In a world of infinite playlists, grains is a place to slow down, read, and really listen. This online space is where words and sound meet in long-form reflections, background stories, and curated recommendations for curious listeners.
ARTICLES
The Estonian composer Arvo Pärt is often portrayed as an enigmatic, monkish personality. He’s also possibly the most popular classical composer of our time. For the last 30 years, he’s collaborated closely with ECM producer Manfred Eicher and choir ensemble Vox Clamantis. The latter’s new album, And I heard a voice, turned into a stunning testament to these fruitful relationships, released on the occasion of Pärt’s 90th birthday on September 11.
A journey through the history of video game music, from the simple beeps of early arcade games to orchestral masterpieces performed in concert halls: video game music has undergone an astonishing evolution.
Pianist Alice Sara Ott has announced a pair of EPs paysing tribute to the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (1969-2018), the first EP, titled Piano Works - Film Themes, presents world premiere recordings of newly published solo piano transcriptions. Released on 7 November 2025 via Deutsche Grammophon, the EP features music from Blind Massage, Personal Effects, Free the Mind and the Golden Globe-winning The Theory of Everything.
Max Richter’s five-part radio series "The Songs of a Jumping Universe" on Apple Music Chill continues with its second episode, Inner Space, a deep dive into music that explores emotional states of interiority. From delicate Renaissance works to ambient electronica, Richter guides listeners through pieces that reflect inner emotional worlds, tracing unexpected connections between musical traditions across time and place.
New pieces arrive regularly, but not every record or project needs breaking headlines. Instead, we treat every article as an invitation to take your time with sound. You will encounter personal reflections, scene portraits, and conceptual essays that link music to visual art, literature, and everyday environments.
Alongside in-depth features, we also highlight gentle entry points for different moods and times of day, from focused work sessions to late-night headphone listening. In this way, the articles section becomes a companion to your own listening life rather than a feed to scroll past.
Across the site, the magazine follows the movements of composers, instrumentalists, and producers working in and around contemporary classical and ambient music. Here you will find modern classical music news framed with context: why a release matters, how it fits into an artist’s catalogue, and what it adds to the wider conversation.
Our editors curate music-related news carefully rather than chasing every trend. The focus lies on projects that stay with you: long-awaited albums, debut EPs, and collaborations that connect different scenes and generations. Over time, these stories form an evolving map of how today’s artists think about sound, space, and silence.
Many pieces center on people. Dedicated artist interviews take you into studios, rehearsal rooms, and everyday routines, showing how ideas turn into finished works and live performances. Some of these are exclusive music interviews and stories that reveal the small decisions, doubts, and experiments that usually remain invisible.
Other articles revolve around records themselves. Our modern classical album stories follow releases from first sketch to final master, often pairing them with listening guides or track-by-track notes. Together, these different perspectives create a calm but curious corner of the internet where you can discover new music, return to familiar artists, and build your own path through contemporary and neoclassical sound.
