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.
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THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS
BBC Music Magazine
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Ronnie Scott’s takes a classical turn • New Monday night concert series to begin in February
Mozart breathes his last, with his Requiem left unfinished
Also in December 1791…
The BBC Music Magazine team’s current favourites…
Concert Heaven Concert Hell • Top artists recall their best and worst performances
MyHero • Soprano Rebecca Lea explains how composer Judith Weir has been a major inspiration both on and off the stage
Make it up as you go along…
FAREWELL TO…
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN • Pick a theme… and name your seven favourite examples
Richard Morrison • When is the right time for musicians to take their leave from the stage?
Anepicjourney • 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
Duke, Bart and instant coffee • Grieg’s Peer Gynt in popular culture
A giant of Norwegian theatre • The awesome genius of Henrik Ibsen
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
Yamaha power • A match made in heaven
London calling • Clifford Hall recounts Haydn’s huge successes in the English capital, a far cry from the composer’s hard-up days in a freezing Vienna garret
Capital gains
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
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
One big collective • Participatory pieces
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?
All aboard! • Clare Stevens joins the intrepid presenters of Radio 3 for a day of remarkable on-the-move broadcasting, travelling the length of the United Kingdom by train
Out and about • BBC Radio 3 on the move
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
Reality check • Competitions and media
Ludlow United Kingdom • Each April, the English Song Weekend fills this Shropshire town with music by composers from both near and far, writes Rebecca Franks
Franz Schubert • From angst to acceptance, Schubert’s ability to switch seamlessly between states of mind was a unique part of his genius, says Stephen Johnson
SCHUBERT Life&Times
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
Pure poetry with an authentic touch
Continue the journey… • Five works to explore after Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2
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RECORDING OF THE MONTH An inspired and...