Lera Auerbach: Icarus Context Lera Auerbach was born in 1973 in Chelyabinsk – a city that borders Siberia. Her mother was a piano teacher, so she received lessons from her at a young age. The Auerbach family have a history of being musical, so Lera was naturally a fast learner. Read more…
Dobrinka Tabakova: Whispered Lullaby Context Dobrinka Tabakova was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria to a music-loving family in 1980. At age 11, Tabakova moved to London and has since stayed there. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department, specialising in composition, piano and conducting. From there, Tabakova earned Read more…
Dorothy Ker: A Gentle Infinity Context Dorothy Ker was born in Caterton, New Zealand in 1965. She completed her BMus and MMus degrees at the University of Auckland, where she studied composition with the likes of John Rimmer and Douglas Mews. In terms of her performance, she is known as a Read more…
Cindy McTee: Adagio for String Orchestra Context Cindy McTee was born in 1953 in Washington. Her father played the trumpet and her mother played the clarinet, so from an early age, McTee was involved with music. By age six she was receiving piano lessons, and her teacher at the time encouraged her Read more…
Clara Schumann: Three Romances for Violin & Piano Context Clara Josephine Wieck was born on 13th September 1819 in Leipzig. Her mother was a famous singer in the city at the time. When Clara was five, her parents divorced and she stayed with her father. Friedrich Wieck saw the potential Read more…
Alexandra Pakhmutova: Trumpet Concerto Context Alexandra Pakhmutova was born in 1929 in Russia. She began learning the piano at a very young age and she showed much potential. World War II interrupted her studies, and in 1942 the Pakhmutova family were evacuated to Kazakstan. When the family moved back to Beketovka, Read more…
Cécile Chaminade: Concertino for Flute Context Cécile Chaminade was born in Paris, 1857. At a young age she started playing the piano, with her mother being her first teacher. She then learnt with Félix Le Couppey. As well as learning the piano, Chaminade also took an interest in learning the Read more…