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

However highbrow we think we are, we’ve all been guilty of it – that is, sitting in a concert or opera and waiting impatiently for ‘the famous bit’. In some instances, that well-known moment may be ju

Jonathan Gaisman is a KC and a writer on cultural topics

‘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

PETROC TRELAWNY records how trains and the railway have inspired classical works through the years

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