Classic Rock
Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram
A triple-threat blues prodigy channels the ghosts of the past on his new album.
2 min |
December 2025
Classic Rock
"Life is full of surprises"
Rush return with a new drummer, Anika Nilles.
4 min |
December 2025
Classic Rock
Die Spitz
They hate being touted as the next big thing. They hate interviews. But they love rock.
2 min |
December 2025
Record Collector
art for heart's sake
Around the turn of the 90s, My Bloody Valentine redefined guitar music with a string of releases whose impressionistic soundscapes would help shape a generation of alternative rock bands.
10 min |
December 2025
Record Collector
"I DON'T WANT TO BE ORDINARY"
Guitar maestro Steve Howe is the sole member of Yes from their 70s prime to still be flying their fantastical, Roger Dean-designed flag.
10+ min |
December 2025
Record Collector
davidquanticklikes
...to write a column for Record Collector. Yay Alternative facsimiles
3 min |
December 2025
Record Collector
Ray Dorset
In The Summertime (1970) became an iconic number almost overnight, propelling the unknown Mungo Jerry – and the band’s creative force, Ray Dorset – to stardom.
4 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Mozart breathes his last, with his Requiem left unfinished
The summer of 1791 was an exceptionally busy period, even by Mozart's habitually hardworking standards. He was, to begin with, composing a new opera, Die Zauberflöte (‘The Magic Flute’). Then, in June, he received a commission for a new choral work, a Requiem. By early July there were already signs that Mozart was struggling with the pressure of looming deadlines, and health issues lurking namelessly below the surface.
3 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Pick a theme... and name your seven favourite examples
3 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Richard Morrison
When is the right time for musicians to take their leave from the stage?
3 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Georgia on my mind
A product of the fertile Georgian music system, star pianist Mariam Batsashvili speaks to Michael Church about Beethoven, artistic freedom and teaching via social media
8 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Headphones to help you listen while you work
If you've got a desk job, I'd wager you spend at least some of your time wearing headphones. Whether you work from home or commute into an office, a pair of headphones has become an essential tool for phone calls, video conferencing, enjoying music, or simply to turn the volume down on Debbie and James at the neighbouring desks. Choosing the right pair can make a huge difference to productivity and comfort, especially when long hours are spent wearing them. For most users, modern over-ear wireless designs remain the best option thanks to their mix of sound quality, noise cancellation and wearability.
4 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
A personal and deeply felt expression of sorrow
Roger Thomas is impressed by the elegant skill and emotional conviction of this accomplished debut
9 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Ute Lemper
Singer and actress
3 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
An epic journey
When asked to write music for Ibsen's play Peer Gynt, Grieg thought he was facing an impossible challenge. But, as Terry Blain relates, the composer's perseverance resulted in a masterpiece of matchless character and colour
10+ min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
15 show-stealing moments
We take a look at the arias, movements, songs and dances whose fame has outshone the larger works in which they first appeared
6 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
All together now
In recent years, more and more artists have invited audiences to sing along with their performances. Rebecca Franks investigates this growing trend
7 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Ludlow United Kingdom
Each April, the English Song Weekend fills this Shropshire town with music by composers from both near and far
3 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Performances equal to the great icons of the past
Morley and Brownlee are on sensational form in 19th-century arias and duets, writes George Hall
6 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Sergei Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2
Jessica Duchen enjoys more than a brief encounter with the Russian's much-loved work as she gets on track with the best recordings available
3 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
An inspired and artful ode to Beethoven
Joy and camaraderie are palpable in Yo-Yo Ma, Leonidas Kavakos and Emanuel Ax's latest release, notes Rebecca Franks
2 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Spotlight on unusual solo instruments
Claire Jackson is mightily impressed by Bezaly's mastery of the rare alto flute
6 min |
December 2025
Record Collector
Heard Ya Missed Us WELL WE'RE BACK!
Formed in Coventry in 1984, The Primitives managed to shine among some stylish competition on the indie scene. In 1988 they enjoyed a memorable Top 5 UK hit with the shimmering indie pop song, Crash. Four years later, the group went on hiatus, a state which lasted over two decades before a tentative return to the scene. Now, Cherry Red are releasing a long-overdue recap of the first phase of their career, spread across five discs, featuring live sessions and previously unreleased material. Guitarist and founding member Paul Court sat down to talk with RC about unexpected success, the highs and lows of the record industry, and how bubble bath spoiled a potential hit.
4 min |
December 2025
Record Collector
45 minutes with...Roland Gift
Roland Gift came to prominence in 1985 when, as the lead singer in Fine Young Cannibals, he made the UK Top 10 with their first single, Johnny Come Home. That same year they also reached the Top 10 with their self-titled debut album, although it was their 1989 followup, The Raw & The Cooked, that hit No 1 in the UK and US and yielded US No 1 singles She Drives Me Crazy and Good Thing. When they split in 1996, Gift, who'd previously starred in films including 1987's Sammy And Rosie Get Laid and 1989's Scandal, returned to the screen, starring in 1997 TV miniseries, Painted Lady, alongside Helen Mirren. In 2002 he made his eponymously titled solo album, then, in 2013, went on tour with Jools Holland's band. He is currently celebrating the 40th anniversary of Fine Young Cannibals with FYC40, a career-spanning CD/LP package and an accompanying Roland Gift Presents Fine Young Cannibals tour.
6 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Ronnie Scott's takes a classical turn
New Monday night concert series to begin in February
2 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Make it up as you go along...
Classical music has a problem with perfection. You'd have thought the most important job of any professional musician was learning, playing and repeating the notes composers wrote down so often that they become second nature. Surely that's how the tradition works: keep playing the same music – by Strozzi, Bach or Vivaldi – over and over again until the jewels that they left us are polished to a gleaming finish. That's what the works of classical music are all about: they are bound in the pages of scores, fixed as absolute sequences of pitches in time, and turned into objects of contemplation in performance by classical music's ideals of recreative execution.
1 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Concert Heaven Concert Hell
Top artists recall their best and worst performances
3 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Winner takes all
Competitions may be 'for horses', as Bartók once claimed, but they're a useful promotional tool, writes Claire Jackson, and sometimes they reveal a real star
7 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
A rich score drawn from wanderings in America
Kate Wakeling is captivated by the Partch Ensemble's compelling realisation of a truly original body of works
10 min |
December 2025
BBC Music Magazine
The long goodbye
The farewell concert is a long-established tradition among classical stars. But, asks Andrew Green, how many musicians calling it a day actually mean it?
6 min |