While there is no shortage of important books that explore music and composers, some volumes are a bit too heavy--both topically and in terms of actually poundage--for the park or beach. Here are five recommendations for lighter fare this summer.

Are you going to the shore this week to keep cool? If a trip to the beach isn't on your calendar, there is plenty of classical music available to conjure the experience. Here are WQXR Top 5@105 songs for the seashore.

The spring concert season may be coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean the music stops. Instead, it heads outdoors. Check out our list of the top five outdoor area concert festivals this summer.

As the academic year comes to an end, conservatory students are unveiling the fruits of their studies in concerts, recitals and operas around New York. Check out events at five top conservatories to find an affordable and enjoyable performances.

A piece of music that contains an opera for every day of the week and takes 29 hours to perform? It's only one of the compositions on WQXR's Top 5 @ 105 list of musical marathons.

Serious music need not always be taken so seriously. After all, scherzo means joke. In honor of April Fools' Day, here are our Top 5 @ 105 classical music jokes.

New York’s opera houses maintain the grand tradition with aplomb. But several other groups have created alternative ways of experiencing and interacting with this art form. Here are WQXR's Top 5 @ 105 Unconventional Opera experiences.

Finding a three-course meal served in time to make an 8pm Lincoln Center curtain can be an arduous task. Our latest Top 5 @ 105 reveals the best pre-concert prix fixe on the Upper West Side.

At the start of the Vancouver Olympic Games, our latest Top 5 @ 105 looks at music inspired by athletic events.

Out with the old and in with the new. Here's a Top 5 @ 105 list of exciting New York debuts and premieres coming up during the  spring season.