Works
Irish classical music: how it originated and developed and Ireland's best composers
Terry Blain explores the richly varied classical music history of Ireland, from its folk roots in the 17th century to the brilliant young composers working today
Best Irish folk songs: 6 beautiful traditional Irish songs you can't help singing along to
Self-confessed folk obsessive Freya Parr shares her favourite 6 Irish folk songs
The best music for the accordion
The accordion is one of the most versatile instruments to write for, appearing most prevalently in South American music, but also cropping up in jazz and more traditional forms of classical music. We have rounded up a varied selection of the best accordion music for you to discover
A guide to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
We delve into the revolutionary genius and lasting impact of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Marches: what they are, when he composed them and their place in history
A guide to Elgar's rousing set of marches, which have been at the centre of many grand and state events including several coronations
The best works by Samuel Barber
We choose some of the finest works by the last great American Romantic, Samuel Barber
The best works by Grieg
We choose the best pieces by Norway's finest composer, Edvard Grieg
The best works by Benjamin Britten
We choose the greatest pieces by the great British composer, Benjamin Britten
10 of the best songs from musicals
Great show tunes stick in the memory like nothing else, becoming household favourites. Here are 10 of our favourite songs from musical theatre on Broadway and the West End – with many more to come...
The best Berlioz music of all time
We choose the best pieces by the outlandish romantic, Berlioz
A guide to Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 9
We explore what influenced Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 9, one of the British composer's finest orchestral works
The best Independence Day songs and music
We celebrate Independence Day this 4th July with some of the best USA patriotic music ever written
Classical music inspired by Shakespeare
William Shakespeare inspired some of the greatest musical scores ever written. We explore the operas, ballets, overtures, incidental music, tone poems, choral works and songs born out of his writing
The best pieces for prepared piano
Which are the greatest pieces for prepared piano (or altered piano)? Pianist Hauschka tells BBC Music Magazine
10 of the best concertos for unusual instruments
From contrabassoons to harmonicas, we take a look at some of the more unusual concertos to have found their way into the concert hall over the centuries
How Saint-Saëns’s piano concertos helped revolutionise the genre
Saint-Saëns’s five piano concertos bucked the trend of the French musical establishment – and, says Roger Nichols, remain a legacy to be reckoned with
The ten best cello concertos of all time
Here is our selection of the greatest pieces ever written for cello and orchestra. Do you agree?
The best recordings of Mozart's Piano Concertos
We compare the finest complete recorded cycles of all 27 of Mozart's sublime Piano Concertos for keyboard...
William Byrd: greatest works and some of the best recordings of his music
The Odyssean Ensemble's director Colm Carey on the influence of Byrd and the gems to be found within his somewhat neglected output
10 piano concertos you might not know
Today's top performers recommend piano concertos that have been undeservedly overlooked
Seven of the best works by Rachmaninov
We choose the greatest works by the legendary Russian composer, Rachmaninov
Kodály's Háry János: the story of the folk opera and its best recordings
We name the best recordings of Kodály’s Háry János orchestral suite, an enthralling swashbuckling tale of a Hungarian folk hero
Ligeti’s Violin Concerto: how it was written and its best recordings
Steph Power is entranced by all manner of dazzling soundworlds as she explores the best recordings of Ligeti’s Violin Concerto, a 20th-century virtuoso showstopper
A guide to Messiaen's Vingt regards sur l'enfant Jésus
It's one of the longest and most difficult pieces in the solo piano repertoire, but what makes Messiaen's 20 contemplations on the baby Jesus such a musical mountain?