Christmas is coming, and Stuff ’ s playing Santa again: our 2025 Gift Guide is packed with techy kit that’ll light up faces faster than fairylights on a frosty night. Which is not to say you can’t keep the best things for yourself, of course…

Claire Jackson’s opinions on Brahms (Hero or Hype?; August) resonated with me. I studied his First Symphony for O-Level, and his Fourth for A-Level. Then at college, my piano teacher insisted I learn

‘I was born twice,’ said the great Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin. ‘In Kazan I opened my eyes to life, and in Tbilisi to music.’ What is it about music and the Georgians? Some members of that Caucasian

Jacob Collier is on stage with the Britten Sinfonia, in a packed-out concert hall. We’ve already been treated to a freewheeling, virtuosic and wildly joyful programme, ranging from Bob Dylan to scat-s

Classical music has a problem with perfection. You’d have thought the most important job of any professional musician was learning, playing and repeating the notes composers wrote down so often that t

AN ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUE all electric guitarists should strive to master is the art of string bending, which can be used to create personally expressive, vocal-like sounds in unique ways. String bending