hank Archive

In 1886, when he composed his Violin Sonata, César Franck (1822-1890) was 64 years old and still a fairly obscure figure in the French musical world: a church organist and professor of organ at the …

The premiere of this concert took place on November 28, 1909, with Rachmaninoff as soloist with the New York Symphony Orchestra. Some weeks later, it would be heard in New York again, this time with …

Maurice Ravel originally composed his Pièce en forme de Habanera as a Vocalise etude en forme de Habanera for bass voice and piano in 1907. Ravel took as his model the slow, sultry Spanish dance …

Pianist Elena Fischer-Dieskau is consistently praised by critics and audiences for her intensely captivating stage presence, and she provokes great enthusiasm each time she performs. Elena has appeared at prestigious festivals and concert halls around …

The Octet in F major is the largest of Schubert’s chamber works in instrumentation and duration. He composed it in March 1824 at the same time as he was writing the string quartets Rosamunde D …