Poetic visions: my Vingt Regards to Messiaen

Messiaen’s epic Twenty Contemplations on the infant Jesus is one of the great 20th‑century pieces for piano. Ahead of a recital, Michael Symmons Roberts explains how its composition at the end of the second world war, and its filmic qualities, inspired his response – in poetry – to the work

Operalia: how Plácido Domingo put the x factor into opera

For more than 20 years, Domingo’s singing competition Operalia has provided a springboard for some of the world’s biggest stars. As it comes to London for the first time, he explains why he is on a mission to nurture new talent

What I learned from Peter Cropper, the maestro of the Midlands

The Lindsay String Quartet leader introduced me to Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Shostakovich: precious indeed for a girl growing up in the Potteries

The National’s Bryce Dessner on the American landscapes that inspire him

Ahead of a concert series in London of new music exploring the American musical landscape, the musician selects seven works that provide fertile ground for his imagination

Words Without Music review – Philip Glass’s deft, quietly witty memoir

From postwar childhood to hippy trail, New York taxi driver to cult composer, Philip Glass is a man on a musical mission

Atthis review – Sappho’s passions in a subtle song cycle

Georg Friedrich Haas’s 2009 work, sung with authority by Claire Booth, describes the unstable trajectory of the poet’s relationship with a younger woman

How Arthur Miller struck a discord with the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz

Playing for Time is one of Miller’s most harrowing plays – and questions are still being raised about his version of events

The Pied Piper of Hamelin review – Matthews’s tale is beautifully judged

Colin Matthews’s setting of Michael Morpurgo’s Pied Piper retelling was done full justice by the LPO and choir of Deansfield primary school, writes Erica Jeal

Where next for Simon Rattle?

In 2018, he steps down as conductor of one of the world’s greatest orchestras, the Berlin Philharmonic. What then? Ahead of Rattle’s London residency, his biographer Nicholas Kenyon asks if he will soon come home for good

Roger Wright: ‘Music should be a natural part of everyday life’

The arts interview: the chief executive of the Aldeburgh festival on Britten, Birtwistle and leaving Radio 3. By Nicholas Wroe

Michael Kennedy obituary

Journalist, music critic and authority on the works of Edward Elgar, Richard Strauss and Ralph Vaughan Williams

Second comings: the artists who found success the long way round

Ever dreamed of packing it all in and becoming an artist? Laura Barnett meets four people who prove it’s never too late to follow your heart

150 unmissable arts events for 2015: the biggest films, best TV, starriest theatre, thrilling art, essential sounds and more

Throw yourself into the new year with our bumper guide to the best of culture this spring

The best culture gifts for Christmas

If you’re stuck for presents, the arts can help! From Beano ukuleles to Play-Doh photographs and Yeezmas cards, here’s the best of what’s out there