Latest on Classic FM

‘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’

Britten as a Boy

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

Britten

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

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

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!’

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

Everything you need to know about the soundtrack to Gladiator II

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?

Latest instrument features

Einaudi surprised the crowd at St Pancras.

Einaudi surprises commuters with train station piano performance

Einaudi

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

Delirious dog sings unimaginably virtuosic vocal solo in a piano room

Delirious dog sings virtuosic vocal solo in a piano room

Thurzó Zoltán during his record breaking attempt.

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

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

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

More instruments

See more More instruments

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