Kató Havas obituary
Other lives: Celebrated violinist and violin teacher
Francesca Simon: how I turned The Monstrous Child into ‘Wagner for teens’
The Horrid Henry author’s YA novel about a smart-talking Norse goddess has become an opera – what will young audiences make of it?
Leo Black obituary
Other lives: Distinguished producer for Radio 3
Last Train to Hilversum by Charlie Connelly review – the magic of radio
A heartfelt and nostalgic guide to radio takes in birdsong, The Goon Show, and pre-digital crackles and pops
Fryderyk Chopin by Alan Walker review – romance, rage and swooning admirers
An authoritative, accessible biography details Chopin’s personal turmoil and captures his true musical significance
‘He was high-brow, low-brow, every-brow!’ – the genius of Leonard Bernstein
Composer, conductor, inspiration, FBI suspect … Leonard Bernstein was born 100 years ago this August, and this summer’s Proms will celebrate his work. Musicians, critics and his own family remember an astounding talent
Bill Murray, Jan Vogler and friends review – a curious and uniquely pointless evening
An eccentric programme of readings and music was lapped up by an audience there to gawp at a Hollywood legend
Classical composers unfairly tainted by STD rumours, book claims
Author looks at 70 composers from Beethoven to Britten, also dismissing alcoholism claims
Debussy by Stephen Walsh review – a fine biography of a painter in sound
The French composer was once dismissed as a Romantic or ‘impressionist’ who prioritised mood and feeling. This life digs deep into his innovations
Neil Gaiman on Coraline the terrifying opera: ‘Being brave means being scared’
The writer’s gripping tale of a young girl trapped in a button-eyed world has been turned into a macabre opera. Did they tone down the horror? Our writer meets composer Mark-Anthony Turnage as she goes backstage
Unmasked by Andrew Lloyd Webber – digested read
The memoirs of British musical theatre’s foremost composer are rendered prestissimo by John Crace
From the House of the Dead shines a light into darkness
Janáček’s final opera is peopled with aggressive and unpleasant characters, but the beauty of its music speaks powerfully of the need for empathy and understanding, says the conductor of a new production
Michele Hanson obituary
Writer whose Guardian columns took the dross of the everyday as the basis for perceptive, funny and unflinching observation
Debussy: A Painter in Sound review – a lasting impression
Stephen Walsh’s fascinating study shows the composer progressing from ‘dainty’ sketches to extraordinary works of our time
David Greer obituary
Other lives: Academic and expert on English music of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods