114. Direct to you from London: Urban Living, Shirley J Thompson
A mix of grit, swagger and persistence help us to make it through in the big city. Shirley Thompson’s Urban Living gives us all this plus, perhaps, a tinge of fear and some pheonmenal piano sounds in 7 minutes of [mainly] self-assured city beats. Listening time 12 mins (podcast 5′, music 7′)… Listen
113. London’s the place for me: Coates, London Suite
I’ve come over all nostalgic at the prospect of returning to London in a few days, so here’s a swaggering piece of escapism back to the heady optimistic days of the 1930s in Eric Coates London Suite. Listening time 21 mins… Listen
112. Dancing on Love Island? Ravel, Daphnis & Chloé
Bursting full of life, Ravel’s music for this everyday love story of shepherd meets goatherd meets Greek god of nature is dreamy, sensual, and downright thrilling, all delivered in glorious orchestral technicolor. Meet Daphnis & Chloé! Listening time: 25 mins (podcast 9′, music 16′)… Listen
111. Glimpses of the Divine: Esmail, Darshan
Comfortably crossing cultural boundaries, Reena Esmail draws on both western and Indian , composer Reena Esmail draws on both western and Indian traditions to write distinctive music that is at home in both. Darshan is a terrific solo violin piece which transports us to a timeless state ad may even offer a glimps of the divine! Listening time 21mins… Listen
110. Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky, and how great art knows no borders. Tchaikovsky, The Tempest
Shakespeare reaches people across the world with his insights into our shared humanity and his plays have inspired countless composers to write music – providing their own way for us to connect to Shakespeare, each other and ourselves. Tchaikovsky’s The Tempest overture gives us a torrential storm, a big love theme that beats Romeo & Juliet, and one of the most atmospheric, goose-bump-inducing beginning and end to any piece of music. And almost no one knows it at all! Listening time 33 mins… Listen
109. When personal pain becomes universal: Shostakovich String Quartet No.8
How is it that when an artist shares their pain we can all feel it? And how does listening to music full of suffering make us feel better? I don’t know how or why, but I know that it does. Dmitri Shostakovich knew all about war, loss, and suffering. His 8th string quartet is desperate but defiant and deeply moving, bleak but often beautiful and whilst it doesn’t provide any answers it somehow gives consolation to us all. Listening time 28 mins… Listen
108. A short break for bread and Beethoven
We’ve all got pieces of music that instantly remind us of special times and places in our lives. What are yours I wonder? (Tell me!) We’re in Sri Lanka at the moment and, bizarrely, the piece of music we’ve heard more than any other in the last few months has been Beethoven’s perfect little piano piece, Für Elise, but perhaps not as we’re used to hearing it… Here’s the story of why, and how it’s in the ears of everyone Sri Lanka. (Listening time 8 mins: podcast 5′, music 3′)… Listen
107. Made in America: Florence Price, Symphony No.1
Individual, passionate, soulful music rooted in the southern states, Florence Price’s Symphony No.1 was the first by a black woman composer to be played by a major US orchestra back in the 1930s. A Moment of History, but those ‘twin handicaps’ [her words] meant that her music has hardly been played since and we’ve been missing out on great music from a distinctive voice – it’s time to put that right! (Listening time 47 mins: podcast 8′, music 39′)… Listen
106. Ugly, unnatural, ghastly: Dvořák, The Noon Witch
Thrilling, chilling, but still somehow delighting in its brilliance, Dvořák’s Noon Witch packs a punch and leaves you stunned. Also in this episode, free parenting advice and some musings on Dr Suess! Listening time 22 mins (podcast 8′, music 14′)… Listen