CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: HALF PRICE Big Issue magazine subscription
SUBSCRIBE

Classical Music

The Piano's Brad Kella: 'I want to see kids in the care system reach their dreams'
Brad Kella
Music

The Piano's Brad Kella: 'I want to see kids in the care system reach their dreams'

Brad Kella, winner of The Piano, has spoken to Big Issue about his new record deal, the dramatic change in his life following his victory, and why he is performing at Labour Party conference
Karl Jenkins: 'I'm still not respected in some quarters of classical music'
Sir Karl Jenkins
Letter to my Younger Self

Karl Jenkins: 'I'm still not respected in some quarters of classical music'

How classical music is taking cues from pop's taste for retro
Tenor Ian Bostridge, pianist Steven Osborne and cellist Alban Gerhardt recreate the 1961 recital at Aldeburgh
Music

How classical music is taking cues from pop's taste for retro

RuPaul's Drag Race star Thorgy Thor on injecting stuffy symphony orchestras with big queer energy
Music

RuPaul's Drag Race star Thorgy Thor on injecting stuffy symphony orchestras with big queer energy

Who is composer Fanny Mendelssohn? The musical sister finally being given her due
Music

Who is composer Fanny Mendelssohn? The musical sister finally being given her due

Advertisement
After the pandemic years, audience are more appreciative of intimate musical experiences than ever
Aurora Orchestra
Music

After the pandemic years, audience are more appreciative of intimate musical experiences than ever

Purists might baulk, but Sam Smith headlining BBC Proms opens a pathway to classical music
Sam Smith arrives for the 2023 BRIT Awards ceremony at The O2 arena in London. Image: Andy Rain/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Claire Jackson

Purists might baulk, but Sam Smith headlining BBC Proms opens a pathway to classical music

Jingoism of Rule, Britannia! has long felt shameful. Is it finally time for BBC Proms to axe it?
A 1990s BBC Proms in the Park concert
Music

Jingoism of Rule, Britannia! has long felt shameful. Is it finally time for BBC Proms to axe it?

How a swanky London townhouse links composer Handel with Jimi Hendrix
Handel’s bedroom in Brook Street, London
Music

How a swanky London townhouse links composer Handel with Jimi Hendrix

Here's one they played earlier: Pre-recorded orchestras spell trouble for live performance
Music

Here's one they played earlier: Pre-recorded orchestras spell trouble for live performance

How British composer Karl Jenkins brought the world together
Karl Jenkins
Music

How British composer Karl Jenkins brought the world together

Why English National Opera relocating to Manchester will be more complicated than it looks
ENO Ally Pally
Music

Why English National Opera relocating to Manchester will be more complicated than it looks

Morton Feldman at the Tate Modern – an elegy for pioneering artist Philip Guston
Morton Feldman's music being performed at the Tate Modern
Music

Morton Feldman at the Tate Modern – an elegy for pioneering artist Philip Guston

Earworms are the internal soundtrack of our lives. What's yours?
A man playing a double bass
Gavin Bryars

Earworms are the internal soundtrack of our lives. What's yours?

Why renowned conductor John Eliot Gardiner has drawn comparisons with Lydia Tár
Classical music

Why renowned conductor John Eliot Gardiner has drawn comparisons with Lydia Tár

How cutting-edge pianist Zubin Kanga is pushing classical music into the future
Zubin Kanga in blue jacket and gloves under a pink light
Classical music

How cutting-edge pianist Zubin Kanga is pushing classical music into the future

Greek island of Lesbos holds spectacular and inclusive classical concert for asylum seekers
People sit watching classical musicians on an outdoor stage
Asylum seekers

Greek island of Lesbos holds spectacular and inclusive classical concert for asylum seekers

The Ukrainian musicians fighting rocket attacks with rehearsals
Ukranian Freedom Orchestra
Classical

The Ukrainian musicians fighting rocket attacks with rehearsals

Stravinsky rite of passage is worth protecting
The original production of Stravinsky Rite Of Spring in Paris in 1913.
Classical

Stravinsky rite of passage is worth protecting

Joseph Bologne and Karl Jenkins: Misrepresented composers, centuries apart
Kelvin Harrison Jr as Joseph Bologne playing a violin
classical

Joseph Bologne and Karl Jenkins: Misrepresented composers, centuries apart

Chi-chi Nwanoku: 'It should not be a novelty that there's more than one Black face on stage'
Chi-chi Nwanoku CBE.
Letter To My Younger Self

Chi-chi Nwanoku: 'It should not be a novelty that there's more than one Black face on stage'

Advertisement
Chi-chi Nwanoku: 'I was not interested in just playing music by our dead white friends'
Chi-chi Nwanoku
Music

Chi-chi Nwanoku: 'I was not interested in just playing music by our dead white friends'

Chevalier: Kelvin Harrison Jr on being a 'soldier' for overlooked Black history
Kelvin J Harrison in Chevalier
Black history

Chevalier: Kelvin Harrison Jr on being a 'soldier' for overlooked Black history

How classical music is finally taking Pride in its LGBT+ composers
Pears and Britten outside Crag House with their dog Jove as a puppy. Photographer: unknown
pride

How classical music is finally taking Pride in its LGBT+ composers

Erland Cooper's slowly thawing call to arms
A woman stands beside the ice sculpture
Climate protest

Erland Cooper's slowly thawing call to arms