Stephen Johnson
Journalist and Critic, BBC Music Magazine
Stephen Johnson is a critic and writer for BBC Music Magazine, with work also published in The Independent, The Guardian and Gramophone. He is a regular contributor on BBC Radio 3, 4 and the World Service, and has presented programmes and documentaries on Bruckner, Shostakovich and Vaughan Williams. He has also written books on music, including Bruckner Remembered (Faber, 1999), The Eighth: Mahler and the World in 1910 (Faber, 2020) and How Shostakovich Changed My Mind (Notting Hill Editions, 2020). Johnson's musical life began as a cellist at school in Manchester, before he went on to study composition under Alexander Goehr at Leeds University and subsequently undertaking postgraduate study at Manchester University, focusing on Shostakovich's String Quartets.
Recent articles by Stephen Johnson
‘The music spoke directly to my loneliness’ – how Bruckner helped me through a mental health crisis
Almost uniquely, Bruckner seems to inspire either deep devotion or total dislike. Stephen Johnson marks the Austrian’s bicentenary by explaining why, for him, the symphonies have become firm friends
Time signature: what is it and why is it so crucial in music?
Stephen Johnson gets to grips with classical music's technical terms. This time: the all-important time signature
What is a symphony? | What is a symphony? All you ever wanted to know about one of classical music's most enduring forms
Haydn wrote more than 100. Brahms wrote four, all amazing. Mahler put the whole world into his. All you need to know about the symphony
Depression and mental illness can inspire extraordinary works of art. Just ask these four great composers
A number of composers are known to have suffered from mental illness. But, asks Stephen Johnson, himself a sufferer of bipolar disorder, did their affliction in fact provide the key to much of their creativity?
Franz Schubert: probably classical music's greatest prodigy
Was Franz Schubert a prodigy without equal? Stephen Johnson makes a compelling case for the Austrian composer's place at the top of the prodigies league
Cultural appropriation, or evocative escapism? 15 musical works inspired by the 'exotic' East
Culminating in rich portrayals of Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov and Ravel, the ‘exotic’ Orient inspired countless composers, says Stephen Johnson
Serialism: a guide to classical music's most divisive musical technique
Serialism: just what was it and why was it so divisive in classical music circles? Stephen Johnson explains
What is a string quartet?
What is a string quartet? Interesting question, as it can mean both an ensemble of players and a piece of music written for that ensemble. Stephen Johnson explains
What is a melody? And how has it developed through history?
It may be one of music’s fundamental properties, but the art of penning a memorable melody has long proved a notoriously elusive one. Stephen Johnson reveals the story – and the secrets – behind the humble tune
Sibelius: Symphony No. 4, etc
Pitch: what is pitch in music?
Stephen Johnson gets to grips with classical music's technical terms. He defines pitch in music, what it means and the context in which it's used in classical music and composing
Music from memory: pros and cons of playing music without the score
How do you learn music by heart? The classical music world is mixed in its views towards playing music without the score, but when does it help or hinder a performance?
Bruckner: Symphony No. 3
History of memorising music: the trend for binning scores and music stands on stage
Performing from memory hasn’t always been required of our soloists – so why is it universally expected today? We explain the history of performers learning music by heart
Mozart 1791
A guide to Beethoven's piano concerto no.4 and its best recordings
Stephen Johnson is captivated by Beethoven in warm, lyrical mode as he listens out for the finest recordings of his groundbreaking work, Beethoven's piano concerto No.4
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos 3 & 4 (Montreal/Nézet-Séguin)
Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal/Yannick Nézet-Séguin (ATMA Classique)
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos 2, 4 & 9
Antje Weithaas (violin), Dénes Várjon (piano) (CAvi-music)
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 (Cleveland/Welser-Möst)
Cleveland Orchestra/Franz Welser-Möst (Cleveland Orchestra)
Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn (arr. wind octet)
Peter Schöne (baritone); Philharmonia Octet Prague (Supraphon)
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos 8-10 (Berlin Phil/K Petrenko)
Berlin Philharmonic/Kirill Petrenko (Berlin Phil)
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (Montreal/Payare)
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal/Rafael Payare (Pentatone)
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos 7 & 9 (BBC SO/Brabbins)
Elizabeth Watts (soprano); BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/Martyn Brabbins (Hyperion)
Brahms's Clarinet Quintet: a guide to his chamber masterpiece and its best recordings
The charms of post-retirement Brahms enthral Stephen Johnson as he names the best recordings of the German’s late chamber masterpiece, his Clarinet Quintet