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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
Northern light
From her first piano lesson, composer Errollyn Wallen has lived and breathed music; and though inspired by a range of styles, her composing is a deeply personal expression, as she tells Kate Wakeling
Felix Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor
Jo Talbot celebrates the Mozart of the 19th century’ as she searches out the finest recordings of this masterful work for piano, violin and cello
Antonio Salieri
Forget the hate-filled murderer of Mozart, says Alexandra Wilson; the real Salieri was an opera composer of considerable standing
Aix-en-Provence France
Rebecca Franks breathes in the spring air in the popular southern city, where the music making sparkles and the sun always shines
Composing is like breathing. It's just something I do, like a hobby, really...or an addiction
The world's most performed classical composer, a small, black-suited figure with a mop of white hair and mutton-chop whiskers, stands on the huge Brucknerhaus stage, almost invisible among the sea of musicians.
A cast of thousands
From its unlikely conception in a pub, The Really Big Chorus has become a cultural phenomenon, offering amateur singers the opportunity to take part in vast performances, writes Andrew Green
Tours de force
What secrets lurk behind the stages of the world’s great concert halls? To find out, Brian Wise takes backstage tours of five leading venues in London and New York
A Marriner's tale
This month marks 100 years since the birth of Sir Neville Marriner, legendary founder and director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Michael White speaks to those who knew him best
Larger than life
Before Milos Forman’s Amadeus came Peter Shaffer’s theatrical take on Mozart and Salieri, staged in 1979 at London’s National Theatre. lifts the curtain...
MUSIC MALICE & MURDER
Everything you've heard is true,' proclaimed the posters for Miloš Forman's Amadeus - a cinematic tale of genius and envy, based on Peter Shaffer's acclaimed stage play about Mozart and Salieri's bitter rivalry. Forty years on, Charlotte Smith looks back at a very special production
Start spreading the music...
No city has been sounded and celebrated by composers and musicians as thrillingly as New York and, in particular, Manhattan – a place where 800 languages are spoken, and even more musical genres are currently being played, remade and born.
NY Philharmonic seizes an unlikely Korea opportunity
When an agreed ceasefire ended the Korean War in July 1953, a full and final peace settlement between North and South Korea was envisaged. It never happened.
Stroud England
Despite the sleepy reputation of its Gloucestershire surrounds, Stroud's Hidden Notes Festival likes to push boundaries
Closing the gap
The number of female conductors on the world's orchestral podiums might be rising, but there is still some distance to cover
Keep it in the family
Sibling connections can lead to meaningful musical partnerships – as long as childhood rivalries don't get in the way
He's got rhythm
Oscar Levant built his reputation as an actor and radio host, but this talented pianist was also a key interpreter of Gershwin's music
Out of the Blue
When George Gershwin brought together the worlds of jazz and classical in the premiere of his Rhapsody in Blue 100 years ago in New York, a whole new soundworld was born, as Mervyn Cooke relates
15 Christmas Music Essentials
It's time to make a few notes, please, as Jeremy Pound sets out his musical must-have list for the festive season that lies ahead
Bernard Herrmann
This complex and irascible man was plagued by frustration, but remains one of cinema's most iconic musical voices, says Michael Beek
Russell Watson
The genial British singer has enjoyed an enduring popularity since his first hit album The Voice dominated the charts in 2000.
Bergen Norway
With an acclaimed local orchestra, music is everywhere in this city and its most famous composer is never far away, finds Jeremy Pound
Richard Morrison
Today's musicians shouldn't be afraid to take on political causes
With a cherry on top
Despite its ostensibly festive sounds, Brahms's Fourth Symphony presents a vortex of despair, writes Tom Service. Perfect, then, for the Christmas season!
Bernstein celebrates festive freedom in East Berlin
\"I believe that Beethoven would have given us his blessing. Let freedom live!\"
Albert Hall celebrates its past as archive is revamped
Million-pound 'rescue operation' brings together thousands of historic artefacts