Music
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 |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Felix Mendelssohn
Erik Levi basks in the Mediterranean sunshine and sips a limoncello as he enjoys the genial company of this most radiant of orchestral works
6 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
A remarkable display of panache and precision
Malcolm Hayes on why this flawless performance by violinist Lea Birringer is definitely one to remember
1 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
A beautifully delivered showcase for the viola
Nicholas Kenyon enjoys the marvellous musicality in Timothy Ridout's sonorous survey of solo works for the instrument
2 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
A visceral insight into a great musical imagination
Steph Power is left exhilarated by the LPO’s survey of operatic suites by the British composer Thomas Adès
1 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Richard Morrison
Music's power to unlock memories in dementia patients is remarkable
3 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
How to bring listening pleasure to your desktop
Our expert Chris Haslam gives advice on buying the latest hi-fi equipment
3 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Pick a theme... and name your seven favourite examples
3 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Anna Lapwood
Anna Lapwood has given organ music a major boost with her viral TikTok videos and unlikely but brilliant transcriptions for the instrument. The multi-talented British artist, who is soon to turn 30, recently stepped down as music director at Pembroke College, Cambridge, to concentrate on her solo career. Her new album, Firedove, is out on Sony Classical on 30 May.
3 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Queen of arts
Errollyn Wallen is riding high on a year of triumphs that include becoming Master of the King's Music, writes Claire Jackson
3 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Radiant and whimsical Brahms Piano Quartets
Krystian Zimerman and friends deliver a superb performance for this new album, says Jan Smaczny
1 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Jurassic melodies
Come and join a dinosaur choir! That's an invitation that any music-lover would surely want to take up: who could give up the chance to sit next to a velociraptor or T-Rex and put together a Messiah from scratch?
2 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Pieces of 8
There's more to vocal ensemble VOCES8 than its ethereal sound, not least a keen commitment to education, as Amanda Holloway reports
6 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Sonic youth
Korean pianist Yunchan Lim's extraordinary Chopin studio debut offers just a taste of his dazzling musicianship,
10+ min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
All in the mind
The cliché of the ‘mad genius’ has long perpetuated the idea that creativity and mental illness are linked. But, asks Rebecca Franks, how true is that notion?
6 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Left-field learning
Despite an education steeped in the Russian tradition, noted pianist Nikolai Lugansky forged an unusual path to a stellar career,
6 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Great Dame
When flames engulfed Notre-Dame in 2019, the organ miraculously survived. Now cleaned and restored, it is sounding as good as ever,
6 min |
June 2025
BBC Music Magazine
Perfect peace
The BBC Music team and reviewers on the music they turn to for a sense of calm
4 min |