CATEGORIES

COURSES FOR COMPOSERS

Clare Stevens investigates the opportunities offered to budding creatives by the UK's schools, universities and music colleges

Life at the front

Even as war rages, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine continues to rehearse and perform - and in October undertakes a 17-date UK tour. Tom Stewart meets some of its brave musicians

Opera Heroines

Despite being perpetually overlooked, women have been writing superb and challenging operas since the 17th century, as Rebecca Franks discovers

Ancient & modern

When Christopher Hogwood founded the Academy of Ancient Music 50 years ago his focus was firmly on the past, yet together they helped to propel music-making into a new era, as Nicholas Kenyon explains

8 mins |

When I see a rainy day, I think that nature is crying. A tide is nature breathing

THE BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE INTERVIEW Tan Dun | The Chinese-American composer has risen from humble origins to global success, yet his concerns - balance, humanity and the natural world - remain the same, writes Claire Jackson

Vital organist

Anna Lapwood has built a huge fanbase through her performances of music from Bach to Disney and her enthusiastic social media presence. Richard Morrison catches up with her as she records her debut album for Sony

8 mins |

George Onslow

Admired by several notable contemporaries, the man once dubbed 'the French Beethoven' is surely ripe for reappraisal, says Misha Donat

Cumnock Scotland

Home of James MacMillan’s Tryst festival, the picturesque Ayrshire town punches well above its musical weight, as Clare Stevens discovers

3 mins |

Breaking the sound barrier

For composer Ailís Ní Ríain, hearing loss is a complication but not an obstacle to her creativity, as she explains to Claire Jackson

Song of courage

Opera tenor Nicola Ugo Stame took on many roles but proved himself a true hero during World War II in his defiance against fascism, says Christopher Gillett

A song in her heart

Fanny Hensel (née Mendelssohn) wrote 255 songs, many of them never published. Tenor Timothy Parker-Langston's new online edition is making them available for all, as he explains to Rebecca Franks

Voices from the past

A new compendium gathering 600 years of first-hand accounts of music, art and society gives a fascinating insight, says Simon Heighes

Lost in translation?

Stephen Johnson takes a look at how large-scale British works have fared in the hands of overseas conductors, from the composers' own day to ours

8 mins |

My hair was still growing back-but I needed to show the singing world that I was back in action

Having survived cancer treatment, the English mezzosoprano appears stronger than ever and is fighting for cultural organisations close to her heart, as she tells Amanda Holloway

The 25 GREATEST BRITISH COMPOSERS of all time

We asked 167 top musicians to vote for the best composing talent to emerge from these fair isles over the centuries. Here are the results...

10+ mins |

Rise of the machines?

Artificial Intelligence is suddenly everywhere, and its tentacles are stretching into the musical world. But there's no need to panic... at least not quite yet, says Tom Service

2 mins |

Gustav Mahler

Forthright and bold as Mahler's symphonies may appear, they are also works of remarkable subtlety and ambiguity

San Diego United States

Jeremy Pound enjoys the great outdoors as the sun sets to Debussy and Mahler at the southern Californian city's eye-catching new venue

3 mins |

Making Tracks

Composer, and Radio 3 presenter, Hannah Peel is forging a multi-faceted career while also giving crucial breaks to fellow musicians, as she tells Tom Stewart

5 mins |

Hidden treasures

After spending two decades searching the archives for neglected operas, conductor Charles Peebles recalls the risks and challenges of bringing them to the stage

The fight to be heard

Exiled from their homeland by the Taliban, Afghan musicians are striving to promote a rich musical heritage

A titan without ego

For many, conductor Otto Klemperer will be remembered as the steady and reliable champion of classic repertoire, but in his youth the German was a dashing advocate of the new