Music

Young people can be inspirational in the audience, problematic on stage

Unlike rock’s phoney rebelliousness, classical music still has the power to challenge entrenched ideas

Radio stations and record companies are finally giving our native composers some exposure – now it’s up to us to listen

Art is not culture or entertainment, it is complexity, the ‘I’ in life, ambition, the ambiguity of humanity, serious about itself

Intimacy, authenticity and domescity combine to make for a great performance

Slick and professional popular productions have many merits, but the gap between Les Mis and opera is very wide

From the Beatles and Wilson to Bono and Blair, the rise of rock stars to power and influence has tempted leaders all over the world to cultivate them – even at the risk of ridicule

Despite the name, television drama The Sopranos has nothing to do with opera – or does it?

After a six-year gap, the tenor returns to his first love, singing the Evangelist in both the St Matthew and the St John Passions with Bernard Haitink

Was it the mud or the line-up or the plethora of new rivals that made it a struggle for Glastonbury Festival to sell all its tickets this year? As a Glasto regular since 1990, I’d suggest none of the above. Personally I think it had to do with the Vibe.