Composers Archive

Beethoven: String Quartets Nos. 3, 5 and 16 The Hagen String quartet has been my favorite chamber music performing group for many years. Their playing is sensitive, accurate, technically flawless, and featuring a sound balance …

Maurice Ravel Composer Maurice Ravel was born on March 7, 1875, in France. Ravel was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire at age 14, and later studied with Gabriel Fauré. Some of his most famous compositions …

The Art of Andrés Segovia, Volume 7 For many, many years during his lifetime, Guitarist Andres Segovia represented the best there is in the performance of guitar music. Let me start with some illustrations from …

Mozart: Music for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Flute In this excellent recording, we hear Claudio Abbado’s players celebrate the wonder of Mozart’s music for wind instruments: Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K622 Alessandro Carbonare (clarinet) …

Let me tell you about performing waltzes: It was Johann Strauss II (the son), who earned that title, because he composed many waltz tunes, operettas, and other music that came to be loved by audiences …