BBC Music January 2020

Violinist Nicola Benedetti stars on our cover this month, as she prepares to launch her new musical foundation. She talks to Richard Morrison about her plans to bring music to children across the UK. Following the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards, we meet the winning conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla to discuss the last few years she has spent at the helm of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and what we can expect for its centenary year.


Also this issue, Kate Molleson talks to former BBC New Generation Artist and violist Lawrence Power about the role musicians play in commissioning new works.

Jeremy Pound guides us through the different types of conducting characters in the classical music world, from those who can’t keep their feet still on the podium to those renowned for their style and panache.

Plus, organist Daniel Moult examines how social upheaval and changing musical fashions transformed the English organ, and how it became the medium for the nation’s finest music.

We name the finest recording of Ligeti’s Violin Concerto and Morton Feldman features as our Composer of the Month.