Behind the music
List of News Articles

Music to be proud of: a history of LGBTQIA+ composers
1 June 2026
Join us as we celebrate Pride Month with a look at queer composers over the centuries!
Double concertos
25 May 2026
Concertos for more than a single instrument are a comparative rarity, making their performance something of a treat for everyone.
The (mis)numbering of symphonies
18 May 2026
We look at the thorny issue of how symphonies are numbered. Warning: may cause confusion!
Visions of the afterlife: the Requiem Mass
11 May 2026
Depending on whom you ask, death can be comforting or inspire holy terror, including in composers writing a Mass for the Dead.
Beethoven's Seventh: the apotheosis of the dance?
27 April 2026
How has Wagner's epithet affected the way we approach this favourite Beethoven symphony?
Mozart and the development of the piano concerto
20 April 2026
How one composer almost single-handedly raised the piano concerto to unprecedented heights
The Curse of the Ninth
13 April 2026
You've composed nine symphonies. Do you start another, or would you fall foul to the dreaded Curse of the Ninth? [insert dramatic music]
Philip Higham: "I’ve loved Schumann's Cello Concerto since I was young"
6 April 2026
We chat to our Principal Cello about Schumann, Widmann and much else besides ...
The SCO Chorus' favourite masses
30 March 2026
How to choose among the hundreds of masses that have been written over the centuries? Let the SCO Chorus be your guide ...
The SCO Chorus on music for Lent
29 March 2026
With Easter just around the corner, we delve into perhaps the richest (and often darkest) choral repertoire of all ...
The viola comes out of the shadows
23 March 2026
How two British violists brought the instrument into the spotlight
Czech composers (beyond Dvořák)
16 March 2026
How many others can you name?