Features
News, articles and features from the world of classical music
Hooked on Classics: when classical music went disco (and sold by the bucketload)
In the eighties, Hooked on Classics saw the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra dominate the pop charts and bring classical music to a mainstream audience...
From Ziggy to Camille: rock's 15 wildest alter egos
From psychedelic parodies to gender-bending voices and cartoon bands, rock’s greatest alter egos let artists escape, experiment, and reinvent themselves—sometimes eclipsing their “real” identities entirely
The Beatles are the greatest band of all time. Here's why
As we mark 65 years of The Beatles, Bob Chilcott, composer, former King’s Singer and Fab Four fanatic, explores the band’s many musical influences
Ravi Shankar: the visionary musician George Harrison called 'the Godfather of World Music'
Ravi Shankar's biographer Oliver Craske introduces us to the fascinating musical life of the great sitar virtuoso, composer, father of Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar, teacher of Philip Glass and friend of Yehudi Menuhin
American composers: the US's 20 greatest composers, ranked
From jazz-fuelled symphonies to Hollywood blockbusters, America’s composers reshaped music with fearless invention. Here are 20 trailblazing voices who made the world stop, listen, and marvel
What's new?
Star Wars music: ranking the nine film scores from worst to best
How do all nine Star Wars scores stack up? Here's our ranking of the best and worst Star Wars music
Why these five so-called ‘great’ composers are simply overrated
We invite five of our writers to reveal those whose feted talents leave them seriously underwhelmed
Canadian musicians: Canada's greatest performers of all time, ranked
From folk legends to pop icons, Canada has produced extraordinary talent. Here’s our ranking of the 15 greatest Canadian musicians, celebrating innovation, influence, and timeless artistry.
Purrfect playlist: 10 serene musical works guaranteed to soothe your cat
Discover 10 soothing musical pieces scientifically proven to relax and comfort cats, perfect for creating a peaceful, stress-free environment for your feline friend
How the hell...? Rock's 15 unlikeliest success stories, ranked
Some bands shouldn’t have existed: chaotic line-ups, clueless musicians, or impossible personalities. Yet these 15 acts defied the odds — and changed music forever
Artists
These 11 bands honestly sounded like no one else
From Captain Beefheart’s surreal blues to Can’s hypnotic Krautrock, these 11 bands redefined music, creating sounds that were utterly unique
The night the 1960s died: the Rolling Stones' notorious Altamont debacle
The dream of peace and music ended among rancour, blood, and broken ideals at a hastily arranged rock festival in the burnt-orange dusk of 1969’s final days
Ranked: the 11 greatest rock movies of all time
Rock and cinema collided in unforgettable ways. From Beatlemania to Pink Floyd in Pompeii, these 11 films defined how rock looks and feels
Composers
Ranked: the 15 greatest Latin American composers of all time
From Afro-Cuban rhythms to the tango, Peruvian folklore to Mexican popular song, the distinctive classical music of Latin America and the Spanish Caribbean draws on diverse influences. Janet Crane introduces its composers
Composers who died young: 12 prodigious musical talents who didn't see 40
Many composers have died very young and often, we assume, at the height of their creative powers. Jeremy Pound explores the lives of 12 composers who died before reaching their 40th birthday.
Culture war! When a 1960s critic dared to compare The Beatles to Mahler
Instruments
This is the most expensive piano in the world. Here's why
A guide to the most expensive piano ever sold at auction, and its unique place in cultural history
Rock's most iconic bass guitar vanished in 1969 - and turned up in an attic half a century later
Million-dollar violins stolen from cafes - and more: our guide to some of the most famous stolen musical instruments in history
Why the world’s mightiest pipe organ resides in a Philadelphia department store
In 1911 John Wanamaker decided what his famous department store needed was a pipe organ - and not just any pipe organ, he wanted the biggest in the world
Jazz
Jazz pianists ranked: these are jazz's 15 greatest magicians of the piano
Who are the best jazz pianists of all time? Here, in alphabetical order, are 15 of the greatest ivory tinkers in the history of jazz
From jazz piano in cocktail bars to starring in Wicked: Jeff Goldblum's musical memories
Best jazz saxophonists of all time, ranked - and the albums you need to add to your library now
Who is the best jazz saxophonist of all time? From Johnny Hodges to John Coltrane, we've had a go at ranking the top 15 - and we've recommended an essential album from each
Musical terms
Tritone: the 'devil in music' once thought so dangerous that it was banned outright
For centuries, the tritone - a musical interval spanning three whole tones - has added tension, drama and mystery to music by everyone from Bach to Bernstein
What is a symphony? | Inside the symphony: everything you need to know about one of music's quintessential building blocks
Haydn wrote more than 100. Brahms wrote four, all amazing. Mahler put the whole world into his. All you need to know about the symphony
Musical keys: what they are, and what each one means in music
Composers use musical keys to ‘flavour’ their music in a particular way. But how do keys work their peculiar magic? And what particular mood does each key evoke?
Recordings
The strange tale of The Beach Boys' 'Smile': paranoia, breakdowns, and a haunting lost masterpiece
Brian Wilson’s doomed Smile was meant to outshine Pet Sounds. Instead, it collapsed into paranoia, fragments, and myth — becoming rock’s greatest unfinished masterpiece
Black Sabbath: all 19 of their albums ranked, from worst to best
From genre-defining classics to cult curiosities, we rank all 19 Black Sabbath albums — the highs, lows, and heavy milestones that shaped metal’s dark legacy
These 12 iconic album covers all have stories to tell
From Abbey Road conspiracy theories to Joy Division’s mysterious pulsar lines, here are 11 classic album covers with stories as fascinating as the songs inside
Science of Music
Music can teach us the secrets to a better life. Here’s how
It’s official: playing an instrument is good for your mind and body. But, asks Ariane Todes, what other life skills can musicians teach us?
Hospitals are using music to ease pain and depression in patients. Here's how
It is widely accepted that music can boost mood and wellbeing, but it can also be used in medical settings to ease depression and pain, writes Peter Somerford
How brain cells grown in a lab are allowing a composer to write music... after his death
Tom Service’s mind boggles as he explains how science has enabled an American composer to continue writing music… some four years after his death
TV and Film music
We asked today's best screen composers for the greatest movie score of all time. Here's how they voted
We asked over 60 of today's very best film and television composers to tell us which scores would be in their top five of all time, and they didn't disappoint.
Best movie scores of all time: 20 scores that changed the way we feel movies
Grab the popcorn, dim the lights and settle in for a run through our ranking of the greatest film scores of all time...
Jaws at 50: how John Williams' groundbreaking soundtrack saved Spielberg's cinematic masterpiece from disaster
As Steven Spielberg’s Jaws celebrates its 50th birthday, Charlotte Smith explores the vital role played by John Williams’s famously unsettling soundtrack
Works
Sometimes even great composers write terrible music
Genius doesn’t guarantee you will create a winner every time, writes Richard Morrison
Hatred in classical music: nine works dripping with anger, fury and outrage
How hatred inspired some of our most famous composers and their music
This five-minute classical work will help you achieve 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