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'Miraculous'. 'Evil'. People had a *lot* to say about this legendary conductor
Many revered him, others were perplexed by or even envious of his success. Here's the controversy of Herbert von Karajan in ten quotes
Ranked: the 15 best movie musicals of all time
Ever since sound and film were first united in The Jazz Singer (1927), the musical has been a staple of cinema history and popular culture, but what are the best film musicals of all time?
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
Passion and power: how the Romantic era changed classical music forever
Passionate and emotional, the Romantic era reshaped classical music. Here are its key personalities and era-defining works
Ranked: the 15 greatest prog rock albums of all time
Did King Crimson hit the prog heights for you? Or were Yes or Genesis at the top of the prog tree? We rank the 15 greatest prog albums of all time
BBC Proms 2025: your essential guide to every concert, every performer, and how to listen
Here is everything you need to know about the 2025 BBC Proms, featuring a jam-packed selection of classical music's best-loved performers and composers
The 15 greatest openings in classical music... How many do you know?
What are the most memorable openings in classical music? Jeremy Pound and Steve Wright explore 15 of the best known, some of which have entirely outshone the works that follow
Death at the keyboard: a pianist's final, fatal performance at Carnegie Hall
We asked you for the pieces that got you hooked on classical music. Here's what you told us
Back in 2014, we asked BBC Music Magazine readers to tell us about the pieces that first drew them into the wonderful world of classical music. Here are some of the many responses we received...
'Unperformable': the much-loved masterpiece that almost never got off the ground
What happens when a composer writes a work that is simply too difficult for its intended performers? Jeremy Pound takes a look at ten such examples
Photo gallery: highlights from the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2025
British composers: ranking our 25 greatest composers
We asked 167 top international musicians to vote for the best British composers of all time. Here are the results… Do you agree - and who was voted number one?
'It's simply untrue to say that women lack the stamina to play brass instruments' – trumpeter Imogen Whitehead
Britten Sinfonia principal trumpet player Imogen Whitehead on why we should challenge anti-female stereotypes in brass playing
BBC Music Magazine Awards 2025: winners announced!
Drumroll please... Here are the winners of the 20th annual BBC Music Magazine Awards
This is the world's most famous classical concert. But it had some dark beginnings
How Clemens Krauss and the Nazis set off a Vienna New Year tradition in 1939
Debussy changed music forever. These 12 works prove it
Pianist George Lepauw guides us through the Debussy works he thinks any non-classical music fan would enjoy
It takes work to engage with classical music... But the rewards are huge
These are some of the saddest songs ever written
Our round-up of some of the saddest and most haunting songs in musical history
The contrabassoon: the orchestra’s deepest voice
Meet the contrabassoon: classical music’s deepest voice and unsung hero of the orchestral underworld
Music for studying: 15 great works that will boost your focus and banish distractions
What is the best music to aid a little learning? These are the best pieces of music for studying and keeping you on task and concentrating when the going gets tough and you're feeling easily distracted
Out now: our May 2025 issue, featuring World War II, the Nazis, Myra Hess, Sibelius and more
Here's your guide to the May 2025 issue of BBC Music Magazine, featuring the music of World War II, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams, Sian Williams and much more
Think you don’t like classical music? These 7 works will change your mind
Violinist James Ehnes selects pieces to play for sceptics who don’t believe they’ll like classical music
Best Beethoven symphony: all nine masterpieces, ranked and rated
Ranking the nine Beethoven symphonies is a somewhat herculean and, of course, a controversial exercise. But here's what we think. What about you?