Works
The best works by Ethel Smyth
We look at some of the best pieces of music by the leading composer and suffragette Ethel Smyth
Best Star Wars music: all nine Star Wars music scores ranked worst to best
How do all nine Star Wars scores stack up? Here's our ranking of the best and worst Star Wars music
Songs about death: 10 of the most powerful melodies on mortality
Our round-up of the most powerful songs about death
Best American folk songs: 10 of the best-loved US folk tunes
From 'Freight Train' to 'Blue Moon of Kentucky', we run through some of the best-loved US folk tunes
Ravel Boléro: what makes it so unique?
Sad songs: 10 of the most melancholy melodies
Our round-up of some of the saddest and most haunting songs in musical history
The best violin concertos of all time
Here is our selection of the greatest pieces ever written for violin and orchestra. Do you agree?
Best lullabies: 8 of the most famous
Our roundup of the most famous lullabies of all time
Most relaxing piano music
If you're wanting to de-stress and calm down, here are some of the piano repertoire's most relaxing pieces of music – chosen by pianist Tokio Myers
Best symphonies by female composers
Until recently it was widely accepted that female composers avoided the symphonic form – but this assumption could not be further from the truth. Here are some of the greatest symphonies ever written by female composers
Best Christmas classical music
What is the perfect Christmas music to get oneself into the festive spirit? We ask ten of our writers to name the Christmas music they couldn’t imagine Yuletide without
Christmas musicals: ten of the best
As if Christmas wasn’t bright and cheery enough without having a song and dance about it as well… Here's our rundown of the very best Christmas musicals on stage and screen.
The 20 best operas of all time
Are these the best operas of all time? Or have we missed your favourite?
Christmas carol meanings: what your favourite carols signify
What do the words of our best-known Christmas carols actually mean? Here are some popular Christmas carol lyrics and meanings
The greatest piano concertos of all time
These are some of the greatest piano concertos - the finest works ever written for piano with orchestra
Best operas for beginners: five operas newbies will love
Want to try opera but don't know where to start? Freya Parr shares her favourites for opera newbies
Darkest nursery rhymes: the disturbing meanings behind some of our best-loved rhymes
Our guide to the darkest nursery rhymes of all time. Check out their sinister meanings...
Best folk songs: 15 most famous folk songs
Our round up of the world's best folk songs
Break-up songs: ten best songs about heartbreak
Our roundup of the ten best break-up songs
Georgia Mann: the broadcaster and writer on the music that shaped her
Broadcaster and writer Georgia Mann (Essential Classics, BBC Proms) selects the music that has had the biggest impact on her
Funniest songs: ten of the best humorous songs
From Mozart to Victor Borge via Gilbert and Sullivan, we present ten of the wittiest songs from the worlds of classical music, opera, music hall and more
Songs about friendship: ten of the best
We round up some of our favourite songs that celebrate friendship
Christmas guitar songs: ten of the easiest
Our round up of the ten easiest Christmas songs to play on the guitar
War songs: ten of the most famous songs about war
Whether they express a soldier's homesickness, a sense of optimism, or a yearning for loved ones fighting far away, songs about war can be highly emotional, evocative and uplifting. Here are some of our favourite war songs