Quick Music History Videos
These short music history videos tell the stories behind composers, instruments, and unusual moments from the history of music. They are quick to watch, easy to follow, and designed to give you something interesting in just a minute.
If you’d like to go further, you can explore the full sheet music libraries for your instrument, with thousands of pieces ready to download.
Why Louis Spohr Wrote 4 Clarinet Concertos
Did Handel Steal from Himself?
Mozart Recycled His Oboe Concerto Into a Flute Hit
The Love Story Behind Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique
Paganini, The First Rock Star
Lisztomania
Why Brass Instruments Needed Valves
The Bass Oboe and the Heckelphone
Why the Ophicleide Disappeared
Boléro and the Mystery of Ravel’s Illness
Albinoni’s Adagio Was Probably Not Written by Albinoni
Why is the basset horn in F, while the alto clarinet is in E-flat?
How Billy Strayhorn Wrote Duke Ellington’s Signature Theme
Invention of the Clarinet
Beethoven’s Eroica: Why He Erased Napoleon’s Name
Why Mozart’s Trio Was Misnamed “Kegelstatt”
Why Does the Orchestra Tune to the Oboe?
How Emma Bardac Linked Fauré and Debussy
Shostakovich
Takes a Bet
Why did Johann Quantz Write So Much Flute Music?
Did Bruckner have OCD?
The Casino that ruined Paganini
The Night Beethoven was Arrested
The Hidden Story of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto
