Otd, 11 October 1830, Chopin gave a triumphant farewell concert in Warsaw before leaving Poland to pursue his career abroad. He was just 20, and the centrepiece was his new Piano Concerto in E minor, now known as No 1. (Confusingly, it was the 2nd concerto he had written, but 1st to be published.)

Giuseppe Verdi was born otd, 10 October 1813 (or possibly 9 October - the baptismal resister is unclear.) He developed his musical skills early, taking on a paid role as church organist at the age of eight and composing profusely throughout his teens.

Camille Saint-Saëns was born otd, 9 October 1835, in Paris. He was one of those phenomenally gifted people who seemed able to do almost everything. A musical child prodigy, he became a composer, pianist, organist, conductor, teacher and writer, with interests extending well beyond music.

There are still a few places left for my online class on Britten’s War Requiem on Nov 4th. This event is for anyone - you don’t need to know the piece, or read music, or be a Britten expert. Just someone who’d like to discover something new or go deeper with one of the 20thC’s great masterpieces

Tōru Takemitsu was born otd, 8 October 1930, in Tokyo. He was largely self-taught and became one of Japan’s most important composers of contemporary classical music, writing both concert pieces and film scores.

Hubert Parry died otd, 7 Oct 1918. He was Prof of Composition and later, Director of the Royal College of Music where his students included Vaughan Williams & Holst. In addition, Elgar - who was largely self-taught - relied heavily on Parry’s articles in Grove’s Dictionary to acquire his craft.

Otd, 6 Oct 1802, Beethoven wrote one of the most famous documents in musical history: the Heiligenstadt Testament. He was 31, increasingly deaf, and in despair about what the future held. He wrote to his brothers of his isolation, his humiliation and his fear that his hearing might never improve.

On this day, 5 October 1938, Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music was performed for the first time at the Royal Albert Hall. It was written to celebrate Sir Henry Wood’s 50th anniversary as a conductor.

On this day, 4 Oct 1885, Bruckner’s revised version of his Mass in E minor was performed for the first time in Linz. If you know anything about Bruckner, you’ll know revisions are a big deal. The “Bruckner problem” lies in discerning what’s the final version that he wanted preserved & performed.

Steve Reich was born otd, 3 October 1936 - he turns 90 today. What a remarkable artist he is. He is one of the most influential American composers of the last 60 years, and I struggled to choose just one work. In the end, I have decided to share Different Trains - one of his most important works.

Max Bruch died otd, 2 October 1920, aged 82. He’s probably remembered best for his First Violin Concerto, but a close second might be Kol Nidrei, written in 1880, which is one of my favourites.

Paul Dukas was born otd, 1 October 1865, in Paris. As a composer, his surviving output is rather small – he was notoriously self-critical and destroyed a number of his scores. His most famous piece, by a country mile, is The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Virgil Thomson died otd, 30 September 1989. He was a composer and music critic, rarely short of a bon mot, and not infrequently, the source of a barbed criticism.

On this day, 29 September 1789, Mozart finished writing his Clarinet Quintet in A major. He wrote the piece for his friend, the virtuoso Anton Stadler, who would also be the inspiration for the clarinet concerto a couple of years later.

I’ve been spending rather a lot of time with Britten’s War Requiem recently, as I’m preparing my November class on the work. The more I listen to it, the more I’m excited to share it with others.

Gerald Finzi died otd, 27 September 1956. He was one of the most distinctive English composers of the mid 20thC, partic known for his settings of English poetry. He spent much of his life in the countryside, and had an impt role in cultivating and preserving a huge variety of English apple trees.

George Gershwin was born otd, 26 September 1898, in New York. His parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants. George showed an early talent for the piano and by his early twenties he was already making a name for himself as a songwriter and pianist.

Jean-Philippe Rameau was born otd, 25 September 1683 and became one of the most important composers of the 18th century. Known today above all for his operas, he only came to the genre in his fifties, having previously established a reputation as a music theorist.

Andrzej Panufnik was born otd, 24 September 1914, in Warsaw. He studied music in Warsaw, Vienna and Paris and became one of Poland’s leading composers. His career was disrupted by the Second World War when he returned to Warsaw, but he continued composing despite the German occupation.

Vincenzo Bellini died otd, 23 September 1835, just short of his 34th birthday. He came from a musical family in Sicily and showed an early aptitude for music.

Roger Quilter died on 21 September 1953, in London. He was one of the leading English composers of art song in the early 20th century, writing more than a hundred songs.

Gustav Holst was born otd, 21 September 1874. He came from a musical family and studied composition at the Royal College of Music, where he developed a lifelong friendship with Ralph Vaughan Williams.

In November I’m running a special class on Britten’s War Requiem. It’s 50 years since Britten’s death so I’m marking that, and trying to land as near to Remembrance Sunday as my diary allows. It’s one of the most powerful musical and political statements of the twentieth century.

Looking forward to this morning’s on-line Music Appreciation class on Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto. He wrote it in 1957 for his 19-year-old son Maxim’s graduation at the end of his piano studies at Moscow Conservatoire.

Francesca Caccini was born otd, 18 September 1587, in Florence. She came from an impressively musical family: her father Giulio was a composer and singer, her mother was a singer, and her younger sister Settimia also became a composer and performer.

Hildegard of Bingen died otd, 17 September 1179. She was a remarkable woman living in a world in which women had very limited access to education or opportunity of any sort. Enclosed in a monastery from the age of eight, she eventually became an abbess - and a highly influential one at that.

Nadia Boulanger was born otd, 16 September 1887, in Paris. She entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 9, and went on to become a composer, pianist, organist and conductor. But it was as an international teacher that she had her greatest influence.

Louise Farrenc died otd, 15 September 1875, in Paris. She was a composer, pianist, teacher and editor and for 30 years she was Professor of Piano at the Paris Conservatoire.

Luigi Cherubini was born in September 1760, in Florence. He moved to Paris in the late 1780s and became one of the most respected composers in France.

Clara Schumann was born otd, 13 September 1819, in Leipzig. She was one of the great pianists of the nineteenth century, as well as a composer, although her composing gradually became less central to her life as her responsibilities as a wife and mother grew.