Ryanair's musical instrument policy came in for further criticism this week, after it emerged that a twelve-year-old violinist and her father had been prevented from boarding a plane from Germany to the UK after refusing to pay £190 for a seat for the instrument. Francesca Rijks, a pupil at Chetham's,......Read More

Serenata, an event billed as Britain's first ever classical music festival, came to an end yesterday. As festival goers left the idyllic hill-top location with its views across the Dorset coastline, the general feeling was that the event had been a success, but that many things could have been done......Read More

It has emerged that the board of Scottish Opera is considering reducing the contracts of the company's orchestra members to just 26 weeks a year. Financial troubles at the company began in 2004, with an artistically acclaimed but financially ruinous Ring cycle. As part of the financial restructuring required in......Read More

This is 23 year old pianist Liu Wei. He lost his arms in an accident when he was 10, but that didn't stop him taking up the piano. And Richard Clayderman is apparently a favourite, despite the widely spaced arpeggios in the left foot. Now he is making it big......Read More

Maureen Wheeler, who co-founded the Lonely Planet series of travel guides with her husband Tony, has announced that she will be donating $5m AUD to Australian Opera. This will cover one third of the budget of the Ring cycle the company is planning for Melbourne in 2013. The donation is......Read More

An exhibition opens today at the Handel House Museum in Mayfair dedicated to Jimi Hendrix, who lived next door. Hendrix is known to have developed an interest in Handel as a result of the coincidence, and his record collection included The Messiah and the Water Music. The exhibition includes a......Read More

A survey carried out by Reader's Digest has revealed that most Britons know very little about classical music. One third of the 1,516 participants drew a complete blank about classical music, claiming never to have heard any. Elgar's recent stint on the nation's banknotes appears done him little good. 75%......Read More

It's all change at the Welsh National Opera costume department. A sale at the Cardiff Millennium Centre yesterday offered the public the chance to pick up costumes from the company's productions spanning the last 30 years. With four store rooms filled to capacity, the company decided a clear out was......Read More

Visitors to Prague will be getting a taste of the city's culture this year before they even land. This film was shot during a short haul flight from Manchester to Prague, on which soprano Vera Likérová, a member of Prague State Opera, performed a number of songs, including a traditional......Read More

The Vale of Glamorgan Festival, an annual event in South Wales dedicated to the work of living composers, has announced that Arvo Pärt will be attending this year's event. Pärt's music will be the focus of this year's festival, which runs 5 – 11 September. His 75th birthday falls on......Read More