Hear more. Feel more. Be more!
Come with me and dive into some great classical music. For over 1000 years great musicians have explored what it means to live, love, die and everything in between: asking all our deep and universal questions. Escape the cacophony – the noise of your brain and daily life; tune into the music, your feelings and emotions ‘good’ and ‘bad’ … and find the space, stillness and love that underpins everything.
NB: May include loud noise, surprises, challenges, cacophonous racket May cause shock, comfort, discomfort, smiles, tears, peace, transcendence
148. Rituals, a riot and a revolution: Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring
110 years ago in Paris, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring caused a furore and changed music forever. Did the police have to be called? It’s still a piece that shocks and stuns and is filled with something amazing every second.
Listening time c45 mins … Listen
147. Music in the blood and poetry in the soul: Williams, Penillion
A rarity from Wales (a Welsh rare-bit?), Grace Williams’s orchestral piece Penillion surprises, delights and has an epic grandeur. It’s terrific stuff and I think you’ll love it! (25 mins)… Listen
146. Risk and adventure: Tower, Fanfare for the uncommon woman
Another great, short piece, here’s the first of Joan Tower’s Fanfares celebrating risk-taking and adventurous women. This is both celebratory and substantial, plus a workout for brass and percussion. Listening time 8 mins (podcast 5.5′, music 2.5′)… Listen
145. Representation and taxation: Copland, Fanfare for the Common Man
A short podcast about the shortest of pieces, yet Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man still packs a punch and seems to point to big issues.
‘No taxation without representation’? Perhaps today’s call should be ‘No representatives (from the Head of State down) who don’t pay their taxes!’
Listening time c10 minutes (podcast 6′, music 3′)… Listen
144. On the edge of possibility: Beethoven, “Appassionata” Sonata
Often on the edge, in life and music, Beethoven goes to extremes on the piano to show us the extreme depth of his feelings. His Appassionata Sonata is every bit as intense as its name suggests! Listening time 33 mins (podcast 10′, music 23′)… Listen
143. Genesis and Resurrection: Fanny Mendelssohn, Easter Sonata
Lost for 150 years and then, because it was so good, presumed to have been written by her brother, Fanny Mendelssohn’s Easter Sonata for piano is passionate, intense, lyrical and dramatic… and the story of its rediscovery is no less compelling. Listening time c36 mins… Listen
142. In search of happy music: Arnold, English Dances
English folk music is often typically nostalgic and melancholy. Cacophony goes in search of happiness with Malcolm Arnold’s English Dances – pretty, witty and bright! (24mins)… Listen
141. Songs from a disappearing world: Vaughan Williams, Norfolk Rhapsody
Haunting and melancholy music from my hometown, Vaughan Williams’s Norfolk Rhapsody No.1 features the old songs of fisherman and the last days of a way of life. Like the local landscape it’s bleak but beautiful!
Total listening time 18 mins (podcast 7′, music 11′)… Listen
140. Hidden pigeons & dancing farmers: Kaprálová, Rustic Suite
Packed with memorable Czech songs about pigeons, nightingales, love, life and unploughed fields, Vítěslava Kaprálová’s Rustic Suite mixes countryside charm with the confident orchestral swagger of a 23 year old receiving acclaim in Paris and London. Music full of life and good tunes! Listening time 21mins… Listen