On This Day 30 November: Charles-Valentin Alkan Was Born
Charles-Valentin Alkan (1819-1888) was one of the most celebrated pianists of the nineteenth century, mentioned in the same breath as Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. He was also a most unusual composer, “remarkable…
Marie Antoinette, Queen Of Harps, Took Up With A Burning Passion
The archduchess of Austria, Marie Antonia Josepha Johanna arrived in France at the age of 14. She became dauphine of France, under the name Marie Antoinette, when she married Louis-Auguste…
Eight Pieces That Are Worth Putting On Any “Happy Mozart” Playlist
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of history’s most celebrated composers, and his vast oeuvre spans a wide range of emotions. The young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart But when it comes to expressing…
Guide To The Greatest Recordings Of Ligeti’s Violin Concerto
Steph Power is entranced by all manner of dazzling soundworlds as she explores the best recordings of Ligeti’s Violin Concerto, a 20th-century virtuoso showstopper György Ligeti’s wild, radiantly paradoxical Violin…
Guide To Orff’s ‘Carmina Burana’ And Its Best Recordings
From Old Spice to X Factor, a certain three minutes of Carmina Burana is known to many of us. But what of the rest of the work? Here’s our guide,…
Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante: a guide to this beautiful work and its best recordings
A guide to Mozart’s lively, sorrowful and beautiful work for violin, viola and orchestra, and some of the best recorded versions available Here’s a guide to the Sinfonia Concertante, Mozart’s…
Ottorino Respighi Is One Of Those Composers Whose Reputations Rest Unduly On A Particular Work, Or Group Of Compositions
What are Respighi’s most famous works? In his case it is the so-called ‘Roman Trilogy’ with which he is perennially associated. These three separately conceived orchestral pieces were penned between…
The ‘Pink Peril’: Lili Boulanger, Grażyna Bacewicz, and glass ceilings
Soprano Katharine Dain looks at how misogyny has stood in the way of some wonderful female composers getting their due ‘Are you lost? This is a composition class, miss.’ The…
Meet Our Top 50 Famous Composers, In Descending Order – Do You Agree With Our Choices?
Who are the best composers ever? We asked 174 of today’s leading classical composers that very question and here, in their own words, we present the fascinating results. We’ve pooled…
The most famous French singers of all time
From Charles Aznavour to Sandrine Piau, we profile ten of the best and most famous French singers of all time Unsurprisingly, the country that produced Debussy, foie gras and the Impressionists spoils…