Stories
Articles, biographies and essays on composers, performers and great recordings, first published in our Facebook groups.
1 September 2026Josef Hofmann — The Pianist Who Astonished Rachmaninoff: Anecdotes And Curiosities From The Life Of A Legendary VirtuosoJosef Hofmann — born Józef Kazimierz Hofmann on 20 January 1876 in Podgórze, near Kraków, and died on 16 February 1957 in Los Angeles — was one of the supreme pianists of the late…
1 September 2026Josef Hofmann, PianistJosef Hofmann — born Józef Kazimierz Hofmann on January 20, 1876, in Podgórze, near Kraków, and died on February 16, 1957, in Los Angeles — was one of the supreme pianists of the late…
1 September 2026Windhaag: Poverty, Humiliation and Musical Resistance (1841–1843)Based on Werner Wolff, Anton Bruckner: Rustic Genius (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1942) In the summer of 1841, after successfully completing his examinations in Linz, Anton Bruckner…
29 August 2026Shirley Verrett: Anecdotes, Curiosities and a Brief BiographyShirley Verrett was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 31, 1931, and grew up principally in southern California. She became one of the most extraordinary American singers of the second…
29 August 2026Marian Anderson: Anecdotes, Curiosities and a Brief BiographyMarian Anderson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 27, 1897, and became not only one of the great contraltos of the twentieth century but one of the most important cultural…
29 August 2026Leontyne Price: Anecdotes, Curiosities and Brief BiographyMary Violet Leontyne Price was born in Laurel, Mississippi, on February 10, 1927. She would become one of the supreme operatic sopranos of the twentieth century and arguably the most…
29 August 2026Jessye Norman: Anecdotes, Curiosities and Brief BiographyJessye Mae Norman was born in Augusta, Georgia, on September 15, 1945, into a deeply musical African-American family. Her mother, Janie Mae King-Norman, was a teacher and amateur pianist,…
29 August 2026Grace Bumbry: Anecdotes, Curiosities and Brief BiographyGrace Ann Melzia Bumbry was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 4, 1937, and became one of the most formidable operatic personalities of the second half of the twentieth century.…
28 August 2026Anton Bruckner: A 12-Part Journey Through Werner Wolff's Rustic GeniusOver the coming weeks, we will publish a special series of 12 posts devoted to the formative years of Anton Bruckner, from his birth in Ansfelden in 1824 to the decisive moment in 1868 when…
27 August 2026Georg Tintner: 15 Notable Stories from the Life of a Conductor Who Had to Wait a Lifetime for RecognitionGeorg Tintner (22 May 1917 – 2 October 1999) lived one of the most extraordinary careers in twentieth-century conducting. Born into the musical world of Vienna, forced into exile by Nazism,…
26 August 2026Beethoven and the Missa solemnis: Faith, Anguish, Peace and the Ambition of an Unprecedented WorkThe Missa solemnis in D major, Op. 123, by Ludwig van Beethoven, is one of the most extraordinary, difficult and spiritually ambitious works in his entire output. Beethoven himself came to…26 August 2026Beethoven and His Last Four Piano Sonatas: From the 'Hammerklavier' to the Arietta of Op. 111BEETHOVEN AND HIS FOUR LAST PIANO SONATAS: FROM THE «HAMMERKLAVIER» TO THE ARIETTA OF OP. 111The four last piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven —the Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106…26 August 2026WORKS BY BEETHOVEN COMPOSED BETWEEN 1810 AND 1827 — CHRONOLOGICAL LISTThe criterion used is the actual year of…WORKS BY BEETHOVEN COMPOSED BETWEEN 1810 AND 1827 — CHRONOLOGICAL LISTThe criterion used is the actual year of composition or completion, not the year of publication. When a work spans…22 August 2026Beethoven and the Fifth Piano Concerto 'Emperor': Heroism, War and the Culmination of the Classical ConcertoThe Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, universally known as the “Emperor”, represents the culmination of Ludwig van Beethoven’s cycle of piano concertos and one of the works that…
22 August 2026The 20 Best Recordings of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"There is no absolutely unanimous ranking, but there is a very stable core of historical and modern recordings that repeatedly appear among the references for the Emperor. In revising the…21 August 2026Beethoven And The Seventh Symphony: The Triumph Of Rhythm, Dance And Symphonic EnergyThe Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, by Ludwig van Beethoven, belongs to one of the most fascinating moments of the composer’s creative maturity. If the Fifth had taken the logic of…21 August 2026Beethoven BiographyWhen 1808 came to an end, Beethoven found himself in a paradoxical position. Artistically, he had reached an extraordinary height: the Eroica had transformed the symphony, the Waldstein and…
20 August 2026Twenty Great Recordings of Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"The Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, “Pastoral” has generated an extraordinarily rich discography because it allows for very different interpretative approaches. Some versions emphasise…20 August 2026The 20 Great Recordings of Beethoven's 'Fidelio'The discography of Fidelio, Op. 72, is especially rich because the work allows for very different approaches: it can be interpreted as a heroic drama of great symphonic weight, as an opera…20 August 2026Beethoven and the Sixth Symphony 'Pastoral': Nature, Memory and the Birth of a New Symphonic PoeticsThe Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, universally known as the “Pastoral”, occupies a very singular place within the output of Ludwig van Beethoven. If the Fifth Symphony, composed almost…
19 August 2026Beethoven And The Fifth Symphony: From Darkness To LightThe Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 by Ludwig van Beethoven occupies an exceptional place not only in the history of music, but in Western culture as a whole. Its opening four notes have…19 August 2026Beethoven and the Violin Concerto: From Initial Failure to One of the Summits of the RepertoireThe Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven today occupies such a central position in the repertoire that it is difficult to imagine that, for decades, it was a work that…
18 August 2026Solange Dudevant-Sand, George Sand's DaughterSolange Dudevant-Sand, later known as Solange Clésinger-Sand, was born in 1828 into a family already marked by emotional instability, marital conflict and an extraordinary concentration of…
18 August 2026Chopin Through His ContemporariesWhen Fryderyk Chopin became George Sand’s lover in the early summer of 1838, he entered not merely into a relationship with one woman but into an already complicated household whose…
18 August 2026Twenty Reference Recordings of Beethoven's Symphony No. 4Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60 has an extraordinarily rich discography and, precisely because of its transparent, rhythmic and apparently light character, it allows us…
18 August 2026Beethoven and the Symphony No. 4: The Luminous Work Between Two GiantsSymphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60, by Ludwig van Beethoven, occupies one of the most singular places among his nine symphonies. Composed in 1806, it stands chronologically between two…
17 August 2026Pauline Viardot: A Life at the Heart of Romantic EuropeFew personalities of the nineteenth century allow us to trace the cultural history of Romantic Europe as fully as Pauline Viardot (1821–1910). Her career took her through virtually all the…
17 August 2026Herbert von Karajan (1908–1989) was an Austrian conductor and one of the most celebrated and influential musical…Herbert von Karajan (1908–1989) was an Austrian conductor and one of the most celebrated and influential musical figures of the 20th century. Born in Salzburg, he studied at the Mozarteum…
17 August 2026George Szell: The Conductor Who Transformed the Cleveland OrchestraGeorge Szell (1897–1970) was a Hungarian-born American conductor, pianist and composer, and one of the most distinguished orchestral conductors of the 20th century. Born in Budapest and…
17 August 2026Fritz Reiner, A Great ConductorFritz Reiner (1888–1963) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and one of the most influential orchestral interpreters of the 20th century. Born in Budapest, he studied at the Franz Liszt…
17 August 2026Serge Koussevitzky (1874–1951) was a Russian-born conductor, double bassist and champion of modern music, and one of…Serge Koussevitzky (1874–1951) was a Russian-born conductor, double bassist and champion of modern music, and one of the most influential conductors of the first half of the 20th century.…
17 August 2026Leopold Stokowski (1882–1977) was a British-born conductor and one of the most innovative and charismatic musical…Leopold Stokowski (1882–1977) was a British-born conductor and one of the most innovative and charismatic musical figures of the 20th century. Born in London, he studied at the Royal…
17 August 2026Arturo Toscanini: The ConductorArturo Toscanini (1867–1957) was an Italian conductor and one of the most celebrated and influential conductors of the 20th century. Born in Parma, Italy, he studied cello at the Parma…
17 August 2026Wilhelm Furtwangler (1886–1954) was a German conductor and composer, and one of the most influential and legendary…Wilhelm Furtwangler (1886–1954) was a German conductor and composer, and one of the most influential and legendary conductors of the 20th century. Born in Berlin into a distinguished…17 August 2026Otto Klemperer: A Giant of Orchestral ConductingOtto Klemperer (1885–1973) was a German conductor and composer, and one of the most important interpreters of the 20th century. Born in Breslau, then part of the German Empire, he studied…
17 August 2026Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist and educator, and one of the most…Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist and educator, and one of the most charismatic and influential musical figures of the 20th century. Born in…17 August 2026John Barbirolli, British Conductor and CellistSir John Barbirolli (1899–1970) was a British conductor and cellist, and one of the most admired conductors of the 20th century. Born in London into a musical family of Italian and French…
17 August 2026Sir Thomas Beecham (1879–1961) was a British conductor and impresario, and one of the most charismatic and influential…Sir Thomas Beecham (1879–1961) was a British conductor and impresario, and one of the most charismatic and influential musical figures of the 20th century. Born in St Helens, Lancashire,…
17 August 2026Richard Strauss: Composer and ConductorRichard Strauss (1864–1949) was a German composer and conductor, and one of the most important musical figures of the late Romantic and early modern eras. Born in Munich, he was the son of…
17 August 2026Felix Weingartner, ConductorFelix Weingartner (1863–1942) was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist, and one of the most influential conductors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Zara, Dalmatia,…