Photo by Joonas Sild on Unsplash What’s it like to be an “emerging” musician? We asked our Instagram followers - many of whom are performers and composers in their 20s and 30s - the following question: What’s something you find difficult about being an emerging musician? We left the term “emerging musician” deliberately vague, and understandably several people answered with “the term ‘emerging’”. One person also responded simply with “emerging”! While the description isn’t perfect (when and how does one “emerge?”), there were several themes among the responses. In an industry that doesn’t alw ..read more

If you’re looking for a book about a piano player, a piano student or a historical pianist, you’ve come to the right place. For a full list of piano novels, visit our online bookshop at Bookshop.org. Visit musical bookshop August Blue Deborah Levy, published in 2023 by Penguin Books Buy on Bookshop.org At the height of her career, concert pianist Elsa M. Anderson - former child prodigy, now in her 30s - walks off the stage in Vienna, mid-performance. Now she is in Athens, watching as another young woman, a stranger but uncannily familiar - almost her double - purchases a pair of mechanical d ..read more

More and more classical musicians and ensembles are joining TikTok to share concert snippets, rehearsal insights, performer interviews, conductor close ups, and shots from backstage. Follow us @alterclassical (although we’re yet to post any content) and these artists below to get started on your classical TikTok journey. You can also read 12 Classical Music TikTok Accounts to Follow. Sign up for the mailing list London Philharmonic Orchestra @lporchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), resident at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, is the most followed UK orchestra with alm ..read more

We’ve recently opened an online musical bookshop, stocked with fictional novels relating to classical music, with books about pianists, composers, organists, conductors, music therapists and more. Below is a selection of books published in 2022 about music students, cellists, orchestras, choristers, opera singers and former classical music prodigies, all of which can be found in our shop. To support us, order your copy via the links below (all go to the paperback edition where it’s available). Visit bookshop A Terrible Kindness Jo Browning Wroe, published by Faber & Faber Choral music is ..read more

The summer months bring a programme of opera festivals hosted in country houses across the UK. Most offer discounted tickets to under 35s. We’d recommend signing up a few months in advance of when you want to book your tickets so that you can be sure to make it onto the list in time for booking day. If you enjoy our content, cool! Please consider supporting us on Ko-fi with a £3 donation. Thank you. Sign up for the mailing list Glyndebourne 16-29 year olds Lewes, East Sussex Glyndebourne is an opera house in East Sussex, one hour from London by train. Every summer it hosts the Glyndebourne F ..read more

Get to know a whole range of non-classical musicians in these documentaries, all of which are available to watch on Netflix, iPlayer, Disney+ or free on Amazon Prime (at the time of writing). For more TV recommendations, check out our articles on 10 Documentaries about Classical Musicians and 10 Classical Music Films/TV Series on Netflix & Prime. If you enjoy our content, please consider supporting us on Ko-fi, where anyone who feels like it can bung us a few quid with no strings attached. Thank you. Sign up for the mailing list The Beatles: Get Back (2021) 9.1/10 IMDb, 94% Rotten Tomato ..read more

If you’re looking for a novel with a classical music theme to get stuck into, you’re in the right place. Each book is listed below, alongside their rating on Goodreads and a link to buy the book from Bookshop.org, Waterstones or Blackwell’s, or the audio book on Audible. You’ll find many more in our new online musical bookshop, hosted on Bookshop.org. Any novels bought using the links below or through the shop support us and also support local, independent bookshops around the UK. Thank you, and happy reading! Visit bookshop A Very Nice Girl Imogen Crimp, 2022 (3.6/5 on Goodreads) Bookshop.or ..read more

The world of classical music comedy isn’t huge but it does exist. We present: 11 comedians with funny things to say about classical music, or with a background in music that’s helped them get to where they are now. If you enjoy our content, you can support us on Ko-fi, where anyone who feels like it can gift us the price of a coffee with no strings attached. Thank you. Sign up for the mailing list Isabel Hagen @isabelhagen_ on Twitter & Instagram Isabel Hagen is a stand-up comedian and classically trained violist from New York. Every little girl’s dream. Isabel started stand-up stra ..read more

I started off working in Western classical music and having always been interested in contemporary forms of expression and the contextualisation of artistic practice in the socio-political ‘now’, this has naturally led to a career focus on new music. But I don’t know what ‘new music’ is anymore. Is the music I am working with ‘new’? Or ‘contemporary’? Is it ‘experimental’? Or maybe ‘contemporary classical’? There are also the Germany-specific ‘zeitgenössische Musik’ and ‘Neue Musik’ – is it those? As argued by George Lewis, “genre markers (…) are also about the reproduction of likeness.” This ..read more

TikTok has overtaken Google as the most popular website of 2021. Here are 12 accounts to follow for classical music content, from a mix of organisations and musicians. You’ll find behind-the-scenes videos, funny skits, answers to questions you’ve always wondered, and impressive performances. We’d love to hear about your favourite accounts too - tweet us @alterclassical! We’re on TikTok @alternative_classical but haven’t yet posted anything…follow so that you’re the first to see when we do! If you enjoy our content, you can support us on Ko-fi, where anyone who feels like it can gift us the pri ..read more