Freya Parr
Digital Editor and Staff Writer, BBC Music Magazine
Freya Parr is BBC Music Magazine's digital editor and staff writer, editing and writing on all styles of music across both the website and print magazine. She has also written for titles including the Guardian, Circus Journal, Frankie and Suitcase Magazine, and runs The Noiseletter, a fortnightly arts and culture publication. Freya's main areas of interest and research lie in 20th-century and contemporary music. She's a regular sea shanty singer, folk obsessive and occasional flautist, pianist, organist and musical theatre director.
Recent articles by Freya Parr
Six irresistible Scottish songs you can't help singing along to
Freya Parr shares her favourite six traditional Scottish songs
Irish folk songs: 7 beautiful Irish songs you can't help singing along to
Self-confessed folk obsessive Freya Parr shares her favourite 7 Irish folk songs
The Godfather music: why was Nino Rota's score disqualified from the 1972 Oscars?
Despite being initially nominated, Nino Rota's score for 'The Godfather' was replaced by John Addison's soundtrack for 'Sleuth'.
Lin-Manuel Miranda: 'Anyone who tells you Sondheim isn’t an influence on them is lying'
As the legendary Hamilton creator makes his directorial debut in the film adaptation of Jonathan Larson's musical tick, tick... BOOM!, he tells us all about the music that has shaped his life and work
Mahler Symphony 5: a guide to this journey from darkness to triumph, and its best recordings
We name the greatest recordings of Mahler's legendary Fifth Symphony
Vienna New Year's Day Concert: the famous concert's dark beginnings
How Clemens Krauss and the Nazis set off a Vienna New Year tradition in 1939
Christmas choral music: 11 transcendentally beautiful works for the festive season
What are the greatest songs and choral works written for the festive period?
Just why are choristers' voices so beautiful? Science has the answer
Why are choir boys and girls' singing voices so tuneful? Scientists explain just what makes choristers' voices so special and distinctive
History of carol singing: when did the much-loved Christmas tradition begin?
The history of carol singing may go back as far as the medieval era, and has appeared in literature for many years, but it was during Victorian times it became really popular
Why did the FBI keep a file on him? And more fascinating facts from Leonard Bernstein's eventful life
From West Side Story to the Berlin Wall, here is a short guide to the main events in the remarkable life of Leonard Bernstein
Bach for beginners: 12 great recordings to unlock the Baroque master's magical music
Pianist George Lepauw introduces us to his essential Bach listening
The best classical music for winter
We select our favourite wintry classical music works to accompany your cold winter evenings
Best school hymns: ten tunes we loved to belt out at school assembly
Presenting ten of the best school hymns that everyone looked forward to – and belted at the top of their lungs
Best of Elgar: seven essential works by the great British composer
We choose the best pieces by the legendary figure of English music, Elgar
Best operas for beginners: seven operas newbies will love
Want to try opera but don't know where to start? Freya Parr shares the best operas for beginners to the form
Best piano concertos of all time: 12 incredible works for piano and orchestra
These are some of the greatest piano concertos - the finest works ever written for piano with orchestra
Hardest classical work to memorise: we asked top musicians to reveal the works that test their grey cells
From Beethoven to Glass, three performers choose the work that they've found hardest to commit to memory
The Lark Ascending: the story of Vaughan Williams's evocative masterpiece, and five great recordings
A guide to The Lark Ascending, Vaughan Williams's much-loved work for violin and orchestra
King Charles discusses his experience of playing the cello 'rather badly' in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
The Prince of Wales joined the poet laureate Simon Armitage on his BBC Radio 4 podcast 'The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed'
Charles and Diana wedding music: what music was performed at the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana?
Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in a ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral in 1981, accompanied by three choirs, three orchestras and a fanfare ensemble
Best wedding music: the ultimate classical music choices for your wedding ceremony
Whether you're getting married in a church or a registry office, everyone needs music. Here are some of the best bridal choruses and pieces of music to be played on the organ or during your ceremony or service
Review: ROBESON (Davóne Tines)
Davóne Tines's powerful tribute to the life and music of Paul Robeson is reviewed by Freya Parr...
Narcissist, adulterer, social climber, frustrated genius... Who was Alma Mahler?
Thwarted as a composer, was Gustav Mahler's wife, Alma Mahler, really a ‘boundless narcissist’? Perhaps a troubled soul lurked beneath...
Chineke!: meet the UK orchestra exposing classical music's diversity problem
Chi-chi Nwanoku's trailblazing orchestra has kickstarted the careers of artists including Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and is providing a platform for brilliant musicians from the black, Asian and ethnically diverse community who aren't getting the performance opportunities they deserve elsewhere