There was a time not long ago in the classical music world when melody was considered passé. Young composers making their way through academia were encouraged to leave hummable tunes behind in favor ...

But, counterintuitive though it might seem, I don’t think sound is always a helpful way to understand genre. I’m a composer and conductor in the field that’s broadly known as Western classical music, ...

"Accessible" can be a dirty word in contemporary classical music. For decades, composers have outfitted their works with gnarly tangles of complexity, and heaven forbid if there's a tune you can hum.

How many Irish composers do you know? Aficionados of Irish classical and folk music will of course know of many. Outside of this, the average music lover's knowledge of Irish composers is likely ...