A man with many strings
A life in music: From the Ed Sullivan show at 13 to Carnegie Hall to star turns on Sesame Street, the violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman has brought classical music to a mass audience. Interview by Nicholas Wroe.
Play it again …
A life in music: Once confined to art galleries, Philip Glass's minimalism now attracts huge, mainstream audiences. Now 70, he celebrates a bright future for serious music.
The call of the wild
Baritone Simon Keenlyside is home after years working abroad. He enjoys flamenco and the blues as much as opera, but his greatest inspiration comes from the natural world.
It’s Grimm down south
Classical: Four fairy tales are given a fresh spin, while Trevor Nunn brings the house down - literally, says Anthony Holden.
Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel first performed at Hay 20 years ago in the tiny Salem Chapel. His return to celebrate the festival’s 20th anniversary only underlined just how things have moved on for both the singer and the event. Terfel is fond … Continue reading
Dark matter
Nick Cave's brooding lyrics mark him out not only as a poet of the Australian outback, but as one of the greatest writers on love of our times, argues Will Self.
The Italian job
A life in music: Mark Elder led ENO's powerhouse era and turned the Hallé into one of Britain's most exciting orchestras. Now he is reviving a neglected Verdi masterpiece. Interview by Tom Service.
The original Delta force
Marybeth Hamilton's seminal work In Search of the Blues records the birth of the blues, the most powerful and lasting influence on modern music, says Caspar Llewellyn Smith.
Prince Charming remembers
Adam Ant tells the story of a life mapped out in chart positions in his autobiography Stand & Deliver. Fame takes its toll on the unwary, says Holly Johnson.
The life of Brian – and Mick, too
Bent Raj's photographic account of the Rolling Stones depicts a crucial turning point in their career, says Caroline Boucher
Music to our eyes
It's the detail that makes the story ... Joe Boyd on Studs Turkels's collection of musical interviews, And They All Sang.
The big chill
When you need someone to soundtrack your story set in the Arctic, who better than ambient king Brian Eno? Author Michel Faber celebrates a collaboration full of surprises.
Lost in music
Charles R Cross reveals the reality of Jimi Hendrix's life in his groundbreaking biography of rock's greatest guitarist, Room Full of Mirrors, says David Sinclair.
I’m in a band – and I’m not ashamed
Novelist Rick Moody explains how playing music has helped his writing, if not his reputation.
Confused by Dylan? You will be
Greil Marcus is inspiring and baffling in his exploration of Bob Dylan's great song, Like a Rolling Stone, says Sean O'Hagan.