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Opera's craftsman of emotion

One of the most dazzling musical showmen of all time, the great Italian violinist and composer Paganini cast a spell over all those who heard his music, as Julian Haylock explains

Best known for a moment of festive perfection, the music of the German composer Michael Praetorius was, explains Paul Riley, shaped by the Lutheran era in which he lived

Groundbreaking and influential, Hubert Parry was at the heart of the renaissance of British music in the early 20th century, says Jeremy Dibble

How one of Argentina's greatest composers Astor Piazzolla reinvented the tango, despite biting criticism back home. Rob Ainsley explores his life, influences and works

Meet Sergey Prokofiev, the Russian master of drama, orchestration and sardonic wit

Meet Henry Purcell, England's rugged individualist

Meet the composer Roxanna Panufnik, daughter of a key Anglo-Polish composer and now a major musical figure herself

Composer Florence Price became the first African-American woman to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra

Peerless voice of the Renaissance

Today he may be the most fêted of the French composer group Les Six but Poulenc was a contradictory character full of self-doubt

Neapolitan man of mystery

Estonia's pioneering contemporary voice