From espresso machine to percolator, there are many ways to make a cup of coffee, and such is the case with Bach’s cantata, too. Sporting just two soloists plus cameo narrator, tracking down a vocal d

There’s a trepidatious growl from the contra-bassoon. Soon, it is joined by French horns, strings and timpani; the sound rumbles, snowballs – and then: abrupt silence. The piano sings into the stillne

The unconventional instrumentation favoured by Tortoise is an indicator of how many different lineups have always jostled for space under the jazz umbrella. The national treasure that is The Pete Alle

Mocha? Flat White? Americano? Those patronising Zimmermann’s coffee house in 18th-century Leipzig would have been out of luck. But in the easy-going surroundings where the student Collegium Musicum me

I spent much of 2025 playing Schubert’s Piano Sonata in C minor, written shortly before he died in 1828 at the age of 31. I first learned this sonata in my late teens and have continued to return to i

A scholarly investigation lasting more than 30 years has resulted in two organ pieces by JS Bach enjoying their first performances in over three centuries. In November, the renowned organist and condu