BBC Music Magazine

BBC Music Magazine is a must for anyone with a passion for classical music. Classical music connoisseurs and new enthusiast alike will enjoy the fascinating features and reviews of over 120 new works in every issue.

Please Note: Our digital edition does not include the cover mount items or supplements you would normally find with printed copies

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THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS

BBC Music Magazine

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Park life put on BBC Singers’ agenda • Vocal ensemble names its new chief conductor from 2026

Donizetti’s opera comes to a bloody end as sopranos scrap

Also in September 1834…

The BBC Music Magazine team’s current favourites…

Concert Heaven Concert Hell • Top artists recall their best and worst performances

MyHero • Conductor Ian Page remembers the inspiring presence of David Syrus, former head of music at The Royal Opera House

A funny thing happened…

FAREWELL TO…

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN • Oboist-conductor François Leleux narrows down 104 Haydn symphonies to seven terrific highlights

Richard Morrison • Thomas Hardy’s dark poems are a vital record of a rich musical past

Ingoodhands • 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

Life begins at 80 • Five octogenarian violinists

Screen junkie • Itzhak Perlman on television

Code to joy • Many composers have embedded coded messages in their music – and some still remain a mystery, writes Claire Jackson

Composing in code • Elgar’s Enigma

Man of the World • Though many may think of John Rutter as being the most British of choral composers and conductors, his huge popularity in fact spreads right across the globe, as Andrew Green explores

The other Rutter • Three non-choral works

Cold comfort • In the late 1980s, British pianist James Kirby braved cold, hunger and totalitarian rule to study in Moscow. Here he shares his memories with Anthony Cheng

Creature comforts • Shelter in the embassy

Heroes&Villas • Rachmaninov holds a special significance for pianist Alexander Melnikov – a composer whose life bore similarities to his own, as he tells John-Pierre Joyce

Villa Senar • The house that Rach built

Pictureperfect • What are the best ever uses of classical music masterpieces in film? From heartbreaking love stories to apocalyptic visions, we select our top 12

An enigmatic choice • Elizabeth and Elgar

Learning the notes • Unique to the British cutural scene, chorister schools can offer often educational opportunities that are hard to match, writes Anne Templer

Vienna Austria • If you’re a classical music lover and you haven’t been to the Austrian capital, it is definitely time you paid a visit, enthuses Michael Beek

Arvo Pärt • From serialism to the hypnotic tintinnabuli, the 90-year-old Estonian’s world has shifted radically over the years, as Paul Hillier explains

ARVO PÄRT Life&Times

Antonín Dvořák Cello Concerto • A yearning for his homeland and the devastating loss of a beloved friend give the Czech’s work an almost unbearable pathos, explains Jo Talbot

A performance of poise and passion

Continue the journey… • We suggest further works to explore after Dvořák’s Cello Concerto

Welcome

Violin virtuosity to entertain and astound • Jo Talbot is entranced by Rachel Podger’s spontaneous and sensitive approach to Biber’s demanding 1681 violin sonatas

Performer’s notes Rachel...