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‘Wicked’ star Cynthia Erivo spoke to Zeb Soanes about preparing to sing ‘Defying Gravity’ as Elphaba.

Cynthia Erivo underwent ‘cardiovascular conditioning’ to play Elphaba in ‘Wicked’

Ophélie Gaillard’s 300-year-old cello has been stolen for a second time

French cellist reunited with rare €1.3 million cello following home burglary

Saint Cecilia Playing The Organ.

Who was St Cecilia? Meet the patron saint of music and musicians

Women in Music

Ilona Schmiel, leader of the Tonhalle Orchestra, Zurich.

Why do orchestras have ‘leaders’ and what do they do?

Hayato Sumino plays Bolero on two pianos.

Viral virtuoso Hayato Sumino plays Boléro on two pianos

Discover the greatest classical music

10 pieces of classical music that will 100% change your life

10 pieces of classical music that will 100% change your life

Hildegard von Bingen, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Edward Elgar among the greatest composers in classical music history.

The 30 greatest classical music composers of all time

From Mozart to Elgar: the best pieces of classical music for beginners

15 timeless pieces to begin your journey into classical music

The 20 best operas of all time, according to Classic FM presenters.

The 20 greatest operas ever written

The best classical music playlists to suit your every mood

The best classical music playlists to suit your every mood

Periods & Genres

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Renaissance

Baroque

Romantic

Film & TV

Music Theory

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What is an earworm?

What is an earworm and how do you get rid of one?

Maxim Vengerov – here’s why musicians use vibrato

Why do musicians always use vibrato?

How did music notation begin?

How did music notation begin?

What is a scale?

What is a scale?

Violinist name Ava Bahari plays with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

What’s the difference between a symphony, a concerto, and a sonata?

Humour

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Cat piano prodigy surprises owner with tuneful solo.

Owner catches her cat playing the piano, with surprising virtuosity…

Peter Schickele Beethoven 5 parody

PDQ Bach delivered the ultimate classical music and sport parody in this Beethoven performance

Beethoven

Rowan Atkinson, Mr Bean, performs during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium July 27, 2012.

Mr Bean plays iconic ‘Chariots of Fire’ with London Symphony Orchestra at 2012 Olympics Ceremony

LSO

Cat wanders on stage during Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ Symphony at Istanbul Music Festival

Curious cat wanders on stage during Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ Symphony in Istanbul

Beethoven

Pianist Angela Hewitt is joined in a Brahms duet by dog, Sani.

Melodious dog joins star pianist Angela Hewitt in a howling Brahms duet

Angela Hewitt

Women in Music

See more Women in Music

Who is Toshiko Akiyoshi? Meet the Japanese pianist and composer who transformed jazz music

Who is Toshiko Akiyoshi? Meet the Japanese pianist and composer who transformed jazz music

Four women conductors lead the Met Opera in one week – in historic first

Four women conductors lead the Met Opera in one week – in historic first

New York Metropolitan Opera

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The Donne Foundation has successfully set the Guinness World Record for the Longest Acoustic Music Live-Streamed Concert, with a 26-hour concert of music by women and non-binary composers.

Musicians break Guinness World Record with 26-hour concert of music by women composers

Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn

Who was Fanny Mendelssohn, the unsung composer whose music was published under her brother’s name?

Happy Birthday

5 famous melodies you didn’t realise were written by women... including ‘Happy Birthday’

Quizzes

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Can you answer these quiz questions using just the musical notes?

Can you answer these quiz questions using just music notes?

Lifestyle

Are you smarter than a musical 18-year-old? Find out below...

Can you answer these A-Level music questions? Find out if you would pass first time...

Lifestyle

Are you smarter than a 16-year-old? Find out below...

Can you answer these GCSE Music questions? Find out if you would pass first time...

Lifestyle

Who are Sideshow Bob and Bugs Bunny playing in these operatic parodies...

Can you guess the opera these cartoon characters are singing?

Lifestyle

What song did Olivia Olson sing in Love Actually? Take our quiz if you know the answer...

The Ultimate Christmas Movie Music Quiz

Lifestyle

Discover music features

Einaudi surprised the crowd at St Pancras.

Einaudi surprises commuters with train station piano performance

Einaudi

From Elgar to Ivor Gurney – explore reflective pieces of classical music for Remembrance Day

15 reflective pieces of classical music for Remembrance Day

Here’s why Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is an unassailably epic work of genius

Here’s why Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is an unassailably epic work of genius

Rachmaninov

The best musicals on film.

12 best movie adaptions of musicals, ranked

Exclusive
Rising star cellist serenades ducks with ‘The Swan’ at 300-year-old English farmhouse

Rising star cellist serenades ducks with ‘The Swan’ at 300-year-old English farmhouse

Videos

Mozart and Elgar both loved their pets.

8 classical composers who absolutely adored their pets

This keyboard kitten is a fan of classical music

10 calming pieces of classical music for your pet

Lucy Illingworth and her mother on stage at the King’s Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle in May 2023

Who is Lucy from The Piano? Meet the incredible blind and neurodivergent young pianist

Mozart never completed his Requiem.

Five pieces of classical music inspired by true horror

Mozart

From ‘Psycho’ to ‘The Shining’: the most terrifying music ever written for the movies

The 13 scariest horror film soundtracks ever written

The spookiest pieces of classical music for Halloween.

The 20 scariest pieces of classical music for Halloween

Haydn

This piece by Haydn sounds exactly the same played backwards as it does forwards

Haydn

Paganini/The Devil

Niccolò Paganini was such a gifted violinist, people thought he sold his soul to the devil

Paganini

Coughing at a concert is twice as likely than normal

Why does everyone cough so much at classical concerts?

Franz Liszt

Lisztomania: the wild phenomenon that gripped 19th-century crowds

22-year-old Brad Kella wins The Piano 2024

22-year-old pianist, who taught himself to play whilst in foster care, wins Channel 4 show

Instruments

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Discover music

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Cellist serenades chickens with ‘L’heure exquise’ at 18th-century English farmhouse

Cellist serenades chickens with a French love song at 18th-century English farmhouse

7 days ago

Videos

Denzel Washington speaks to Dan Walker about his role as Macrinus in Gladiator II, plus his favourite classical music.

Gladiator II star Denzel Washington on classical music: ‘Bocelli’s my boy!’

8 days ago

Gladiator 2 soundtrack: who composed it and which themes feature?

Everything you need to know about the soundtrack to Gladiator II

10 days ago

Gregson-Williams

Yuja Wang plays a piano with three pedals – but what are they for?

Why does a piano have three pedals, and what do they do?

10 days ago

Cynthia Erivo sings for Dame Julie Andrews

When Cynthia Erivo serenaded Julie Andrews with stunning rendition of ‘Edelweiss’

20 days ago

Videos

Delirious dog sings unimaginably virtuosic vocal solo in a piano room

Delirious dog sings virtuosic vocal solo in a piano room

24 days ago

Best classical music

See more Best classical music

The 15 most famous tunes in classical music

The 15 most famous tunes in classical music

Best symphonies: Ludwig van Beethoven, Antonin Dvorak and Florence Price

The 15 greatest symphonies of all time

4 eras of classical music

The 4 eras of classical music: a quick guide

A young Marin Alsop, Sir Simon Rattle, and Seiji Ozawa conduct their respective orchestras.

The 25 greatest conductors of all time

Hildegard von Bingen, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Edward Elgar among the greatest composers in classical music history.

The 30 greatest classical music composers of all time

Classic FM Live Playlists

See more Classic FM Live Playlists

Classic FM Hall of Fame

Essential Classical

Classic FM Video Game Music

Classic FM Pet Classics

Classic FM’s Baby Bedtime

Classic FM Revision

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Latest on Classic FM

Young Persons guide trilogy

‘The Very Young Person’s Guide to Christmas Carols’: the perfect Christmas gift!

Britten as a Boy

Composer Benjamin Britten to be honoured with a statue outside his childhood home

Britten

Chopin

A new piece by Chopin has been discovered after almost 200 years

Chopin

Andrea Bocelli and Jennifer Lopez sing ‘Quizás’ on Dancing with the Stars

When Andrea Bocelli sang a Cuban love song with Jennifer Lopez in surprising duet

Andrea Bocelli

Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones, legendary musical pioneer, dies aged 91

Dog duets with Pavarotti

Operatic dog sings a perfect duet of ‘Nessun dorma’ with Luciano Pavarotti

Luciano Pavarotti

Thurzó Zoltán during his record breaking attempt.

Romanian pianist hits piano key 500 times in 30 seconds, breaking world record

Ben Palmer

Conductor reacts to himself conducting Grieg’s ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’!

Grieg

Angelina Jolie plays the title role in this thrilling biopic.

Maria Callas biopic: all the information as official trailer released

Maria Callas

Jacob Mühlrad with the cello playing robot

Watch as a robot performs the cello with a symphony orchestra in a world first