Apple News RSS
Death at the keyboard: a pianist's final, fatal performance at Carnegie Hall
We asked you for the pieces that got you hooked on classical music. Here's what you told us
Back in 2014, we asked BBC Music Magazine readers to tell us about the pieces that first drew them into the wonderful world of classical music. Here are some of the many responses we received...
'Unperformable': the much-loved masterpiece that almost never got off the ground
What happens when a composer writes a work that is simply too difficult for its intended performers? Jeremy Pound takes a look at ten such examples
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
Out now: our May 2025 issue, featuring World War II, the Nazis, Myra Hess, Sibelius and more
Here's your guide to the May 2025 issue of BBC Music Magazine, featuring the music of World War II, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams, Sian Williams and much more
Think you don’t like classical music? These 7 works will change your mind
Violinist James Ehnes selects pieces to play for sceptics who don’t believe they’ll like classical music
Best Beethoven symphony: all nine masterpieces, ranked and rated
Ranking the nine Beethoven symphonies is a somewhat herculean and, of course, a controversial exercise. But here's what we think. What about you?
Darkest nursery rhymes: the eerie truths lurking beneath your favourite childhood songs
From Jack and Jill to Three Blind Mice, many of our best-loved nursery rhymes have some sinister meanings behind their cheerful lyrics. Read on for our guide to the darkest nursery rhymes of all time
‘My fingers were slipping all over the keys’: clarinettist Julian Bliss on his nightmare concert in the rain
The hair was long - and so were the songs. In praise of prog rock, classical music's unruly cousin
What happens when classical music-style levels of ambition, invention and sheer length are grafted onto pop music? The answer, as Meurig Bowen explains, is Prog Rock
Best of Satie: eight perfect introductions to his eccentric, captivating sound world
A selection of the finest – and oddest – pieces by the French composer and eccentric Erik Satie
This cat gets emotional listening to music
Snoop, a beautiful black and white cat, gets surprisingly emotional over classical music—he even looks like he’s shedding a tear while listening to Chopin. Clearly, he's feeling all the feels.
Korngold Symphony in F sharp: a searing account of the misery of life in Nazi Germany
Despite Korngold’s denials, there is much to suggest that his Symphony in F sharp is a grim depiction of the dark days of Nazism, argues Jessica Duchen
George Gershwin wrote some of the 20th century's most joyous music. Here are seven of his best works
What are the greatest pieces of music written by the jazz-influenced classical composer, George Gershwin?
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…