One bar into this timely celebration of his work and the composer's identity could not be in doubt.

BBC boss says writers can't handle the pressure of a mass audience and are pitching ideas to other channels

So, Schubert. He's inescapable, or at least he is on Radio 3. If you're not an admirer but a regular listener, you'll either have to decamp to Classic FM or seek refuge in silence which is, of course, unthinkable. I can't claim to be an authority on the composer since my knowledge of classical music can pretty much be summed up in Music for Babies, a CD that someone who didn't know me too well gave me when I was pregnant after it was claimed that exposure to classical music would increase my child's IQ. (To what extent it succeeded isn't clear). Pretty much all I know about Schubert is that he's the greatest songwriter since The Beatles. Hang on, that doesn't sound right....

The media and internet entrepreneur Richard Wolfe scooped up the best part of a £65m pay day yesterday after his Travel Channel International was bought out by the US media company Scripps International, which broadcasts the US equivalent.

When the drummer Michael Hossack jammed with the Doobie Brothers at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco in June 1971, he proved such a natural fit alongside founding drummer John Hartman that the other two mainstays of the group, the guitarists, vocalists and songwriters Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmmons, asked him to perform with them at the Fillmore West. Within weeks, "Big Mike" Hossack and "Little John" Hartman forged a drumming partnership to match those driving the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers.

Intrepid TV adventurer and Chief Scout Bear Grylls has left the Discovery Channel after a row over "new programming", his publicist said today.

Eight years ago, in their excellent Spanish Golden Age season, the RSC presented the English premiere of House of Desires, a surprising event on several levels.

Imagine turning on the TV to watch I’m Alan Partridge, Steve Coogan’s celebrated sitcom, and hearing your name mentioned over and over again. It’s something Sue Cook has had to get used to. The comedian constantly talks about her in his show, although she insists their association is pure fantasy.

Former England and Lions international Ben Kay, who is a presenter of ESPN's Aviva Premiership rugby coverage, selects his fantasy XV for the upcoming Six Nations Championship.

Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City could be playing in front of the largest domestic television audience in the history of the Premier League next month when their home game against Fulham is made available unencrypted on the Freeview platform.