Rebecca Franks
Recent articles by Rebecca Franks
How the pains of love have found their way into these heart-wrenching pieces of classical music
From 12th-century troubadours to glitzy modern-day tenors, love is a timeless theme explored in western classical music. But sometimes it's not always pretty...
Autism, ADHD, hyperactivity, depression? Today's psychologists analyse Mozart's brilliant mind
Using today’s psychoanalytic methods, what can we learn, asks Rebecca Franks, about the mind of Mozart, perhaps the greatest musical genius of all?
Bonbons, candied fruits and royal jelly... 5 notoriously sweet-toothed composers
Would you go for a delicate Marjolaine or a hearty game pie? Bakewell tart or savoury fougasse? We find out which composers had a taste for sugary treats…
Honestly, it's never too late. These seven composers hit a brilliant creative peak in middle or old age
Who were the composers who produced their masterpieces in later life? Rebecca Franks finds out
Review: An Atlas of Deep Time (John Luther Adams)
In her review, Rebecca Franks is awed by John Luther Adams’s immersive new work with Earth’s timeline at its heart
Music can help tackle multiple sclerosis - here are the scientific benefits
Music’s ability to reduce stress, stimulate nerves and ‘rewire’ the brain can help to manage the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, writes Rebecca Franks
Gaspard de la nuit: inside Ravel’s famously haunting piano cycle
Rebecca Franks explores the twilight world of Ravel’s haunting and nightmarish cycle, Gaspard de la nuit, and finds the best recording of this virtuosic work
C Schumann • R Schumann: Works for Oboe and Piano
Rebecca Franks finds much to enjoy in this eloquent programme of sublime Schumann for oboe and piano from Nicholas Daniel and Julius Drake
Penniless composers: 15 musical giants who wrestled with poverty
Which composers all too often felt the pinch? From Mozart to Sibelius, here are 15 musical greats who suffered financial woes
Beach: Piano Works (Une prodige empêchée)
Rebecca Franks enjoys the poetry and virtuosity on show in this sparkling portrait of composer Amy Beach, in this review
Ranked: the monumental, deeply spiritual symphonies of Anton Bruckner
Rebecca Franks shares her personal ranking of all nine masterpieces by the great Austrian composer, Bruckner
Classical music inspired by night - from peaceful moonlit evenings to witching hour nightmares
Composers over the centuries have been inspired by the after hours... Rebecca Franks takes us on a musical journey from dusk till dawn
Best of Debussy: nine of the most inspirational works by the trailblazing French composer
His impact on the post-Romantic music landscape cannot be overstated. Here, nine performers choose their favourite works by the French master of atmosphere, Claude Debussy
Philip Glass Piano Etudes - a pleasurable way to improve your piano technique
Rebecca Franks studies closely as she listens to the finest recordings of 20 pieces that offer much more than their dry didactic title suggests
All nine Vaughan Williams symphonies, ranked
Rebecca Franks shares her personal ranking of all nine masterpieces by the great British composer
The visionary French composer who risked the guillotine, went on a secret mission and was kidnapped
Hélène de Montgeroult risked the guillotine during the French Revolution – but there’s far more to this talented composer than her remarkable survival, as pianist Clare Hammond tells Rebecca Franks
Eleanor Alberga: Strata
How 'Little Women' author Louisa May Alcott was immortalised in Charles Ives's Concord Sonata
The great American author Louisa May Alcott is evocatively depicted in Charles Ives' Concord Sonata
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony: the iconic work that begins with Fate's hammer blows - and never looks back
The story of Beethoven's majestic Fifth symphony, renowned for its famous four-note opening
Meet the breakdancing countertenor and cover model who has graced the world's biggest opera stages
Star countertenor, breakdancer and model Jakub Józef Orliński enjoys a challenge – and he’s now applying his boundless commitment and energy to the role of artistic director on his new recording of Gluck’s Orfeo, as he tells Rebecca Franks
The best music for meditation and mindfulness
Here are a selection of pieces, from Hildegard von Bingen to Debussy, that will aid your serenity and mindfulness and put you in the perfect zone for meditation
Who is Jamie Barton? A guide to the captivating mezzo-soprano who returns to this year's BBC Proms
Meet the American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos 6-8
How many symphonies did Beethoven write?
An introduction to the 19th-century composer Beethoven's great orchestral symphonies - and some other great composers who managed the same tally