Guardian Music — Jean-Efflam Bavouzet(Chandos, Three CDs)There are any number of ways of navigating a route through Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas on disc, but after his series devoted to Haydn and Debussy, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is opting for the most straightforward, a... more info

Guardian Music — Inspiring clarinettist who played a key role in new music and performance on period instrumentsAlan Hacker, who has died aged 73, was a musician of unusually wide-ranging interests and enthusiasms. As a clarinettist he inspired many composers, who of... more info

Chorus.fm — *Skip the Foreplay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wyGfoeFPpjk)*'s new video (in the replies) makes *The Offspring* (http://www.absolutepunk.net/theoffspring)'s new single sound like Mozart. more info

Dlisted — Looking like a come-to-life Ganguro Bratz doll, the heir to the lucite throne Courtney Stodden and her creepy queefbag of a husband Doug Hutchison showed the People of Walmart how to truly bring refinement and grace to a big-box store when they shopp... more info

Guardian Music — Alexander Melnikov (piano), Jerusalem Quartet(Harmonia Mundi)Having scarcely ventured into chamber music writing before, Schumann suddenly composed three string quartets, a piano quartet and a piano quintet in one year: 1842. While the piano quarte... more info

Guardian Music — Contemporary classical music is devoid of melody and appeal, all noise and no fun. At least, that's the cliche. But this is music that is very much at the heart of our modern world1. It all sounds like a squeaky gateThere are two sides to this. Fi... more info

Guardian Music — All nine symphonies in a week? As he prepares for his Proms extravaganza, Daniel Barenboim reveals how to make Ludwig sound modern – and why music isn't there to help us relaxIs classical music a means of escape from the world and all the worries i... more info

Topix — When: 8 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. May 1, 8 p.m. May 4 and 2 p.m. May 6. Mark Kanny is the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's classical music critic and can be reached at 412-320-7877 or via e-mail. Mozart was a genius before he moved to Vienna in 1781, but the ... more info

Guardian Music — Hampstead theatre; Royal Festival Hall; St Olave Hart Street LondonWater seems very much in vogue in chamber opera these days. It gradually seeped across the broad deck of the Linbury stage at the Royal Opera's Heart of Darkness last year, and now it... more info

Guardian Music — Frang, a Norwegian who performed with Mariss Jansons when she was just 13, is looking forward to performing in London and rescuing some of the violin repertory from 'student classes and old ladies'As the pianist and writer about music Charles Rosen ... more info