Academy of Ancient Music’s part-historiographical study, pinned to musical exploration, exposed the nearly always-overlooked route to JS Bach’s appointment as…
classical music isn’t difficult. it’s just music.
independent writing about classical music, books, and tv
NEWS & Reviews
Concerts, albums, and video reviews. Familiar, unfamiliar, plus stuff fresh out of the packaging.
Review – National Youth Orchestra play Hisiashi, Wagner and Prokofiev
NYO’s Spring Concert at the Festival Hall celebrated what this orchestra has become. The question now is what Principal Conductor…
Review – Key Changes: Radio 3’s Essential History of Classical Music
Key Changes confounds expectations — which, given what Radio 3 needs right now, is exactly what it needed to make….
News – Thoroughly Good announces new partnership
Thoroughly Good announces a major new partnership, a new print title, and a subscription offer designed to bring classical music…
News – South London ensemble appoints Marin Alsop as President
A South London orchestra founded by conductor Chloé Van Soeterstède has announced the appointment of Marin Alsop as its Honorary…
Review – Gounod’s Faust at Opéra Royal, Versailles
Strong voices and competent performances carried a production that appeared not to question the tradition it so readily relied upon….
Review – Franco Fagioli sings ‘The Last Castrato’ with Orchestra de L’Opera Royale and Stefan Plewniak
A hurried event in which the vocalist led proceedings, the orchestra responded, and director followed with one too many theatrical…
Review – Insula Orchestra, Accentus & Monteverdi Choir perform Bach’s B Minor Mass
Equilbey’s first public encounter with Bach was brought to life with care and precision….
RPS Awards 2026: Classical is a sector that knows what it wants
The Royal Philharmonic Society Awards were a stylish affair full of wit, polish and verve. Classical music as self-assured and…
thoroughly good classical music podcast
Interviews with compositions, musicians and producers about the music they love.
226: Huw Watkins – Thoroughly Good Classical Music Podcast
- 226: Huw Watkins
- 225: Gen Z, Gen A, and Forgotten Older People
- 224: Lizzie Ball
- 223: Mezzo Soprano Katie Bray
- 222: Penelope Appleyard
- 221: Revere Arts' Elise Brown and Class Ceiling
- 220: Composer and Sound Artist Ruby Colley
- 219: Writer Carole Hayman
- 218: Vache Baroque's Betty Makharinsky
- 217: Pianist Clare Hammond and Michael Betteridge
opinion
Thoroughly Good thoughts and reflections on the classical music industry.
Opinion – The numbers don’t build the audience. Trust does.
A recent wide ranging online article about classical music’s digital content ‘turn’ stops short of the detail that actually matters…
RPS Awards 2026: Classical is a sector that knows what it wants
The Royal Philharmonic Society Awards were a stylish affair full of wit, polish and verve. Classical music as self-assured and…
On Chalamet and sympathy exhausted
If ballet and opera really are in trouble like Chalamet’s ill-thought out throwaway comment might suggest, then it’s going to…
dispatches
Stories from in and around where music is heard.
New Year’s Day Concert 2026
Monday can wait. New Year needs to be gently ushered in by stylish people in stylish surroundings….
Notes on Listening
After a day immersed in figures and forecasts, stepping into Wigmore Hall feels like surfacing for air. Here, the discipline…
The Wrong Boat to Venice
A trip to Venice to review a festival. Yet, somewhere between the wrong boat, the gondoliers and a memory from…
beyond classical music on thoroughly good
More writing on books, television, and the arts.
New Year’s Day Concert 2026
Monday can wait. New Year needs to be gently ushered in by stylish people in stylish surroundings….
Review – BBC Proms 2025: The Traitors Prom
Brand tie-ins at the Proms can be clumsy, but The Traitors Prom proved how a crossover event can work. Packed…
Review – Series 3 – The Diplomat
A firm Thoroughly Good favourite. Definitely a three series box set to binge. Full of grand performances….
Review – Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue
A stylish, pacey whodunnit from Anthony Horowitz. Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue balances peril and polish with a touch…
Review – ‘Flesh’ – David Szalay
A fast, hard-hitting novel where emotion lands late and quietly, turning detachment into its own kind of intimacy….
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Classical Music | TV | Books
Reviews, insights, and opinions about classical music. Supporting the industry with digital content, leadership training, and consultancy.