‘I was swallowing the piano whole’: Stephen Hough reflects on his life as a prodigy and encounters with Jimmy Savile.
The legendary concert pianist describes falling in love with the instrument and bugging his parents for lessons in an excerpt from his forthcoming childhood book, as well as the fraud…
Unveiled: the tumultuous, aggressive realm of the youthful J.S. Bach
John Eliot Gardiner’s research has shattered ‘sanitised’ versions of the composer’s life Johann Sebastian Bach is arguably the greatest of all composers, with the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B…
Musical Homages to the Titanic: Seven Melodic Tributes
How composers have memorialised the events of 15 April 1912. Whether intended as memorial pieces, depictions of the tragedy, or something more abstract, the sinking of the Titanic has moved…
Top Five Must-Listen Pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach
Mass in B minor Written as a job application, Bach’s sublime Mass, written over two decades, is a rich feast of superb orchestration and dizzying vocal textures. Recommended recording: Véronique Gens,…
Park Performance: George Harliono, an 11-Year-Old Piano Prodigy’s Astonishing Play
If you love the piano, you’ve probably heard of George Harliono. If you haven’t and love beautiful music, you should check out his channel. George started playing the piano when…
The 5-year-old prodigy plays her own jazz composition
Elina Martirosyan is a five-year-old musical prodigy. She has been writing and performing new jazz standards since she was four years old. Elina was born into a musical family in…
Which Musical Instruments Did Beethoven Master?
Beethoven’s date of birth meant that he was destined to live between two major eras of musical history; the Classical and the Romantic. He was born in Bonn, Germany, in…
‘It Sounds Utterly Glorious’ – Double Bassist’s Astonishing Rendition of Bach’s Suite No. 1 for Solo Cello
This musician realised that with the right bow, the Bach Cello Suite No.1 could come to life in a wonderful way on the double bass… Since Bach composed his Cello Suites in the early…
Why Do We Call Classical Music ‘Classical Music’?
It’s not actually all Classical (big ‘C’) at all, so why has the name stuck as an umbrella term for Western instrumental, orchestral and choral music? The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘classical music’ as…
Top 10 Famous Classical Music Masterpieces
Classical music has stood the test of time for many reasons, its beauty, complexity, and the vastness of repertoire have inspired audiences for hundreds of years. Within classical music, there…