Beethoven wanted his Ninth Symphony to embrace all humanity, so when Tan Dun set out to compose his own tribute to Beethoven after being commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS), he aimed just

Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater was commissioned by the Warsaw patron of the arts, Dr Bronislaw Krystall, and was meant as a Requiem dedicated to the memory of his prematurely deceased wife. However, after the sudden

In 804 the Japanese Buddhist priest Kūkai, then aged 30, joined the Japanese ambassadorial delegation of four ships going on a perilous voyage to China as he wished to develop his study in philosophy,

As another year rolls towards its close and preparations start to be made for Christmas celebrations, anyone and everyone who sings in a choir knows that this is going to be their busiest singing