Amanda Angel

We look to music to express things that are true and sincere, ways to express our innermost feelings and bare our souls. But sometimes what was once meaningful becomes cliché. Here are the top five.

Fortissimo just isn’t enough for some people. To show just how ear-shatteringly bombastic some composers want their music played, they have been known to double, triple and even quadr...

Despite a momentous career, critics often hated on Stravinsky. As such, we’ve culled Nicolas Slonimsky’s book Lexicon of Musical Invective for the five top written critiques of Stravi...

It seems counterintuitive that something as intimate and personal as music can be created using a formula. But here are five composers who wrote compelling works using complex mathematical principles.

On July 5, Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica staged a concert in Strasbourg, France that championed the cause of Russian political prisoners. It followed a tradition of using ...

There are a lot of anthems being sung this month with Canada Day, Bastille Day and Belgian National Day, not to mention July 4th all happening. Here are our top five anthems written by notable composers.

Before heading out to the beach or the country for some R&R this summer, we've put together a list of movies to watch just in case a rainy day or two keeps us indoors. Among them ...

As a salute to the orchestras that stepped outside the box when programming their concert seasons, here are our top five unlikely headliners -- from an ABBA tribute band to a NASA astronaut.

This week, the New York Philharmonic mounts Leos Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen in an anticipated, animal-themed production at Avery Fisher Hall. With no offense to Old Farmer MacDona...

In honor of Father’s Day, we list our top five fathers who greatly influenced the course of Western music through their progeny, and their children’s spouses.

After such a terribly long winter, it’s time to celebrate summer’s arrival. There's no better way to appreciate a balmy evening than taking in an outdoor concert in one of New York Ci...

Even with an impressive concert lineup, a vacation centered around a summer music festival can be a little boring if there’s nothing else of interest nearby. As orchestras and opera c...

It’s the time of year when beaches open, outdoor concerts begin and for hundreds of men and women in the Navy the time to spend six days in New York City for Fleet Week. Celebrate the...

As New Yorkers slog through a week of gray skies and wet weather, we're saluting the top five depictions of storms in classical music -- from Beethoven to Strauss.

Since we listed our Top Five Classical Music Apps in 2009, there's been an explosion in app development and devices that use them (iPad anyone?). Our new Top Five apps for the iPhon...

Now that Kate and Will are a certified married couple, we look at some fruitful unions within classical music royalty with the Top 5 @ 105 power marriages.

From Handel to Korngold, we look at the works that document the Exodus, the Passover Seder and other Jewish traditions at this time of year. Here our the Top five Passover works of classical music.

The quartet has been compared to a marriage. Like matrimony, infighting, clashing personalities and disparate ambitions are just a few causes for strife, break-ups, but also beautiful...

We’ve made it through the Ides of March in one piece, but now comes the true test: April Fools Day. In honor of this annual excuse for practical jokes, we’re looking at the best music...

For a country with a robust musical heritage, Ireland is underrepresented in the classical music canon. So in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, here are our Top five non-musical Irish influences on classical music.