A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯, and G♯. Its key signature has three sharps.

Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only key where a Neapolitan sixth chord on Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \hat2

In the treble, alto, and bass clefs, the G♯ in the key signature is placed higher than C♯. However, in the tenor clef, it would require a ledger line and so G♯ is placed lower than C♯.

Although not as rare in the symphonic literature as sharper keys, examples of symphonies in A major are not as numerous as for D major or G major. Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 comprise a nearly complete list of symphonies in this key in the Romantic era. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Clarinet Quintet are both in A major, and generally Mozart was more likely to use clarinets in A major than in any other key besides E-flat major.

Aldo Ciccolini (Italian pronunciation: [ˈaldo tʃikkoˈlini]) (born 15 August 1925), is an Italian-French pianist.

Aldo Ciccolini was born in Naples. His father, who bore the title of Marquis of Macerara, worked as a typographer. He took his first lessons with Maria Vigliarolo d'Ovidio, and entered Naples Conservatory in 1934 at the age of 9, by special permission of the director, Francesco Cilea. There he studied piano with Paolo Denza, a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni, and harmony and counterpoint with Achile Longo.

He began his performing career playing at the Teatro San Carlo at the age of 16. However, by 1946 he was reduced to playing in bars to support his family. In 1949, he won the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris (among the other prizewinners were Paul Badura-Skoda and Pierre Barbizet). He became a French citizen in 1969 and taught at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1970 to 1988, where his students included Akiko Ebi, Géry Moutier, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Artur Pizarro, Nicholas Angelich and André Sayasov. Among his students at the Biella L.Perosi International Academy were Roberto Cominati, Andrea Padova, Filippo Faes, Francesco Libetta and Angela Annese.

Daniil Trifonov (Russian: Даниил Трифонов, born March 5, 1991 in Nizhny Novgorod) is a Russian concert pianist.

Trifonov is a top prize winner of several major international piano competitions, including the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, and the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. At the age of 21, he is quickly emerging as one of the most outstanding pianists of his generation, having the potential to build a major international performing career.

At 17, he won Fifth Prize at the 4th International Scriabin Competition in Moscow, and the first prize at the 3rd International Piano Competition of San Marino,where he also received the Special Prize for the best performance of Chick Corea’s composition.

In 2010, Trifonov became a medalist of the distinguished XVI International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, where he won Third Prize and the Special Prize of Polish Radio for the best mazurkas performance.

In 2011, Trifonov won the First Prize at the 13th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel-Aviv, winning also the Pnina Salzman Prize for the Best Performer of a Chopin piece, the Prize for the Best Performer of Chamber Music and the Audience Favorite Prize .

David Fray (born May 24, 1981) is a French classical pianist. Voted "Newcomer of the Year 2008" by the BBC Music Magazine, Fray has gained attention for his musical interpretation as well as his eccentricities in performance and rehearsal, which were highlighted in the 2008 ARTE documentary about him titled "Swing, Sing and Think".

David Fray was born in Tarbes, near the Pyrenees. Both his parents are teachers, his father's subject being philosophy and his mother's German.

Fray entered the classical music world after receiving the Second Grand Prize at the Montreal International Music Competition in 2004. After this acclaim he released "Schubert, Liszt", a CD compilation of works by the two composers, on the ATMA Classique label. More recently, he has done video recordings of piano concertos by J.S. Bach with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, as well as Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy during the Festival of La Roque d'Anthérnon. In 2008 he released a second CD, "Bach / Boulez Piano Recital", which was another compilation of two composers from separate musical periods. He has performed with many established conductors such as John Axelrod, Kurt Masur, Jaap van Zweden and Christoph Eschenbach.

Sharon Kam (born 11 August 1971 in Israel) is a classically trained clarinetist. Notably, she won the ARD International Music Competition in 1992.; in 1991 she was also nominated for the Davidoff Prize.

Kam was the pupil of Eli Eban and Chaim Taub. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, where she studied with Charles Neidich. She made her orchestral debut at the age of 16 with Israel Philharmonic and conductor Zubin Mehta, later performed with such orchestras as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. In 1998 she was awarded the German Echo Klassik "Instrumentalist of the Year" award for her recording of Carl Maria von Weber's clarinet concertos. She premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 2003, and returned in 2005 and 2006. She lives in Germany with her husband, the conductor Gregor Bühl.