July 2023 – BBC Music Magazine

By Steve Wright

Published: Tuesday, 13 June 2023 at 12:00 am

We’re all about the Proms this issue. Yes, our lead feature is a comprehensive guide to the 2023 BBC Proms season. Yes, here’s our lowdown on two months of splendid crowdpleasers, from Beethoven’s Fifth and Stravinsky’s Rite to celebrations of birthday boys Ligeti, Rachmaninov and Byrd, and no fewer than 15 new commissions.

The range of programming this year, too, is particularly broad, with concerts inspired by film, gaming, Bollywood, Northern Soul and mindfulness, and events taking place in Londonderry, Gateshead, Aberystwyth, Dewsbury, Truro, Perth and Great Yarmouth.

Young audiences are well catered for this year, with two Horrible Histories Proms and a CBeebies ‘Ocean Adventure’. In the magazine, Clare Stevens traces the story of children’s Proms – for many enthusiasts, their first taste of a classical music event. We’ve also got full Proms listings, plus extra information on some of this year’s standout events.

Elsewhere in the magazine, Andrew Green explains how conductor Otto Klemperer’s drama-filled career would make a fine subject for a movie, while Simon Broughton meets the exiled Afghan musicians who are championing their culture against the odds.

The American composer and conductor Eric Whitacre tells Jeremy Pound about the joys of writing for the human voice, while for Composer of the Month Stephen Johnson explores the contradictory and ever-fascinating world of Gustav Mahler’s symphonies.

Our Building a Library choice this month is Bartók’s pungent, zestful and life-affirming Concerto for Orchestra. Jessica Duchen introduces this 20th-century Hungaro-American orchestral showpiece, and finds the best recordings.

This month’s Musical Destination is San Diego in California, where Jeremy Pound finds a stunning, state-of-the-art outdoor concert venue. And, on our inside back cover, pianist Paul Lewis discusses the music that has shaped him into the performer he is today.