Van Cliburn: The Texan who Conquered Russia

Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 Van Cliburn, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner Release date: 04 Nov 2016, G010003642898N Time magazine hailed him as “The Texan who conquered Russia” and “Horowitz, Liszt and Presley rolled into one”. Praise indeed for the tall, slim, mild mannered yet unknown Van Cliburn who, as an unwitting…

Czerny: Grand Concerto in A minor

The early part of the nineteenth century was a fascinating period in the development of the piano concerto. With the public’s appetite for virtuoso performers, and with composers only too happy to oblige, much of the music was exuberant and high spirited, by turns lyrical and wistful but always written to delight and to show…

Scenes from Childhood

It was during a visit to Maxen Castle in 1846 that Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) had his head examined. He lived in fear of the streak of manic depression that had claimed the life of his elder sister through suicide. However this was no ordinary examination. It was performed by Robert Noel, the famous English…