Articles, quizzes and news

Since 2006, the annual Budapest Wagner Days has quietly been growing into a major force for dedicated Wagnerites, the highlight of Müpa’s season.

Ahead of his live-streamed performance of Beethoven's Ninth with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, we caught up with conductor Markus Stenz. 

Competitions entail deep feelings, but on top you will get raw fear, greed, wrath, pride, and heartfelt relief. Benedikt Zacher watched the Violin Finals and met the two winners of the 2nd prize: Sarah Christian and Andrea Obiso.

For five editions now, the island of Malta has played host to the Valletta International Baroque Festival, bringing together the Baroque beauty of venues in the capital city with the best music from the period. 

The list of great Soviet composers over the last hundred years will always bring out the big names, but what about those unsung heroes of the late 20th century whose music captures the mood of a generation?

Before launching his series Voices of Revolution with the Philharmonia Orchestra to mark the centenary of the Russian Revolution, Vladimir Ashkenazy recalls his experiences as a young Soviet pianist, his memories of Shostakovich and his witnessing history in the making.

Austrian-Russian pianist Lisa Smirnova features in the London Piano Festival at Kings Place this October. We caught up with her for a quick Q&A.

Jean Sibelius frequently looked to the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, for inspiration. Here, we look at how it figured in his music. 

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen made a huge impact on the operatic world in the summer of 2015. We caught up with her ahead of her season as Artist in Residence with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.

As we hurtle towards October and the centenary of the Russian Revolution, 18 organisations in Wales have banded together in a show of artistic muscle to mark the anniversary. 

The LSO celebrates Bernstein's genius with a series of concerts this led by newly installed Music Director, Sir Simon Rattle, and by Bernstein protégé, Marin Alsop.

In attempting to cement a sense of Russian identity through music, the nation's composers looked to history for inspiration. 

On January 26th, 1936, when Stalin took in a performance of Shostakovich’s opera at the Bolshoi Theatre, his evening was decidedly not a happy one.

Many stories have been told about the genesis of the Leningrad Symphony, not least by Shostakovich himself and his many friends. 

Berlioz had a rather trying time while he was composing Symphonie fantastique. Here, we take a look at his amorous obsessions. 

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When the Bolshevik Revolution and subsequent civil war smashed through Russian society a hundred years ago, the close links between Russian and European music, and between Russian art, music and literature were shattered, and a new artistic world had to be built on what was left.

The founder of Cavatina Chamber Music Trust, talks about the coming September's première of the Elegy for Pamela, in memory of his wife and co-founder of Cavatina, who died last year.

The person responsible for the explosion of ballet across the world in the twentieth century wasn’t a dancer. He wasn’t a choreographer either. Nor was he a musician or a composer. He wasn’t even very rich.

In 1705, a 20-year-old Bach set off on a arduous, 400 km journey to Lübeck to hear the music of master organist Dietrich Buxtehude.