Articles
How different is composing an opera from writing film and television music?
After 20 years composing for film and television, David Buckley reflects on the shift to opera and the unexpected ways his experience of writing for the screen shaped his approach to composing for the stage
Why the 18th-century fortepiano is far more versatile than the concert grand
Play Mozart or CPE Bach on a modern grand piano if you like, says Tom Service, but to hear the music as they wanted it, it’s time to bring on the fortepiano!
The 7 essential works by Edward Elgar – as chosen by British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber
British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber picks the most marvellously memorable works by Edward Elgar
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Manfred Honeck appointed as Philharmonia Orchestra principal conductor
The Austrian conductor takes up the post in 2028, replacing current principal conductor Santtu Matias-Rouvali
The life of a Hollywood session musician is often stressful and rarely credited… but never dull
Violinist Thomas Bowes, veteran of countless movie scores, reveals the secrets of recording a Hollywood soundtrack
How can we stop music from being eroded at our schools and universities?
5 great works written by composers late in life
History's 20 most musical monarchs, ranked (he's up there)
From Henry VIII to Bhumibol Adulyadej, these monarchs didn’t merely patronise music – they played, composed, sang and shaped it
BBC Radio 3 to broadcast from UK lighthouses this September
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari: the brilliant wartime composer who found himself torn between Germany and Italy
George Hall explores a greatly underrated composer who united Italian and German influences in a range of colourful operas
Yuja Wang documentary to be released in cinemas
Exploring the life and career of Chinese-American pianist Yuja Wang, the new documentary will have a limited UK cinema release before being broadcast on Sky Arts
Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez: the Spanish guitar masterpiece and its best recordings
Rob Ainsley basks in the warmth of the Spanish sun as he explores the finest recordings of this iconic piece for guitar and orchestra
From chemical experiments to engine design, these are the most inventive composers
Rebecca Franks explores how some composers moved beyond music to apply their creativity to all sorts of scientific and practical inventions
Here's why lullabies are so good at sending your baby to sleep
Why are lullabies so effective at encouraging babies to sleep? Musicologist and new mother Madeline Castrey investigates
The Brandenburg Concertos: why Bach’s masterpiece was so nearly lost forever
Without a series of calamitous events, JS Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos might never have come to be, explains Clifford Hall
The seismic changes that have rocked the classical music world in the past 50 years
From the barbecue to the pool, these are the portable Bluetooth speakers you must have for summer 2026!
Our audio expert Chris Haslam recommends go-anywhere speakers for top summer listening
The 7 musical masterpieces that fundamentally changed how we think about ourselves
Alexander Shelley explores the pivotal works that reshaped our understanding of humanity
Millions of listeners love the music of Einaudi. They can’t all be wrong
Meandering and often melancholic, the music of Ludovico Einaudi is also extraordinarily popular. So, asks Tom Service, what is its great appeal?
‘The whistles and boos were terrifying… but the show must go on!’: baritone Nicola Alaimo
Roy Harris Third Symphony: the most dazzling evocation of America’s wide-open spaces
Terry Williams is captivated by the American landscape as he enjoys the best recordings of this 1930s orchestral masterpiece
Active speakers: setting up a stereo has never been so simple
We introduce the best active stereo speakers for quick and easy set-up
Richard Rodney Bennett: from high-class jazz to Agatha Christie, one Britain's most talented composers
From youthful atonalism to Oscar-winning filmscores and suavely genial jazz, here was a composer who had it all, says Mervyn Cooke
