Alfredo casella (1883-1947)

When we think of all things Italian, in general terms, what do we think of? And how does that translate into music? As a musician, one might think of the heightened emotions of the Romantic era – spec

Ask if national schools of piano really do exist, and one might be tempted to reply that there are only as many schools as there are pianists. Yet, the idea of a distinctive musical heritage, preserve

Ravel: Ma mère l’Oye; Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy (piano) Harmonia Mundi HMM902752 49:20 mins Those of us lucky, as I was at both their Ragged Music Festival and

Piano Trios; Piano Quintet, Op. 57* *Julia Fischer (violin),*Nils Mönkemeyer (viola); Oliver Schnyder Trio Prospero PROSP0035 76:52 mins Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet explores a bewildering variety of

When you’re speaking to someone devastatingly fluent in four tongues (Italian, German, French and English) the subject of language naturally leads to some curiosity. Especially from a somewhat green-e

Lalo Schifrin (Born 1932) Composer and conductor Even if they don’t know any other of his music, millions of people are instantly familiar with Lalo Schifrin’s most famous eight notes. Spelling out th