Best TV speakers reviewed 2024: revolutionise your TV sound with these speaker systems
Whether you're after a wireless option, a soundbar or something more design-led, we've brought together some of the best TV speakers for all audiophiles available to buy now
Smetana Má Vlast: a guide to the great, patriotic Czech work and its best recordings
Woods, fields and a rolling river beguile Mikel Toms as he names the best recordings of the Czech’s famous fond portrayal of his home patch
Best classical music for beginners: ten great works to inspire a love of classical
New to classical music? Here’s ten works we are sure will get you hooked... Daniel Jaffé counts down ten great classical music pieces for beginners
Salieri: history has him down as music's sorest loser. He deserves better
A certain portrayal in a seminal classical music film has portrayed Salieri as Mozart's deadly rival - and possibly his killer. Is there any truth in this?
Synaesthesia: eight composers who saw sound as colour
From Scriabin to Sibelius, here are eight composers who claimed to see music as colour
Are audiences still biased against works by female composers?
A decade ago, concert venues began to promote more works by women; but, asks Jessica Duchen,
has that trend inspired change in the long term?
Comedy music duo TwoSet Violin announce the end of their partnership
Australian violinists Brett Yang and Eddy Chen will no longer perform as TwoSet Violin after 11 years together
'A beautiful beating heart, even when it was filthy': author Lemony Snicket on his musical inspirations
The author of A Series of Unfortunate Events shares the music that has shaped his life and career
This is the instrument New York doesn't want you to hear
Grammy Award-winning organist Paul Jacobs laments the absence of a pipe organ from America's biggest city
The opera with live sex and body piercing that has audiences vomiting in the aisles
The opera 'Sancta', by the Austrian choreographer Florentina Holzinger, features unsimulated sex, live piercing, and plenty of fake and real blood
Meet the most fascinating figures from classical music
Curtis Institute of Music: the American music school that creates the world's top performers
As the Curtis Institute marks its centenary, Charlotte Smith visits the elite Philadelphian music school to discover the secrets of its success
Joseph Emidy: Britain's first black composer, who travelled from kidnap and slavery to violin superstardom
Gayle Wood tells the remarkable story of the African-born violinist and composer Joseph Emidy, whose musical talent led to kidnap, life at sea and, finally, acclaim
JoAnn Falletta: the trailblazing American conductor who shattered the glass ceiling
As the US conductor marks 25 years as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, she speaks to Clive Paget about being a female trailblazer and the mentors who supported her
The great composers
Explore the lives and works of classical music's finest composers
Ralph Vaughan Williams: folk music, the English countryside, and moments of transcendent beauty
Terry Blain explores the life, times and works of Ralph Vaughan Williams - the grand old man of British music
'It's given me a laser focus' - theatre composer Adrian Sutton on his terminal diagnosis
Facing a terminal illness has given award-winning theatre composer Adrian Sutton a sharp new impetus, he tells Michael Beek
Sibelius had a drink problem. Then he went under the surgeon's knife
May 1908: Jean Sibelius’s dissolute lifestyle leads to an urgent appointment with the surgeon’s knife
Haydn marriage: why the composer's union with Maria Anna Keller was doomed from the start
Joseph Haydn and Maria Anna Keller tied the knot in 1760, though it would prove anything but happy ever after
Greatest Recordings
Our recommendations of essential additions to your listening library
These are the 50 greatest recordings of all time. How many are in your collection?
Our round-up of the best must-have performances of classical music. Update your collection with the great symphonies, choral works, operas, chamber and instrumental works
Vivaldi Four Seasons: five of the greatest recordings of all time (and, just for fun, three wild cards)
These four revolutionary violin concertos remain Vivaldi's most-loved works. Lucy Chaudhuri rounds up the best recordings of The Four Seasons to date, and adds in three wild cards for good measure
Appalachian Spring: Aaron Copland's masterful evocation of America's wide open spaces
The 1940s ballet Appalachian Spring has become one of Copland’s most popular works. And its true American spirit has inspired many great recordings, finds Anthony Burton
Ludovico Einaudi, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Max Richter: 18 definitive ambient classical albums you should hear
The best post-classical albums and modern masterpieces to inspire and move you
Albums of the week
A selection of the best reviewed albums from the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine
Brett Dean: Rooms of Elsinore
There’s a bit of everything in this superb Hamlet-inspired selection box, says Christopher Dingle in his review
Anna Clyne: Shorthand
This evocative retrospective is an all-star survey of the Anna Clyne’s string works and features a host of memorable moments, says Jo Talbot in her review
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (Tonhalle/Järvi)
Michael Jameson is blown away by this towering performance of Bruckner’s Ninth from Paavo Järvi’s peerless Tonhalle orchestra, captured in a glorious recording
Audio equipment reviews and advice
A selection of the best reviewed albums from the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine
Would you spend a million pounds on a hi-fi? What if it sounds like nothing you've ever experienced?
Our audio expert Chris Haslam spends a few enjoyable hours in the company of some of the most eye-wateringly capable (and expensive) hi-fi technology out there
The best bluetooth speakers to take on your travels
Which are the best speakers to take on holiday with you? Here's our handy guide to battery life, connectivity, waterproof ratings and a whole lot more...
These are the best hi-fi systems for your money right now
An all-in-one hi-fi system is a good option if you don't want a separate amplifier, speakers and CD player. Here are some of the best hi-fi systems on the market today