The Symphony No. 5 in E minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was composed between May and August 1888. It was first performed, under Tchaikovsky's own baton, in St Petersburg on November 6, 1888. While composing the symphony, Tchaikovsky constantly…

“We are not a couple in the traditional sense. And that is exactly what is so paradoxical – a musical couple can become even more intimate with one another than a couple in love”. This is how Gidon Kremer describes his long partnership with Martha…

“Aggressive, nasty and violent. That’s us: Estonians.” This is Anu Tali´s warning on her first meeting with the Munich Chamber Orchestra. For her debut, the Estonian conductor has put together a very Baltic programme: Peteris Vasks´ violin concerto…

The story of Caffé Taci, downtown Manhattan: the craziest place in the opera universe, with diamond dealers, losers, up-and-coming singers, opera stars like René Pape, an-85-year-old Russian pianist, aficionados, agents and bohemians. Life is a big…

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony has the character of an appeal. From the very start, the four-note “fate” motif casts a spell on listeners. The German Beethoven expert Wulf Konold illustrates the ingenious variations of this motif on piano…

In their new series EuroArts presents audio-visual concert guides to masterpieces of classical music. The guides allow listeners to experience and enjoy great music from the Baroque to the present day in an entirely new way by offering a combination…

The Concerto for Orchestra by Bela Bartok is one of the most frequently performed works of the twentieth century. The French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez explains how he interpreted this composition with the Berlin Philharmonic. He also…

The life of an orchestra musician is marvelous. Mozart, Schubert and Strauss surround you. All day long you hear beautiful music. What other people pay a lot of money for, you get paid to do. You are gifted, you bring joy into people’s lives…

Debussy’s “La Mer” is a masterpiece of suggestion and subtlety in its rich depiction of the ocean. Several authors have claimed that “La Mer” sounds like nothing before it. As a specialist in French Impressionism, the British pianist and writer Paul…

Robert Schumann’s famous piano concerto is not a traditional virtuoso showpiece but a cooperative venture between the soloist and the orchestra. This new relationship transported the piano concerto into the realm of symphonic music. The German…