1891) rests almost exclusively with his two 90-minute ballet scores Coppélia and Sylvia. For the first time in the history of music, Delibes had crafted ballet scores of symphonic proportions. Full of memorable

“Music begins where the possibilities of language end” For a number of high-profile music historians, Jean Sibelius (1864-1957)—instead of Gustav Mahler—is considered the last master in the Beethoven symphonic tradition. In his final symphony, so it is argued, Sibelius relentlessly

Pianist, Scholar and Composer When Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev (1856-1915) attended the funeral of his student Alexander Scriabin in 1915, he caught a rather severe flu. Instead of taking proper medicine and rest, he continued to resist the virus and persisted

The (Almost) Forgotten Piano Wizard! Between 1809 and 1814 six remarkable composers were born; Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Thalberg and Adolf von Henselt (1814-89). Surely you have heard of the first five, but what about Henselt? Make no mistake, during

Muse, Femme Fatale, Composer Her admirers described Alma Schindler as pathologically cruel, anti-Semitic, exceedingly vain, prone to excessive drinking, and utterly obsessed by a sense of entitlement that the world owed her something in return for her brilliance and beauty.

The Firebird that did not fly Anatoly Lyadov: The Enchanted Lake, Op. 62 Anatoly Lyadov: Kikimora, Op. 63 The Ballets Russes, widely regarded as the most influential ballet company of the 20th century, was the brainchild of the Russian impresario

From the Diary of a Hermit At one time or another, Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) was mentioned in the same breath with Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt and even compared with Hector Berlioz. Not only was Alkan — he was born