The discography Frank Zappa thought every music fan should listen to: “Don’t mind the mistakes”
Not quite realised, but still good.
Classical Music
Classical music is one of the world’s oldest and most influential musical traditions, encompassing more than a thousand years of composition, performance and innovation.
From the medieval and Renaissance periods through the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and contemporary eras, the genre has been shaped by composers including Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky.
Defined by orchestral works, chamber music, opera, choral music and solo instrumental compositions, classical music has profoundly influenced film scores, jazz, rock and popular music, remaining a cornerstone of global cultural heritage.
The one musician Ian Anderson will never get tired of: “I don’t want to sound too snobbish”
The absolute height of composition.
The 19th-century track Cat Stevens called the greatest: “Number one pop song of all time”
“One perfect pop song.”
The one genre Brian Johnson found hard to stomach: “I don’t wanna hear it”
The wrong kind of feeling.
The radical 1843 concert that made Franz Liszt the world’s first true rock star
Mad, bad and dangerous to know.
Antonio Salieri: The composer accused of killing Mozart
It’s been the central storyline of popular plays for 200 years.
Mamoru Samuragochi: The strange tale of the deaf composer who wasn’t deaf and didn’t compose
It took an Olympic figure skating routine to bring the truth out.
More About Classical Music
Classical music is a broad tradition of Western art music spanning centuries, encompassing orchestral, chamber, operatic, choral and solo instrumental works by composers from the medieval period to the present day.
Among the most celebrated classical composers are Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Antonio Vivaldi, Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky.
Classical music continues to influence modern culture through concert performance, film scores and contemporary composition, while its innovations in harmony, orchestration and musical form have shaped countless genres, including jazz, rock and popular music.