Works
Eleven incredible pieces of music written by teenagers
From Schubert to Shostakovich, these stunning works prove youth is no barrier to genius—prepare to be astonished
Struggling to sleep? Try these 11 dreamlike melodies
We guide you through the pieces of music that will help relax the mind, calm the nerves and send you off to sleep
Musicians told us their dream and nightmare works to perform. And one composer comes up A LOT
Which works do orchestral players love to play? And which do they dread? We head round the sections of some of Europe’s finest ensembles to find out
Best of Tchaikovsky: 11 thrilling masterpieces by Russia's greatest composer
Romeo and Juliet, the Nutcracker, the Pathétique... Tchaikovsky's repertoire is stuffed full of melodic and emotional masterpieces. Here are 11 of the greatest
7 fabulously fantastical pieces inspired by ancient mythology
Operatic director Thomas Guthrie selects the best examples of music inspired by ancient mythology
Feeling stressed? These 10 beautiful classical pieces are guaranteed to bring calm to your day
The BBC Music team and reviewers on the music they turn to for a sense of calm
A ghostly commission: the dark legend of Mozart’s Requiem
Mozart’s Requiem is shrouded in mystery. Unfinished, ghostwritten, commissioned in secrecy, it remains hauntingly powerful and endlessly debated
Music's greatest goodbye: the story of Beethoven's sublime Late Quartets
Though deaf and in declining health, the ageing Beethoven remained inventive to the end, as his astonishing late quartets prove
Best violin concertos: the 21 greatest works ever composed for violin and orchestra
Here is our selection of the greatest pieces ever written for violin and orchestra. Do you agree?
The best symphonies of all time: 21 immortal orchestral masterpieces
Which is the best-ever symphony? 151 of the world's leading conductors voted for what they thought to be the greatest symphonies ever written
Should Period orchestras play Beethoven?
Pink Floyd: all 15 albums ranked, from worst to best
From psychedelic beginnings to stadium-filling epics, we rank all 15 Pink Floyd studio albums—icons, oddities, and everything in between
Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem: a prayer for peace as the Nazi shadow loomed
Rebecca Franks explores a composer’s choral plea for peace, written
as the dark cloud of fascism moved ominously over a nervous Europe
'So much rage': classical music's seven angriest works
Conductor Domingo Hindoyan nominates the best musical depictions of anger and frustration
The Romantic masterpiece ‘rediscovered’ via Ouija board – then seized by the Nazis
Jessica Duchen tells the extraordinary story of how a message from beyond the grave led to a race to resurrect and perform an important 19th-century work
Where Sorrow Sings: the 15 greatest blues songs of all time, ranked
From Blind Willie Johnson to Howlin' Wolf and beyond, Paul McGuinness explores the best blues songs of all time
The 7 most gleefully ghoulish pieces about death and the afterlife
Pianist Yevgeny Sudbin chooses his favourite pieces inspired by death and spirituality
Debussy Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune: the work that tore up the orchestral rulebook
We tell the story of Debussy's sensuous work, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, which heralded a radical new chapter in orchestral writing
Ranked: opera's 15 greatest arias
From Mozart to Gershwin via Puccini and Delibes, we run through 15 of the best loved arias from 400 years of opera
Revealed: the Beethoven symphony that makes you feel good to be alive
Terry Williams explores the best recordings of a symphony that shows the perky sense of humour lurking within its curmudgeonly composer
The strange paintings that inspired a piano masterpiece
It was a series of atmospheric paintings by a much-missed friend that got Mussorgsky going on his superbly evocative Pictures at an Exhibition
Drama, power, passion: Queen's 21 most iconic songs, ranked
From operatic epics to hard rock anthems, we rank Queen’s 21 greatest songs—celebrating their bold invention, theatrical flair, and timeless musical brilliance.
The Lark Ascending: the origin story of Vaughan Williams's atmospheric masterpiece
A guide to The Lark Ascending, Vaughan Williams's much-loved work for violin and orchestra
The drunk conductor who ruined a great symphony's premiere
John Evans takes a look at the great works that, while much adored and respected today, all got off to a horribly shaky start