Photo gallery: highlights from the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2025
British composers: ranking our 25 greatest composers
We asked 167 top international musicians to vote for the best British composers of all time. Here are the results… Do you agree - and who was voted number one?
'It's simply untrue to say that women lack the stamina to play brass instruments' – trumpeter Imogen Whitehead
Britten Sinfonia principal trumpet player Imogen Whitehead on why we should challenge anti-female stereotypes in brass playing
BBC Music Magazine Awards 2025: winners announced!
Drumroll please... Here are the winners of the 20th annual BBC Music Magazine Awards
This is the world's most famous classical concert. But it had some dark beginnings
How Clemens Krauss and the Nazis set off a Vienna New Year tradition in 1939
Debussy changed music forever. These 12 works prove it
Pianist George Lepauw guides us through the Debussy works he thinks any non-classical music fan would enjoy
It takes work to engage with classical music... But the rewards are huge
These are some of the saddest songs ever written
Our round-up of some of the saddest and most haunting songs in musical history
The contrabassoon: the orchestra’s deepest voice
Meet the contrabassoon: classical music’s deepest voice and unsung hero of the orchestral underworld
Music for studying: 15 great works that will boost your focus and banish distractions
What is the best music to aid a little learning? These are the best pieces of music for studying and keeping you on task and concentrating when the going gets tough and you're feeling easily distracted
Meet the most fascinating figures from classical music
‘My fingers were slipping all over the keys’: clarinettist Julian Bliss on his nightmare concert in the rain
Curtis Institute: inside the American school bringing on tomorrow's greatest musicians
As the Curtis Institute marks its centenary, Charlotte Smith visits the elite Philadelphian music school to discover the secrets of its success
Rostropovich: the virtuoso who redefined the cello forever
Rostropovich was the most influential cellist of any era, a force of nature who inspired many of the 20th century’s greatest works. His former pupil Elizabeth Wilson recalls his extraordinary talent, eventful life and magnetic personality
The great composers
Explore the lives and works of classical music's finest composers
Baroque composers: 11 of the greatest musicians from a dazzling era of music
Just who were the Baroque’s finest exponents? Great names abound, but here are ten of the best Baroque composers who should be on anyone’s list…
Alkan: the lost prodigy who shaped Chopin and Ravel
A performer who became a hermit, Charles-Valentin Alkan wrote the most demanding piano works in history, says Malcolm Hayes
Howard Shore: the film composer behind Hannibal Lecter and Bilbo Baggins
Howard Shore reflects on his years in Middle-earth and tells Michael Beek why he has a lot to thank the LPO for...
Gold medals and sex kittens: 5 times the music of Ravel has been used in popular culture
Greatest Recordings
Our recommendations of essential additions to your listening library
Best albums of all time: 50 magnificent classical recordings you must hear
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
Beethoven piano sonatas: six of the best cycles
We name some of the best recordings of Beethoven's sonatas, peformed by the great and the good of the piano world
The Planets: a world-by-world guide to Holst's cosmic work
We bring you the best recordings of each movement of Holst's The Planets
Death and the Maiden: Schubert's harrowing string quartet and most emotive recordings
Erik Levi picks out the finest recordings of Schubert's Death and the Maiden, a piece in which the Austrian composer plumbs the very depths of despair
Albums of the week
A selection of the best reviewed albums from the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine
Review: Ravel Fragments (Bertrand Chamayou)
In his review, Nicholas Kenyon enjoys Bertrand Chamayou’s vision and gripping performance in a clever tribute to Ravel
Review: Dvořák & Price – Piano Quintets (Takács Quartet)
Takács Quartet and Marc-André Hamelin are on sublime form in contrasting piano quintets by Dvořák and Florence Price, says Jan Smaczny in his review
Review: Attende domine (The Bevan Family Consort)
In her review, Alexandra Wilson finds much to enjoy in this glorious family album of beautiful music for Lent and Passiontide from the brilliant Bevans
Audio equipment reviews and advice
A selection of the best reviewed albums from the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine
These are the best Bluetooth speakers on the market 2025
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
Listening room inspiration: how you can create the ultimate music sanctuary at home
Easy chair, hi-fi, vinyl displays: here's how to furnish your own listening paradise