Wigmore Hall does not boast a grand façade, but behind it lies something extraordinary: one of the world’s most beloved concert halls, within whose walls we find exceptional performers, composers, impresarios and, of course, audiences. The story of Wigmore Hall is the story of music in the 20th and 21st centuries – and of London itself.

In this illuminating book, bestselling author Julia Boyd digs deep into the Hall’s rich history to uncover the secrets of its success. One of London’s prime cultural gems, Wigmore Hall has witnessed fame and failure, love and loss, joy and despair, triumph and tragedy. Reflecting the remarkable changes that have taken place in performance, repertoire and concert-going during its 125 years, it is a tale that encompasses the whole gamut of human experience. Above all, it reminds us of the wonder of music and the artists who create it.

With a stellar cast of performers, among them Ferruccio Busoni, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Benjamin Britten, Myra Hess and Leoš Janácek, not to mention audiences that included Virginia Woolf, Maurice Ravel and Bertrand Russell, this is the sometimes surprising but always intriguing history of ‘London’s most sumptuous temple of music’.

Praise for Julia Boyd:

‘Utterly absorbing’ The Times

‘Fascinating’ Daily Mail

‘Exceptional' Mail on Sunday

‘Gripping’ Spectator

‘A triumph’ iNews

Music is what makes us alive, mindful and connected to each other. Music is what makes us human. This is the power of music.

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason knows and feels the transformative power of music as much as any musician alive. From winning the prestigious BBC Young Musician Award to performing at Harry and Meghan’s wedding; from Bach’s solo suites to Bob Marley’s reggae; his ferocious passion shines through in every single performance, whether in a packed-out concert hall or on record.

But how was it that someone like him – a person of colour, from a state school in Nottingham – rose to the upper echelons of the classical music world? What were the obstacles that he had to overcome, what did he learn along the way, and how could a young person follow in his footsteps today?

In The Power of Music, Sheku explores the experiences and values that led him here, from a childhood of football practice and family music sessions, to his work today in the world’s finest concert halls and in the less privileged communities that surround them. As his star continues to rise, he shows us the darker side of an industry ruled by exclusivity and stubborn adherence to tradition.

With its power to transform our mental and physical health, to effect social change, and to make a house a home, Sheku shows us that classical music is for everyone, not just an elite few. The Power of Music is a celebration of music of all sorts and those who make it, and a rallying call to change.

‘A heartfelt plea for the importance of excellence in music performance and education, from one of the leading role models of our time' Sir Nicholas Kenyon, former director of the BBC Proms and Barbican Centre

'Powerful and inspiring' Sir Stephen Hough

Filled with concert listings and articles by leading writers, the BBC Proms Guide offers an insight into the performers and repertoire, as well as thought-provoking opinion pieces about music, musicians and music-making.

In an insomniac age, ambient and sleep music have become increasingly popular. But our association between music and sleep is not new: lullabies may be the oldest form of music, and are instantly recognisable across peoples and cultures. Why does the night hold such musical fascination for us, and what forms do its sounds take?

Susan Tomes explores the story of the nocturne, and the music of nighttime in the classical tradition. From John Field’s pioneering, lyrical nocturnes composed in the haunting atmosphere of St Petersburg’s midnight sun, to Chopin’s emotionally complex mastery of the form, composers and musicians have endlessly produced music about the night, in which the piano plays a central part. Tomes offers us a rich cultural history of this expressive, often melancholic, fascinating genre-which has gone on to inspire not just musicians but generations of artists and writers.

Music transports us and defines us. As a form of expression, it has been passed down through oral tradition, musical notation and recordings in a chain of connection that spans the globe, across the millennia. A History of the World in 50 Pieces follows that chain, collating 50 pieces of classical music that reflect our changing politics, social structures and technological development, and how composers, musicians and listeners have shaped those currents of history.
From Bach to Beethoven, Songlines to Saariaho, Hildegard of Bingen to the Happy Birthday song, Tom Service offers a fresh take on pieces that many of us think we know, and many more we might not. With each short, sharp analysis, he expands the typical canon and tests the boundaries of what we understand to be ‘classical music’ – or even music at all, such as the sounds of the earth’s rotation, and the songs of humpback whales.

An official BBC Radio 3 publication, A History of the World in 50 Pieces is a book for anyone curious about the power of music and how it shapes us and connects us.

‘The Four Seasons’, Antonio Vivaldi’s famous set of highly descriptive violin concertos, was published 300 years ago, but the themes it contains continue to reveal new truths to listeners today.

Through the rich imagery of each concerto and its accompanying poetry, Dr Hannah French uncovers the detail of Vivaldi’s personal and creative life. In conversation with fellow musicians and experts in health, nature, food, wine, and science, she helps bring a new perspective to the music through our shared experiences of the joys and fears of the ever-evolving seasons.

To spend a year in the company of Vivaldi is to witness the sounds of both ancient festivals and the beauty and brutality of the natural world – a rolling year that enhances our sensory experience of the seasons today.

A panoramic exploration of the ways in which pop and rock were transformed by the pioneering visionaries of classical music.

The worlds of pop and rock owe a much greater debt to the classical canon than we realise. A direct and fascinating lineage draws from the experimentalism of Pierre Henry to The Beatles’ ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, from Stockhausen to Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ and from Bruckner to Sonic Youth via Glenn Branca.

In Everything We Do is Music, Elizabeth Alker shines a light on the fertile ground that exists between the borders of classical music and pop. She showcases the innovators of the former and their fans and collaborators in the latter, and explores how together these artists challenged the notion that such musical worlds are mutually exclusive.

** Featuring interviews with Sir Paul McCartney, Steve Reich, Nils Frahm, Soweto Kinch, Jonny Greenwood, the Blessed Madonna and more. **

‘This exceptional book, written with a mother’s love for her seven creative children, sensitively offers profound and original insights and perspectives that enrich our culture. I feel so much wiser for reading it.‘ Bernardine Evaristo

When Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason’s eldest daughter, Isata, made her solo debut at the BBC Proms in 2023, she could not have been prouder. Watching years of hard work transform into a transcendent performance was profoundly moving, both as music-lover and parent.

All fractured when her younger daughter turned to her in tears a few days later, having read online abuse about her sister. Isata, it was declared, did not deserve to be there. How do you prepare your child for the fact that no matter their talent, technique or dedication, they will be told they do not belong?

Through conversations with her extraordinarily gifted family, Kanneh-Mason explores what it’s like to come of age in these turbulent times, when Black artistic self-expression is so often met with disparagement and abuse online – and offers a hopeful, powerful way through.

Music is what makes us alive, mindful and connected to each other. Music is what makes us human. This is the power of music.

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason knows and feels the transformative power of music as much as any musician alive. From winning the prestigious BBC Young Musician Award to performing at Harry and Meghan’s wedding; from Bach’s solo suites to Bob Marley’s reggae; his ferocious passion shines through in every single performance, whether in a packed-out concert hall or on record.

But how was it that someone like him – a person of colour, from a state school in Nottingham – rose to the upper echelons of the classical music world? What were the obstacles that he had to overcome, what did he learn along the way, and how could a young person follow in his footsteps today?

In The Power of Music, Sheku explores the experiences and values that led him here, from a childhood of football practice and family music sessions, to his work today in the world’s finest concert halls and in the less privileged communities that surround them. As his star continues to rise, he shows us the darker side of an industry ruled by exclusivity and stubborn adherence to tradition.

With its power to transform our mental and physical health, to effect social change, and to make a house a home, Sheku shows us that classical music is for everyone, not just an elite few. The Power of Music is a celebration of music of all sorts and those who make it, and a rallying call to change.

‘A heartfelt plea for the importance of excellence in music performance and education, from one of the leading role models of our time’ Sir Nicholas Kenyon, former director of the BBC Proms and Barbican Centre

‘Powerful and inspiring’ Sir Stephen Hough