CATEGORIES

A way with words

Great operas are inextricably linked with their composer but, asks Jessica Duchen, how often do we acknowledge the important role of the librettist?

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Pick a theme... and name your seven favourite examples

Conductor Domingo Hindoyan nominates the best musical depictions of anger and frustration

A glittering beacon

Until its destruction in the fire of 1936, the Crystal Palace was one of the world's most exciting music venues, and its legacy still lives on today, writes Tom Service.

Christoph Willibald Gluck

Paul Riley traces the wandering existence of a cosmopolitan composer who made it his life's work and ambition to rip up opera's rulebook

The Awards are upon us once more!

Time to vote for the best recordings of the last 12 months

LEADING FROM THE FRONT

From running efficient rehearsals to learning to speak to orchestras with clarity and empathy, an array of exciting courses for conductors has bloomed in recent years, finds Clare Stevens

Kindred spirits

As their second opera takes to the stage, composer Gregory Spears and librettist Tracy K Smith talk to Charlotte Smith about their special partnership

The censors' refusal to play ball drives Verdi to despair

In the early months of 1857, Verdi had Shakespeare on his mind, and specifically King Lear.

11 Bed-Hopping Composers

Jeremy Pound lifts the covers off those notorious notesmiths who found the thrill of playing away simply too hard to resist

André Rieu Violinist, Conductor

King of the Waltz, Dutch musical impresario André Rieu has taken the world by storm with his Johann Strauss Orchestra.

Late Bloomer

Three hundred years ago, Antonio Vivaldi published The Four Seasons. But despite the work's spectacular popularity today, it was not until the 20th century that it really discovered its true audience, writes Nicholas Kenyon

Atlanta US

Though well known for its world-class orchestra, Georgia's leafy state capital also boasts a thriving opera scene, as Michael Beek discovers

Ludwig van Beethoven

Terry Williams explores the best recordings of a symphony that shows the perky sense of humour lurking within its curmudgeonly composer

Puppet of the Reich?

Wilhelm Furtwängler has long been seen as a symbol of Nazism. But, as Andrew Green explains, the conductor was a strong opponent of the regime

"The first time I was shown how to play Bach on the harpsichord, it gave me goosebumps

As Bach Collegium Japan celebrates its 35th anniversary, its legendary music director speaks to Amanda Holloway about a lifetime devoted to the great Baroque composer

Discovering Donizetti - Thanks to a two-year lockdown project, nearly 200 previously lost Donizetti songs will now see the light of day

Thanks to a two-year lockdown project, nearly 200 previously lost Donizetti songs will now see the light of day. For most people, undertaking a lockdown project meant learning to bake sourdough bread, getting fit with Joe Wicks, or taking up a language. But Professor Roger Parker, the eminent historian of Italian opera and emeritus professor at King's College London, had something far more ambitious in mind. He set about unearthing songs by Gaetano Donizetti - many of which had been lost since the composer's lifetime - and the enterprise turned into a two-year labour of love.

Composer of the month - Bohuslav Martinů - Though the Czech absorbed many influences from his exile abroad, his colourful music was always distinctively his own

The youngest of six, Bohuslav was a sickly child, and his father or older sister often had to carry him the 193 steps up to the tower. He was shy at school, too, though showed an early talent for the violin and gave his first concert at 14. By the following year, the future composer was off to the Prague Conservatoire to take the first, if faltering, steps towards a career in music.

Symphonies Beside the Sea- Before cinema, the wireless and coach trips cast them adrift, seaside orchestras were once a major holiday attraction

Before cinema, the wireless and coach trips cast them adrift, seaside orchestras were once a major holiday attraction. It's a dimension of music-making that once was integral to many a British holiday experience, yet now has all but vanished. The tide went out, you might say, on the professional seaside (or pier, or spa) orchestra many decades ago. In their glory days, though - perhaps a quarter-century on either side of 1900-these ensembles were everywhere, from Bridlington to Eastbourne, New Brighton to Worthing, Blackpool to Bexhill-on-Sea, Cleethorpes to Brighton... the list is astonishing.

Richard Morrison- Do Classical Works About Mortality Reveal More To Us As We Get Older? Is it inevitably true that, as we journey through the decades, we are better able to interpret or empathise with a profoundly death-obsessed masterpiece such as Schubert's Winterreise?

As we get older do we respond differently to that vast canon of music dealing with mortality? Is it inevitably true that, as we journey through the decades, we are better able to interpret or empathise with a profoundly death-obsessed masterpiece such as Schubert's Winterreise? Or do human beings possess such a flexible sense of empathy that we can relate to virtually any state of mind if it is evoked convincingly enough by a composer?

Do Notes Win Votes? - There are multi-dimensional ways that music is used by political campaigners and their supporters today.

It was a little bit of history repeating when Rishi Sunak announced the UK General Election to the heckling of his political opponents blasting out D:Ream's 'Things Can Only Get Better'.

Västra Karup Sweden

The spirit of soprano Birgit Nilsson is alive and well in the town of her birth, home to a festival dedicated to her memory

Federico Colli

\"At this moment in time we don't need more virtuosi. We need musicians to engage with the philosophy of music

Harmonic Progression

What happens when classical music-style levels of ambition, invention and sheer length are brought to pop? The answer, as Meurig Bowen explains, is Prog Rock

Golden years

Young musicians may be physically fit, but with age come the advantages of wisdom and experience

Sweet Sixteen

As The Sixteen celebrates its 45th birthday, founder Harry Christophers speaks to Andrew Stewart about directing a choral powerhouse

FESTIVAL GUIDE 2024

It's that time of year again... Spring has finally sprung, and along with the promised sunshine we welcome a brand-new season of glorious summer music.

The mighty Sampson

As soprano Carolyn Sampson turns 50, she tells Ashutosh Khandekar about the development of her voice through a remarkable catalogue of recordings

Music to die for

From wrathful Verdi to ethereal Fauré, there are many different ways to compose a Requiem, as Jeremy Pound discovers

Avian anthems

From Vivaldi to Messiaen, composers have often been inspired by birdsong. But accurately mimicking chirrups and tweets in music is far more difficult than it sounds, finds Tom Stewart

THE BIG 400!

BBC Music Magazine has reached its 400th issue! To celebrate, we look back over eight milestone issues since the very firstin 1992