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...
These 15 music icons left us far too young
From Robert Johnson to Nick Drake: 15 brilliant musicians gone too soon – tragic losses that left us wondering what could have been
New Cliburn International Competition for Conductors announced
The inaugural competition will take place in June 2028 in Houston, Texas with Marin Alsop as jury chair
Celebrate the future of music with the Festival Academy Budapest
FAB celebrates its 10-year anniversary in 2025 with honoured guests and young talent
These 11 musical masterpieces were hated by their first audiences
Eleven classical masterpieces that were first unleashed upon an angry, unimpressed or simply confused world
Beethoven! His 21 essential masterpieces, ranked
Michael Tanner selects and explores Beethoven's top 21 must-hear masterpieces, choosing from the very best of the great composer's extensive output
Review: Debussy • Szymanowski Quartets (Belcea Quartet)
Michael Jameson is entranced by the Belcea Quartet’s brilliant pairing of French and Polish composers
These 15 US states have been stunningly evoked in music
From Alaskan glaciers to Florida plantations, Brian Wise explores how composers have depicted the American landscape
Eurovision Classical Concerts to launch on BBC TV
Four concerts by exceptional orchestras will be broadcast on BBC Four and iPlayer - and across Europe - from February
America’s contribution to the history of music is second to none
Taking into account its comparative youth, the US has made a more significant contribution to the history of music than any other nation, writes Richard Morrison
Meet the most fascinating figures from classical music
We ranked the 21 greatest pianists of all time
Who was the best pianist of all time? We asked 100 leading pianists to name the performers who have brought the most magic to the keyboard
Boos, hisses and rotten vegetables: opera’s worst behaved audiences
From boos to vegetables, opera stars have had to put up with all sorts being aimed in their direction over the centuries, as Alexandra Wilson explores
'How a traumatic memory lapse changed the way I play the piano' – Leif Ove Andsnes
The great composers
Explore the lives and works of classical music's finest composers
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
Meet Hildur Guðnadóttir – the star composer of Joker and Chernobyl
Cellist and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir has forged a career spanning classical, film and electronics – but she’s always been drawn to unsettling themes, as she tells Claire Jackson
Sex mad: music's 11 most bed-hopping composers, ranked
Jeremy Pound lifts the covers off those notorious notesmiths who found the thrill of playing away simply too hard to resist
Greatest Recordings
Our recommendations of essential additions to your listening library
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
These 15 stone-cold classic albums were a nightmare to make
From Fleetwood Mac to Tears for Fears: 15 classic rock albums that cost blood, sweat and tears to put together
Albums of the week
A selection of the best reviewed albums from the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine
Review: Schubert 4 Hands (Chamayou / Andsnes)
Leif Ove Andsnes and Bertrand Chamayou play Schubert with exquisite sensitivity, says Misha Donat
Review: Walton: Cello Concerto etc (Jonathan Aasgard, cello)
John Wilson’s Sinfonia of London is virtuosic and eloquent in vital orchestral works, writes Jo Talbot
Review: Les Divas d’Offenbach (Véronique Gens et al)
Amusing songs by Offenbach sparkle in these irresistible performances, writes Christopher Dingle
Rock music
Explore rock music
1991 was rock's post-80s new dawn. We rank its 17 greatest albums
The best albums of 1991 – the year grunge, hip-hop, electronic, and alternative crashed in, forever altering rock's landscape
These 15 bands honestly sounded like nothing else on the planet
From Captain Beefheart’s surreal blues to Can’s hypnotic krautrock, these 15 bands revelled in a soundworld like no other on Earth
These 12 1970s rock gods reinvented themselves for the 1980s
Some 1970s rock giants lost their way in the '80s—while others reinvented themselves and thrived in bold new directions.
Audio equipment reviews and advice
A selection of the best reviewed albums from the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine
