Playing the hero

What did he think he was doing? The dazzling keyboard virtuoso Franz Liszt, toast of musical Europe, embarking on first one, then another, energy-sapping concert tour across swathes of Britain in 1840

By and large, we like to fill the pages of BBC Music Magazine with our enthusiasm for composers and performers alike – it’s a wonderful world out there, teeming with musical talent. However, perhaps w

The poet’s exasperation with his provincial upbringing

The BBC Proms changed the face of classical music when ‘the people’s festival’ was launched in 1895. The perennially popular event features some of the nation’s favourite tunes from composers inspired by the countryside of the British Isles. Here Kitty Corrigan selects her top ten

The playful, melancholic genius of Erik Satie

● ONE MORNING IN 2007 I KNOCKED at ...