Inside the score

From Book to Ballet: Adapting the Written Word for the World of Dance

Ballet choreographers and composers have long found inspiration in the pages of great novels, plays, and poems. Explore thrilling stage adaptations and learn how these creators translate our favorite texts into dance.

By Andrew McIntyre

Reading time estimated : 9min read

What Writers Hear in Music: From Proust to Murakami

Tolstoy heard danger. Proust heard memory. Woolf heard structure. Anaïs Nin heard an ideal she would have given twenty years of her life to reach. From Proust to Murakami, a…

By Maria Matalaev

Reading time estimated : 16min read

Forgotten Operas to Discover: Operas You Didn’t Know You Loved

Uncover a universe of forgotten operas to discover. Andrew Mellor delves into why certain works fade from view and how modern productions are successfully bringing them back into the spotlight.

By Andrew Mellor

Reading time estimated : 12min read

The Contradictions of Edward Elgar

Edward Elgar’s life was defined by contradiction: English yet European, shy yet socially ambitious, self-doubting yet monumental — and it is this tension that gives his music enduring force.

By Jack Pepper

Reading time estimated : 11min read

“The Small Talents Heaven Has Given Me for Music”: A History of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos

The story behind Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, six monumental works born of creative freedom, instrumental virtuosity, and an unmatched imagination for musical form.

By Darío Moreno

Reading time estimated : 8min read

Miles Davis at 100: A Classical Perspective on a Jazz Visionary

As Miles Davis’s centenary approaches, this Pepper’s Portrait reconsiders the jazz icon through a classical lens: orchestral colour, formal invention, and a lifelong drive to reshape musical language.

By Jack Pepper

Reading time estimated : 10min read

10 things to know about Verdi’s Requiem

From Rossini and Manzoni to thunderous Dies Irae and operatic controversy, discover 10 essential facts about Verdi’s Requiem, the dramatic masterpiece that transformed sacred music forever.

By Nadya Miryanova

Reading time estimated : 8min read

Music And The Making Of Nations: How 19th-Century Romantic Composers Shaped Europe’s Identities

In 19th-century Europe, music did more than mirror national feeling: it helped create it. From Finland to Italy, composers turned folk memory, exile, and myth into the sound of emerging…

By Maria Matalaev

Reading time estimated : 19min read

A Style of One’s Own: What Classical Musicians’ Clothes Say on Stage

What should classical musicians wear on stage? From Dalia Stasevska to Yuja Wang, Andrew Mellor examines how fashion, individuality, and representation are reshaping the look of performance.

By Andrew Mellor

Reading time estimated : 10min read

Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes: The Groundbreaking World of Modern Ballet

Impresario Serge Diaghilev brought together some of the 20th century’s greatest artists. Celebrate International Dance Day with the composers, choreographers, and designers who brought the world of the…

By Andrew McIntyre

Reading time estimated : 12min read