Culture: Classical

We know what’s good for you

Criticised by both right and left, the Proms are nonetheless an annual institution that stays true to its founders’ democratic ideals

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Uncommon man

John Adams's operas have laid the foundations of a distinctively American classical tradition. But, outside Carnegie Hall, the United States remains a nation profoundly uncomfortable with high culture

Still turning world

The Long-Player Goodbye Travis Elborough Sceptre, 480pp, £14.99 Old Rare New: the Independent Record Shop Emma Pettit Black Dog Publishing, 144pp, £19.95

Disorderly conduct

The drum'n'bass DJ Goldie has always found classical music elitist - yet it needn't be so. And then there's his thoughts on David Cameron and youth violence

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The colour of music

The dissonance and abstraction of 20th-century composers influenced a generation of visual artists

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The sounds of music

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain Oliver Sacks Picador, 352pp, £17.99

Blown away by the music

Observations on opera

The shock of the new

We love contemporary art and literature. So why does music have such an image problem?

Bach to school

Dazzling when he sprang on to the world stage as a pianist, Daniel Barenboim has conquered the arenas of conducting and orchestral leadership. He is now turning his attention to enthusing children with the classics, discovers Jessica Duchen

Molto agitato

Classical byDermot Clinch