Franz Liszt was the greatest piano virtuoso of his time; possibly the greatest of all time! His sensational technique and captivating concert personality turned him into the ultimate rock star of the 19th century. However, this notoriety also created uncertainty,

In his 1912 work for voice and ensemble, Arnold Schoenberg created what has turned out to be one of the most copied small mixed ensemble in 20th century music. The group he put together for Pierrot lunaire, consisted of flute,

Franz Schubert started his composition lessons with the famed Antonio Salieri at the age of 15. Salieri quickly realized that he was looking at an exceptional talent, and he instructed the teenage Schubert free of charge. Salieri gave Schubert a

The composer and tenor Benedikt Schack (1758-1826) was a close friend of Mozart, and he was the first performer of the role of Tamino in The Magic Flute. Schack hailed from the Bohemian provinces of the Austrian Empire, but moved

In his 1921 collection Promenades, Francis Poulenc presents us with an odd world of travel. Rarely performed because of its technical and musical difficulties, Promenades gives us an audio image of travel in early 20th century France. One writer compares

Let’s start this little series on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his circle of friends with a look at the supposed relationship between Mozart and Beethoven. Biographer Otto Jahn related the following anecdote: “Beethoven… was introduced to Mozart, and played to

French Baroque composer François Couperin (1668–1733), who had a career as a composer, harpsichordist, and organist in the French royal court, was born into a famous family of Parisian musicians. He served in the court of Louis XIV as organiste

In his 1889 work known as the Enigma Variations, English composer Edward Elgar depicted his friends and neighbours in music. Although he first gave the movements coded titles, their identities were quickly figured out. In a similar fashion, the French