‘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

Music was an all-consuming escape. Now, every song he writes is a love song At 16, I was just starting to take writing seriously. I became obsessed with lyricism and writing lines and my heroes were a

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THE PICK OF THE BEST AUDIO ON DEMAND

Nicole Brown on her trajectory from fangirling Mary King to commentating alongside Ian Stark – and how her curious nature has stood her in good stead

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