Discover the Tuba with Classic FM

Exclusive
John Whitener with his cimbasso backstage at the Royal Albert Hall

Meet the cimbasso, the epic brass contraption heard in ‘Inception’ and ‘Call of Duty’

Hans Nickel and the WDR Symphony Orchestra

Jaw-droppingly nimble soloist plays virtuosic violin Czardas... on the tuba?

Videos

Seven students age 16-18 have been left without their musical instruments for 25 days

‘How is this okay?’ – outrage as seven music students’ brass instruments lost by Lufthansa

The UK experienced its highest ever temperatures on record

How do extreme temperatures affect our musical instruments?

COVID-19 patient serenades hospital staff in Utah with violin

Intubated COVID-19 patient plays violin for medical staff to say a musical ‘thank you’

News & Features

US orchestra study finds trumpet ‘riskiest’ instrument for spreading COVID-19

US orchestra study finds trumpet ‘riskiest’ instrument for spreading COVID-19

Coronavirus

Matt Marzano sustains a note for five minutes using circular breathing

‘Mind-blowing’ tuba player holds a five-minute note using circular breathing

Videos

Pictured: Sarah and Simon Jacobs

Newly-wed couple distraught after ‘sentimental’ tuba stolen from car

I refuse to count this

16 confessions of a brass player that will make you say ‘same’

Paganini tuba

Watch this guy play some virtuosic Paganini on TUBA and make it look easy

Paganini

dad text tuba

This dad accidentally texted using voice recognition while playing the TUBA

Game of Thrones low bass cover

23 low brass playing the Game of Thrones theme is monumentally epic

Discover other brass

Brass players delight passengers with impromptu ‘The Bare Necessities’ on aeroplane

Brass players delight passengers with impromptu ‘The Bare Necessities’ on aeroplane

Videos

Trumpet rental letter

Son finds touching note sent to his struggling mother ‘forgiving trumpet debt’

English trumpeter Alison Balsom plays in Cologne’s philharmonic hall

10 most spectacular pieces of trumpet music

Paul McCartney asked an English trumpeter to play a painfully high piccolo trumpet solo for ‘Penny Lane’

When Paul McCartney asked an English trumpeter to play the painfully high ‘Penny Lane’ piccolo trumpet solo

The top 10 best pieces of music by Haydn.

10 greatest pieces of classical music by Haydn

Haydn

Trumpeter creates mesmerising sound wave visualisation using fire

Trumpeter uses actual fire to create mesmerising soundwave visualisation

Videos

Sheku Kanneh-Mason plays Elgar Cello Concerto; Alison Balsom plays Haydn Trumpet Concerto; Anne-Sophie Mutter plays Williams Violin Concerto No.2

The 20 greatest concertos in classical music

Exclusive
Trumpeter Matilda Lloyd performs a Puccini aria in a beautiful stairwell acoustic.

Trumpeter finds extraordinary church stairwell acoustic, plays opera’s greatest tune

Puccini

Bugler sounds the Last Post

What is The Last Post and why is it played on Remembrance Day?

Exclusive
Alison Balsom is an award-winning trumpet soloist

‘To diminish music in education is a really big mistake’ – star trumpeter Alison Balsom

Alison Balsom

John Blanke, Trumpet

Meet John Blanke, Henry VIII’s highly favoured trumpeter and the face of Black Tudor England

Alison Balsom reveals her Top 5 Trumpet Concertos of all time

Star trumpeter Alison Balsom reveals the top five trumpet concertos of all time

Alison Balsom

A Ukrainian musician plays the National Anthem in a metro station being used as a bomb shelter

Ukrainian trumpeter’s solo national anthem echoes through underground shelter

Videos

The astounding moment a virtuoso played three trumpets at once

The moment an incredible Swedish brass virtuoso played three trumpets at once

Trumpeter Alison Balsom takes part in landmark Covid-19 study for musicians

Covid study with trumpeter Alison Balsom reveals brass-playing is safer than talking

Alison Balsom

This trumpeter’s ‘Star Wars’ rendition in a deserted stairwell will give you goosebumps

This trumpeter’s ‘Star Wars’ fanfare in a deserted stairwell will give you goosebumps

Latest on Classic FM

Netflix releases series inspired by Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’

What classical music is featured in Netflix’s The Four Seasons, and how is it inspired by Vivaldi’s masterpiece?

Vivaldi

Young audience members can enjoy classical concerts at a low price across the UK

15 cheap classical music concert ticket schemes for young audiences

‘Sinners’ composer Ludwig Göransson breaks down his movie soundtrack

‘Sinners’ composer Ludwig Göransson breaks down his movie soundtrack

87-year-old pianist moves judges with original composition

87-year-old veteran moves ‘The Piano’ judges to tears with original composition

Videos

10 of the best pieces of classical music written in the 20th century

10 incredible 20th-century classical works that would change music forever

Wales v Australia

Welsh national anthem: what are the English and Welsh lyrics to ‘Land Of My Fathers’?

The fascinating history of the opera glove – which originated in the 16th century

Opera gloves: what’s the history of the fashion items that originated in the 16th century?

MADAME BUTTERFLY Poster for Puccini's opera

Giacomo Puccini: Madame Butterfly – short opera summary

Puccini

10 pieces of classical music to commemorate VE Day 80

10 pieces of classical music to commemorate VE Day 80

Best World War II film scores: Atonement, Saving Private Ryan, The Imitation Game

10 of the greatest Second World War movie soundtracks

Latest instrument features

18-year-old pianist Zak plays Beethoven and Chopin medley at Sheffield train station

18-year-old pianist stuns with original Beethoven and Chopin medley at Sheffield train station
This image obtained from AP video shows a tag with the text ''K.L. Dachau'' seen through the f-holes of a Dachau-built instrument dubbed the ''violin of hope'' in Magyarpolány, Hungary, Tuesday April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Nikolett Csanyi)

Secret note found hidden in Jewish prisoner’s violin at Dachau concentration camp

Key differences between a classical and an acoustic guitar - pictured: Ed Sheeran and Miloš Karadaglić

What are the key differences between a classical and an acoustic guitar?

Portrait of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, 1891, oil on canvas, 45.7 × 58.4 cm, National Museum, Warsaw Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Who was Paderewski, the composer who became Poland’s Prime Minister and signed the Treaty of Versailles?

Paderewski

Strange four-key piano

Quirky automatic piano has only four keys that move every time you play a note

Best classical music

See more Best classical music

The 15 most famous tunes in classical music

The 15 most famous tunes in classical music

Best symphonies: Ludwig van Beethoven, Antonin Dvorak and Florence Price

The 15 greatest symphonies of all time

4 eras of classical music

The 4 eras of classical music: a quick guide

A young Marin Alsop, Sir Simon Rattle, and Seiji Ozawa conduct their respective orchestras.

The 25 greatest conductors of all time

Hildegard von Bingen, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Edward Elgar among the greatest composers in classical music history.

The 30 greatest classical music composers of all time

More instruments

See more More instruments

Violin

Piano

Guitar

Flute