Not only are these composers’ musical works an inspiration, but their words are, too! Here are some of the most beautiful insights you’ll read all day.

It’s been a strange, difficult year for the music world, which is all the more reason to celebrate musical excellence.

Astor Piazzolla was born on March 11, 1921. To celebrate the influential Argentinian composer’s centenary, Elbio Barilari explains Piazzolla’s unique legacy and shares a playlist of his most influential music.

From the Chicago Cultural Center, cellist Paula Kosower and collaborative pianist Kuang-Hao Huang present works of Nadia Boulanger, Claude Debussy, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Baldwin’s association with singers Elly Ameling, Jessye Norman, José van Dam, Teresa Berganza, Mady Mesplé, and above all, Gérard Souzay, defines the history of German art song performance in the second half of the twentieth century.

James Conlon’s OREL Foundation documents scores of composers whose lives were taken—directly or indirectly—or otherwise irrevocably altered by the Nazis. Here are four who persisted, creating art in the face of peril.

Here are just a few of our many favorite French composers, from medieval to modern, that might be new to you.