Works
Best of Brahms: 15 stunning works that show why there was no one quite like him
Here are 15 pieces that brilliantly demonstrate the genius of Johannes Brahms, who straddled Classical and Romantic, order and emotion, like no one else
Workout music: The best classical music for running and fitness workouts
Tired of your usual workout routine? Switch things up with this classical playlist full of music guaranteed to get your heart racing
Songs about friendship: ten beautiful odes to the joy of a good friend
We round up some of our favourite songs that celebrate friendship
Best of Chopin: nine unmissable works by the sublime Romantic
From the Minute Waltz to the Funeral March, we choose some of the very finest pieces by the great Polish composer and pianist
Best of Aaron Copland: 11 essential works from the voice of American classical music
Aaron Copland crafted a sound that evokes America's wide open spaces and pioneering spirit. Here are 11 of his very greatest works
Ravel Bolero: the 15-minute piece 'without music' that became one of classical music's most iconic works
All seven Tchaikovsky symphonies ranked, from worst to best
From the youthful, evocative 'Winter Daydreams' to the gut-punch of the 'Pathétique', Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most dramatic, melodic and emotional symphonies in the canon. We've ranked them
Best poems of all time: 12 of the most evocative and entrancing poems ever written
From The Tyger to The Lady of Shallot, we pore over 12 of the best loved poems in all of literature
Feel the rhythm! 7 toe-tapping pieces that will make you want to dance
Composer-conductor Odaline de la Martinez prizes tempo, swing and bounce in her top rhythmic works
Did Mendelssohn peak at the age of just 16 with his magnificent Octet?
What's your favourite Mozart piece? We asked ten great performers – and got back some surprises
Ten Mozart performers including Mitsuko Uchida and the late Neville Marriner reveal which of the great composer's works have inspired them the most
Cheers! Here are music's most boisterous drinking songs
We discover which composers were partial to a drinking song or two...
Shostakovich's seven greatest symphonies, ranked
Rebecca Franks shares her personal ranking of her top seven symphonies by the great Soviet composer, Shostakovich
From Hitchcock to Hercules: seven new musicals you need to see in 2025
It’s not just the West End that is alive with new Musical, there are World Premiere productions taking place elsewhere in the UK, too...
These 12 unforgettable works soundtracked humanity's most turbulent century
From Gershwin via Shostakovich to John Adams, these 20 works from 1918 to 2018 illustrate how 100 years of war, politics and progress shaped the 20th century's musical landscape
Best of Schubert: nine unmissable works by the Romantic prodigy
We choose the best pieces by the legendary musical prodigy, Schubert
Beethoven composed just one opera. And its premiere was a total flop
So dominant in other areas, Beethoven composed just one opera. And, although its first audience left scratching their heads, 'Fidelio' is something of a gem
The Phil Collins classic that borrows a forgotten, centuries-old piano tune
Deputy editor Jeremy Pound chooses six of the best pop and rock songs with classical music at their heart
Here are the 20 greatest operas of all time – and the must-hear recordings that bring them to life
From Monteverdi to Berg via Mozart and Puccini, we count down the 20 best operas of all time. Did we miss your favourite?
The drunken disaster that Rachmaninov needed therapy to get over
The sorry tales of pieces that, for one reason or another, would go on to haunt their own composers
Irish folk songs: seven beautiful, evocative melodies from the Emerald Isle
Self-confessed folk obsessive Freya Parr shares her favourite 7 Irish folk songs
We quizzed musicians for their dream and nightmare pieces to perform. The results are fascinating
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
'The rebellion of a very ill man against a very sick society': why critics shunned the Shostakovich Second Cello Concerto
British critics were slow to appreciate the qualities of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich's Second Cello Concerto, as Erik Levi explains
This is classical music's greatest riddle - and six possible solutions
We explore five possible solutions to the central mystery behind Elgar's masterful Enigma Variations. What is the mysterious 'dark saying'?