The Bachtrack Stats 2013: Busiest North American orchestras

From Buxtehude, Bach and Handel, to contemporary composer Liza Lim, we take a tour of the myriad forms of composers’ handwriting and calligraphy – and how music makes itself on the page.

A century after its founding in 1926, former members of Ballet Rambert recall the joys and challenges of working directly with Dame Marie Rambert, one of the trailblazers of British ballet.

What do you buy for the culture lover in your life who seems to have everything? Here are some music and dance-related gifts that Bachtrack staff are giving or hoping to receive for Christmas this year.

The great ballerinas of the 19th century were perhaps the first modern celebrities. Rather than bare all, their images cultivated a mysterious, supernatural aura that made them seem unattainable.

Fact v fiction: with a new television serialisation of Shaffer’s play about to screen, just how mediocre a composer was Salieri and how did the myth that Salieri poisoned Mozart take hold?

From instruments played with water to early electronic devices promoted by the Nazis, we take a look at the surprising history of instruments named after their creators.