All The Right Notes

Classical music is packed with weird and wonderful musical terminology. Steve Wright speaks to author and critic Jessica Duchen about the meaning and stories behind some of music’s most common terms. This episode is sponsored by Bang & Olufsen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The uplifting sound of the horn, particularly in an orchestral setting, is familiar to audiences worldwide – but how do you play this wonderful instrument? Charlotte Smith interviews former London Symphony, London Philharmonic and current Royal Opera House principal horn David Pyatt, who takes her through her first horn lesson. This episode is sponsored by Bang & Olufsen. Musical excerpts: Brahms Symphony No. 1 London Symphony Orchestra/Jonathan Pasternack Naxos 8.572448 (2011) https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.572448 Franz Strauss Nocturno for Horn and Piano, Op 7 from David Pyatt Recital David Pyatt (horn); Martin Jones (piano) Erato 9029534229 (1998) https://www.warnerclassics.com/release/recital-horn-works Interview recorded at the Royal Academy of Music, London: https://www.ram.ac.uk Student horn loaned with kind permission by Paxman Musical Instruments, London: https://www.paxman.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Classical film scores have given us some of the most recognisable music ever written – and film screenings with a live orchestral soundtrack in the concert hall are increasingly popular. But where do you start when writing a soundtrack and how do you capture that magic? Michael Beek speaks to British film composer Anne Dudley. This episode is sponsored by Bang & Olufsen. Musical Excerpt: Anne Dudley ‘Main Title’ from Elle (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) The Chamber Orchestra of London/Anne Dudley Sony Classical 88985361012 (2017) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elle-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/dp/B01KJ331FS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Smoking and alcohol are definite no-nos, but what else can you do to ensure your singing voice is in top condition? Jeremy Pound speaks to Olivia Sparkhall, author of A Young Person’s Guide to Vocal Health, to find out. This episode is sponsored by Bang & Olufsen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending consistently tops polls as Britain’s favourite classical work, but what is the source of its enduring popularity? Steve Wright interviews writer and broadcaster Andrew Green about his Lark Ascending/Skylark recordings project for the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, in collaboration with the Wildlife Sound Recording Society and British Library’s Wildlife and Environmental Sounds Collection. This episode is sponsored by Bang & Olufsen. Musical Excerpt: Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin); Orchestra of the Swan/David Curtis Signum Classics SIGCD399 (2014) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vaughan-Williams-Ascending-Concerto-Serenade-Introduction/dp/B00N7CM1U0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The life of a performing musician isn’t easy. There are multiple mental health challenges, including performance nerves, and a sometimes-overwhelming sense of competition and judgement. Charlotte Smith interviews cellist and former BBC Young Musician winner Laura van der Heijden about how she copes with these pressures. This episode is sponsored by Bang & Olufsen. Musical excerpt: Lili Boulanger Reflets from album Path to the Moon Laura van der Heijden (cello); Jâms Coleman (piano) Chandos CHAN20274 (2024) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Path-Moon-Laura-Heijden-Coleman/dp/B0CQ6YZXRM/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Opera is a bit like Marmite… you either love it or hate it. But can an opera cynic learn to love this intense art form? Michael Beek chats to star soprano and opera advocate Danielle de Niese. This episode is sponsored by Bang & Olufsen. Musical excerpt: Mozart ‘L’amerò, sarò costane’ from Il re Pastore Danielle de Niese (soprano); Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Charles Mackerras Decca 478 1511 (2009) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mozart-Arias-Danielle-Niese/dp/B0027T5L4C Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To the uninitiated, the conductor can seem superfluous – simply waving their arms in the air while the orchestra does the hard work. But the art of conducting is fundamental to a great orchestra’s sound and identity. Jeremy Pound speaks to BBC Symphony Orchestra principal conductor Sakari Oramo about this mysterious vocation. This episode is sponsored by Bang & Olufsen. Musical Excerpt Dora Pejacevic Symphony, Op. 41 – IV. Allegro Appassionato (opening) BBC Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo Chandos CHAN 5299 https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%205299 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The team from BBC Music Magazine demystify the world of classical music through down-to-earth discussion and lively interviews. Want to know what an orchestral conductor actually does? Or how to write an effective soundtrack? Then this is the podcast for you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we chat to the multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Cosmo Sheldrake from his home in Dorset. True to form, he recorded his side of the conversation outdoors in the countryside, so there are quite a few birds and woodland creatures keeping us company throughout this episode. He explains how he records the most intimate, low-level sounds of animals, fungi, rain and even tree sap, and how he goes about recontextualising them in his music. He also tells us all about his musical childhood with his mother, who was trained in Mongolian overtone chanting and who had previously lived and travelled with the pioneering electronic composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Links: Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake https://www.amazon.co.uk/Entangled-Life-Worlds-Change-Futures/dp/B084T51RCY/ The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul by Jill Purce https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mystic-Spiral-Journey-Soul-Imagination/dp/0500810052 Excavated Shellac: An Alternate History of the World’s Music by Dust to Digital…

This week, we meet the star Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński to discuss the laborious process of recording previously undiscovered works, his passion for breakdancing and the music he listens to while he’s on the move. He also tells us about why he believes the post-pandemic concert format works surprisingly well, and why he prefers listening to ambient music when he travels as opposed to music by the likes of Palestrina and Tallis. Listen to all the music featured in this episode on our Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7BIiAN1ge4UruD9bKO0VFb?si=1e27450900554e0f Music featured: Victoria: O Magnum Mysterium (Choir of Westminster Cathedral/David Hill) Mozart: The Magic Flute (Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra/Charles Mackerras) Hasse: Sanctus Petrus et Sancta Maria Magdalena (Jakub Józef Orliński, Il Pomo d’Oro/Maxim Emelyanychev) Handel: Rinaldo: Aria. Sibilar gli angui d’Aletto (Argante) (Christopher Purves, Arcangelo/Jonathan Cohen) Hosted on Acast. See…

Swedish pianist Peter Jablonski discusses his recent recording of music by Stanchinsky (out now on Ondine), discovering the music of Bacewicz and his downtime during the pandemic has seen him fall in love with the piano all over again. Recordings featured: Stanchinsky: Piano Sonata in E flat minor (Peter Jablonski) Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Yuri Boukoff, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire/Ljubomir Romansky) Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Martha Argerich , LSO/Claudio Abbado) Chopin: Mazurka, Op. 6 No. 4 (Peter Jablonski) Bacewicz: Children’s Suite – VII: Gavotte (Morta Grigaliūnaitė) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reviews editor Michael Beek sits down for a chat with Hannah Rankin. The professional boxer and classically trained bassoonist discusses dividing her time between the worlds of sport and music, choosing the perfect ‘walk-out’ music for when she enters the ring and some of her most cherished works to play and listen to. Recordings featured: Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Philadelphia Orchestra/Leopold Stokowski) Bill Conti: Rocky – Gonna Fly Now (DeEtta Little, Nelson Pigford (vocals); Studio Orchestra/Bill Conti) Pierné: Solo de Concert, Op. 35 (Karen Geoghegan (bassoon), Philip Fisher (piano)) Mozart: Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, K 191 – Rondo (Stepan Turnovsky (bassoon); Vienna Mozart Academy/Johannes Wildner) Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel – Overture (Philharmonia Orchestra/Charles Mackerras) Brahms: Hungarian Dances (Maxim Vengerov (violin), Vag Papian (piano); Virtuosi/Mikhail Parhamovsky) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…

British clarinettist Julian Bliss has an extremely wide breadth of listening tastes, from heavy metal to core classical via jazz and funk. In this episode, he tells us about his passion for Rachmaninov and Oscar Petersen and why he thinks wind band music should be taken more seriously in the UK. He also reflects on the last year of lockdown and what it meant for his practice and approach to performance. Recordings featured: Stranger on the Shore (Acker Bilk) Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Martha Argerich, Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado) Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Alexandre Tharaud, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Alexander Vedernikov) The Masquerade is Over (Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley) Eric Whitacre: Equus Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Maria Callas, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano/Herbert von Karajan) Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie (London Symphony Orchestra/Bernard Haitink) Glass: Etude No. 2 (Vikingur Olafsson) Invaders Must Die (The Prodigy) Hosted on Acast. See…

We speak to Radio 3 broadcaster and producer Georgia Mann, who recently took over the reins on the station’s morning programme, Essential Classics. She tells us all about the new musical discoveries she’s made so far in the job, her experiences of live music during lockdown, starting out as a singer in Gilbert & Sullivan musicals and how to be articulate live on radio when a performance blows you away. Recordings featured: Miles Davis: Lift to the Scaffold Trad: Blow the wind southerly (Sheku Kanneh-Mason) Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8 ‘Pathétique’ (Igor Levit) Peggy Granville-Hicks: Sinfonia Pacifica (Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra/Richard Mills) Ruth Gipps: Symphony No. 2 (BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Rumon Gamba) Hannah Peel: Sunrise Through the Dusty Nebula Bach: Cello Suite No. 1: Prelude (Yo-Yo Ma) Rossini: The Barber of Seville – Largo et Factotum (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Vittorio Gui & Sesto Bruscantini) Verdi: Requiem: Dies Irae (London Symphony Orchestra/Colin Davis Ella Fitzgerald: Cheek to…

The Montenegrin guitarist talks about falling in love with the guitar in Montenegro, ‘growing up’ in London, his favourite guitar to play, the healing power of Mozart and his latest album The Moon & The Forest. Recordings featured: Joby Talbot: Ink Dark Moon – Luminoso (Miloš Karadaglić) Howard Shore: The Forest (Miloš Karadaglić) Albéniz: Suite Española – Asturias (Andres Segovia) JS Bach: Suite No. 4 in E major BWV 1006a - Prelude (John Williams) Mahler: Symphony No. 5 - Finale (Vienna Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein) Mozart: String Quartet No. 2 in D major, K 155 (Armida Quartett) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we have the delightful composer-librettist duo Héloise Werner and Octavia Bright on the podcast. The pair worked together on a one-woman opera The Other Side of the Sea and spoke to us from their respective London homes at the end of the UK lockdown, discussing themes of grief and isolation, as well as the role music plays in their lives and the ever-changing emotional responses they’ve had to it over the last year. They also share stories of carnival music and the human compulsion to dance. Music featured: Héloïse Werner: Coronasolfège for 6 (The Gesualdo Six) Britten: Peter Grimes (Bergen Philharmonic/Edward Gardner) Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (Yehudi Menuhin, Philharmonia Orchestra/Wilhelm Furtwängler) Mozart: Clarinet Concerto (Sabine Meyer, Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado) Bach: St Matthew Passion (Choir of King’s College, Cambridge/Stephen Cleobury) Bach: Violin Partita No. 3 in E (Christian Tetzlaff) Rebirth Brass Band: Do Whatcha Wanna Teresa Cristina: Para Não Contrariar Você Beverly…

Author and Indian classical singer Amit Chaudhuri talks to BBC Music Magazine about his relationship with western and Indian classical music, the allegories and narratives that can be created within music and his experience of working as the librettist on Ravi Shankar’s opera Sukanya. His latest book, Finding the Raga: An Improvisation on Indian Music, was published recently by Faber, and is part memoir/part essay, focused on his enduring love for Indian classical music and the power of the voice. Music featured: Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Chile Blues Ustad Dilshad Khan: Raga Todi Kishori Amonkar: Raga Shuddh Kalyan – Khyal In Drut Teental Pandit Bhimsen Joshi: Sun Surat Rangili Vishmadev Chatterjee: Bamana De Bata Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 (Berlin Philharmonic/Herbert von Karajan) Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 7 (Jonathan Biss) Ravi Shankar: Sukanya (London Philharmonic Orchestra/David Murphy) Listen to all the music featured in this episode on our Spotify playlist:…

As he turns 70 years old, the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber tells us about his remarkable life in music, from growing up in one of Britain’s most famous musical families to performing on the world’s finest stages and his unending passion for helping to create tomorrow’s great players. Music featured: Shostakovich: Cello Concerto (Mstislav Rostropovich, Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy) Bernstein: Mambo (Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela/Gustavo Dudamel) Elgar: Cello Concerto (Julian Lloyd Webber, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Yehudi Menuhin) Mozart: Symphony No. 40 (Academy of St Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner) Listen to all the music featured in this episode in our Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/66e9JwhBV5O8zYtbiamw06?si=YzaczmkxQi2M-MXiB3P7aw Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We speak to DJ, broadcaster and presenter Edith Bowman about her fanatical love of film music and the scores that have shaped who she is today. A former Radio 1 DJ, Bowman has spent the last few years presenting the Soundtracking podcast, in which she talks to directors, actors and composers about the use of music in their films. She tells us about the origins of this podcast and the musical discoveries she’s made through it, the scores she returns to time and time again, and the opportunities lockdown has afforded to independent cinema. Recordings featured: ‘Hand Covers Bruise’ from The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) ‘Just Us’ from Soul (Trent Reznor and Atticus) ‘Welcome to Lunar Industries’ from Moon (Clint Mansell) ‘Bathroom Dance’ from Joker (Hildur Guðnadóttir) ‘Cavatina’ from The Deer Hunter (John Williams) ‘The Way of the Ghost’ from Ghost of Tsushima (Ilan Eshkeri) Listen to all the music featured in this episode in our Spotify playlist:…

Introducing the third season of the Music to my Ears podcast, where we sit down with artists, musicians, broadcasters and writers to find out about the music that has made them who they are today. This season, we hear from guests including DJ Edith Bowman, who tells us about the power of watching films with live orchestras; musician Como Sheldrake, who describes the process of recording the sounds of nature with ultra-high sensitive microphones; and cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, who shared stories of his bohemian musical upbringing alongside his brother Andrew. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week's episode of the Music to my Ears podcast, we speak to Paul Morley, the pop journalist and musician and, more recently, classical music devotee . Brought up in Stockport, Paul cut his teeth in music journalism in Manchester. He then went on to write for the New Musical Express, where he rapidly became one of the paper’s most respected critics, leading to regular appearances on radio and TV. In 1983, Morley and producer Trevor Horn founded ZTT Records, which soon hit both the top of the charts and the headlines with the release of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Welcome to the Pleasuredome album. In the same year, they also formed the group The Art of Noise, which had a string of hits including a cover of Prince’s Kiss, featuring Tom Jones. In more recent years, however, Paul has turned his attention towards classical music, and in 2010 took part in a BBC Four documentary called The Art of Composing, which saw him study at the Royal Academy of Music for a year. In 2020, he charted his developing…

In this week's episode of the Music to my Ears podcast, we talk to the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, violinist and producer Caroline Shaw about the music that underscores her day-to-day life and how she balances the various facets of her fascinating career. Orange, her album of string quartets recorded and performed by the Attacca Quartet, was nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Award earlier this year. Freya Parr spoke to Caroline over Zoom from her home in Amherst, Massachusetts. Recordings featured: Verdi: La Traviata ‘Dite alle giovine’ ­– Anna Netrebko, Vienna Philharmonic/Carlo Rizzi (DG 475933) Tune-Yards: Water Fountain Bach: Partita No. 2: V. Chaconne (Itzhak Perlman (violin) – Warner Classics 2564612981 Bach: Brandenburg Concerto (Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment) (Erato 5615522) The Bangles: Eternal Flame Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, reviews editor Michael Beek sits down with the Russian-British conductor Vasily Petrenko. Vasily recently said farewell as chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic and is about to embark on final season as chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Speaking from his father’s home in St. Petersburg, Vasily talks about returning to the condtuctor’s podium after months in lockdown, saying goodbye to the RLPO and his new appointment with the Royal Philharmonic in 2021. Recordings featured: Bernstein: West Side Story – Mambo (New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein) JS Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I – Prelude No. 1 in C major (Sviatoslav Richter, piano) Sounds of Nature Beethoven: Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 133 (arr. string orchestra) (Amsterdam Sinfonietta/Peter Oundjian) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, reviews editor Michael Beek sits down with the award-winning British film and television composer Debbie Wiseman OBE (Wolf Hall, Father Brown, Wilde) for a chat about her work. Debbie shares insights into her methods, conducting, her favourite music to listen to and a sneak preview of her latest film score, To Olivia. Recordings featured: Chopin: Preludes Op. 28 – No. 4 in E minor Eric Lu (piano) Warner Classics 9029529234 Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E flat, K364 – Presto Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Bruno Giuranna (viola); Academy of St Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner Warner Classics 7543022 Messiaen: Turangalîla Symphony – III. Turangalîla I Mannheim National Theatre Orchestra/Alexander Soddy Oehms OC472 Joseph Horovitz: Oboe Concerto – Lento Moderato Nicholas Daniel (oboe); Royal Ballet Sinfonia/Joseph Horovitz White Line CDWHL2114 Debbie Wiseman: To Olivia – An Everlasting Gobstoppper and a Shivery Smile National Symphony Orchestra/Debbie Wiseman Decca Hosted on Acast. See…

In this episode, BBC Music Magazine’s editor Oliver Condy talks to the former Guardian editor and now principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Alan Rusbridger. While the editor of a national paper during the Arab Spring, Wikileaks controversies, the newspaper hacking scandal, riots in the UK and more, Alan Rusbridger found time to learn and perform Chopin’s Ballade No. 1, a feat he describes in his book Play It Again: An Amateur Against the Impossible. Recordings featured: Chopin: Ballade No. 1 Murray Perahia (piano) Sony Classical Britten: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein Sony Classical Bach arr. Busoni: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland Alfred Brendel (piano) Decca Beethoven: String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131 Takacs Quartet Decca Schubert: Variations on an Original Theme Andreas Staier & Alexander Melnikov (piano) Harmonia Mundi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Music to my Ears podcast, BBC Music Magazine speaks to Karina Canellakis, who is currently chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, and has been recently appointed as principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Karina was born and brought up in a very musical family in New York. She initially studied and began her career as a violinist and played in a number of the world’s leading orchestras, and it was while she was playing with the Berlin Philharmonic as a member of its Orchester-Akademie that she was encouraged to take up conducting by Sir Simon Rattle. From that moment, she has never looked back, and has since led top ensembles across the globe, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra where she held her first post, as assistant conductor. She is equally at home in opera, and has conducted major productions of works by composers ranging from Mozart to Maxwell Davies.…

Poet Wendy Cope joins our editorial assistant Freya Parr over Zoom from her home in Cambridgeshire to discuss how her enduring relationship with classical music has changed throughout the course of her life, with various careers as a primary school teacher, journalist and now poet. Introduced to the piano at the age of five, music has been a constant in Wendy’s life, with many of her poems having now been set by the UK’s leading composers. She tells us all about this fascinating process, and how it feels to hear your words set to music. Website: classical-music.com/podcasts Recordings featured: Mozart: Serenade No. 13 ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’: I. Allegretto (Vienna Philharmonic/Herbert von Karajan Warner Classics 4768762) Bach: ‘Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme’ Cantata BWV 140 (English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir/John Eliot Gardiner Deutsche Grammophon 4807512) Bach: Concerto for Two Violins and Strings in D minor (2nd movement): Isabelle Faust, Bernhard Forck (violins), Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin…

Irish soprano Ailish Tynan talks to BBC Music Magazine's editor Oliver Condy about her musical experiences in lockdown, recent streamed performances at the Royal Opera house and at Wigmore Hall and at home with her family, as well as the music that has inspired her throughout the year. Recordings featured: Wolf: Ganymed John McCormack (tenor), Edwin Schneider (piano) Symposium SYMPCD1164 Schubert: Die Forelle Ailish Tynan (soprano), Iain Burnside (piano) Delphian DCD34165 Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Ablösung im Sommer Christiane Karg (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano) Harmonia Mundi HMM905338 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Editorial assistant Freya Parr meets virtually with composer Errollyn Wallen. They discuss how lockdown effects a composer and what music Errollyn counld not live without. Website: classical-music.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast Deborah Frances-White joins our editorial assistant Freya Parr at her home in central London. She tells stories about sneaking into the opera when she first arrived in London from Australia, her experiences of music as part of the Jehovah’s Witness religion and the breadth of music she’s discovered through hosting The Guilty Feminist podcast. Website: classical-music.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Introducing a brand new season of BBC Music Magazine’s Music to my Ears podcast. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be joined by a raft of famous faces from the classical music world and beyond, including comedian Deborah Frances-White, former Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger, composer Errollyn Wallen, poet Wendy Cope and conductor Vasily Petrenko. Join us for a new episode every Wednesday and subscribe now to stay updated. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason joins our managing editor Rebecca Franks at the Royal Academy of Music to share the music she’s listened to throughout her life. From discovering Rachmaninov on CD in the car with her parents and seven highly musical siblings to streaming Yuja Wang and Beyoncé today, we hear about the music that’s shaped who she is as both a performer and avid listener. Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FaFkcK2TQLVg50BNYvk9A?si=a0hckCZxRySz1rI4vEPZ9A Website: classical-music.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Familiar to BBC Radio 4 listeners as an announcer, newsreader and, perhaps above all, the voice of the Shipping Forecast, Zeb Soanes has been a classical music enthusiast from a young age. He tells us about the music that has inspired him over the years. Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/69MDC2lhe97UXwT1EKfWv8?si=A8I3CUNUR6iRxeUisPF7oA Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

British composer Sally Beamish joined us via video conferencing software in lockdown to discuss the surprising musical discoveries she’s been making while at home with her partner, falling in love with Bartók’s string quartets and a vibrant Colombian joropo concert she attended earlier this year. Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5CUCWUTOQEalD9Ieu4Uqjm?si=cYv6JIpcTcaCQCuwcAVbRQ Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jake Heggie is one of America’s busiest and most popular composers. Music for voices sits at the heart of what continues to be a varied career, from his first opera – Dead Man Walking – to his latest song cycle based on poems by Margaret Attwood. In this podcast he talks to Michael Beek about his craft, finding his voice with opera and his greatest musical loves and inspirations. Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2vLnj9bKq67FCw9LMU5Ejw?si=DDlmzIUBRrmOWfP8IiA4dQ Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Organist, choirmaster and presenter Anna Lapwood talks about her role at Pembroke College as director music, her first recording with the choir there and her musical loves that ranges from Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky to the choral music of Caroline Shaw. Oliver Condy met her before the lockdown at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, just down the road from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where Anna had been presenting BBC Young Musicians for BBC Four. Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2kOOe5tCIBMkgqi3e7ZzAl?si=Ri4uAFhtTyK75doNasckUA Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Founder and conductor of the groundbreaking Aurora Orchestra, Nicholas Collon explores the music that has inspired him over the years, from the Bach piano pieces he learnt as a child to glorious moments of English choral music. Episode Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/36bnWpyFELm1D9vW0qw5jx?si=WhTnLEVjTnqhbgzBLrUVqA Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australian saxophonist Amy Dickson tells us about the music that’s shaped her life, from the Spanish piano music she listened to in the car as a child to Philip Glass’s violin transcriptions, which helped her learn how to circular breathe Episode Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Le4hLRhoSU2QAXtVBdnsg?si=mCttrkKcSZmjmniPi2xMnA Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Following his recital with recorder player Michaela Petri at the Bath Bachfest, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani strolled around the centre of the Georgian city with Oliver Condy and shared his favourite music, including a symphonic discovery and the single piece of music he couldn’t live without… Episode Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2v78HC0EKL7tiArRw4ApM7?si=qT5om-FHTFqiIzh3vCsMLQ Website: Classical-music.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BBC Music Magazine’s brand new podcast, Music to my Ears, features a series of interviews with well-known classical musicians and composers about their musical passions and discoveries. Join us for a new episode every Wednesday and Subscribe to stay updated. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this month's podcast, we discuss Yo-Yo Ma's intrepid musical exploration across the globe, from the Silk Road to Appalachian America. Plus, we discuss the plans for this year's slightly different BBC Proms season and what London's Wigmore Hall is doing to welcome artists back to its stage. We've also each brought along a new recording we've been enjoying, including a fresh interpretation of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, plus works by Morton Gould and Louis-Gabriel Guillemain. NEWS: Pentecost - Sequentia - Veni Sancte Spiritus Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Fidélité of Jouques, Provence THE MAGAZINE Scarcely Cricket Not Our First Goat Rodeo Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Stuart Duncan (violin), Edgar Meyer (bass), Chris Thile (mandolin) Sony Masterworks 19439738552 Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1: IV. Presto Alina Ibragimova (violin), State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia ‘Evgeny Svetlanov’/Vladimir Jurowski Hyperion CDA68313 FIRST LISTEN Freya's choice: Beethoven: Symphony No. 5: I. Allegro con…

In this month's podcast, we announce the winners of this year's BBC Music Magazine Awards and listen to a track from our Recording of the Year. Plus, we discuss the enduring relationship between two artistic forms: classical music and fashion. We also look back on the recent highlights of musicians innovating during the lockdown period while they're not able to work in the usual way. These include mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston's new cookbook: Notes from Musicians' Kitchens, and the English National Opera's plans for drive-in opera at Alexandra Palace. We also discuss the handful of orchestras and concert halls that are offering concert tickets to NHS workers following the lockdown. As usual, we've each brought along a recording we've been enjoying, including a violin arrangement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto and José Serebrier's Flute Concerto. THE MAGAZINE BBC Music Magazine Awards Recording of the Year: Purcell: King Arthur Anna Dennis, Mhairi Lawson, Rowan Pierce, Carolyn Sampson (sopranos), Jeremy Budd…

In this month's podcast, we reflect on some of our favourite concerts that have been streamed online over the past few weeks, and suggest a few to look out for in the coming months. Plus, we discuss the new virtual festival of the arts 'Culture in Quarantine' on BBC Arts. Also this month, we discuss the fabulous virtuosity of violinist and conductor Maxim Vengerov as he marks 40 years on stage, and Ravi Shankar, whose centenary we are celebrating in our May issue. As usual, we've each brought along a recording we've been enjoying, from an orchestral work inspired by the Canary Islands to a choral piece based on an Estonian folk hymn. THE MAGAZINE Maxim Vengerov Ravel: Violin Sonata Maxim Vengerov, Roustem Saïtkoulov at Carnegie Hall in 2018 (available on Idagio) Cover CD: Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Donald Runnicles FIRST LISTEN Freya's choice: Chigaday (La Gomera) - for Orchestra Gustavo Díaz-Jerez: Maghek – Seven Symphonic Poems About The Canary Islands Royal Scottish National…

In the April issue of the BBC Music Magazine Podcast, we discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on music festivals across the globe. We also look at the recently released list of PRS Women Changing Music, which features a number of film composers. Also this month, we flick through the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine, which features pianist Angela Hewitt on the cover. We reflect on the tragic story of her broken Fazioli piano, which hit headlines earlier this year. You’ll also get to hear an extract from our Recording of the Month: Federico Colli performing Domenico Scarlatti’s piano sonatas. As always, we’ve each brought along a new recording we’ve discovered this month, including works by Caroline Shaw, Bernard Hughes and Nikolai Tcherepnin. * PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded a couple of weeks ago. Because of the fast-paced nature of the coronavirus outbreak, some of our references to its impact on the music scene may already be out of date. THE MAGAZINE: D Scarlatti: Sonata KK427 in G…

Welcome to the March 2020 edition of the BBC Music Magazine Podcast! This month we discuss the news that the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will only travel by train (rather than plane) on its upcoming tour, as part of its commitment to becoming carbon neutral. We also look at new research which uncovers the fact that Beethoven may not, in fact, have been completely deaf when his final symphony was premiered. Also this episode, we explore the genius of Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz and hear one of her stunning string quartets. Another iconic Eastern European composer is also celebrated this month: Sofia Gubaidulina, who is featured in this month’s issue having recently been awarded the prestigious RPS Gold Medal. As always, we’ve each brought along our favourite new musical discoveries this month, including chamber works by Lili Boulanger, piano miniatures by Kancheli and new orchestral works by Lithuanian composer Raminta Šerkšnytė. This episode is presented by managing editor Rebecca Franks, who…

In our February 2020 podcast, we discuss cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s entry into the Official UK Album Chart, the first cellist in history to do so. We also analyse the nominees for Best Original Score at this year’s Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globes, and look at who from the classical music was named on the New Year’s Honours list this year. Also this episode, we listen to extracts from both our cover CD and our Recording of the Month, the latter of which is pianist Angela Hewitt performing Bach’s Partitas. Plus, we bring you the nominees for this year’s BBC Music Magazine Awards! As usual, we each bring along a recording we’ve discovered and have been enjoying this month, from piccolo music by Thea Musgrave to Spanish piano music by Granados. This episode is presented by editor Oliver Condy, who is joined by editorial assistant Freya Parr and reviews editor Michael Beek. It was produced by Ben Youatt and Jack Bateman. News: Judith Bingham: The Drowned Lovers Maria Forsström (mezzo-soprano), Swedish Chamber…

In our January 2020 podcast, we find out about violinist Nicola Benedetti's latest venture, an impressive educational initiative that she's been dreaming of starting for years. She's our cover star on the January issue of BBC Music Magazine, and in this podcast we also enjoy a clip from our cover CD of works by Mozart and Schubert, played by BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists. Plus, in this episode we pay tribute to the late conductors Mariss Jansons and Stephen Cleobury, bring news of the winners at the 2019 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards and hear about Olga Neuwirth's Orlando, which became the first opera by a woman to be staged in 150 years at the Vienna State Opera. And, as usual, we each bring along a new recording we've been enjoying this month. This episode is presented by deputy editor Jeremy Pound, who is joined by managing editor Rebecca Franks and reviews editor Michael Beek. It was produced by Ben Youatt and Jack Bateman. Recordings: Mahler Symphony No. 3 Randi Stene; Oslo Philharmonic…

We have mince pies, sherry and crackers: it must be time for the Christmas podcast! Join us for an episode packed with Yuletide joy, beautiful new carols by Dobrinka Tabakova, Toby Young, Cecilia McDowall and Michael Finnissy, as well as our favourite festive musical jokes. Plus hear all about our Christmas isssue. Our cover feature takes a look at a masterpiece that has redefined the sound of Christmas, Handel's Messiah; we also explore the parish church choir scene, and find out what concert-hall horrors cause musicians to see red. And, of course, we've brought along a batch of the latest Christmas CDs we've been enjoying. Merry Christmas! This episode is presented by editor Oliver Condy, who is joined by deputy editor Jeremy Pound, managing editor Rebecca Franks, editorial assisstant Freya Parr and reviews editor Michael Beek. It was produced by Ben Youatt and Jack Bateman. Recordings: Dobrinka Tabakova Good-will to men, and peace on Earth Choir of Queen's College, Oxford/Owen Rees BBC Music Magazine…

In our December 2019 podcast, we pay tribute to the late soprano Jessye Norman and listen to one of her best recordings. We also discuss the new 'Music for Trees' app created by the Royal Parks in conjunction with the Royal Academy of Music. The app follows the roaming user as they walk around Regent's Park, playing corresponding compositions by RAM students. Plus, we take a look at this year's shortlist for the RPS Awards. We flick through the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine and listen to our superb Recording of the Month. As Hildegard von Bingen is our Composer of the Month, we discuss what it is about her music that has stood the test of time and has made it so adaptable for musicians across all genres. Plus, we explore the new phenomenon of implanting movie-style age ratings on operas. As usual, we all bring along our favourite new recordings from the last month, including Gabriela Montero's new 'Latin' piano concerto and a new disc from the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge. Recordings: Black…