Cracking music, Gromit! One of the screen's most iconic themes is back with a vengeance...
They’re one of the screen’s most enduring duos and on Christmas Day Wallace & Gromit are back on our screens to face one of their most famous foes once again. We speak to composers Lorne Balfe and Julian Nott about the music for Vengeance Most Fowl…
Get ready for a trip in the TARDIS on Christmas Eve! The Doctor Who Prom is on TV...
Today at the BBC Proms: music, monsters and a few familiar faces from the BBC’s universally popular sci-fi series ‘Doctor Who’
Out now: our January issue, featuring Angel Blue, Patricia Routledge, Mozart's mind and much more
The January 2025 issue of BBC Music Magazine features the dazzling American soprano Angel Blue. Plus Mozart's mind, soprano-turned-actress Patricia Routledge, US inauguration music and much more
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: the musical prodigy who brought the sound of Wagner and Puccini to Hollywood
Embracing youthful stardom, Nazi censorship and Hollywood success, Erich Wolfgang Korngold's story was truly remarkable, says Jessica Duchen
'A complete failure': 15 works that their composers bitterly regretted
The sorry tales of pieces that, for one reason or another, would go on to haunt their own composers
The tritone: the 'devil in music' that has injected mystery and unease into countless great works
For centuries, the tritone - a musical interval spanning three whole tones - has added tension, drama and mystery to music by everyone from Bach to Bernstein
Schumann Violin Concerto: a bizarre tale of ouija boards, witch-hunts and Nazi propaganda
Jessica Duchen tells the extraordinary story of how a message from beyond the grave led to a race to resurrect and perform an important 19th-century work
15 Christmas music essentials - a must-have list for classical music lovers
It’s time to make a few notes, please, as Jeremy Pound sets out
his musical must-have list for the festive season that lies ahead
Brahms: traditionalist, innovator... a man of many fascinating contradictions
Meet Johannes Brahms, the Janus-like face of Romanticism
Anderson to Zappa, via Minimalism and Ragtime: an A to Z of American music
Brian Wise takes us on a journey through the people and places that have forged the USA’s musical legacy
Meet the most fascinating figures from classical music
Blues singers: 11 great performers who shaped the blues genre
Paul McGuinness explores the best blues singers of all time, who helped shape and influence the genre
How did Glenn Miller die? The story of a fateful December night in 1944
Glenn Miller went missing over the English Channel in 1944. But what really happened that cold December night? BBC Music Magazine tells all
A passionate and sometimes volatile perfectionist... What was it like to study with conductor Kurt Masur?
Kahchun Wong, the Hallé’s new principal conductor, salutes the mentoring he received from Kurt Masur
The great composers
Explore the lives and works of classical music's finest composers
Beethoven: perhaps the most influential composer in classical music history
John Suchet profiles Ludwig van Beethoven - the composer who sparked a musical revolution
John Williams: the maestro behind some of cinema's most iconic soundtracks
It’s likely more people around the world know some music written by John Williams than they do Bach or Beethoven. From Star Wars to Harry Potter, via Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park, his music for films has made him a bit of a superstar. Here’s everything you ought to know about the legendary composer.
Johann Sebastian Bach: the Baroque innovator who changed the sound of classical music forever
Meet the king of counterpoint, Johann Sebastian Bach
Franz Schmidt: the brilliant composer cancelled for pleasing the Nazis
A cataclysmic decision in his final year led to this masterful late-Romantic symphonist being cast out into the cold, explains Erik Levi
Greatest Recordings
Our recommendations of essential additions to your listening library
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1: the story of a Romantic showstopper and its best recordings
Claire Jackson explains how this king of the concert hall triumphed despite its inauspicious start in life, and presents the best recordings of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1
Handel's Messiah: the best recordings of this festive choral masterpiece
We name the best recordings of of Handel’s Messiah, a choral masterpiece that should have everyone shouting Hallelujah!
Bach for beginners: 12 great recordings to unlock the Baroque master's magical music
Pianist George Lepauw introduces us to his essential Bach listening
Gaspard de la nuit: inside Ravel’s famously haunting piano cycle
Rebecca Franks explores the twilight world of Ravel’s haunting and nightmarish cycle, Gaspard de la nuit, and finds the best recording of this virtuosic work
Albums of the week
A selection of the best reviewed albums from the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine
Yuletide Treats (Duo Pleyel) (Review)
In his review, Michael Church gets a warm glow from Duo Pleyel’s festive selection of four-hand piano arrangements
Schumann – Viola (Maxim Rysanov) (Review)
In her review, Jessica Duchen enjoys these expressive Schumann performances by Maxim Rysanov, Julian Bliss and Dasol Kim
Žibuoklė Martinaitytė: Aletheia etc (Review)
Composer Žibuoklė Martinaitytė’s is a distinctive voice, says Christopher Dingle in his review of this potent and powerful set of new works
Audio equipment reviews and advice
A selection of the best reviewed albums from the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine
Audio gift guide 2024: perfect gifts for audio lovers this Christmas, at every price point
From cute bedside radios to tantalising turntables, Chris Haslam suggests a wide range of perfect gifts for audio lovers this Christmas
How to get the most from your Spotify subscription
Our expert Chris Haslam gives valuable advice on getting the very best from your Spotify subscription as a classical music listener