Sometimes listeners claim that music – and classical music in particular – is above politics. Unfortunately for these people, history proves them wrong. Many of the greatest composers in classical music history were deeply engaged with politics, and their political

The two world wars forever altered the lives of everyone who fought in them…including the great composers. Some found creative inspiration amidst the violence, while others had their careers or even lives cut short by it. But these eight composers

Over the course of his career, bassist and conductor Serge Koussevitzky advocated for hundreds of new works, commissioned some of the most famous of them, helped launch a legendary summer music festival, taught a large percentage of the next generation

I was back in Europe. I was back in Russia. I was back in Japan. I was back in Thailand. The year 2025 marked my return to a life I had grown accustomed to before 2020: being a jetsetter, listening

Today, Frédéric Chopin is best remembered as a composer. But during his lifetime, his primary occupation was piano teacher…and he was very successful at it! In fact, his teaching career subsidised his compositions. Today, we’re looking at ten facts about

Born into scandal as members of musical royalty, Richard Wagner and Cosima Liszt’s three children – Isolde, Eva, and Siegfried – carried not only the Wagner name, but the weight of the entire family legacy. From bitter feuds and courtroom

Over the last few centuries, the history of the piano has been shaped by rivalries between pianists: sometimes friendly, sometimes fierce. Today, we’re looking at some of the most famous rivalries in piano history, dating from the 1780s to the

Some of the most interesting works in classical music history were the result of collaboration, when composers joined forces to create something they couldn’t have made on their own. Today, we’re exploring six of the best composer collaborations in the