March 2023 – BBC Music Magazine

By Steve Wright

Published: Tuesday, 21 February 2023 at 12:00 am

For our March issue, we take a deep dive into Wagner’s extraordinary Ring cycle. Broadcaster and regular BBC Music Magazine contributor Terry Blain tells the story of the greatest achievement in the history of opera, from the composer’s first inspiration to the completion of four legendary stage works that rewrote the artform itself.

Elsewhere, Paul Roberts examines Franz Liszt’s infatuation with Lord Byron, and explains how this passion for the iconic Romantic found its way into the Hungarian composer’s music. Moving forward a few decades, Roger Nichols zooms in on 1923, an extraordinarily fruitful year for music and the arts. A wealth of premieres in Paris that year took classical music off in exciting new directions, as Roger reveals.

Our editor Charlotte Smith tells us about a brand new violin concerto that celebrates the achievements of aviator Amelia Earhart. Composer Michael Daugherty and violinist Anne Akiko Meyers are on hand to tell us about this airborne new work.

Amonmg our regular features, for this month’s Musical Destination Tom Stewart explores the musical pleasures of Orkney, while Leah Broad introduces the life and music of Dorothy Howell, a composer well worth rediscovering, for Composer of the Month.

Last but not least, in Building a Library Amanda Holloway chooses the finest recording of Nielsen’s Symphony No. 2, a work inspired by a picture in a pub. Cheers!