BBC Music Magazine

The World's Best Selling Classical Music Magazine

BBC Music Magazine2 min read
Welcome
For Riccardo Chailly, music has been ‘a lifelong companion’. Currently music director of La Scala, the conductor, who this month celebrates his 70th birthday, has collaborated with the world’s greatest artists during his eminent career, and can remem
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
This Month’s Contributors
‘Having known Riccardo Chailly’s music-making since his early days with Decca – with whom he still records – it was an enormous pleasure to talk with one of the most versatile and admired conductors of our time.’ Page 30 ‘I felt real empathy delving
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
BBC Music Magazine
Plus our favourite romantic work (see p40) Editor Charlotte Smith Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 Deputy editor Jeremy Pound Arlen & Harburg’s ‘Down with love’ Reviews editor Michael Beek Martini’s Plaisir d’amour Multi-platform content producer S
BBC Music Magazine6 min read
Have Your Say…
Write to: The editor, BBC Music Magazine, Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST Email: [email protected] Social media: contact us on Facebook and Twitter LETTER of the MONTH Nicholas Kenyon wonders what the BBC broadcast in 1928 of Monteverdi’s Retur
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when you take out a one month FREE trial* subscription to the digital edition. Simply return to the home page to subscribe. *After your one month trial your subscription will continue at £2.99 per month
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The Full Score
Conductor’s exceptional Westminster Abbey career marked by award of the LVO Even as he packs his suitcase and prepares for a new life in the US, James O’Donnell will be sure to mark his diary for an important return trip to London. The organist and c
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
Sound Bites
So well have conductor Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich been enjoying each other’s company that they have announced that they plan to stick together until at least 2029. The Estonian was initially appointed as music director of the Swiss
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
Rising Stars
Born: Trowbridge, UK Career highlight: My first recital for the Oxford Lieder Festival in 2020 provided hope throughout lockdown. A recent highlight was Lost and Found: Royal Opera House’s newly commissioned micro-operas to celebrate International Wo
BBC Music Magazine5 min read
Not A Fine Day For Puccini As His Car Flips In Freezing Fog
On the night of 25 February 1903, what should have been a routine car journey for Giacomo Puccini and his family abruptly turned nasty. The composer had been in Lucca, Tuscany, that day for a medical appointment, and was returning to his villa in Tor
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
Dobrinka Tabakova
I started playing the piano when I was about seven. As soon as I could get my hands on it I was making up tunes – improvisation was my way into composition. Someone heard me play and said I should try out for some of the specialist Saturday schools.
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
Studio Secrets
Cellist Pieter Wispelwey headed to the MotorMusic studio in Mechelen, Belgium, in December to record a programme of works by JS Bach and Kodály. The recording, In Memoriam II, will be the follow-up to his forthcoming Schubert album (In Memoriam I), w
BBC Music Magazine3 min read
⏪ Rewind
This month: MICHAEL COLLINS Clarinettist Swedish Chamber Orchestra/Michael Collins (clarinet) Chandos CHSA5187 (2018) I’ve always had a happy relationship with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and recording the complete works for clarinet and orchestra
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
My Hero
Steven Isserlis has always been a hero to me – as a musician and as a human being. I discovered Steven through his recording of Schumann’s Cello Concerto, which was a revelation. Steven thinks like a composer, somehow: he understands the structure of
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
A Journey Of Understanding
It is perhaps even more important to listen to and reflect on Steve Reich’s Different Trains today than it was at the time of its premiere, says Tom Service ‘If anybody came to me and said, “We’d like you to write a piece about the Holocaust,” I woul
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
Farewell To…
Drucker was principal clarinettist with the New York Philharmonic for 49 years and had been playing with the ensemble for 61 years when he retired at the end of its 2008-09 season. It was an impressive run, and one which saw him play under a successi
BBC Music Magazine6 min read
Music To My Ears
As a boy I was given a tape of Vladimir Horowitz playing Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto with the New York Philharmonic. It made a lasting impression on me. There are other recordings with more correct notes (you could probably compose a whole new
BBC Music Magazine3 min read
Richard Morrison
Elsewhere in this issue you can read about music inspired by love and romance (p40). Squalid, sensation-seeking hack that I am, I am fascinated by the dark side of that subject: composers who have developed a fixation on some unattainable person and
BBC Music Magazine7 min read
VOTE NOW And Help Choose The Best Classical Recordings Of The Past 12 Months
IN ASSOCIATION WITH Sibelius Symphonies; Tapiola; 3 Late Fragments Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra/Klaus Mäkelä Decca 485 2256 This four-disc survey of Sibelius’s symphonies and other orchestral works is quite the calling card for young Finnish conduct
BBC Music Magazine9 min read
Goingplatinum
Riccardo Chailly celebrates his 70th birthday on 20 February at the peak of a high-level career in which he has enjoyed ongoing success not only with the world’s great orchestras in the concert hall and on disc, but equally in the opera house: he is
BBC Music Magazine7 min read
Benjamin Grosvenor
The pianist discusses with Jessica Duchen the importance of musical outreach, and about his new recording of works by classical music’s most celebrated love triangle It’s 2004 and on the TV a small boy is playing the living daylights out of Ravel’s P
BBC Music Magazine8 min read
All You Need Is Love
Eyes meet, sparks fly – and the music plays. From the troubadours who wandered France in the 12th and 13th centuries singing about courtly love to the starry instrumentalists recording love-themed recital albums in our time, from Arne’s comic ballad
BBC Music Magazine6 min read
A Tale Of Lost Folk
I was born in Conwy, a fishing village in north Wales, and many of my earliest memories are of singing. World War II was at its darkest hour, and my father was fighting in France. There was no cinema, and nobody we knew had a gramophone. So singing w
BBC Music Magazine6 min read
Late Bloomers
Youth is wasted on the young, they say. How many of us look back to the instrumental lessons we had as children and wish we’d kept playing? Recent research gives a clue to the scale: during lockdown, one million people took up an instrument, accordin
BBC Music Magazine4 min read
Every Child Counts
‘Music is a cornerstone of the broad and balanced education that every child should receive,’ declare the authors of the refreshed National Plan for Music Education in England, published in June 2022 under the title The power of music to change lives
BBC Music Magazine4 min read
Southern Tuscany Italy
It’s 6am and high summer. A crowd has gathered to watch the sunrise over the dune-like hills of the Val d’Orcia; etched on the horizon is the iconic little chapel of the Madonna di Vitaleta, flanked by flame-like cypress trees. As the milky light of
BBC Music Magazine7 min read
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Composer of the Week is broadcast on Radio 3 at 12pm, Monday to Friday. Programmes in February are: 30 January – 3 February Vivaldi 6-10 February Smetana 13-17 February Tallis 20-24 February Wagner 27 Feb – 3 March Strozzi Ruggero Leoncavallo was a m
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
LEONCAVALLO Life&Times
LIFE: Ruggero Leoncavallo is born in Naples on 23 April to Vincenzo Leoncavallo, a police magistrate, and painter Virginia D’Auria. TIMES: On 16 December, a huge earthquake strikes the region of Basilicata, southeast of Naples. Several towns are dest
BBC Music Magazine6 min read
Edward Elgar Symphony No. 1
Thanks not least to his own letters and his wife Alice’s diaries, Elgar’s life was as closely documented as any, and yet as a character he remains strangely elusive. For someone apparently so rooted in a sense of place, he moved around a lot, living
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
Continue The Journey…
Though Elgar’s Symphony No. 2 (1911) strides out confidently, its fluctuating moods thereafter, including the funereal Larghetto, outline what he told friends – that the work embraces everything that had happened in his life over the last three years
BBC Music Magazine1 min readMusic
Welcome
Having shared the nominations for the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2023 (see p26), I can’t help but wonder what recordings might make next year’s list. I’d be surprised if Ruby Hughes and Huw Watkins weren’t somewhere on it; their album Echo (see Record
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
This Echo lingers Long After The Music Fades
Ruby Hughes (soprano), Huw Watkins (piano) BIS BIS-2568 (CD/SACD) 63:33 mins A rich skein of melancholy and introspection is woven throughout soprano Ruby Hughes’s latest collaboration with composer-pianist Huw Watkins. And at its heart is his song c
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
Performer’s Notes
Why did you call this Echo? It’s a very beautiful word and it evokes so much, musically, spiritually and in nature. We see echoes of so many things; we hear how composers through the ages have echoed, to a greater or lesser degree, other composers –
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
A Ravishing Selection Of Tchaikovsky Treasures
United Strings of Europe/Julian Azkoul BIS BIS-2569 (CD/SACD) 77:50 mins So many inspired melodies, ravishingly harmonised, on a single disc, and it’s not even a ‘Tchaikovsky’s Greatest Hits’ compilation. Julian Azkoul, violinist mastermind of United
BBC Music Magazine5 min read
Orchestral
Cappella Aquileia/Marcus Bosch CPO 555303-2 62:17 mins Beethoven was naturally attracted by the myth of Prometheus, bringer of most things he valued, so it’s not surprising that he wrote music expressing his enthusiasm for it, notably in the ‘Eroica’
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
These ‘Lost’ Venetian Gems Proffer Musical Fireworks
Marcello: Violin Concerto, Op. 1, No. 9; Veracini: Overture No. 6 in B flat; Vivaldi: Violin Concertos, RV 182, 320R & 521; Cello Concerto in B flat, RV 788; Sinfonia a 4, RV 786 Infermi d’Amore/Vadym Makarenko (violin) Eudora EUD-DR-2206 (CD/SACD) 6
BBC Music Magazine5 min read
Concerto
Margarita Höhenrieder (piano); Orchestra La Scintilla/Riccardo Minasi Solo Musica SM 400 69:29 mins Chopin’s E minor Piano Concerto predates his departure from Warsaw in 1830, yet shows his early maturity as a composer. A fine performance on period i
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
Uncovering Verdi’s Parisian pleasures
Ludovic Tézier (baritone); Chorus of Teatro Regio Di Parma; Orchestra of Teatro Comunale Di Bologna; Orchestra Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini/Roberto Abbado Dynamic CDS7941 67:59 mins What it says on the tin here is only part of the story. True, there
BBC Music Magazine8 min read
Opera
Salome Jicia, Giorgio Misseri, Nicola Ulivieri; Orchestra e Coro dell’Opera Carlo Felice Genova/Donato Renzetti; dir. Hugo de Ana (Genoa, 2021) Dynamic DVD: 37954; Blu-ray: 57954 148 mins Director Hugo de Ana’s production of Bianca e Fernando for Gen
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
Celebrating A Pair Of Renaissance Greats
The King’s Singers; Fretwork Signum Classics SIGCD731 70:55 mins The title Tom and Will refers to two of our greatest Renaissance composers, Thomas Weelkes and William Byrd. Fortuitously they both managed to die in 1623 thus facilitating this fascina
BBC Music Magazine9 min read
Choral & Song
*Irina Jae-Eun Park (soprano), *Nutthaporn Thammathi (tenor), Johannes Moser (electric cello), Fabrice Bollon (electronics) Naxos 8.574456 69:42 mins Acclaimed conductor Fabrice Bollon has more recently established himself as a composer of distinctio
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
The Takács Quartet Offer Serious Joy With This Set
Stephen Hough: String Quartet No. 1, ‘Les Six recontres’; Dutilleux: String Quartet, ‘Ainsi la nuit’; Ravel: String Quartet Takács Quartet Hyperion CDA68400 67:48 mins This recording really is a joy from start to finish. In the Ravel, the very first
BBC Music Magazine8 min readMusic
Chamber
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A, Op. 47 ‘Kreutzer’; Franck: Violin Sonata in A; R Schumann: Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105 Renaud Capuçon (violin), Martha Argerich (piano) DG 486 3533 81:14 mins Much of this recording is of the highest c
BBC Music Magazine2 min readMusic
Eric Lu’s Exquisitely Shaped Schubert
Piano Sonata in A, D959; Allegretto in C minor, D915; Piano Sonata in A minor, D784 Eric Lu (piano) Warner Classics 5419729812 80:03 mins The opening movement of Schubert’s penultimate piano sonata, D959, is exquisitely shaped in this latest offering
BBC Music Magazine12 min read
Instrumental
Anne Queffélec (piano) Mirare MIR 634 69:25 mins Ever since Artur Schnabel launched the first ever recording of all the Beethoven sonatas by a single player with a luminous account of Op. 110 in Abbey Road Studios in 1932, the final trilogy has been
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
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Stage & screen
The hype surrounding Sony Playstation’s God of War – Ragnarok ahead of its release in November was massive, so it’s perhaps of little surprise that it would become one of the fastest-selling videogame titles ever. A sequel to 2018’s God of War, it ac
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
A Fitting ‘Final’ Flourish
Joanne Pearce Martin (piano); Studio Orchestra/John Williams Sony Classical 19658780072 31 mins There’s every chance this will be the last film score John Williams writes for director Steven Spielberg, the nonagenarian composer announcing he wants to
BBC Music Magazine4 min read
Brief Notes
Nina Berman (soprano), Steve Beck, Eric Huebner (piano) New Focus Recordings FCR-349 Soprano and pianist tease out all the otherworldliness and emotional variety of these works, spanning half a century of Babbitt’s extensive, experimental career. On
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
Alfvén, Barrueco And A Mozart Triple
Swedish composer Hugo Alfvén was much-loved in his home country, galvanising its musical identity with a host of memorable works. In Alfvén – Complete Symphonies; Suites; Rhapsodies (Naxos 8.507015) we’re treated to his generous legacy of orchestral
BBC Music Magazine3 min read
Books
Faber & Faber 256pp (hb) £18.99 First violinist of the acclaimed Takács Quartet, Edward Dusinberre writes with much the same verve and insight as he plays. His first book, Beethoven for a Later Age delved deep into the inner workings of this most hal
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
Audio Choice
BEST FOR HOME WORKING These gorgeous over-ear closed-back wired headphones are billed as ‘portable’, but with their solid maple wood housing, 53mm dynamic drivers (frequency response 5Hz-50kHz) and lightweight, comfortable design they are ideal for h
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
From The Archives
Now almost forgotten except by violin aficionados, Toscha Seidel largely moved away from a concert career to the Hollywood studios in the 1930s. He was famed for his luscious tone, which comes through clearly in the few electrically recorded tracks:
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
Kooy’s first-class Bach
Peter Kooy (bass); La Chapelle Royale/Philippe Herreweghe Harmonia Mundi HMM931365 52:20 mins Ich habe genug has long been one of Bach’s most popular cantatas, and recordings over the years have featured baritones, bass-baritones, contraltos, counter
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
Unboxed
‘I feel that the whole conception of performance these days is too heavy, loud and blatant. I prefer less power, but instead, more delicacy and ethereal refinement of tone.’ That was pianist Walter Gieseking interviewed in 1926, as he was embarking o
BBC Music Magazine4 min read
Live Choice
Web: cityoflondonsinfonia.co.uk The devil doesn’t necessarily have all the best tunes, but he’s on scintillating form as demonstrated in this concert, ‘Dance with the Devil’, in which director and violinist Alexandra Wood charts a demonic course thro
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
BACKSTAGE WITH… Conductor Jamie Phillips
In two concerts with the Britten Sinfonia this month, you are conducting Delius’s incidental music to Hassan on the centenary of its premiere. Can you tell us about the work? Delius wrote almost all of his incidental music to Hassan in 1920-21, to ac
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
Three To Look Out For
Alan Davey, the controller of BBC Radio 3, picks out three great moments to tune into this February Radio 3’s In Concert starts February with an evening of music for brass, performed by West Yorkshire’s Black Dyke Band as part of the Royal Northern C
BBC Music Magazine6 min read
TV&Radio
Schedules may be subject to alteration. For up-to-date listings see Radio Times 6.30-9am Breakfast 9am-12 noon Essential Classics 12 noon-1pm Composer of the Week Vivaldi 1-2pm Lunchtime Concert 2-4pm Afternoon Concert 4-5pm Choral Evensong 5-7.30pm
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
TV Choice
Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel presents the story of the celebrated movie composer, as told by the man himself and his closest collaborators. Across his 40-year career, Hans Zimmer has redefined the movie score, pioneering new techniques and introducin
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
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BBC Music Magazine2 min read
The Quiz
1. Whose solo piano works include ‘Des pas sur la neige’ (Footprints in the snow) and ‘The snow is dancing’? 2. Which composer was still in his early teens when he wrote the ballet The Snowman, first performed in Vienna in 1910? 3. What is the occupa
BBC Music Magazine2 min read
The BBC Music Magazine PRIZE CROSSWORD NO. 382
The first correct solution of our crossword picked at random will win a copy of The Oxford Companion to Music. A runner-up will win Who Knew? Answers to Questions about Classical Music (see oup.co.uk). Send answers to: BBC Music Magazine, Crossword 3
BBC Music Magazine1 min read
Wagner’s Ring cycle
Performed by BBC Scottish Symphony under Runnicles, Elder and Volkov PLUS! New CBSO principal conductor Kazuki Yamada speaks to Richard Bratby; Roger Nichols explores the musical significance of Paris 1923, one hundred years on; Paul Roberts charts L
BBC Music Magazine3 min read
Wynne Evans
Wynne Evans has sung leading roles with many British and European companies and is particularly well known to millions of television viewers as the extravagantly moustachioed singer Gio Compario in the Go Compare adverts. As well as fronting several

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