Edward elgar symphony no. 1

Norman Lebrecht on Music HE WORKED SO ...

When you’re speaking to someone devastatingly fluent in four tongues (Italian, German, French and English) the subject of language naturally leads to some curiosity. Especially from a somewhat green-e

In 1974, Mike Oldfield defied the critics and hit the top of the UK charts with Hergest Ridge, the ambitious follow-up to his unexpectedly successful debut Tubular Bells . To coincide with the release of the 50th-anniversary edition, the musician, his siblings and collaborators recount the story of an album created by an overwhelmed 21-year-old taking refuge near the Welsh borders.

Harmonies in mathematics

When we think of all things Italian, in general terms, what do we think of? And how does that translate into music? As a musician, one might think of the heightened emotions of the Romantic era – spec

The BBC Proms changed the face of classical music when ‘the people’s festival’ was launched in 1895. The perennially popular event features some of the nation’s favourite tunes from composers inspired by the countryside of the British Isles. Here Kitty Corrigan selects her top ten