April 2010
Plácido Domingo
As we celebrate the world of opera, the great Spanish tenor talks exclusively to BBC Music Magazine
Your complete 2010 festivals guide
34 glorious pages on what to see this summer as we preview the best festivals in the UK and beyond
Opera on the BBC
Your essential guide to a spectacular new season
Get into Wagner
Why his epic operas aren't as daunting as you think
Puccini's La bohème
What's the best recording of this great masterpiece?
Boo! Hiss!
Ten opera characters we love to hate
On Sale Date:
15/03/2010
Issue Number:
8 
On the Cover Disc
Berlioz's Te Deum and Symphonie funebre
This month's CD features two large-scale works by Berlioz, the Te Deum of 1849 and the Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale
This issue's BBC Music choices
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Bolivian Baroque
Arakaendar Bolivia Choir; Florilegium/Ashley Solomon
'The sound is captivating – fresh-toned and inexhaustibly animated'
CHAMBER
Ruders: Four Dances
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group/Oliver Knussen
'Ruders's ear for sonority on the smaller scale is acute and precise'
CHORAL & SONG
Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin
Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Helmut Deutsch (piano)
'The most searching account of Schubert's first great song-cycle'
DVD
New Year's Concert 2010
Vienna PO/Georges Prêtre
'The Vienna Philharmonic is famously peerless in Strauss dances'
INSTRUMENTAL
Chopin: Journal intime
Alexandre Tharaud (piano)
'Tharaud has put together a sensitive and intuitive sequence of pieces'
JAZZ
Brad Mehldau: Highway Rider
'Mehldau has come up with a widescreen version of modern jazz'
ORCHESTRAL
The Sound of Sibelius
Lahti SO/Osmo Vänskä
'This album of popular Sibelius has unexpectedly fresh, immediate energy'
OPERA
Sullivan: Ivanhoe
Soloists; BBC National Orchestra of Wales/David Lloyd-Jones
'We can at last hear how Sullivan conceived Ivanhoe, and it's impressive'
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Classical Music Competition Guide
The most exciting classical music competitions.
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We present forthcoming seasons from a variety of companies
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For beginner, amateur or professional musicians.
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A wide range of classical music festivals to suit all tastes.
Latest blogs
This month's BBC Music choices
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Beethoven: String Trios, Op. 9 Nos 1-3
Trio Zimmermann
'The playing is dazzling, combining warmth and clarity'
CHAMBER
The Father, the Son and the Godfather: Trio Sonatas by JS Bach, CPE Bach, Telemann
'Compelling soloists with virtuosity and insight to burn'
CHORAL & SONG
Stimme der Sehnsucht: Songs by Mahler, Strauss, Pfitzner
Christianne Stotijn
'Stotijn takes the imaginative high ground from the start'
DVD
Pergolesi: Adriano in Siria
Marina Comparato, Lucia Cirill, Annamaria dell'Oste etc; Accademia Bizantina/ Ottavio Dantone
'Realised with vibrant, breathtaking musicianship'
INSTRUMENTAL
Mozart: Keyboard Music
Kristian Bezuidenhout
'Bezuidenhout brings out all the drama and intensity'
JAZZ
Michel Portal: Baïlador
Michel Portal, Ambrose Akinmusire, Bojan Z, Lionel Loueke, Scott Colley, Jack DeJohnette
'Portal confirms himself as one of the most impressive bass clarinet and soprano sax players'
ORCHESTRAL
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15
Royal Concertgebouw/ Bernard Haitink
'The Concertgebouw delivers sensationally taut playing'
OPERA
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Albert Dohmen, Georg Zeppenfeld etc; Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra & Choir/ Marek Janowski
'This Meistersinger is imbued with incessant vitality and energy'