Articles
Here's how a gentle, blind old elephant reacts to Bach's music
Pianist Paul Barton plays Chopin, Debussy and more to some of Thailand's oldest, hardest worked elephants. And their reaction is beautiful
2025 best classical music festivals: Middle East, Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan
Paul Riley picks out some of the best classical music festivals to look out for in the Middle East, Japan and Taiwan
The sound of the future? Why CD players are making a comeback
2025's best classical music festivals: Australia and South Africa
Paul Riley picks out some of 2025's best classical music festivals to look out for in Australia and South Africa
Autism, ADHD, Tourette's? We asked psychiatrists to analyse Mozart's bizarre, 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?
27 best classical music festivals in USA and Canada 2025
Paul Riley picks out some of the best classical music festivals to look out for in the USA and Canada
Music's most enduring romantic couples, from the Schumanns to Johnny and June
We celebrate love by getting intimate with some of the Romantic era's most famous lovebirds
31 best classical music festivals in Europe for 2025: what's on this year?
It's looking like a busy summer for operas, concerts and music festivals across Europe. Here are some of the very best classical music festivals that you may want to grab tickets for
'Music is like going through the wardrobe into Narnia': why top scientists swear by classical music
Anecdotally, the scientific mind is often drawn to music says Naomi Yandell, who approaches six eminent scholars for their thoughts on its attraction
The 51 best UK classical music festivals and summer operas taking place in 2025!
The summer festival season is back with a vengeance! Here are the very best UK classical music festivals to look out for in 2025
This was the rousing music that helped us to victory in World War 2
British composers played a vital role in lifting spirits in World War II, sometimes in unlikely ways. Rob Ainsley tells how they played their part with symphonies, film scores… and jam
The Nazis used music in dark and ingenious ways. Here's how
In wartime Germany and its occupied countries, music was a carefully controlled part of the Nazi propaganda machine, as Erik Levi explains
Duke Ellington: the jazz pioneer who broke all the rules
Mervyn Cooke explores a groundbreaking composer and influential bandleader who took jazz into previously untrodden territory
Luigi Cherubini's Médée... Is this the most shockingly bloody opera of all time?
With its blood-spattered ending and challenging title role, this Greek tragedy-inspired opera is not for the faint-hearted, George Hall reveals
The desperately sad tale of Tchaikovsky's sham marriage
Tchaikovsky's marriage to Antonina Milyukova was a disaster, with the composer repressing his homosexuality and finding his wife to be 'absolutely repulsive'
Which classical musicians should be the stars of Hollywood blockbusters?
Hollywood has taken an unexpected interest in classical music of late, says Tom Service – so here are some suggestions for their next blockbusting successes
Musical prodigies: ten childhood marvels, and the parenting tactics behind their success
Just how pushy were the mothers and fathers of some of our greatest composers? And for better or worse? Sarah Urwin Jones weighs up the evidence
Ever felt bored in a concert? Don't worry, you're not alone... and science can explain why
We rarely admit it, but our minds often wander in classical concerts. Why are we so easily distracted, asks Ariane Todes, and how can we learn to engage?
Bored of practice? Here’s how to love playing again in just 100 days
Amateur violinist Ariane Todes reveals how, after losing the will to practise during the pandemic,
she was inspired by Hilary Hahn on social media
to reconnect with her beloved four-stringed friend
From jazz piano in cocktail bars to starring in Wicked: Jeff Goldblum's musical memories
Five things to know before buying an acoustic guitar
Let us help find the best acoustic guitar for you
How to supercharge your memory - four musical experts share their top tips
When performing by heart, how do musicians remember all those notes? Four top artists explain their recommended methods
When opera turns dark: ten eerily unforgettable masterpieces
Ashutosh Khandekar explores how the supernatural in opera has served to express both our deepest fears and darkest desires
These famous pieces of music are not by who you think
So, who wrote Albinoni's beautiful Adagio? And what about Bach's famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor? The answers are not that obvious, says Roderick Swanston, as not all music was written by who we think it was