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Keeping the wrist relaxed whilst playing the piano is crucial for flexibility, tone and melodic expression. A stiff wrist, on the other hand, can not only restrict the fingers’ range of movement but also lead to pain during longer practice sessions. Pianist and professor of piano, Ilja Scheps, recommends this basic principle: the wrist should always remain flexible whilst playing and follow the flow of the melody.

Scheps explains how this works and what pianists should bear in mind.

There are all sorts of films with music at centre stage: musicals, biopics about musicians, dance films, concert films, or simply moving stories about people whose lives are transformed by music. They're popular for a reason; powerful cinematic moments are amplified with songs, voices and emotions.

In this list of music films you'll find 100 of our favourites, from musical classics like Singin' in the Rain to rock music films like Purple Rain and Almost Famous, right through to music films for children, teenagers and families.

Hans Werner Henze’s Sinfonia N. 9 is a choral symphony against forgetting: a work about flight, persecution, guilt and resistance, based on Anna Seghers’s novel The Seventh Cross. In the year of Henze’s centenary, this late major work returns with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Rundfunkchor Berlin and Duncan Ward in Berlin and at the Lucerne Festival.

Karen Tanaka’s Verse of Light explores the tension between technology and humanity. This new concerto for trumpet and orchestra combines expansive sonorities, emotional depth and a reflection on how hope and empathy can endure in an increasingly digital world. 

So, you’ve decided to buy some sheet music, whether to simply learn a piece, study a score, or just to follow along with the music; fantastic!

You head over to your favourite sheet music retailer and have a look for the work you’re after, quickly realising that you’ve got a rather surprising number of options. One edition is marked as Urtext, another one has been edited by a performer you’ve seen playing the piece on YouTube, whilst a third edition appears as part of a larger collection. Some are intended for performers, others are geared towards students, and still more are there for all sorts of reasons.

There’s a question hanging in the air: does it actually matter which edition you choose?

With Skin Wrinkles Microscopic Zoom-in, Alex Paxton explores the sensory worlds of landscape, touch and close observation. The work for string orchestra transforms everyday perception into a vivid and highly imaginative musical experience. 

With Il gattopardo, Nino Rota created far more than a film score. His later symphonic suite transforms the musical world of Luchino Visconti’s cinematic masterpiece into an independent concert work exploring memory, social change and the passing of an era.

From Augusta Holmès’s monumental tone poem Roland Furieux to the most recent orchestral works by Elis Hallik and Golfam Khayam, this selection spans 150 years of music history. The works could hardly be more different: from Romantic symphonic writing and concert overtures to poetic soundscapes and experimental orchestral sonorities. At the same time, they reflect the composers’ diverse cultural backgrounds and musical traditions, demonstrating the breadth with which women composers have shaped and enriched the orchestral repertoire.

We present 14 works with listening examples: an invitation to discover a wide range of orchestral music, find inspiration for varied concert programmes and broaden the repertoire

Pēteris Vasks’ Presence is one of the composer’s most profound works for cello and strings. Balancing contemplation and dramatic intensity, it explores ideas of awareness, connection and human presence.