Maureen Holland 
In 1897, a few months from death, Johannes Brahms could be found in front of his stove surrounded by pages of personal correspondence and sheet … Read more
It was a music shop at 10 High Street in Worcester: “Elgar Bros. Pianoforte & Music Warehouse.” It was in this shop that young Edward … Read more
Born on September 25, 1906 in St. Petersburg (renamed Petrograd in 1914; renamed Leningrad in 1924), Dmitri Shostakovich lived in an era of vast and … Read more
Johannes and Friedrich Brahms Johannes was the golden child. Two years older than Friedrich, he was quickly marked for greatness by his piano teachers. Wanting … Read more
1) Franz Schubert was born January 31, 1797 and died 31 years later. 2) He was the only one of the great Viennese composers actually … Read more
In The Man Verdi, Frank Walker describes Giuseppe Verdi‘s birthplace as “the merest hamlet”. Born in Le Roncole on October 10, 1813, Giuseppe Verdi was … Read more
According to Richard Traubner in Operetta: A Theatrical History, Isaac Juda Eberst took the name Offenbach from a German city. He gave the name Jakob to … Read more
Psychologist Frances Rauscher had no idea her 1993 research study featuring 36 college students would spawn a craze termed (and copyrighted) “The Mozart Effect.” According … Read more
The first Eisteddfod, according to BBC Wales, was held in 1176 at a castle in Cardigan. Lord Rhys awarded a chair to the best poet … Read more
The Soweto Gospel Choir recorded their first album in December of 2002, after a successful Australian tour. “Voices of Heaven” would reach No. 1 on … Read more
Traveling through the American West in the 1850s was not done for pleasure. The land was vast, the conditions were harsh, and the chances of … Read more
In 2009, a small Toronto club hosted an event featuring several relatively unknown bands ranging from hip hop to punk. But the show didn’t make news … Read more
Most of us will never make it onstage at the Met. Some of us can’t even brave the karaoke spotlight. But no one should shy away … Read more
It’s Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E Minor for me. But for psychologist Psyche Loui, it’s Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2. “It,” of course, being the … Read more
It was, without question, a colossal voice. Whether that meant burly and gruff or raw and intense would depend on the listener. For critic John Ardoin, … Read more