The movie soundtrack for the Western “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” starring Clint Eastwood brings to mind rolling tumbleweeds and the iconic star in his western gear, smoking…

The cello is a gorgeous stringed instrument, its rich, low tone ideally suited to some of classical music’s most soulful pieces. Here is our pick of some of the best…

Difficult for some, too cosy for others: the music of Brahms has inspired hugely contrasting reactions in audiences both during his lifetime and since his death. Here’s a short guide to his…

Well, it was quite a task, but we’ve stuck our necks out and selected some of the greatest piano concertos ever written. We’ve made a conscious choice to include just…

Maddox Marsollek (6 Jahre) und Miles Marsollek (4 Jahre) – Menuett von J. S. Bach, BWV Anh. 116  Life as a wunderkind often means a childhood of discipline and…

Since the invention of the piano in the late 17th century, composers have pitted the instrument against the might of the orchestra to create some of music’s greatest works. Whilst piano concertos…

The Trout Quintet Hear the 22-year-old Schubert in convivial form in this effervescent quintet for piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass. Recommended recording: Christian Tetzlaff, Antoine Tamestit, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Alois Posch…

1. Bach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues (The Well-Tempered Clavier). The basic essentials of the pianist’s repertoire, the two books of Bach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues (The Well-Tempered Clavier) were completed…

1. Dido’s Lament – Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas Is it the yearning melody? The chromatically descending ground bass? That sense of distilled despair in the text? There’s certainly something uniquely effective…

 Perhaps no leader in modern history has been a greater advocate for creative culture than John F. Kennedy, who believed that art can “nourish the roots of our culture” and made…