audiences | Elbow Music

Oct 9

‘It’s crazy to think that you might graduate not having the skill to do the job you’re going to be hired to do’ – an interview with Rachel Barton Pine

Rachel Barton Pine has one of the most eclectic, unconventional and interesting careers of all violinists – whether playing thrash-metal...

Oct 2

‘If you play without a safety net, it makes you freer’ – an interview with Vilde Frang

My interview with Vilde Frang for the cover of the November issue of BBC Music Magazine has just come out, as she releases her...

Aug 28

Busman’s Holiday

Two weeks of music, sun, wine and good company in France? Yes, please! Summer festivals are one of the perks of being a classical...

May 4

The normalisation of classical music

OPINION: Far from its reputation as exclusive, classical music is often itself excluded from mainstream culture. As more young people...

Apr 18

Musical Utopia in Cornwall

A week in the magical musical bubble of St Endellion’s Easter Festival offered a hopeful vision of grass-roots classical music in the UK...

Jun 22, 2023

TwoSet at the Troxy

Two Australian orchestral violinists have found millions of fans for classical music with their hilarious and geeky videos. I went to the...

Apr 6, 2023

I ❤️ Beethoven

For the first stop of my Interrail trip, I make a beeline for Beethoven’s home city of Bonn and find him around every corner I love...

Mar 25, 2023

Human imperfection will save us

Artificial intelligence impersonations of human writing are very good – and that’s why this writer isn’t afraid of them There’s lots of...

Dec 31, 2020

Let’s go outside

With classical music forced out of the concert hall, one of the few positives of this year has been rediscovering it in the wild This...

Jul 5, 2020

A plea for the arts

Royal Festival Hotel c.

Jun 25, 2020

7 ways to support musicians

If music has helped you through this crisis, there are many ways to show your gratitude What has listening to classical meant to you...

Mar 18, 2020

Words and meaning

In my previous article I described why and how this strange time might be a chance for musicians to start writing. This isn’t just an...

Mar 18, 2020

Time to write

At a time of crisis for public musical life, performers can remain positive by practising a different way of communicating – with words. Elb

Jan 28, 2019

Mad for it

As research shows that young people are coming to classical music through film and club music, here‘s an article I wrote in 2018 for ISM...

Mar 28, 2018

Getting my fix at half past six

The London Symphony Orchestra’s early evening concert format is a welcome development in the city’s entertainment landscape, for music...

Mar 8, 2016

Interview with violinist Regina Carter

Regina Carter started with Dont and Galamian but she only truly found her voice when she discovered jazz. She tells Ariane Todes about...

Oct 8, 2015

The Freewheelin’ Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma turns 60 on 7 October, 2015, and to celebrate one of the world's best-loved classical music heroes, here is an interview I did...

May 14, 2015

Happy Birthday, David Byrne!

David Byrne turns 63 today, and yet he still has one of the most energetic and interesting careers of any musician anywhere in the world....

Dec 4, 2014

The future of music competitions

Competitions are a vital part of the classical music world, whether you like it or not. They offer many benefits to players and to the...

Nov 11, 2014

The unbearable lightness of being Gary Hoffman

Gary Hoffman is one of the music world’s best-kept secrets, a fine and uncompromising cellist whose rare appearances mesmerise. For him,...