In 1791 a masked figure knocked at Mozart’s door. He wanted to commission a piece from the great composer – a mass for the dead. There was one condition, Mozart could never know who his client was. Mozart agreed and started work on the piece. But he soon became ill – had he been poisoned? Mozart...

In 1893 the composer Tchaikovsky breathed his last. He had become a celebrity in his native Russia and been showered with honours. But Tchaikovsky had a secret. He was gay. And in Russia at the time that was illegal. Attempts by authorities and historians to cover this up have meant that...

In the early 20th century a craze for the occult swept the country. It was the era of Aleister Crowley and a new-found fascination with black magic. And no-one embraced this world more fully than Philip Heseltine. This hard-living, heavy-drinking composer delved into the art of black magic,...