Classical Musicians and Reviews

Indian classical music is known for its diverse form of melodic structure and rhythmic improvisation associated with time cycles. This article celebrates the greatest vocalists and instrumentalists in Indian classical music.

Read about what tragedies befell some of our most treasured composers - Purcell, Dvorak, Alban Berg, Weber, Bizet, Arriaga and Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn.

Now a subject very much in vogue due to the Harry Potter books, sorcerers or wizards have been a source of inspiration for many composers. Read interpretations from Dukas, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Delibes, Stravinsky, Purcell, Gilbert and Sullivan, Adolph Adam and Rimsky-Korsakov, and Andrew Thomas.

Priests normally preach through sermons; these talented priests spoke through music. Their lives of prayer served as a wellspring of creativity.

Do you want to play piano like Nodame, but are having trouble finding all the sheet music? Here is a collection of the featured piano music in the anime and live-action drama Nodame Cantabile.

The orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures At An Exhibition" has become one of Ravel's most popular works, yet most people are unaware of the original solo piano version's stark, brooding character, which was unadorned by the trappings of the brilliance of Ravel's indulgent instrumentation.

A few classical music fun facts. Maybe they will spark an interest or maybe they are just a bit of trivia to lighten your moodl

The cornett, cornetto, or zink produces a lovely sound that often resembles the human voice. It has finger holes like a recorder and a mouthpiece like a trumpet. It's popular with early music fans.

The Earth, home to a myriad of flora and fauna and humans who have inhabited every continent of the planet. Read how composers have been inspired by our fascinating globe: Haydn, Mahler, Milhaud, Schönberg, John Luther Adams, Andrew Christie and Austin Fray, George Fenton and Harrison Birtwistle.

Continuing to answer the questions of why the orchestration of "Pictures At An Exhibition," one of Ravel's most popular works, has overshadowed Mussorgsky's monumentally original suite for solo piano and why Ravel does not necessarily do it justice.

Sergei Prokofiev was a major twentieth-century composer who has left us some beautiful music as a legacy. His compositions were often unusual for his time.

Hearing your Symphony #9, I knew I would be connected to you forever. Your abuse, deafness, genius and disappointments along with the need to be loved resonate throughout your music.

In this third part, comparing Ravel's orchestration of "Pictures At An Exhibition" with Mussorgsky's primeval dark, stark piano solo, we examine how Mussorgsky has been eclipsed by conventional instrumentation which isn't necessarily faithful to the original.

Man has found solace in trees, woods and forests since time immemorial. Trees are essential to life on Earth. Read about how composers have been inspired by trees: Schubert, Schumann, Verdi, Liszt, Shostakovich, Saint-Saëns, Johann Strauss II, Respighi, Roussel and Edward McDowell.

It's hardly surprising that composers have written about the devil—according to that well-known phrase he's supposed to get the best tunes. Read about composers who found devilish inspiration: Tartini, Gounod, Mussorgsky, Saint-Saëns, Berlioz, Liszt, Stravinsky, Verdi, Boito and John Field.

Famous Italian Composers of Classical Music - Biographies and videos demonstrate the history of Italian music, and the works of Verdi, Vivaldi, and others.