Charlotte Smith
Recent articles by Charlotte Smith
Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante: a guide to this beautiful work and its best recordings
A guide to Mozart's lively, sorrowful and beautiful work for violin, viola and orchestra, and some of the best recorded versions available
New documentary about Fanny Mendelssohn to be released in cinemas
Dartmouth Films will release Sheila Hayman’s feature film Fanny: The Other Mendelssohn on 27 October throughout the UK
Choral composer John Rutter receives Ivors Academy Fellowship
Rutter joins a list of 24 Fellows, including John Adams, Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Judith Weir CBE and Sting
Royal College of Music launches free training programme for young bassoonists
The inaugural programme for students aged 11 to 18 will take place on select Sundays from November 2023 to April 2024
André Rieu Christmas concerts in Maastricht: all you need to know
Where can you see the Dutch violinist, dubbed the ‘King of Waltz’, and his Johann Strauss Orchestra during this year’s festive season?
The cello: a comprehensive guide
The larger cousin of the violin and viola, but smaller than the double bass, the cello is a popular bowed stringed instrument, capable of great range and expression
What are stringed instruments? Meet the members of the string family
As their name suggests, stringed instruments use vibrated strings to produce sound – but how are these instruments played and what are the different types?
Soprano Kathryn Lewek: How I made my name as Mozart’s Queen of the Night
The coloratura soprano describes her journey to become the most world’s most prolific Queen of the Night from Mozart’s Magic Flute
1953 Coronation choristers celebrate 70th anniversary
25 former boy choristers from the 1953 Coronation met at St John's Smith Square, London in July to celebrate the occasion’s 70th anniversary
The ten greatest cello concertos of all time
Here is our selection of the greatest pieces ever written for cello and orchestra. Do you agree?
Video: violinist Joshua Bell performs the Butterfly Lovers Concerto
Bell releases his new Butterfly Lovers recording for Sony Classical on 30 June 2023
The joys and challenges of composing a community oratorio
Composer Richard Peat shares the inspirations for his new community oratorio, The Sky Engine, which asks, Can a father and daughter save the world from climate catastrophe?
Adolfo Corrado wins BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2023
The 29-year-old Italian bass has won this year's BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, with the Audience Prize going to soprano Julieth Lozano Rolong from Colombia
'We must educate young musicians' ears and hearts' – violist Hsin-Yun Huang
The Juilliard School and Curtis Institute viola professor Hsin-Yun Huang reflects on music's cult of perfection
Interpreting composer Michael Tippett's musical scores
Ahead of BBC Two's broadcast of John Bridcut's new documentary about composer Michael Tippett, conductor Martyn Brabbins discusses deciphering Tippett's notoriously difficult musical scores
The Ivors Composer Awards re-launched as The Ivors Classical Awards
The Awards, which for the past 20 years have recognised classical and jazz composing, will now concentrate on classical composition, with new Jazz Awards launched in 2024
Beethoven reframed: Gianandrea Noseda's symphony cycle
Gianandrea Noseda’s new Beethoven symphony cycle reevaluates the composer through the music of George Walker and the art of Mo Willems, as he tells Charlotte Smith
Musical Destinations: Napa Valley, California
Laurence Vittes enjoys a wide array of music al fresco while enjoying fine food and, of course, the local wine at the region’s flagship festival
Psappha ensemble to close following withdrawal of Arts Council England funding
The UK group, dedicated to commissioning, performing and promoting new music, was founded in 1991
Charles’s Coronation: what music was played at the coronation of King Charles III?
The Queen’s coronation in 1953 was a large state affair, lasting three hours and including many hymns and anthems. But what music might be included in Charles’s coronation, some 70 years later?
Philharmonia Fantastique: an orchestral odyssey
In the footsteps of Prokofiev and Britten, with assistance from a sprite and an A-list team, American composer Mason Bates has created a new audiovisual guide to the orchestra; he explains all to Tom Stewart
The Clarion Choir: East Meets West
For Steven Fox, music director of The Clarion Choir, Rachmaninov’s anniversary year presents the perfect opportunity to celebrate the composer’s often overlooked choral music, as he tells Charlotte Smith
Viola music: 12 of the best works
We reflect on some of our favourite pieces for this most beautiful – though historically unfairly dismissed – stringed instrument
How has violin sound developed through the years?
Over the past 100 years, string playing style and technique has gone through significant changes; Ariane Todes reviews the current trends