CATEGORIES

The Grange Festival England
BBC Music Magazine

The Grange Festival England

Jeremy Pound drives into the Hampshire countryside where, behind the neo-classical columns, an evening of tantalising Tchaikovsky awaits

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2023
COURSES FOR COMPOSERS
BBC Music Magazine

COURSES FOR COMPOSERS

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

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2023
Life at the front
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2023
Opera Heroines
BBC Music Magazine

Opera Heroines

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

time-read
7 mins  |
September 2023
Ancient & modern
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
8 mins  |
September 2023
When I see a rainy day, I think that nature is crying. A tide is nature breathing
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
7 mins  |
September 2023
Vital organist
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
8 mins  |
September 2023
George Onslow
BBC Music Magazine

George Onslow

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

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2023
Cumnock Scotland
BBC Music Magazine

Cumnock Scotland

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

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2023
Breaking the sound barrier
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
6 mins  |
August 2023
Song of courage
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2023
A song in her heart
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2023
Voices from the past
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
6 mins  |
August 2023
Lost in translation?
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
8 mins  |
August 2023
My hair was still growing back-but I needed to show the singing world that I was back in action
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2023
The 25 GREATEST BRITISH COMPOSERS of all time
BBC Music Magazine

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...

time-read
10+ mins  |
August 2023
Rise of the machines?
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2023
Gustav Mahler
BBC Music Magazine

Gustav Mahler

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

time-read
6 mins  |
July 2023
San Diego United States
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2023
Making Tracks
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2023
Hidden treasures
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
6 mins  |
July 2023
The fight to be heard
BBC Music Magazine

The fight to be heard

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

time-read
6 mins  |
July 2023
A titan without ego
BBC Music Magazine

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

time-read
7 mins  |
July 2023
Eric Whitacre
BBC Music Magazine

Eric Whitacre

It's not really the done thing to go into fan mode during an interview

time-read
6 mins  |
July 2023
Once a Prom a time...
BBC Music Magazine

Once a Prom a time...

From Horrible Histories to Doctor Who, Clare Stevens takes a whistlestop tour of children's Proms through the last 30 years

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2023
'I'm fine playing men on stage - and my private life is my private life'
BBC Music Magazine

'I'm fine playing men on stage - and my private life is my private life'

The BBC Music Magazine Interview

time-read
9 mins  |
May 2023
Live choice
BBC Music Magazine

Live choice

Paul Riley picks the month's best concert and opera highlights in the UK

time-read
6 mins  |
May 2023
Music that changed me
BBC Music Magazine

Music that changed me

Simon Callow Actor

time-read
3 mins  |
May 2023
György Ligeti
BBC Music Magazine

György Ligeti

Ivan Hewett traces the life and career of the great avant-garde composer and investigates what lies at the heart of his enigmatic genius

time-read
6 mins  |
May 2023
Sheffield UK
BBC Music Magazine

Sheffield UK

Claire Jackson visits the city's Chamber Music Festival where, at The Crucible, the click clack of snooker balls gives way to intimate harmony

time-read
3 mins  |
May 2023