Music
BBC Music Magazine
Code to joy
Many composers have embedded coded messages in their music – and some still remain a mystery
6 min |
September 2025
BBC Music Magazine
In good hands
As we celebrate legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman's 80th birthday, the virtuoso speaks to Charlotte Smith about teaching, conducting, his famous sound – and keeping inspired over a career of more than 60 years
8 min |
September 2025
BBC Music Magazine
A funny thing happened...
Without context or words, can instrumental music really be amusing, as the pianist Alfred Brendel suggested? Of course it can,
2 min |
September 2025
BBC Music Magazine
On the cutting-edge of headphone development
Our expert Chris Haslam gives advice on buying the latest hi-fi equipment
4 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Becoming Oscar
Michael Beek catches up with actor (and pianist) Sean Hayes ahead of his Barbican run as Oscar Levant in the play Good Night, Oscar
6 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Wagner sees the bigger picture as the Ring opens in Bayreuth
‘I am toying with the boldest of plans.’ With these words, in September 1850, Richard Wagner first articulated a grand idea which took a quarter of a century to come to full fruition: the building of a special opera house in which the work eventually known as Der Ring des Nibelungen could be mounted to the highest standard.
3 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
The British composer enjoyed major celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic, only to be cut off just as he reached his peak, reveals Terry Blain
6 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
The queue to happiness
From an indicator of ongoing popularity to an unlikely dating service, the queue to buy tickets for the Proms is an institution we should cherish, says Tom Service
2 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
From Me To You
Four top classical musicians come together to share with us why they had to get The Beatles into their life
6 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Bologna Italy
There's more to Bologna than culinary delights, writes John Allison — not least a music festival dedicated to its native son, Ottorino Respighi
3 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
The magic touch
Performer, educator, campaigner and festival director... in all aspects of her busy career, violinist Nicola Benedetti aims to make music accessible for all, writes Ariane Todes
8 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Concert Heaven Concert Hell
Top artists recall their best and worst performances
3 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Tour de force
Liszt was paid a small fortune for his exhaustive tours of Britain in 1840 and “41, but the reality was hard slog and a paltry profit, writes Andrew Green
6 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Aristo Sham strikes gold in Texas
Hong Kong pianist triumphs in Van Cliburn Competition
2 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Magical Mystery Four
As we mark 65 years of The Beatles, Bob Chilcott, composer, former King's Singer and Fab Four fanatic, explores the band's many musical influences
6 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Pick a theme... and name your seven favourite examples
3 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Hero or hype?
Are some of the 'great' composers simply overrated? We invite five of our writers to reveal those whose feted talents leave them seriously underwhelmed
10 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Cello and piano works beautifully wrought
David Nice says Marie-Elisabeth Hecker and Martin Helmchen are in a class of their own in this revelatory selection of pieces
3 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
A jolly good cello
Guy Johnston has played many fabulous instruments – but none compares to his 300-year-old Stradivari which, he tells Michael White, challenges him every day.
7 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Richard Morrison
How shocking was it for a critic to compare The Beatles to Mahler?
3 min |
August 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Shore scores to the fore
This Parisian tribute to the big-screen career of composer Howard Shore is a visceral delight
1 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Bavouzet conjures characterful Ravel
Rebecca Franks enjoys the pianist’s latest take on the complete solo works
1 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
A blazing B minor mass from Pygmalion and co.
Alexandra Wilson says this latest interpretation of Bach's mighty work is exceptional and a must-listen
1 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Soundbites!
As Steven Spielberg's Jaws celebrates 50 years old, Charlotte Smith explores the vital role played by John Williams's famously unsettling soundtrack
6 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Savonlinna Finland
Forests, lakes, a 550-year-old fairytale castle and a famous opera festival... Charlotte Smith is entranced by this charming Nordic town
3 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
A blood-curdling and brilliant Bartók Bluebeard
Christopher Cook is chilled to the bone by a concert take on the composer's nightmarish masterpiece
1 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
And relax...
The music that calms us can be deeply personal, writes Claire Jackson, yet certain universal elements are scientifically proven to ease stress
6 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Kreisler across the ages
Thirty years of the great violinist's concerto recordings make for a truly fascinating tribute
1 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
This complete Ravel song survey is a box of delights
Paul Riley enjoys the latest foray into French vocal works by pianist Malcolm Martineau and friends
1 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Orlando Gibbons
From court refinement to London street cries, Gibbons's music captures the very essence of early-Stuart England,
6 min |