BBC Music Magazine – September 2021

In the November issue of BBC Music Magazine, composer, author, painter and, of course, one of the UK’s top pianists, Stephen Hough meets Jessica Duchen as he celebrates his 60th birthday. Having lived with ‘Long Covid’, Rebecca Franks tries out the English National Opera’s scheme to help those suffering with breathing problems caused by Covid-19. Claire Jackson, meanwhile, is marking the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Aligheri, the writer behind The Divine Comedy. She looks back on the composers who have been inspired by the author’s iconic depictions of hell.

Also this month, George Hall explains why Leoncavallo moved away from the opera houses of Milan and Venice to give the premiere of his 1912 opera Zingari at the London Hippodrome, a venue famed for dancing animals and swimming stars. Brian Wise explores the increasing popularity of concerts and operas taking place in cemeteries, while Daniel Jaffé meets Laurence Cummings, the new music director of the much-loved Academy of Ancient Music, in this month’s BBC Music Magazine Interview.

Terry Williams names the best recordings of Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony, while Josquin Desprez is our Composer of the Month. On your cover CD, Zee Zee plays piano sonatas by Liszt.