Hello and welcome to another year with BBC Music Magazine!
This month’s cover star is the captivating Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu, who tells Christopher Cook how she is marking 100 years since the death of her beloved Puccini in suitably songful style.
Elsewhere, writer, broadcaster and Vaughan WIlliams expert Andrew Green tells the remarkable tale of how a certain wealthy 1920s mover and shaker may have helped RVW’s masterpiece The Lark Ascending to take flight.
We’re also in boatie mode this month, as Jeremy Pound casts off on a voyage around the famous works inspired by boats, from skiffs to cruise liners. And Michael Beek takes an in-depth look at Maestro, the new film about conductor, composer, educator and all-round force of nature Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia – and finds that it hits all the right notes.
Michael White visits the Scottish Chamber Orchestra which, at 50 years old, is enjoying life as much as ever, while Simon Broughton takes a deep dive into Azerbaijan’s centuries-old, newly thriving Mugham folk music tradition.
Our big interview this month is with guitarist Miloš Karadaglić, who talks to Claire Jackson about how he’s continuing to give voice to the guitar in previously unexplored genres. And for Composer of the Month, Nick Shave delves deep into the revolutionary world of John Cage – so much for than just 4’33”.
For Building a Library, Owen Mortimer immerses himself in Richard Strauss‘s late, great Second Horn Concerto, and seeks out the work’s very best recordings. Last but not least, cellist Sol Gabetta gives us a tour of the music that has defined her life and career.
Happy reading!
