Articles, quizzes and news

Ask anyone who claims to know nothing about ballet to actually name one, the chances are it will be one of Tchaikovsky's.

Good music is good music no matter where it comes from or when it was written. For 23 years, the International Early Music Festival in Riga proves the point with sold-out seasons leaving legions music-loving locals clamouring for more. 

From the courts of Italy during the Renaissance to the grandeur of the Russian Imperial Ballet, discover more about the influence of italian virtuosity on Russian ballet

London's latest festival of small scale opera offers four very different shows, with music from Rimsky to Kurtág, and styles from schmaltz to avant-garde.

In the next instalment of the At Home Guide, we look at the evolution of organ music, using Bachtrack At Home videos to illustrate the journey. 

100 years after the première of Bluebeard's Castle, the Hungarian State Opera celebrates with not one, but four different productions of Bartók’s opera.

Origins: from the Royal court of Louis XIV to neoclassicism.  The Paris Opera Ballet company has a long-standing History, dating back to 1662, and the establishment of the Académie Royale de Danse by Louis XIV. At the time, the Academy’s mission was to develop the theatrical dance style performed in court, which noblemen and the King himself took part in.

Few orchestras in the UK cover as many miles – from Exeter and Portsmouth to Bristol and Basingstoke – although the Lighthouse in Poole has been its central home for decades.

Anton Bruckner's veneration for Wagner is well-documented. But how did Wagner's influence actualy manifest in the Austrian composer's work?

It’s common knowledge that Louis XIV developed the foundations of classical ballet in the late 17th century, during his long and rather extraordinary reign as King of France. But was the French King the true mastermind of ballet technique? 

With great music, exceptional palaces and unique architecture, if you have any pretensions to knowing the great cities of the world, Saint Petersburg just has to be on your bucket list.

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra's season includes core classical favourites, starry soloists and forays into lesser-played repertoire for the musically curious.

The Nordic countries have produced some of the best-known works in the classical canon. But there is a wealth of music in the work of the region's four main composers that remains underappreciated. 

This week's At Home Guide explores how ballet music evolved from a sideshow to a well-respected artform. Click on the links to listen while you read. 

Most classical music fans would associate Tokyo's Suntory Hall with its symphonic hall and its great acoustics, but in fact, the venue also has a beautiful wood-panelled chamber music hall named “Blue Rose”.

For its second season under the leadership of principal conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra offers a wonderfully balanced programme. As well as featuring some of the world’s leading soloists, Icelandic composers and performers are also championed.

In the second instalment of our Bachtrack At Home Guide, we take a look at the vibrant world of the symphonic poem. 

Giovanni Antonini's latest challenge is the Artistic Directorship of the Wratislavia Cantans Festival in Wrocław Poland, intending to raise its profile on the European scene.

Few opera singers capture the public imagination like Anna Netrebko. And there are few more glittering occasions in the opera calendar than the opening night of the season at the Teatro alla Scala.

The site of Chopin and George Sand's unhappy winter – still containing Chopin's Pleyel "pianino" – makes for a delightful short visit.