Maybe it is his status as one of America's foremost songwriters, the one to whom other acclaimed tunesmiths defer. Perhaps it is the forbiddingly acerbic nature of his songs.

If you ever imagined that the conductor Michael Tilson Thomas might be Welsh, think again.

It was, in the end, left to the long-time music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta, to put his finger on what was being celebrated.

On a cool, clear night in Tel Aviv last month, Maestro Mehta, himself celebrating 50 years with the IPO, led hundreds of international patrons and well-wishers in a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday, dear Philharmonic", as the orchestra mark

Israeli soprano Hila Plitmann has played with many of the world's top orchestras, won a Grammy Award and sung solo on the blockbuster Hollywood movie, The Da Vinci Code.

Despite her many accomplishments, however, there is one thing she rarely gets to do - sing in her mother tongue.

Her grave, at the suburban end of a Paris bus line, is never long unattended. A wooden box on the marble base is stuffed with notes from visiting fans. A student drops by in her lunch hour to play Mozart. "Barbara loved Mozart," she explains.

If you had to work out David Garrett's occupation simply by his appearance, you would be unlikely to guess that he is one of the most gifted violinists of his generation.

With his long hair and skull ring he looks vaguely heavy metal-ish but, then again, with his Roger Federer-esque good looks he could also be a model.

It is very rare to find musician Tamsin Waley-Cohen on her own. She has a constant companion at concerts, at cafes and even on holidays. It is a long-term relationship which, although it has had its ups and downs, has enabled her to move forward with her career.

Any pianist could be forgiven for avoiding a country where someone has threatened to chop off his hands. It is, though, especially alarming when the country is his birthplace.

The lyrics from his 1978 musical They're Playing Our Song - "Oh ho, they're playing my song, oh yeah, they're playing my song" - seem to be an apt way to describe Marvin Hamlisch. The legendary, multi-award-winning composer/conductor is the creator of some of the best-known American show tunes.

For members of one of the world's largest orchestras, they are rehearsing in a remarkably low-key room, stuck away in a Tel Aviv suburb, devoid of any acoustic support and framed by a big sheet of black fabric to keep the sun out.

Alma Zohar is Israel's accidental superstar. The singer-songwriter accidentally picked up a guitar, accidentally recorded an album, accidentally topped the charts and swept the Israeli music awards, winning two BRIT award equivalents, and accidentally put the issue of refugees in Israel back on the political agenda. Or at least, that is how she tells it.

It is possible to trace the start of one of the most enduring and productive relationships in the music industry back to one night, 50 years ago, at a gig in New York's Greenwich Village. In the audience were Alan and Marilyn Bergman, two people who had ahead of them not only stunning careers as lyric writers but one of the most successful marriages in showbusiness.

When the pianist Danny Driver steps onto the Royal Albert Hall platform tomorrow, it will be no ordinary evening, either for him or for his audience. First of all, it is his debut at the BBC Promenade Concerts; secondly, it is the first time that this summer series has offered a "Comedy Prom".

When Chasidic reggae singer Matisyahu played Jerusalem last month, he welcomed on stage a surprising guest - rapper Shyne, an ex-con and one-time protégé of hip-hop superstar,P Diddy.

Shyne made his name singing about violence and sexual exploits and then went to prison for nearly a decade after a night out with his mentor turned violent.

In a 2006 South Bank Show documenting Steve Reich's career, presenter Melvyn Bragg described him as being "one of the major players in contemporary music since the 1960s. His particular style has marked him out as a composer of rare invention and originality".

'I came to Jewish music in the only way I could, looking at it as early or traditional music.

'Be careful with the title. There's no 'The'," Tobias Picker tells me.

I've caught up with the American composer while he is in London to prepare for the latest production of his family opera, Fantastic Mr Fox. Based on a story by Roald Dahl, it is a work that has captured the hearts of audiences of all ages, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Before Lady Gaga and Madonna, there was Debbie Harry, the original subversive platinum blonde pop star. In the late '70s and early '80s, she became the world's hottest pin-up.

Chase & Status are undeniably the dance production duo of the moment. Their debut album, More than Alot rocketed into the UK chart at number 2, they have had two top 10 singles, and praise from r'n'b and hip-hop royalty such as Rihanna and Jay-Z.

Interviewing the Jerusalem Quartet is almost impossible. It has taken many months and a series of increasingly frantic emails to track down the ensemble's first violinist, Alexander "Sasha" Pavlovsky, at his home in Jerusalem. The elusiveness has nothing to do with an aversion to the media.