The Music Workshop Company Blog

Each month the Music Workshop Company publishes two blogs. One blog, written by the MWC team addresses a key issue in Music Education or gives information about a particular genre or period of music. The other blog is written by a guest writer, highlighting good practice or key events in Music Education. We hope you enjoy reading the blogs.

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To contribute as a guest writer please email Maria@music-workshop.co.uk

Posts tagged “#CLASSICAL MUSIC”

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Louise Farrenc

Posted on 14th September 2025 at 15:53

Louise Farrenc was a celebrated pianist and composer.

Writing pieces from symphonies to piano solos to choral works. She worked with her husband to publish key piano anthologies and influenced a generation of pianists through her role as Professor of piano at the Conservatoire de Paris.

She died on 15th September 1875.

On the 150th anniversary of her death, we celebrate her life and work.

Image: Portrait of Louise Farrenc (1804-1875), French composer by Luigi Rubio

Concerts for Schools 2025

Posted on 12th August 2025 at 15:42

Recently we were asked about concerts and other trips linked to music that would be suitable for school visits. Such events can be a fantastic opportunity for students, opening up new ways of experiencing music and inspiring would-be young musicians to pursue their passions.

Many orchestras across the country offer concerts for schools as well as other activities to support young people’s music education. We’ve collated a selection of events across the country for the 2025/26 academic year. While our list is not exhaustive, it includes a range of events on offer from the some of the UK’s major musical institutions.

Information correct at August 2025.

Handel Zadock the Priest

Posted on 16th May 2024 at 11:56

Handel wrote ‘Zadock the Priest’ for the Coronation of George II in 1727. The work has been performed at the coronation of every British monarch since this date, most recently at the Coronation of King Charles III and Camilla on 6th May 2023.

The work is recommended for Year 4 and above in the Model Music Curriculum. Our activities inspired by the work explore how to create drama and anticipation in music.

Celebrating 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik': Mozart’s enduring classic

Posted on 15th July 2023 at 15:23

This month, we introduce Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with a focus on his popular serenade, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. Mozart’s talents gained him a reputation as a world-class musician during his lifetime, and he is still today regarded as one of the foremost composers not just of the Classical era, but of all time.

Although he only lived to be 35, Mozart was a prolific composer, producing hundreds of works across multiple genres, many of which remain in the repertoire today. But of course, one of his best-known works, which was completed towards the end of his life, on 10 August 1787, is Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. The piece is not only a staple of the classical repertoire, but it has been used for decades in popular culture – from film to advertising – making it one of the most instantly recognised classical works today.

Rachmaninoff at 150: the pianists’ composer

Posted on 16th March 2023 at 12:52

Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1921. Source: Wikimedia Commons (Kubey-Rembrandt Studios, Philadephia, Pennsylvania)

This year sees the 150th anniversary of the birth of renowned pianist and composer Rachmaninoff, whose music has divided opinion yet remained popular for many decades. We take a look at his life and work, and ask what has made his compositions – which are renowned for being challenging to play – so successful with audiences around the world.

Ralph Vaughan Williams at 150: a champion of music education

Posted on 14th October 2022 at 12:35

Even if you are not familiar with classical music, you will undoubtedly have heard the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams. The Lark Ascending and Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis consistently appear in the top 10 of Classic FM’s listener polls, and he is considered one of the quintessential composers of British history.

Yet his music still divides opinion, and for many years, much of his output was neglected. Alongside these most famous pieces, Vaughan Williams wrote a huge variety of works including operas, ballets, chamber music, vocal pieces and orchestral compositions, with nine symphonies to his name. This month, we mark the 150th anniversary of his birth with a look back at his musical life.