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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.

Barbara Hannigan talks about her relationship with Boulez, on singing Pli selon pli, and returning to the London Symphony Orchestra to conduct two programmes this season.

The American tenor talks about taking on Britten’s most archetypical tragic, flawed character, in a new production premiering at Dutch National Opera.

A tour of Britten, celebrating the finest works by the composer who launched the English operatic renaissance. 

Ahead of a programme celebrating the Philharmonia's "horn sound", former principal Richard Watkins talks about the orchestra's debt to Dennis Brain, Britten's Serenade and a new concerto composed for him by Mark-Anthony Turnage. 

The Canadian bass-baritone marks his 30th anniversary at The Royal Opera with not just one new role, but seven, in a new production of Britten's Death in Venice.

They have been the butt of musical jokes for a long time: but today more than ever, viola players must be taken seriously. Here is a study on the surprising evolution of an instrument still not celebrated enough.

The birth of a new orchestra: the Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra is a cause for celebration as nine Conservatoires in the UK and Russia join forces to create a new orchestra for an inaugural tour.

From the anthology of classical music greats there springs a surprising number of multi-faceted composers. We already know all about their musical achievements, but from Rossini to Wagner, many hide also talents as science geniuses, celebrated chefs, sporting prodigies, accomplished artists and even political pioneers. 

Benjamin Britten is widely thought of as one of the finest composers that Britain has ever produced. Yet his relationship with much of the music of his native country was terse to say the least. 

Who were the busiest performers of 2013? And who were the most performed composers? Find out in our annual set of statistics here.

Edward Benjamin Britten was born on 22nd November 1913, which happens to be the day of St Cecilia (patron saint of all musicians), in Lowestoft, Suffolk. In his early years, the sounds of the sea and the First World War surrounded him and became his earliest influences, and his mother holding concerts at the house meant Britten was constantly exposed to the “big names” of the industry.