German pianist Frank Dupree can be described with one word: versatility. He doesn’t think in stereotypes and has experimented with a variety of musical genres and instruments.

“Why isn’t it possible that one person plays a Beethoven Piano Sonata and improvises over a song by Duke Ellington in the same concert? I say it is! It’s all about making music,” said Frank, winner of the 2018 Opus Klassik Award for Piano Concerto Recording of the Year (20th/21st century).

It is the weekend of premieres in New York City. Pulitzer prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe created an immersive visual and musical event, which will premiere Thursday through Saturday with the New York Philharmonic as part of New York Stories: Threads of Our City. On Sunday, ECHOensemble will premiere One after two years of organic, physical research and exploration, which will include dancers and musicians.

French-Canadian pianist Andree-Ann Deschenes specializes in familiarly danceable yet traditionally influenced classical music from Latin American countries. So it makes sense that she would be drawn to Jayme Ovalle, a lesser-known Brazilian composer.

Baritone Holger Falk thinks an authentic artistic expression is always connected to real life. “The work and the transformation I do and have in my ‘real life’ always allow and enforce different artistic possibilities,” he said.

For Russian-American violinist Yevgeny Kutik, family and history play a center role in his life. Arriving at age 5 as a refugee from the USSR, the hardship, work, and success that went along with it continually inspires his work.

“Exploring my cultural heritage and background has compelled me to move in unexpected directions as an artist,” he said.

Flemish composer and musician Wim Henderickx trusts his intuition. It is through this intuition he has become successful at his craft, with releasing albums, collaborating with different musical groups, and creating beautiful works of art. He is also a professor at Royal Conservatoire in Antwerp and at the Conservatoire in Amsterdam.

Despite her young age, success follows accordionist Hanzhi Wang. She is the first accordionist to join the roster of Young Concert Artists in its 57-year history, making her debut in New York this past fall. If that wasn’t enough, the record label Naxos releases its first-ever solo accordion album, Hanzhi’s On the Path to H.C. Andersen.

French Canadian pianist Alexandra Stréliski is inspired by emotions, people, and the experiences she lived. “I cannot make a distinction between that and the way I write,” she said. This is why her work touched many emotions to those her listen to her work, recently via Jean-Marc Vallée’s films Dallas Buyers Club (2013) and Demolition (2016), as well as the trailer of the acclaimed HBO series Big Little Lies (2017).

When you are the nation’s oldest continuing musical organization, you have to celebrate with a bang! This is exactly what the Musical Fund Society is planning to do with a once-in-a-lifetime performance, presented by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society on April 26, 2020 at the Mary Louise Curtis branch of the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia. 

The winners of the first-ever Classical Post Awards have been chosen, in which we have deliberately chosen a mix of both the superstars and the underdogs who have contributed in a “most innovative” way to the art form.

Ukranian pianist Antonii Baryshevski hopes that the one thing his music is remember for is touching souls. His lifelong dream has always been to travel all over the world performing at the highest level, and this pianist is doing just that, with the culmination of his six-year journey with Messaien’s momentous two-hour cycle called Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jésus.

The Jupiter Quartet is a family affair. For more than 15 years, violinist Meg Freivogel has played with her sister, violist Liz Freivogel; her husband, cellist Daniel McDonough; and her good friend, violinist Nelson Lee, as this musical foursome.

The award-winning Emerson Quartet tries to make sure that music feels alive, that in the moment of performance, the group engages with each other and with the audience in the communal experience of these seminal works as well as with new music that has arisen from the great tradition.

SANSARA Artistic Director Tom Herring is struck by the similarities of cooking and music-making, especially when it comes to directing or conducting an ensemble. The need for experimentation and occasional disaster is important in both. Tom isn’t that great at following recipes, with the inevitable veering off course that comes with interesting consequences.

In a blend of reflection and action, Julia Bullock and Co. created a blend of words and voiced for “​A Dream Deferred: Langston Hughes In Song” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The first-ever concert season pops youth orchestra has been created in Cleveland, Ohio, with 50 young musicians forming the Cleveland Pops Youth Orchestra (CPYO). This invention is an educational and performing ensemble under the Cleveland Pops Orchestra founded by Pops Conductor Carl Topilow and President and CEO Shirley Morgenstern.

For Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman, the most wonderful part of being a musician is being able to translate our emotions, thoughts and experiences into sound. Every meeting, every collaboration, every book he reads in one way or another will find its way into the way he performs.

Violinist Anna Williams thinks music is alive and well, especially chamber music. Williams is one-third of Neave Trio along with cellist Mikhail Veselov and pianist Eri Nakamura. “We think music is alive and well, especially chamber music. We think it is our responsibility as musicians to bring this incredible medium to as many people as possible,” she said.

Austrian violinist Yury Revich is a force in the classical music world. Making his Carnegie Hall debut at age 18, in less than a decade he has recorded multiple albums, performed all over the world, spearheaded successful projects, dabbled in other forms of art, and has become a passionate philanthropist. Music is always at the heart of what Yury does.