ON THIS DAY

New York-based luthier René A. Morel died on this day in 2011, following an ongoing battle with cancer – aged 79. Highly respected by leading international string...

Today is Argentine-Israeli piano virtuoso and conductor Daniel Barenboim’s 77th birthday. Maestro Barenboim is widely regarded as one of the foremost musicians of the 20th...

Hungarian conductor Fritz Reiner died on this day in 1963 – aged 74. Widely regarded as one of the finest conductors of the 20th Century, Maestro Reiner...

Russian violinist Toscha Seidel died on this day in 1962 – aged 62. A protégé of Leopold Auer, Mr Seidel is remembered as one of...

American composer Aaron Copland was born on this day in 1900. Dying in 1990, his signature works include ‘Appalachian Spring’, ‘Billy the Kid’, ‘Rodeo’ and...

Today is German-Japanese concert violinist Arabella Steinbacher’s birthday! A student of Ana Chumachenco, Dorothy DeLay and Anne-Sophie Mutter, Arabella is a former 1st prize winner at the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition, Hannover. She...

Soviet violinist Leonid Kogan was born on this day in 1924. Dying in 1982, aged just 58 from a heart attack, he is remembered as one...

Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto in B Minor Op. 61 premiered on this day in 1910. The first performance was given by Fritz Kreisler - with...

Austrian-born American violinist and pedagogue, Felix Galimir died on this day in 1999 – aged 89. A student of Adolf Bak, Simon Pullman and Carl...

Today is British violinist, VC Artist Jennifer Pike’s 30th birthday! A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama & the University of Oxford,...

Today is American violinist, VC Young Artist William Hagen’s 27th birthday! A graduate of the Colburn School and the Kronberg Academy, where he studied with Robert...

Brahms' Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major Op. 78 premiered on this day in 1879 - in Bonn. A much loved standard in today's...

Soviet violin virtuoso Boris Goldstein died on this day in 1987 – aged 65. A former prize winner at the Wieniawski and Queen Elisabeth International...

Polish violinist Josef Hassid died on this day in 1950 – aged just 26. Battling schizophrenia for much of his adult life, Mr Hassid...

Russian violin virtuoso Julian Sitkovetsky was born on this day in 1925. Dying aged just 32 from lung cancer, David Oistrakh once suggested that had...

Scottish-born violin virtuoso Henri Temianka died on this day in 1992 – aged 85. A student of Jules Boucherit and Carl Flesch, he was...

Today is Romanian-born violinist, VC Young Artist Ioana Cristina Goicea's 27th birthday! A former major prizewinner at the Brahms, Postacchini, Valsesia Musica, Fritz Kreisler and...

American composer Elliott Carter died on this day in 2012 – aged 103. A two time Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr Carter's contributions to the string repertoire...

Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings premiered on this day in 1938. The first performance was conducted by Arturo Toscanini with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The highly-emotive masterwork...

French composer Gabriel Fauré died on this day in 1924 – aged 79. He is remembered as one of the most prominent French composers of...

German composer Felix Mendelssohn died on this day in 1847. Mendelssohn's signature works include his overture and incidental music from A Midsummer Night's Dream, his Italian and...

György Ligeti Violin Concerto premiered on this day in 1990. The first performance was given by German-Bulgarian virtuoso, Saschko Gawriloff. The 5 movement work, representative of the composer's...

Legendary Greek-American conductor, pianist and composer Dimitri Mitropoulos died on this day in 1960 – aged 64. He is remembered as one of the most celebrated conductors...

Karol Szymanowski Violin Concerto No. 1 premiered on this day in 1922. The first performance was given by Polish virtuoso Józef Ozimiński - in Warsaw. Extremely...

Jewish-Austrian violin virtuoso Erika Morini died on this day in 1995 – aged 91. A protege of Otakar Ševčík, Ms Morini is remembered as one...

Today is Russian-born Israeli violinist Shlomo Mintz's 62nd birthday. A prodigy of Ilona Fehér and Dorothy DeLay, he made his solo debut with the Israel Philharmonic...

Today is Greek violin virtuoso Leonidas Kavakos' 52nd birthday. A former 1st prize winner at Sibelius, Naumburg and Paganini International Violin Competitions, he is widely respected...

Dmitri Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor Op. 99 premiered on this day in 1955. The first performance was given by David Oistrakh...

Today is Armenian-American violinist and pedagogue Ida Kavafian's birthday. A student of Oscar Shumsky and Ivan Galamian, Ida currently serves distinguished teaching positions on faculty at...

Russian-born American violinist and teacher Josef Gingold was born on this day in 1909. A student of Vladimir Graffman and Eugène Ysaÿe, Mr Gingold...

French violin virtuoso Ginette Neveu died on this day in 1949 – aged just 30. A student of Jules Boucherit, George Enescu and Carl Flesch,...

Today is Austrian violinist and pedagogue Boris Kuschnir's 71st birthday. A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, Professor Kuschnir currently holds teaching positions at the Konservatorium...

Today is Chinese violin virtuoso, VC Artist Angelo Xiang Yu’s 29th birthday! A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, Angelo is a former prize...

Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor Op. 85 premiered on this day in 1919. The first performance was given by Felix Salmond - with...

Legendary Polish-born violinist Michel Schwalbé was born on this day in 1919. A student of Moritz Frenkel, George Enescu and Jules Boucherit, he served...

Italian violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini was born on this day in 1782. Dying in 1840, Paganini is remembered as one of the most celebrated...

Italian violin virtuoso and composer Camillo Sivori was born on this day in 1815. He is remembered in history as Paganini's only student.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuV4E_06B28&showinfo=0&autohide=1 MAURO TORTORELLI &...

Today is Japanese-born American violin virtuoso Midori’s birthday. A recognized child prodigy, she made her professional solo debut with the New York Philharmonic aged just...

Legendary Soviet violin virtuoso David Oistrakh died on this day in 1974 – aged 66. He is widely celebrated as one of the preeminent violinists...

Igor Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto in D premiered on this day in 1931. The first performance was given by Samuel Dushkin - with Stravinsky conducting the...

American violinist, conductor and pedagogue Paul Zukofsky was born on this day in 1943. A graduate of The Juilliard School, where he studied with Ivan...

German composer and violinist Louis Spohr died on this day in 1859. Spohr's works include 9 symphonies, 10 operas and 15 violin concerti. He is also...

Spanish cellist Pablo Casals died on this day in 1973 – aged 96. He is remembered as one of the distinguished cello virtuosi of...

Hungarian-British conductor Sir Georg Solti was born on this day in 1912. Maestro Solti is remembered as one of the finest conductors of all time. He served as...

Today is American-Canadian violin virtuoso Leila Josefowicz's birthday! A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Leila began her international career performing with the...

Italian-born British violin virtuoso Alfredo Campoli was born on this day in 1906. He is remembered as one of the finest violinists of the 20th Century –...

Jean Sibelius' Violin Concerto in D Minor Op. 47 premiered on this day in 1905. The first performance was given by Czech violinist Karel Halíř...

Legendary British cellist Jacqueline du Pre died on this day in 1987 from Multiple Sclerosis – aged 42. Despite being forced to retire from the...

Sergei Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major premiered on this day in 1923. The first performance was given by violinist Marcel Darrieux with...

Johannes Brahms’ Double Concerto in A Minor Op. 102 for violin, cello and orchestra premiered on this day in 1887. The first performance was given...