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Behind the music

List of News Articles

  1. 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!
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  2. 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.
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  3. The (mis)numbering of symphonies

    18 May 2026

    We look at the thorny issue of how symphonies are numbered. Warning: may cause confusion!
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  4. 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.
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  5. 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?
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  6. Mozart and the development of the piano concerto

    20 April 2026

    How one composer almost single-handedly raised the piano concerto to unprecedented heights
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  7. Beethoven, Schubert and Mahler illustrated from left to right

    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]
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  8. A man plays the cello, his bow on the string

    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 ...
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  9. The SCO Chorus and Orchestra confucted by Maxim.

    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 ...
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  10. 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 ...
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  11. The viola comes out of the shadows

    23 March 2026

    How two British violists brought the instrument into the spotlight
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  12. Czech composers (beyond Dvořák)

    16 March 2026

    How many others can you name?
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