1907: the year Gustav Mahler lost everything... but found America
The composer Gustav Mahler suffered a series of personal and professional disasters in 1907. A move Stateside, however, resulted in a rapid upturn in his fortunes
We ranked the 20 greatest operas of all time
From Monteverdi to Berg via Mozart and Puccini, we count down the 20 best operas of all time. Did we miss your favourite?
Shostakovich: a composer's frightening double life in Stalin's Russia
Dmitri Shostakovich: the Soviet voice of the oppressed, and a composer of huge integrity
Celebrate the future of music with the Festival Academy Budapest
FAB celebrates its 10-year anniversary in 2025 with honoured guests and young talent
Out now: our March issue, featuring Joyce DiDonato, Erik Satie, Max Richter and more
Is AI really all-consuming? Why musicians shouldn't be too gloomy... yet!
The rise of Artificial Intelligence may be spreading gloom over the music world but, reasons Tom Service, there is still hope for us humans yet!
Review: Nicolaus Richter de Vroe: Shibuya Movements, etc
Steph Power is wowed by Nicolaus Richter de Vroe’s orchestral experimentalism
The '80s are back! The best portable cassette and CD players on the market today
Our Audio expert Chris Haslam gives his personal recommendation for buying a modern portable cassette or CD player
Daniel Barenboim reveals the composer who's been his lifelong fascination
Pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim talks about his deep relationship with Beethoven's music
These 12 composers all left us incredible works. Yet they all died before 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.
Meet the most fascinating figures from classical music
Meet Thomas Søndergård: Danish conductor and percussionist
Thomas Søndergård talks about his early years as a percussionist before becoming a full-time conductor – including as music director of the Minnesota Orchestra and BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Meet Nicholas McCarthy - the world’s only professional one-handed concert pianist
Following his stunning debut at last year’s BBC Proms, one-handed pianist Nicholas McCarthy tells Claire Jackson all about repertoire, technique and challenging narrow-minded attitudes
David Bowie’s surprising passion for classical music
For Starman David Bowie, classical music was one of many important influences, says Andrew Green
The great composers
Explore the lives and works of classical music's finest composers
'I'm no English pastoralist' – meet British composer Colin Matthews
As he approaches his 80th birthday, composer Colin Matthews speaks to Michael White about his 50-year contribution to British musical life
Buried alive under an avalanche: music's 11 most bizarre and tragic deaths
Some of the most well-known composers met their ends in highly unusual ways...
Ospedale della Pietà: the orphanage where Vivaldi turned abandoned girls into world-beating musicians
Harriet Constable, author of The Instrumentalist, explores Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà, the girls’ orphanage where Vivaldi taught and composed
Composer Alex Ho and the Chinese diaspora in Britain
Composer Alex Ho is part of a growing community of musicians combining their British and Chinese heritage in fascinating ways, writes Richard Morgan
Greatest Recordings
Our recommendations of essential additions to your listening library
Outliers: these 21 albums sound like nothing else their bands ever made
Some albums defy expectations. From Beatles to Neil Young, these outliers reveal bands daring to experiment... and sometimes bewildering their fans
Essential Christmas albums: 10 timeless recordings to get you in the Christmas spirit
What is the perfect music to get oneself into the festive spirit? We ask ten of our writers to name the albums they couldn’t imagine Yuletide without
Prog rock 1975: ranking the 17 greatest prog albums turning 50 this year
1975 was a landmark year for progressive rock, delivering groundbreaking albums that pushed musical boundaries and redefined the genre’s scope. Here are the 15 best
Ranked: the 21 greatest country rock albums of all time
When rock met country, magic happened — steel guitars, road songs, and restless hearts. These 21 albums defined that bittersweet crossroads
Albums of the week
A selection of the best reviewed albums from the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine
Review: Little Wanderer (works by Britten, Imogen Holst et al)
Christopher Cook enjoys the debut album from well-matched musical partners
Review: Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, etc (Francesco Piemontesi)
Jessica Duchen is captured by Francesco Piemontesi’s compelling interpretations of Brahms’s piano works
Review: Bach Cantatas (Ensemble Correspondances/Sébastien Daucé)
Sébastien Daucé turns to Bach in accounts of fervour and tenderness, writes Nicholas Anderson
Rock music
Explore rock music
These 13 bands conquered the world. But they weren't having fun anymore
They won the big prize... and lost the love. Thirteen rock bands who found fame and fortune - but lost the simple love of playing together
The 22 minutes of music that basically invented 1970s rock
How a prodigiously inventive suite of orchestral polish and studio wit provided the definitive blueprint for Seventies rock
These are the 21 greatest heavy metal albums of all time
Our resident metalhead Robin Askew ranks the greatest heavy metal LPs ever committed to vinyl
Audio equipment reviews and advice
A selection of the best reviewed albums from the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine
CDs are back! And these modern all-in-one CD players are the best way to listen to them
CDs are back! And these modern all-in-one CD players are the best way to listen to them, writes Chris Haslam
Your guide to the best audio gifts this Christmas 2025
