A beautifully delivered showcase for the viola

Jan Smaczny is enthralled by Isabelle Faust’s unique approach to the demanding material of Bach’s little-known violin works JS Bach Sonatas for Violin and Continuo Isabelle Faust (violin); Kristin von

Music cannot work a magic spell. It can, however, do wonderful things. In recent issues of BBC Music Magazine, we have explored the benefits to mental health of listening and playing music, not least

Trumpeter Alison Balsom has revealed that her recent appearance at the 2025 Last Night of the Proms was her final public performance. During an interview for BBC Radio 4’s This Cultural Life shortly b

Musical instruments have power, simply as things. They speak. They generate emotion. They tell stories about life, death, happiness and sadness – and about the past, which they can resurrect with curi

Patterns, says Clare Hammond. Learning a new piece, especially if you’re committing it to memory, and the clock is against you, is all about finding patterns. ‘If you can find patterns in a piece of m

Having first attended a concert by Pavarotti (cover profile; October) in Toronto in 1975, over the following years I went to a number of recitals by him, the last one being in 1990. I was working in t