Classical composers with no ‘formal’ training

The Music Lesson by Louis Moritz (1808), Rijksmuseum, Netherlands

By Danny Riley, 02 October 2025

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“In reality, composers often learn their trade neither in rigidly academic settings nor in a vacuum”

Peter Quantrill, 7th April

The Austrian conductor reflects on his seven year tenure with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, work and life, returning to old scores, and why a musical ensemble is like a giant human body.

The art of memory: classical music for mourning

Danny Riley, 28th October

From fulfilling funerary functions, to eulogising friends and fellow artists, or lamenting the waste of war: here are some of the finest examples of music written in mourning.

Decoding Shostakovich and Prokofiev: Gianandrea Noseda

Roy Westbrook, 22nd July

The LSO’s Principal Guest Conductor talks about his passion for two titans of Russian and Soviet music – and how to decode Shostakovich’s more cryptic and troublesome symphonies.

Making waves at the Hallé: Euan Shields

Lawrence Dunn, 17th June

Ahead of the 2026 Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition, we talk to past winner Euan Shields about what entrants can expect, and how to navigate the competition’s twists and turns.

Wolfgang: Explaining music, one line at a time

David Karlin, 24th March

Creator Johan Idema talks about the “subtitles for symphonies” app, why Wolfgang was created and how it’s used.

Anarchy and utopia: Calixto Bieito on directing Mussorgsky

Richard Bratby, 24th February

The iconoclastic Spanish director talks about a new production of Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina in Geneva – and the messy, anarchic, utopian struggle of directing opera.

Danny Riley

Danny Riley worked as Bachtrack's content creator from 2017-2018 and is now a freelance contributor. Having also written for sites such as The Quietus and Bandcamp, he loves music of all genres, with a particular fondness for folk and minimalism, and recently completed a PhD on representations of sound in contemporary British poetry.

Outside the Academy? Classical composers with no ‘formal’ training