Tom Service

The orchestra – at the Proms this week – is hailed as among the best in the world, if not the best. For my money, that’s quite possibly right, but why?

Elon Musk may be able to buy a trip to Mars, but when the super wealthy pay to be conductors – as Canadian tech entrepreneur Mandle Cheung is doing – it makes a mockery of a meritocracy in classical music

Composers from Purcell to Birtwistle have created passionate dramas inspired by ancient Greek stories – and none of them require you to sit through three hours of solemn spectacle without an interval

The world’s biggest classical music festival begins on Friday. Over eight weeks of sonic excursions and orchestral revelations there’s a huge range of premieres and contemporary music: here’s the concerts I won’t be missing

Listeners in the 17th and 18th centuries experienced music in a startlingly vivid – and physical way. A fascinating academic project is wondering if we should let ourselves be much more moved, and get moving. Plus: a prime minister’s musical legacy?

As the World Cup gets underway, we look at the music that has soundtracked the beautiful game – and the composers who have loved it

A Sydney screening of La La Land with live orchestra was rescued by a brave (and skilled) amateur pianist. What happens when classical performers, or their instruments, suddenly collapse? Plus, Tavener’s mystic pantomime finally gets to the stage

A new exhibition at Tate Britain includes canvases titled after symphonies and nocturnes, but the inspiration flows in both directions. Plus, how Felicity Lott led me to an epiphany

All kinds of musical riches by formerly overlooked composers may be languishing in lofts and dusty archives.

The composer himself never matched the joy, optimism and boldness of his first teenage symphony, as the chill of Stalinism settled on his music