Wolfgang Birtel

The Vienna-born Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) felt at home in the coffee houses of his home town where he not only met the cultural elite of his time but also absorbed the entertainment and folk music of...

Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), undoubtedly, is one of the most important and most successful violin virtuosos of the second half of the 19th century and has become immortal through his virtuoso and hi...

Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), undoubtedly, is one of the most important and most successful violin virtuosos of the second half of the 19th century and has become immortal through his virtuoso and hi...

Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), undoubtedly, is one of the most important and most successful violin virtuosos of the second half of the 19th century and has become immortal through his virtuoso and hi...

Stanley Weiner (1925-1951) is mainly remembered as a performer: a solo violinist. His musical career was predetermined for his father served as assistant principal violinist to the Baltimore Symphony...

'Nobody knows the music of the whole world better than Monsieur Saint-Saëns', Claude Debussy praised his fellow composer, and there are only few who left such a comprehensive oeuvre covering all genre...

'Nobody knows the music of the whole world better than Monsieur Saint-Saëns', Claude Debussy praised his fellow composer, and there are only few who left such a comprehensive oeuvre covering all genre...

With this double concerto, the Reger pupil Johanna Senfter (1879-1961) is entirely in the tradition of Antonio Vivaldi and J.S. Bach, although she combines the concerto form with the classical four-mo...

The reputation of the Bohemian composer Zdenek Fibich (1850-1900) has always been somewhat overshadowed by that of Bedrich Smetana and Antonín Dvorák. This is a pity, for Fibich, though he died young,...

The Hindemith pupil Harald Genzmer (1909-2007) worked with virtually all music genres and composed works for many, even unusual instruments (such as the trautonium). He also wrote compositions for the...

The composer, violinist and educationalist Louis Spohr (1784-1859) caused a sensation as a child already: At the age of 5, he took his first violin lessons and at the age of 15 was employed as chamber...

Harald Genzmer has done a lot for the work with young musicians, and many a string player can recall school orchestra days when Sinfonietta was on the programme quite often. But the probably best-know...

The Air by Johann Sebastian Bach at best can rival his setting Jesus bleibet meine Freude for popularity: the final chorus from the cantata BWV 147 Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life is very catchy due...

The Air by Johann Sebastian Bach at best can rival his setting Jesus bleibet meine Freude for popularity: The final chorus from the cantata BWV 147 Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life is really catchy d...

At most, the 'Air' by Johann Sebastian Bach can rival the popularity of his movement 'Jesus bleibet meine Freude': In its simplicity and perfection at the same time, the final chorus from the cantata...