Books Recommendations
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The Brass Band Story
14th Jul 2026
Trombonist and academic Trevor Herbert combines pleasure and business in a new deep-dive into the history of British brass banding.
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The Brass Band Story
Trevor Herbert; Yale University Press; Hardback
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There Is Sweet Music Here
16th Jun 2026
Published to mark Wigmore Hall's 125th birthday, Julia Boyd's insightful biography of the beloved venue is compelling reading for anyone with even a passing interest in London’s cultural life throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
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There is Sweet Music Here: The World of Wigmore Hall
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Bows and Arrows
11th May 2026
In the latest of our new monthly book reviews, Katherine delves into Julian Lloyd Webber's 'engaging, forthright and often laugh-out-loud funny' autobiography, taking in his childhood in a chaotic, ever-expanding household filled with music, collaborations with the great and not-so-good, and the devastating health issue which led to his premature retirement from performing and a second career as a music educator.
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Nocturnes and the Fascination of Night Music
14th Apr 2026
Our new monthly series of reviews continues with a look at a new book by Susan Tomes in which she takes us on a musical journey under cover of the night, bringing composers, performers and music to life against their social and historic backgrounds. From Field and Chopin, to contemporary commissions and everything in between, the musical knowledge and command of language make an immersive combination that will encourage further listening and playing.
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Hitchcock & Herrmann - The Friendship & Film Scores That Changed Cinema
13th Mar 2026
In the first of a new monthly series reviewing books on music, we take a look at Steven C. Smith's recent examination of the remarkable relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann, which began in 1955 with The Trouble with Harry and ended abruptly and acrimoniously in 1966 when Hitchcock rejected Herrmann's score for Torn Curtain, taking in celebrated collaborations such as Psycho, North by Northwest, and Vertigo along the way.
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Eric Saylor's biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams
15th Dec 2022
David delves into one of our Books of the Year, offering his thoughts on a fascinating new biography by author and musicologist Eric Saylor of Ralph Vaughan Williams, released during the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth and published by Oxford University Press as part of their Master Musicians series.
