‘An essential companion.’ Jeremy Denk, New York Times

‘Illuminating, accessible and detailed.’ Observer

Bach’s six cello suites for solo cello are among the most cherished works in musical literature. Little-known for some two hundred years after their composition, they have acquired an aura that enthrals audiences worldwide.

Internationally renowned cellist Steven Isserlis goes deep into the history and the emotional journey of the suites, bringing to bear all his experience of performance to offer a rewarding companion for everyone, from the casual listener to the performing musician.

For centuries, being a ballerina has been synonymous with being beautiful, thin, obedient and feminine. It is the crucible of womanhood, together with the harassment, physical abuse and eating disorders endemic at top schools. Can we abide this in a post #MeToo world?

Weaving together her own time at America’s most elite ballet school with the lives of renowned ballerinas throughout history, Alice Robb interrogates what it means to perform ballet today. She confronts the all-consuming nature of the form: the obsessive and dangerous practices to perfect the body, the embrace of submission and the idealisation of suffering.

Yet ballet also gifts its dancers ‘brains in their toes’, a way to fully inhabit their bodies and a sanctuary of control away from the pressures of the outside world. Perhaps it is time to reimagine its liberating potential.

Through 100 recordings, Lebrecht brings to life the composer as we’ve never seen him before. Unruly, offensive and hopeless in so much of his life, yes, but driven to a fault and devoted to his art, conquering deafness to compose some of the towering works of our culture.

Along the way, we encounter the great musicians who have taken on the challenge of Beethoven, in all their glories and foibles. In this revealing, unique biography, Beethoven emerges as a cornerstone of the modern world.

All recordings are freely available on Idagio and YouTube.

‘A treat from the very first page… written with style and humour, this is a perfect introduction to classical music for a beginner, a companion for the music lover, and sheer entertainment for both.’ – Joanna Lumley

Nearly all of us have the capacity to enjoy classical music but too often we are put off by not knowing where to look, or what we are actually looking for. We feel the need of a guide to help navigate such vast and varied artistic terrain.

With this delightful book, historian Tim Bouverie provides just this. Drawing on his lifelong passion for music, he has created a compilation of 100 classical masterpieces sure to move and be enjoyed by almost anyone. Some are well-known, some more idiosyncratic, others hidden gems waiting to be brought into the light. All are intended to comfort and inspire. He provides a short introduction to each piece – variously anecdotal, personal, historical and quirky – and a recommended recording to try.

Highly accessible and entertaining, Perfect Pitch is filled with engrossing stories and insights that bring to life 300 years of the world’s greatest music.

An accompanying playlist is available on Spotify.

“Nicholas Kenyon is an amiable and enthusiastic guide to a thousand years of classical music.”-Neil Fisher, The Times

“A wonderfully engaging survey. . . . It is what every music lover needs close by. . . . We are left in no doubt about music’s extraordinary power.”-Ian Thomson, Financial Times

Immersed in music for much of his life as writer, broadcaster, and concert presenter, former director of the BBC Proms Nicholas Kenyon has long championed an astonishingly wide range of composers and performers. Now, as we think about culture in fresh ways, Kenyon revisits the stories that make up the classical tradition and foregrounds those that are too often overlooked. This inclusive, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic guide highlights the achievements of the women and men, amateurs and professionals, who bring music to life.

Taking us from pianist Myra Hess’s performance in London during the Blitz, to John Adams’s composition of a piece for mourners after New York’s 9/11 attacks, to Italian opera singers singing from their balconies amidst the 2020 pandemic, Kenyon shows that no matter how great the crisis, music has the power to bring us together. His personal, celebratory account transforms our understanding of how classical music is made-and shows us why it is more relevant than ever.

‘Wonderful . . . This is a book of discovery that speaks of music as a life force, that urges us to live our lives through music. ‘
COSEY FANNI TUTTI

‘A marvellous book that opens our ears to sonic worlds that will enrich and delight us, whoever and wherever we are.’
IAN McMILLAN

‘A clear-eyed, utterly fascinating exploration of outsiders in classical music. Molleson’s excellent book challenges and enlightens.’
SINÉAD GLEESON

This is the impassioned and exhilarating story of the composers who dared to challenge the conventional world of classical music in the twentieth century.

Traversing the globe from Ethiopia and the Philippines to Mexico, Jerusalem, Russia and beyond, journalist, critic and BBC Radio 3 broadcaster Kate Molleson tells the stories of ten figures who altered the course of musical history, only to be sidelined and denied recognition during an era that systemically favoured certain sounds – and people – over others.

A celebration of radical creativity rooted in ideas of protest, gender, race, ecology and resistance, Sound Within Sound is an energetic reappraisal of twentieth-century classical music that opens up the world far beyond its established centres, challenges stereotypical portrayals of the genre and shatters its traditional canon.

‘Sound Within Sound is absolutely inspiring. Everyone who loves music should own this book.’
CHARLOTTE HIGGINS

‘Introduces us to thrilling dreamers from the last century who believed that music could fundamentally – and disruptively – recalibrate our lives . . . Molleson’s enthusiastic style and eye for character and place give them life.’
JUDE ROGERS, OBSERVER

‘The vividness and passion of Molleson’s portraits of these ten extraordinarily gifted, exasperating, headstrong individuals is wonderfully engaging.’
DAILY TELEGRAPH

In this unpretentious and instructive book, internationally celebrated conductor and teacher John Mauceri brings to bear his lifetime of experience and profound knowledge. A protégé of Leonard Bernstein and an artist who has performed and recorded all over the world, Mauceri is the guide par excellence to the joys of classical music.

Mauceri illuminates our understanding of what it is we hear when we listen; how each piece bears the traces of its history; and how the concert experience allows us constantly to discover music anew.

‘Wonderful’ Marilyn Horne

‘This delightful book is not so much the opening of a door as an affectionate hand on the arm, guiding the reader with enthusiasm and intelligence into a world of beauty’ Stephen Hough

Have you ever wondered how blues influenced rock music? Or why jazz went Latin? Classical or rock, everyone has their favourite music style, but how did your top choice come about? If you find yourself asking these musical questions and more, then this may be the book for you!

Music is a compelling and richly illustrated history of the most unifying art form in the world. Explore the roots of all genres from chants of the middle ages through the grandeur of the classical period to the modern rhythm of blues, jazz, hip-hop, and pop. Music includes illustrated histories of instruments and listening suggestions for each musical genre. Spectacular galleries display families of instruments from around the world, while special features showcase the evolution of key instruments, such as the piano and the guitar, and profile iconic innovators such as Mozart, Billie Holiday, and David Bowie. Charting every musical revolution, from bone flutes to electronica and from jazz to hip-hop, this visually stunning history of music will hit the right note, whether you are into pop or rock, or disco or rap, classical or opera.

Explore the magical world of music like you’ve never known it before, and discover:

-Revolutionary musical developments outlined step by step
-Biographies profiling the lives and works of groundbreaking musicians
-Collection spreads feature families of instruments, such as the gamelan
-“Story of” spreads chart the evolution of individual instruments
-Key Works boxes provide listening suggestions for different music styles
-Illustrated glossary clearly explains musical terminology and genres

This magnificent book about music charts and explains the entire global history of music, whether it’s music in the Middle Ages, to the Sounds of Soul, music in the Romance period to Renaissance and so much more. This new edition of Music has been updated with the latest facts and information, including the latest on streaming music, with specially-comissioned photography including a Stradivarus guitar, the earliest cello known to survice and a guitar used personally by Bob Dylan!

A must-have volume for musicians, music students or simply those wanting to learn about the history of their favourite music genre or their chosen instrument, Music is sure to delight!

Do you know your Chopin from your Schubert? Your concerto from your cadenza?

The Classic FM Puzzle Book 365 will sharpen your musical knowledge with a fun and stimulating puzzle to challenge and entertain you every single day of the year.

From quizzes to wordsearches, logic tests to missing symbols – via emojis, sudoku, crosswords and more – our classical music experts have created a compendium of 365 puzzles to keep you guessing the whole year round.