Welcome to BBC Music Magazine's September 2025 issue!
This month's cover star is legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman - an icon of his instrument who tackles even the most difficult repertoire with effortless grace and, more importantly, whose characterful sound is instantly recognisable.
Perlman is as comfortable in the media spotlight as he is on stage – witness his multiple television appearances, from Sesame Street to Obama’s presidential inauguration – but his interviews are far more than surface sheen. As in his warm-hearted playing, Perlman can dig deep when he wants to, and he offers some fascinating insights from a career of more than 60 years on page 24.
For many, Perlman’s most iconic recording was as soloist on John Williams’s score for Schindler’s List – a film for which music played a hugely important role. Throughout the years, leading directors have also chosen to feature existing pieces of classical music in their films, and in so doing have produced some of the most marvellously memorable scenes. On page 48, we pick 12 of our favourite examples. Do you agree with our choices?
Elsewhere in this issue, Claire Jackson examines how composers have embedded coded messages in their music – many of which remain a mystery to this day. We also focus on a composer who's something of a national treasure in Britain - and, it turns out, far beyond. Though many may think of John Rutter as being the most British of choral composers and conductors, his huge popularity in fact spreads right across the globe, as Andrew Green explores.
To Russia, next. In the late 1980s, British pianist James Kirby braved cold, hunger and totalitarian rule to study in Moscow. He shares his memories with Anthony Cheng on page 38. And pianist Alexander Melnikov tells John-Pierre Joyce how he has found inspiration at the home of Rachmaninov.
Our Composer of the Month is the visionary, spiritual Arvo Pärt. From serialism to the hypnotic tintinnabuli, the 90-year-old Estonian’s world has shifted radically over the years, as Paul Hillier explains. And our Building a Library choice is Dvořák's lyrical, passionate, poignant Cello Concerto. A yearning for his homeland and the devastating loss of a beloved friend give the Czech’s work an almost unbearable pathos, explains Jo Talbot.
The great Itzhak Perlman is also the subject of this month's free cover CD. We've got some beautiful performances from Perlman playing works by Mozart, Debussy, Schumann, Paganini and others. Click here or on the image to see the track details for this month's cover CD.
