ON THIS DAY

Today is American conductor, pianist and composer Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas' 74th birthday. A graduate of the University of Southern California, he has served Principal Conducting...

Soviet-born American violin virtuoso Nathan Milstein died on this day in 1992 – aged 88. A protégé of Pyotr Stolyarsky, Leopold Auer and Eugene Ysaye,...

Polish-American pianist Arthur Rubinstein died on this day in 1982 – aged 95. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the...

Today is Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Frank Almond's 55th birthday! A student of Dorothy DeLay, Michael Tseitlin, Felix Galimir and Joseph Silverstein, Mr Almond is...

Jewish-Polish violinist Bronisław Huberman was born on this day in 1882. Dying in 1947, he is remembered as one of the eminent violinists of the...

Today is British cellist Steven Isserlis' 60th birthday. A protege of Daniil Shafran, Steven is widely respected as one of today’s eminent cello virtuosi. An...

French cellist Paul Tortelier died on this day in 1990 – aged 76. Maestro Tortelier is remembered as one of the prominent cellists of the...

Revolutionary French violin pedagogue and composer Lucien Capet died on this day in 1928 – aged 55. He held a long-term teaching position at the...

Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari died on this day in 1737 – 281 years ago. A protégé of Nicolo Amati, it is estimated that Stradivari...

Today is Russian violin pedagogue, Professor Zakhar Bron’s 71st birthday! Widely regarded as one of the most influential violin teachers alive today, he has served Professorships...

Today is violinist, VC Young Artist Timothy Chooi’s 25th birthday! A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, and currently post-graduate student of Catherine Cho...

Soviet violin virtuoso Leonid Kogan died on this day in 1982 - aged just 58. A former 1st prize winner at the Queen Elisabeth International...

Today is cellist, VC Young Artist Brannon Cho’s 24th birthday! A graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, where he studied with Hans Jørgen Jensen, and current Artist Diploma...

Hungarian composer, pedagogue and philosopher Zoltán Kodály was born on this day in 1882 - 136 years ago. Dying in 1967, he is best known...

Today is Dutch violin virtuoso Isabelle van Keulen’s birthday. A graduate of Amsterdam’s Sweelinck Conservatorium, where she studied with Davina van Wely - and later...

Polish violinist Karol Lipiński died on this day in 1861 – aged 71. One of the celebrated virtuosi of the 19th Century, he is the...

French composer Camille Saint-Saëns died on this day in 1921 – 97 years ago, aged 86. Saint-Saens' signature works include The Carnival of the Animals,...

Today is violin virtuoso Ida Haendel’s 90th birthday! A student of Carl Flesch and George Enescu, she is widely respected as one of the preeminent...

Bulgarian violin virtuoso Vasco Abadjiev sadly died on this day in 1978 – aged 52. A recognised child prodigy, he made his international debut aged...

Acclaimed Australian conductor Stuart Challender passed away on this day in 1991, from an AIDS-related illness - aged just 44. A graduate of the Victorian...

Today is South Korean VC Artist Bomsori Kim’s 29th birthday! A graduate of The Juilliard School, where she studied with Sylvia Rosenberg and Ronald Copes, Bomsori...

Austrian-born American violinist Eric Rosenblith was born on this day in 1920 - 98 years ago. A student of Jacques Thibaud, Carl Flesch and Bronisław Huberman, Mr...

Virtuoso Jascha Heifetz died on this day in 1987 – aged 86. A protege of Leopold Auer, he is remembered as arguably the greatest violinist...

Today is Korean-American violin virtuoso Sarah Chang's birthday. A recognised child protégé of Dorothy DeLay and The Juilliard School, Sarah made her professional debut with...

Today is American violin virtuoso Joshua Bell's 51st birthday! A student of legendary Russian pedagogue Josef Gingold, Joshua serves as Music Director of the Academy...

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius was born on this day in 1865 – 153 years ago. Sibelius' signature works include 7 symphonies, Finlandia, the Karelia Suite,...

Today is Lithuanian-born Austrian violin virtuoso and conductor Julian Rachlin’s 44rd birthday. A protégé of Boris Kuschnir and Pinchas Zukerman, he is widely regarded as one...

Romanian-born American violinist Sergiu Luca died on this day in 2010 – 8 years ago. A student of Ivan Galamian, Mr Luca was a founding member of...

Today is Japanese violinist, VC Young Artist Ayana Tsuji’s 21st birthday. A student of Professor Koichiro Harada, at the Tokyo College of Music, Ayana is...

Polish-American violinist Piotr Janowski died on this day in 2008 – aged 57. A student of Ivan Galamian, Zino Francescatti, Henryk Szeryng and Jascha Heifetz, Mr Janowski was a former 1st...

Arnold Schönberg Violin Concerto Op. 36 premiered on this day in 1940. The first performance was given by Ukrainian-born American virtuoso Louis Krasner with The Philadelphia Orchestra...

Today is American cellist David Finckel’s 67th birthday. He served as a long-time member of the famed Emerson String Quartet from 1979 to 2013 - and currently...

German composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann died on this day in 1963 - aged 58. Despite being largely overlooked in many English-speaking countries, he is often...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died on this day in 1791 – aged just 35. Mozart’s exact cause of death is not known, however reports indicate he had...

Czech violinist and composer Jan Kubelik died on this day in 1940 – aged 60. A student of Otakar Sevcik, he is remembered as one of the pre-eminent...

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 premiered on this day in 1881 – 137 years ago. The first performance was given by Russian...

Italian luthier Nicola Amati was born on this day in 1596 – 422 years ago. The grandson of Andrea Amati, the founder of the Amati family of...

Norwegian composer Christian Sinding died on this day in 1941. His signature works include 4 symphonies, an opera, Frühlingsrauschen for piano, 3 violin concertos - and his much-popular...

English conductor Sir John Barbirolli was born on this day in 1899 – 119 years ago. Remembered as one of the finest conductors of the...

American-born Greek soprano Maria Callas was born on this day in 1923 – 95 years ago. Dying in 1977, aged just 53, she is remembered...

Sergei Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor Op. 63 premiered on this day in 1935. The first performance was given by French violin...

Legendary Hungarian-Israeli violin pedagogue Ilona Fehér was born on this day in 1901 – 117 years ago. Remembered as one of the last representatives of the Central European Violin...

Legendary Soviet pedagogue Pyotr Stolyarsky was born on this day in 1871. Mr Stolyarsky is remembered in history as the founder of 'The Odessa School' and 'The...

French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli died on this day in 1997 – aged 89. Mr Grappelli’s lively, elegant style captivated audiences for more than half a century –...

Tchaikovsky's 'Variations on a Rococo Theme' Op. 33 for Cello and Orchestra premiered on this day in 1877. The first performance was given by German virtuoso Wilhelm Fitzenhagen in Moscow...

Austro-Hungarian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold died on this day in 1957 – aged 62. Remembered as one of the founders of film music, he was...

Henryk Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor Op. 22 premiered on this day in 1862. The first performance was given by the composer...

Today is American violinist, VC Young Artist Kevin Zhu’s 18th birthday. A student of Itzhak Perlman and Li Lin at The Juilliard School, Kevin shot to international fame, aged just 11, after claiming...

Today is Russian-born British violin virtuoso Viktoria Mullova’s birthday. A protégé of Soviet legend Leonid Kogan, Ms Mullova is a former Grand Prize winner at...

Robert Schumann’s Violin Concerto in D Minor premiered on this day in 1937 – 80 years after the composer's death. The first performance was given...