Faust proves the devil has the best tunes

The story of the man who sells his soul for worldly gain has been a powerful influence on composers and writers for centuries. As three new Fausts open at the Royal Opera House, Philip Hensher journeys into the abyss

Did artists foresee the first world war?

In the years before the Great War, artists from Stravinsky to Picasso started rebelling against the old order. Perhaps they already sensed that a catastrophic change was on its way, writes Margaret MacMillan

Does everyone share Hall’s vision of making BBC arts as important as news?

Maggie Brown: Ratings-focused managers could sabotage director general's plans for more Glyndebourne, Hay festival and Royal Academy

Perth festival 2014: Saturday 22 February – as it happened

We’re back for a final day at Perth festival, with interviews with Martin Amis and the legendary theatre director Robert Wilson. Plus we’ve got Hannah Kent’s books festival diary, pictures of circus performance Bianco and a chat with Pond

Dylan Thomas script of South Pacific mystery gets first ever production

BBC Radio 3 produces little-known screenplay The Beach of Falesa, taken up by Richard Burton but never made into a film

Brokeback Mountain – review

Charles Wuorinen's opera based on Annie Proulx's short story has fine performances, but his music rarely transcends the text enough to enhance the drama, writes Andrew Clements

On my radar: Max Richter’s cultural highlights

Composer Max Richter talks to Leah Harper about Zadie Smith, the Edinburgh festival and why he has a soft spot for James Joyce's Ulysses

Carol Ann Duffy writes poem for Royal Philharmonic Society’s bicentenary

Poet laureate celebrates 200 years of society that commissioned Beethoven's 9th with ode titled Philharmonic

Top 10 biopics

Cinema has always liked telling a good life story, and all kinds of biography – from the humblest to the starriest – have been given a filmic going-over. The Guardian and Observer's critics pick the 10 best in a very crowded field

The Leonard Bernstein Letters edited by Nigel Simeone – review

This cleverly edited collection of letters reveals an attractive and energetic man. But Bernstein now has a mixed musical reputation – even if West Side Story will live forever. Philip Hensher

Top 10 animated movies

Moving bits of paper around (the old way) or painting with billions of pixels (the new) has conjured up some of the greatest films of all time. From The Iron Giant to Persepolis, Guardian and Observer critics pick the 10 best

My hero: John Tavener by Steven Isserlis

Having asked Tavener to write a short piece for him, the cellist Steven Isserlis was delighted to be provided with the huge and deeply romantic The Protecting Veil

The Story of Music by Howard Goodall – review

Howard Goodall succesfully mixes erudition and populism in this diverting companion volume to his TV history of classical music, writes Ben East