Beyond the piano, we have a feast of stories, including Australians shining bright on global stages, child prodigies sharing their experiences and a look inside the world of musicians with synaesthesia.<\/p>\n
From the incredible artists who visited Australia in 2025, to video game scores topping the music charts, explore just some of the best stories of 2025.<\/p>\n
Beethoven tops the Classic 100: Piano<\/p>\n
Beethoven topped the Classic 100 for the second year in a row.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2025, Beethoven topped the Classic 100 for the eighth time, not including the Classic 100: Beethoven where he was guaranteed a win.<\/p>\n
The Emperor Piano Concerto took out the top spot in the Classic 100: Piano<\/a>, the work’s third win.<\/p>\n It was one of the most diverse Classic 100s to date<\/a>, with 11 entries from Australian composers, 16 written for the screen and 11 entries from female composers.<\/p>\n Clara Schumann took out two spots in the countdown and proved that she’s still inspiring pianists today<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n With music for the screen so popular, here are 10 times the piano steals the show<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n And as we fell in love with performers from the hit ABC TV series, The Piano, meet DJ and learn more about the history of piano music for the left hand alone<\/a>.<\/p>\n Great classical artists who visited Australia in 2025 The Tallis Scholars were just one of the great acts to tour Australia in 2025. (Supplied: Sydney Opera House\/Tallis Scholars)<\/p>\n From singers to an organist, a host of amazing artists toured Australia this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n 40 years ago, The Tallis Scholars’ first major tour was to Australia<\/a>. On their recent tour, they talked about what it’s like to share centuries-old church music around the world.<\/p>\n We explored the work of Max Richter<\/a>, one of the most popular classical artists today, who toured earlier in the year.<\/p>\n James O’Donnell, the former Organist of Westminster Abbey, shared his favourite moments working with the royals<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n He also explained what it’s like to play an instrument that\u2019s 15 metres tall and nine metres above the ground, ahead of his concerts on the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ.\u00a0<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n “Who says opera’s boring?” Not mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. She shared her passion for inclusivity and advocacy<\/a>, ahead of her first-ever Australian tour.<\/p>\n Musical polymath Jacob Collier visited Australia twice in 2025. We put him to the test, pitting some of his favourite artists head to head in an eclectic game of this or that<\/a>.<\/p>\n Celebrating Australians shining bright on the global stage Australian soprano Siobhan Stagg has been making waves on stages around the world. (Supplied: Jakob Tillmann)<\/p>\n It’s been a big year for Australian artists overseas.<\/p>\n We looked at just some of the artists in the global spotlight<\/a>, like Simone Young and Siobhan Stagg.<\/p>\n Ahead of a live broadcast of the Australian premiere of her cello concerto, we talked with Liza Lim<\/a> about finding her voice, achieving success overseas and championing the next generation of composers.<\/p>\n The concerto, A Sutured World, went on to win one of the world’s richest composition prizes<\/a>, the 2026 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition.<\/p>\n Conductor Jaime Mart\u00edn toured the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to Europe<\/a>, including performances at the BBC Proms and his home town of Santander.\u00a0<\/p>\n He shared how he fell in love with Melbourne, and why he’s passionate about championing Australian composers on world stages.<\/p>\n “Disclaimer, music is not about speed,” but Ray Chen broke that rule when Megan Burslem challenged him to play Vivaldi’s Summer as fast as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n TikTok sensation, Bailey Pickles, dropped by Classic Drive, where he improvised a new work based on just three notes<\/a> from Vanessa Hughes.<\/p>\n Sad farewells to artists who died in 2025 Pianist Alfred Brendel in his last ever public concert at Vienna’s “Musikverein” in 2008. (Getty Images: Dieter Nagl\/AFP)<\/p>\n We commemorate artists who died in 2025, including Alfred Brendel<\/a>, Roger Norrington<\/a>, Ben Lewis<\/a>, Graham Wood<\/a>, John Painter<\/a>, Christoph von Dohn\u00e1nyi<\/a>, Lalo Schiffrin<\/a>, Sofia Gubaidulina<\/a> and Judy Bailey<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 50th anniversary of the best-selling solo jazz album of all time Keith Jarrett’s The K\u00f6ln Concert performance had the makings of a disaster. He turned it into something that has captured audiences for half a century. (ECM records)<\/p>\n In the world of jazz, it was also all about the piano.<\/p>\n Keith Jarrett’s best-selling album, The K\u00f6ln Concert, nearly didn’t happen. 50 years on, we reflected on Jarrett’s life in music and explore the mishaps that lead to this iconic recording<\/a>.<\/p>\n Closer to home, the Jann Rutherford Memorial Award marked 20 years of supporting professional development for outstanding young female and gender diverse jazz musicians.<\/p>\n In honour of the awards, we explored Rutherford’s legacy<\/a>, and how she blazed the trail for other women in jazz.<\/p>\n Australia also welcomed some of the biggest names in jazz today, including Gregory Porter and Samara Joy.\u00a0<\/p>\n We talked with Joy<\/a> ahead of her first Australian tour.<\/p>\n A spotlight on young musicians Violinist Chloe Chua has been in the spotlight since age 11, when she was joint winner with Christian Li of the Yehudi Menuhin Competition, Junior division. (Singapore Symphony Orchestra: Jay Patel)<\/p>\n We caught up with some child prodigies<\/a> to find out how they balance their passion for music with other interests.<\/p>\n Do youth orchestra musicians like their instruments? Is the metronome a friend or foe? What are they thinking about at rehearsal? All is revealed in this video from the Big Busk.\u00a0<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n Some of the year’s most popular video game soundtracks Lorien Testard’s soundtrack for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 topped the Billboard Classical album and Classical Crossover album charts. (Supplied: Sandfall Interactive (game screenshot))<\/p>\n In his first-ever video game soundtrack, Lorien Testard created the music for hit game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33<\/a>. It topped charts and racked up millions of streams.\u00a0<\/p>\n We also caught up with Final Fantasy composer Masayoshi Soken<\/a>, and Pete Ward, who shared how he created a nostalgic soundscape for the new Indiana Jones game<\/a>.<\/p>\n Giving kids the best musical start Learning music improves children’s ability to problem-solve, increasing their capacity for persistence and resilience. (Adobe Stock: Arlee)<\/p>\n Through the year, we explored how to give kids the best start to their musical journey.<\/p>\n Get tips from experts like Dr Anita Collins, Ed Le Brocq and Genevieve Lang on getting started<\/a>, the best way to practise<\/a>, and how to prep for exams and manage performance anxiety<\/a>.<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n How synaesthesia has shaped the music world for generations Jessica Cottis has chromesthesia and perceives instruments of the orchestras as different colours. (Sydney Symphony Orchestra: Timothy Jeffes)<\/p>\n Musicians shared their experience of what it’s like living with synaesthesia<\/a>, including how they manage this wonderful, sometimes overwhelming multi-sensory experience.<\/p>\n Why musical memories from childhood are so strong Musical memories from childhood can foster lifelong love of music. (Adobe Stock: Mariia Petrakova)<\/p>\n Music lovers show how special musical memories are, with recollections going back decades. Here’s how music from childhood can form lifelong memories<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get the latest classical music and jazz stories direct to your inbox<\/p>\n
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