ON THIS DAY

Austrian-born American conductor Erich Leinsdorf died on this day in 1993 – aged 81. Maestro Leinsdorf served distinguished conducting positions with The Metropolitan Opera, The Cleveland Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, New York...

Legendary German-Bohemian music critic Eduard Hanslick was born on this day in 1825. Notoriously conservative, he was an outspoken opponent of the works of both...

Today is Romanian-born violinist and respected pedagogue Mihaela Martin's 60th birthday! A student of Stefan Gheorghiu, Mihaela is a former major prize winner at the...

Today is American violinist, VC Young Artist Simone Porter’s 23rd birthday! A student of Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School, Simone is a recent recipient of a...

Today is Romanian-born Israeli violinist and pedagogue Miriam Fried's 73rd birthday! A protege of Josef Gingold and Ivan Galamian, Ms Fried is a former 1st prize...

Czech composer Antonín Dvořák was born on this day in 1841. Remembered as arguably one of the most versatile composers of all time, Dvořák's signature works include...

German composer Richard Strauss died on this day in 1949 – aged 85. Strauss’ signature works include operas Der Rosenkavalier and Salome and orchestral masterworks Death and Transfiguration, Till Eulenspiegel’s...

Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti died on this day in 2007. Maestro Pavarotti is remembered as one of the finest tenors of all time. He passed away...

Today is Taiwanese-American violinist, VC Artist Paul Huang’s 29th birthday! A graduate of The Juilliard School, Paul is a former 1st prize winner at the Sion Valais...

American composer, music theorist, writer and artist John Cage was born on this day in 1912. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music and non-standard use...

Hungarian-British conductor Sir Georg Solti died on this day in 1997 – aged 84. Widely respected as one of the finest conductors of all time,...

Hungarian violin virtuoso Joseph Szigeti was born on this day in 1892. A strong advocate of new music, he was the dedicatee of a number...

Today is French violin virtuoso Patrice Fontanarosa’s 77th birthday! A former prize winner at the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Violin Competition, he served as Concertmaster of the Orchestre...

Today is German-American violinist David Garrett’s 39th birthday! A protégé of Ida Haendel and Itzhak Perlman, David, at the age of 13, became the youngest artist in history to...

Hungarian violinist and conductor Tibor Varga died on this day in 2003 – aged 82. A student of Carl Flesch and Jeno Hubay, Maestro Varga is remembered as one of...

Italian Baroque composer and violinist Pietro Locatelli was born on this day in 1695. A student of Arcangelo Corelli, Locatelli's sizeable contribution to the violin repertoire includes...

Today is French cellist Gautier Capuçon's 38th birthday! A protégé of Annie Cochet-Zakine, Philippe Muller and Heinrich Schiff, Gautier today performs regularly as a soloist with...

Czech conductor and violinist Václav Neumann died on this day in 1995. He held principal conducting positions with the Komische Oper Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester and...

Today is Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa’s 84th birthday! One of the greatest conductors of the past Century, Maestro Ozawa has served principal conducting positions with...

French violinist and pedagogue Jacques Thibaud died on this day in 1953, in a plane crash – aged 73. The dedicatee of Ysaye’s 2nd Solo Sonata, his famed...

Today is Belgian-Russian violin virtuoso Vadim Repin’s 48th birthday! A protégé of Zakhar Bron, he is a former 1st prize winner at the Wienaiwski and Queen Elisabeth International Violin...

Today is Israeli-American violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman’s 74th birthday! A protégé of Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, Mr Perlman is widely regarded as one the greatest violinists of the...

Today is Armenian-American violist Kim Kashkashian’s birthday! A student of Karen Tuttle, Ms Kashkashian is a former prize winner at the Lionel Tertis and ARD International Viola Competitions. She currently...

Today is VC Artist Nikita Boriso-Glebsky’s 34th birthday! A graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, Nikita is a former...

Internationally acclaimed Hungarian conductor István Kertész was born on this day in 1929. Remembered as one of the finest conductors of the 20th Century, he served conducting...

Austrian conductor Karl Böhm was born on this day in 1894. Dying in 1981, Maestro Bohm is remembered as one of the greatest symphonic and...

French violinist, composer and pedagogue Jacques Mazas died on this day in 1849. A student of Pierre Baillot, Mazas is remembered in history for his technique-building studies, etudes...

German conductor and pianist Wolfgang Sawallisch was born on this day in 1923. Passing away in 2013, he is remembered as one of the finest conductors of the...

Today is Israeli violin virtuoso Ivry Gitlis’ 97th birthday! A student of Carl Flesch, George Enescu and Jacques Thibaud, Mr Gitlis is widely respsected as one of the pre-eminent violinists...

American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein was born on this day in 1918. Dying in 1990, Maestro Bernstein is remembered as one of the most...

Today is Taiwanese violin virtuoso, VC Artist Yu-Chien Benny Tseng's 25th birthday! A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Aaron Rosand...

Scottish violist William Primrose was born on this day in 1904 – 115 years ago. Dying in 1982, he is remembered as one of the preeminent...

French composer Claude Debussy was born on this day in 1862. He is remembered as one of the most important French composers of all time...

American violin virtuoso Maud Powell was born on this day in 1868. A student of Henry Schradieck, Charles Dancla and Joseph Joachim, she is remembered as one of...

Czech violin virtuoso Váša Příhoda was born on this day in 1900. A Paganini specialist, Mr Prihoda is remembered for his dazzling technique, finesse and beauty of tone. Critics have...

Today is Russian-born violinist, violist and conductor Maxim Vengerov’s 45th birthday! A protégé of Zakhar Bron, Maxim is a former 1st prize winner at the Karol Lipinski and Carl...

Today is Norwegian violin virtuoso Vilde Frang’s 33rd birthday! A graduate of the Barratt Due Institute of Music, Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg and the...

Romanian violinist, composer and conductor George Enescu was born on this day in 1881. Remembered as one of the most influential violin pedagogues of the 20th Century,...

Norwegian violinist and composer Ole Bull died on this day in 1880 – aged 70. Bull is remembered as one of the preeminent virtuosi of the 19th...

Today is British violinist Daniel Hope’s 46th birthday! A student of Zakhar Bron, Daniel served for six seasons with The Beaux Arts Trio – and today performs and...

American violin virtuoso Albert Spalding was born on this day in 1888. He served distinguished teaching positions at Boston University and Florida State University – and is remembered in history for having...

Hungarian violin virtuoso and pedagogue Joseph Joachim died on this day in 1907.  He is remembered as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th Century. Joachim was the dedicatee of...

Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache died on this day in 1996 - aged 82. Maestro Celibidache is remembered as one of the pre-eminent conductors of the...

American violinist Erick Friedman was born on this day in 1939. A student of Ivan Galamian, Nathan Milstein and Jascha Heifetz, he is remembered as one of the most gifted violinists...

French orchestral and operatic conductor Georges Prêtre was born on this day in 1924. Throughout his seven decade career, he led many of the world’s finest...

French composer Jules Massenet died on this day in 1912 – 107 years ago – aged 70. Massenet's signature works include operas Manon, Werther and Esclarmonde. His major contribution...

Czech composer Leoš Janáček died on this day in 1928 – aged 74. Janáček, Dvořák and Smetana are widely regarded as the three most influential Czech composers...

American composer, music theorist, writer and artist John Cage died on this day in 1992 – aged 79. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music and...

Today is American violinist Alexander Kerr’s 49th birthday! A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Alexander currently serves as Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra –...

Legendary Czech conductor Rafael Kubelik died on this day in 1996 - aged 82. The son of Bohemian violin virtuoso Jan Kubelík, Maestro Kubelik served...