BBC Music Magazine – March 2026 – BBC Music Magazine (1)

‘The first orchestra I consciously heard was the Zurich Chamber Orchestra – which I now direct – playing in the festival; and it’s where I made my professional debut back in 1992. So, it’s incredible to find myself in charge. It’s a responsibility involving respect for Menuhin’s legacy without being overwhelmed by it. ‘It’s 24 years since he died, and there are now 75 events in the programme from the handful when he started; and as things can only be different, I have a certain freedom.

But my connection with Menuhin runs deep, so I’ll of course be honouring his memory.’ A comparably tricky issue to address is how much of himself to feature in the programmes. As he says, ‘I’m trying to develop a feel for what’s needed. But the current agreement is for five performances, with other concerts I might introduce or take a minor role in. And I intend to be present at every single event.’ So, a major commitment, through mid-July to early September. But packaged around it will be the other big new time commitment in his life: the Wolf Trap Festival.

Close to Washington DC and set amid the idyll of a National Park, Wolf Trap is a performing arts centre that takes in opera but also runs a chamber music programme in a woodland hall called The Barns. Hope’s role as advisor is to oversee that programme. And like Gstaad, it’s something that should come naturally to him, given that he spent a formative eight years of his early career playing with the Beaux Arts Trio.

As he says, ‘I’ve worked regularly in the USA for 25 years now, and to have a curatorial role there is important to me. Especially as there’s not so much cultural traffic between Europe and America as there used to be – which is something I’m hoping to address at Wolf Trap because it’s such a special place, different to anything we have on this side of the Atlantic.’ That said, Europe is where Hope’s career is based – particularly Germany, where he enjoys the status of a household name thanks to high-profile radio and TV work, as well as books and other projects that link music with an ever-growing interest in his German-Jewish ancestry.

‘Through my mother I’m descended from the first rabbi of Potsdam,’ he says, ‘and though the family converted to Christianity in the 19th century, it didn’t protect them in the Third Reich.

planet one note at a time Explore Italy in the company of Hector Berlioz Max Richter at 60: his eight-hour Sleep revisited 100 reviews by the world’s finest critics Recordings & books – see p72 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW! New releases from Warner Classics & Erato Classical masterpieces and compelling rediscoveries to start your 2026 warnerclassics.com BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE 3 Charlotte Smith Editor Joyce DiDonato is not your average bel canto singer.

Although known for her brilliantly expressive voice, the veteran mezzo-soprano has sought to move beyond the standard Mozart and Rossini roles, and has embraced working with a range of contemporary composers – from Michael Daugherty in Jackie O to Jake Heggie in Dead Man Walking. That the latter deals with faith and redemption in the prison system is particularly close to DiDonato’s heart, considering her early years performing as a cantor at her local Catholic church.

The mezzo’s current project builds upon the relationship she forged with Kevin Puts in The Hours and is again inspired by a trailblazing female writer. In Emily – No Prisoner Be DiDonato sings settings of poems by Emily Dickinson, and as she tells Clive Paget on page 30, ‘Emily rarely comes to a conclusion.

Her poetry feels like she’s searching. I love that elusive quality.’ Surely, a desire for artistic exploration shared by DiDonato herself. Elsewhere in this issue we celebrate another artist known for pushing boundaries. On page 56, Claire Jackson marks Max Richter’s 60th birthday by revisiting his epic eight-hour Sleep – a work designed to be performed as its audience moves from awake to dreaming.

It’s a bold concept from the composer currently riding high with his Oscar-nominated soundtrack to Hamnet, and a reminder – if we needed one – of the creativity and courage of today’s musicians. Clive Paget Arts writer, critic and editor ‘Joyce DiDonato is always a dream interview. She’s frank, modest, passionate and informed – and invariably full of surprises. Any chance to hear what she has to say about the world is a treat, and this was no exception.’

Page 30 Rebecca Franks Journalist and critic ‘The climate crisis is one of the most urgent issues facing the world today, so I was curious to find out how composers are responding to it in their music and what role art has to play in helping combat climate change.’ Page 52 Ciarán Crilly Music professor, writer ‘Every encounter with Erik Satie reveals new and extraordinary facets of his life and music.

It becomes increasingly clear why he was so cherished by the artistic establishment of early-20th-century Paris.’

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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