Für Elise might be the most recognisable piece in the countdown so far (which, by the way, looks set to continue for about 5 years if I...

"Daddy, when does it get fun?" my youngest daughter asked recently when the music I was listening to caught her attention. My reply - "it...

I like guitar music - rock, folk, acoustic pop, you name it. If you include electric guitars, it's hard to imagine any instrument being...

I know you're confused. The latest piece in this increasingly elongated blogging countdown is Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, which was...

And if that title wasn't corny enough for you, here's a joke: I know a Slovakian sound technician, and a Czech one too, a Czech one too....

There's nothing subtle about Music for the Royal Fireworks, Handel's bombastic piece that ranks 74th in the Classic FM chart. Apparently...

We'll get to the fish, but you'll have to bear with me. Ranking at 76th place in the hall of fame is Chopin's Nocturne in E flat major....

It's been a while since I wrote a blog post, mainly because of working on and releasing my own music. As I returned to Classic FM's top...

I've been surprised by how many pieces were new to me in this top 100 countdown so far. You hardly expect a Classic FM ranking to include...

Ask any music student what they think of Sibelius and I'll guarantee most won't be thinking of the Finnish composer. Instead, they'll...

Emperor Joseph II supposedly made the criticism "too many notes" about one of Mozart's new pieces. I'd love to hear what he thought about...

A couple of quick ones today. Ludovico Einaudi's I Giorni (#84) is probably the least classical piece of music in the countdown so far....

Bach's St Matthew Passion ranks in 85th place in Classic FM's Hall of Fame, being described as one of the greatest masterpieces of...

After a hiatus, I'm diving back into my countdown through Classic FM's top 100 popular classics. Handel makes his first appearance at 86...

#88 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - John Williams In my last post I mentioned the orchestral instrument libraries I compose with. One of...

YouTube comments on classical music videos are often quite helpful, and I've titled this post with some words from one of them. John...

Maybe I'm a sucker for punishment but this is the second opera on the top 100 list and again I decided to watch the whole thing on...

#92, Organ Symphony No. 5 in F major - Charles-Marie Widor Feet are the most underutilised body parts in music. Drummers, pianists and...

It's been said that in previous centuries violinists were the rock stars. Paganini was melting faces with four strings long before...

For a long time I didn't understand why some people were drawn to sad songs. Mystified by an advert for the 'Greatest Tearjerkers'...