Welcome to BBC Music Magazine's April 2026 issue!
Our cover star this month is one of our greatest classical composers, Joseph Haydn. Yes, it's time to talk about Haydn's (phew!) 104 symphonies. Over the course of nearly 40 years, Haydn took the symphony into totally new territory. But how to go about exploring this huge and groundbreaking body of music? Let Nicholas Kenyon be your genial guide…
From genial Papa Haydn, quite a gear change now. Just how erotic can music be? Jessica Duchen gets hot under the collar as she explores the most passionate pieces and sensual songs in the repertoire.
Elsewhere, we interview composer Bryce Dessner. He found fame in American indie rockers The National but, writes Tim Greiving, classical music was there for Bryce from the beginning.
To the accordion, next. Despite its reputation as a niche instrument, the accordion is taking its place in the concert hall, as Ksenija Sidorova tells Claire Jackson.
Our Composer of the Month is Avril Coleridge-Taylor. Despite her outstanding talent and steely resolve, the British composer often found acceptance hard to come by, says Leah Broad. And for this month's Building a Library, we're looking at Brahms's Eight Lieder and Songs, Op. 58. From the composer’s hundreds of vocal works, Andrew Green picks out a set that reveals his genius as a songwriter at its magical best.
Last but definitely not least, a true prog rock legend tells us about the music that has shaped his life. King Crimson's ever-captivating founding guitarist Robert Fripp, one of the most distinctive voices in rock over the past half decade and more, reveals the six pieces of music that helped set him on his unique creative path.
On this month's cover CD
This month's cover CD features three of Haydn's greatest symphonies – Symphony No. 104 ‘London’, No. 6 ‘Le Matin’ and No. 8 ‘Le Soir’ – in luminous performances by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductors Andrew Manze and Martyn Brabbins. Click here or on the image below to see the track details for this month's cover CD.
