Classical musicians are taught that, with any piece not attached to a living composer, there is a performance tradition to follow in each act of interpretation. Each composer, style and period imposes certain parameters of  convention and taste — even in instances where all we have are diary entries and broad sketches to provide clues about the practices of yore.

CBC Radio 2 In Concert host Paolo Pietropaolo has won his second Prix Italia for the Signature Series, his compelling, accessible and entertaining ongoing series on the character of each key in Western music.

Whether a person is making it or listening to it, music is like the clichéd river whose waters are different every time one steps into it.

We have a chance to hear a live performance tomorrow of the French composition that heralded this great, golden chapter in the instrument’s history: the Grande pièce symphonique. The 30-minute work will be performed by Simon Walker, one of Toronto’s bright young organ virtuosos, at St James Cathedral, at 1 p.m.

The lifetime of Sibelius (1865-1957), like that of equally long-lived George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), spans such major changes in Western society, politics and culture, that they lived in two different worlds — the Romantic and the Modern.

This does not mean a quick polish or two-hours of warmup, or even a last-minute tuning.

The flap over changes in administration at the Banff Centre attracted a lot of online commentators, many of whom heaped scorn on the idea of including other genres of music in the residencies. It’s an ethos of exclusivity and, by inference, superiority that I believe diminishes the artform.

Pianist Yoko Hirota offers up a magnificent interpretation of Toronto composer Brian Current‘s 2007 piece Sungods on her new album, Voces Boreales, released last night by Centrediscs at a Canadian Music Centre concert.

Ever wonder what the difference between a philharmonic and a symphony orchestra is? How about a chamber orchestra? Your questions answered.

Looking into the controversy over the origins of Canada's national anthem, O Canada.