The BBC Music Magazine PRIZE CROSSWORD NO. 331

The first correct solution of our crossword picked at random will win The Oxford Companion to Music. A runner-up will win Who Knew? Answers to Questions about Classical Music (both available at www. oup.co.uk). Send answers to: BBC Music Magazine, Crossword 331/Mar, PO Box 501, Leicester, LE94 0AA to arrive by 19 March 2019 (solution in June 2019 issue).

ACROSS

1 Beethoven quartet a little out of tune? Not initially (4)

4 Curious fable about two sopranos, contralto and item on lower stave (4,4)

8 German city overlooking new Australian composer (7) 9 Poor performer with shaky line? Not this pianist! (7)

11 Lame, dropping one in disastrous ballet? That’ll make a clanger (4-5)

12 Instructed not to offer first tenor anything (5)

13 British composer is small legend (5)

15 Italian composer replies uncertainly about work (9)

16 Note captured by chamber group: it may ultimately appear as nothing special (9) 18 Pop star savouring no cheers (5) 20 Bill Conti score resembling genre of popular music? (5) 21 Highest pitch? Almost is,

I fancy (9)

24 Recover line retained by one of the Wild Things? (7)

25 Tell story: new arranger getting upset (7)

26 Spicy pop performers bring lad out (4,4)

27 Ready with start of Tchaikovsky’s piece for violin and piano? (4)

DOWN

2 How music is perceived, initially used in a gathering (7) 3 End of opera brought in demure Tippett character (5) 4 Business – and in Paris – for French composer (5)

5 Academic choral works?

Crafty securing that (9) 6 Unexpectedly comes by to gather in almost all dulcimers (9) 7 One-third of Europe about to obstruct English work by Finzi (7) 8 Rodgers and Hart musical that’s definitely not X-rated? (5,2,4) 10 American singer tackling one broadcast (3,4,4)

14 Woman taking railway to auditorium to see bandleader (5,4)

15 Formal claim over a work by Respighi (9)

17 German composer, one that’s turned up in drink earlier (7)

19 Copy start of intermezzo

(friend has penned it) (7)

22 Some violist, uneducated, but not discordant (5)

23 Hurries up for violin (5)