From Böhm to best

At his own fireside Bayreuth, James Fenton wonders if he is a Ring-recidivist as he tackles Wagner

Fingers on the pulse

The daughter of a Japanese diplomat, Mitsuko Uchida made her name with recitals of Mozart. Despite critical acclaim for her recordings - most recently for her Schubert series - she prefers to concentrate on live performances

After the fall

It had stars, money and attention lavished upon it. It sold out weeks in advance. So where did Sophie's Choice go wrong?

The Romantic Modernist

For 40 years Nicholas Maw has felt himself a musical outsider, his lyrical, melodic style at odds with his contemporaries. Tonight, with the world premiere of his opera Sophie's Choice at Covent Garden, he will achieve the wider recognition many feel he deserves as one of Britain's finest composers

Wagner interrupted

A radical production of Die Meistersinger in Hamburg caused mayhem in the audience. Tim Ashley was there

Not fade away

As our appetite for cheap entertainment grows, so challenging art withers. We must do something about it - and now, says Michael Berkeley

The sound of startled grass

How did quiet, introspective Emily Dickinson become the darling of modern composers? By filling her poems with the clanging, thumping noises of everyday life, says Valentine Cunningham

Keeper of the flame

Born in East Germany, Alfred Brendel was a painter and composer before becoming a musician. Largely self-taught, he is acknowledged as one of the world's great pianists, an exponent of the classical tradition. He is also a published poet

Louis the first

The son of a cathedral organist, Louis Andriessen has attracted controversy since he was a radical student composer. His complex modernist music, including a 'Marxist opera', have brought international recognition and will be celebrated at a UK festival

Melody maker

He disliked Mozart, was an unexceptional pianist and mixed up Sibelius and Delius. But Noël Coward understood the power of music, says Ian Bostridge

Calm after the storm

Colin Davis spent years in the 'amateur wilderness' and was known for his fiery temperament. He suffered personal and professional upheavals but went on to find success abroad. At 75 he is now recognised as one of the UK's finest conductors

Forgive and remember

Mozart's emperor Tito is benevolent, gentle and merciful - everything the American tenor Bruce Ford felt he couldn't be after watching the events of September 11

Give peace a chance

After years of infighting, the Wagner family is losing its grip on the Bayreuth festival. Now perhaps we'll be able to concentrate on the music

The uncertainty principle

Towards the end of his life the great American composer John Cage turned his hand to etching - with the I Ching as his guide. Kathan Brown remembers the years that he spent in her studio