Welcome to the May 2024 issue of BBC Music Magazine! Our cover star this month is composer Errollyn Wallen, shown sitting on the rocks near her remote lighthouse home in the far north of Scotland. In this month’s in-depth interview, Wallen tells us why the sea, sky and solitude that she finds in the far North are all key elements in creating her magical soundworlds.
Elsewhere this issue, Jeremy Pound reveals how, from wrathful Verdi via blissful Brahms to ethereal Fauré, there are many different ways to compose a Requiem.
As he nears the end of his quarter-century tenure with the Hallé orchestra, veteran conductor Mark Elder tells Tom Service why there’s still so much more to learn and explore in the music he loves. For this month’s Musical Destinations travel feature, Claire Jackson reveals why the classical music world is heading to Ibiza.
And (we’re sure Errollyn would approve) we also take time to sit back and hear the birdsong. Tom Stewart listens out carefully for the various ways in which composers have represented birdsong in music – and also looks into the fascinating science behind how birds generate their own marvellous music. Birds: our greatest composers? You read it here first.
- How birds and animals have inspired classical music
- Six of the best: musical works inspired by birdsong
Conductor Kent Nagano (who reveals the work that bowled him over at the age of eight) and soprano Carolyn Sampson (who has a major milestone to celebrate this year) are among the other big names talking to us this issue.
And, talking major milestones, we’ve got one of our own! This is our (cue fanfare) 400th issue, so we’re using that as an excuse to pore back over our long and fascinating back catalogue. Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Jacqueline du Pré are just three of the cover stars as we take a look back through the archive.
Here’s to the next 400 issues!
Click here to access the inlay for this month’s cover CD.