You've composed nine symphonies. Do you start another, or would you fall foul to the dreaded Curse of the Ninth? [insert dramatic music]

In which we bite the bullet and look at four unmissable works

Why are some Beethoven symphonies better-known than others?

Beethoven died in 1827. Who would be worthy to take on his mantle?

Stuck between the symphonies of Haydn and Beethoven, where do Mozart's fit in?

Your starter for ten: besides Schubert, who has an unfinished symphony to their name?

Our series on the symphony takes a slight detour to look at those works which don't quite make the grade.

In the latest in our series looking at the symphony, what makes Haydn so significant in its development?

Beethoven's Fifth has a nickname? Well, it does according to some people ...

Schubert is far from the only composer to have put a piece of music aside and leave it unfinished ...

What drew Beethoven to return to the same theme four times over?

Hen, Miracle, Imperial ... Where do all those nicknames come from?