The art of memory: classical music for mourning

Cover of the first edition of Le tombeau de Couperin (1918) designed by Ravel himself

By Danny Riley, 28 October 2025

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“The dead are sad enough, in their eternal silence”

Nahoko Gotoh, 13th March

The Japanese mezzo soprano is returning to the New National Theatre, Tokyo for her role debut in Massenet’s Werther. We talk about her love for Rossini, and expansions into later Romantic opera.

A jack of all trades: Michael Spyres on Vienna, Tristan and Verdi

Chanda VanderHart, 6th March

Chanda VanderHart talks to the American tenor about his Tristan debut at the Met, his love for Vienna and Otto Schenk, and the incredible scope of his repertoire.

Singing on the strings: Élodie Brzustowski on Early music in France

Danny Riley, 14th January

Lute player and guitarist Élodie Brzustowski talks about the challenges of the two-metre long theorbo, rediscovering guitar music of the 1830s, and the multifaceted Early music scene in France.

Altinoglu & Scheppelmann at La Monnaie

David Karlin, 8th January

We sit down with two of the opera world’s leading figures, and masterminds of Brussels’ La Monnaie (De Munt) – how do they balance the competing challenges and thrills of running an opera house?

The magical world of composers’ handwriting

Lawrence Dunn, 17th December

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.

Hugh Cutting on Handel and good storytelling

Eleanor Knight, 24th November

The British countertenor, who’s riding the crest of a wave this year, talks about his passion for good storytelling in opera, his favourite roles and the art of Zen Buddhism.

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.