Joseph Joachim was regarded by most people in Europe as the greatest violinist ever, but in the home of Sterndale Bennett there was a dissenting voice.

On realising that he had the edge on his rivals, music publisher John Brand moved quickly to secure one of Haydn’s peerless Quartets.

Herbert Bury’s duties took him back to St Petersburg after the Russian revolution of 1917, but all he could think of was how it used to be.

Ann Sancho would be in better health, said her husband, if she did not worry quite so much about him.

Composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor recalls his experiences as a judge in the distrustful world of music festivals and brass band contests.

Berwick Sayers tells how his friend, the composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, set out on his last voyage.