80. Life’s still a rollercoaster baby – Tchaikovsky, Symphony No.4 [Part 2/2]
Battered, bruised but not broken, Tchaikovsky’s emotional rollercoaster ride continues… Does this ride finish with squeals of terror or delight? [34 mins]… Listen
70. Blast your ears into the New Year at some Roman Festivals
If you’ve got any new year sluggishness, sweep all that away with a blast of Respighi’s Roman Festivals – four vivid musical pictures featuring love songs and folk dances, wine, religion and state-sponsored violence (lions eating Christians)! Listening time c32 mins [8′ podcast, 24′ music]… Listen
67. Bad trip. Berlioz – Fantastic Symphony Pt3
In the dramatic final part of our drug-fuelled adventure with composer Hector Berlioz, the dreams turn to nightmare visions of murder, execution, witches and demons. It’s loud, exciting, brilliant, a bit crazy and I love it. Listening time: 21 mins … Listen
65. Can’t get her out of my head: Berlioz – Fantastic Symphony Pt1
Driven to distraction and to drugs by a woman he’d never even spoken to, Hector Berlioz was consumed with passion. His obsession and fevered mind produced the unique, Symphony Fantastique. It’s brilliant, dramatic, original and gets three episodes of Cacophony! Listening time: 31 mins (into 9.5′; music 21′)… Listen
63. The moods of the sea and a sense of place – Britten: Four Sea Interludes
Some music conjures up a sense of place perfectly and no one has done it better than in Benjamin Britten’s depiction of the Suffolk coast of England. Bleak, angry, foreboding and special – this is Four Sea Interludes from the opera Peter Grimes. Listening time: 23 mins [Intro podcast 7′, Music 16′]… Listen
60 Burgeoning Spring, Love and Fortune: Carmina Burana
Burgeoning Spring, Love and Fate: Carmina Burana
They say you never forget your first loves and one of mine was Carmina Burana – it’s immediate and high impact. Even before I was properly into music I was into this… and you will be too! There’s really nothing like the sound of a huge choir and orchestra: it’s awesome stuff! Listening time: 35mins … Listen
40. Gustav Mahler meets Trollface Quest [briefly!]
I’m inspired to play this by the video game TrollFace Quest! …where a little snippet of fanfare reminds me of Mahler’s brilliant first symphony. Intro here: Music here: or here on Spotify: Please comment on Facebook.com/cacophonyonline, subscribe to the podcast, … Listen
38. To Uranus, Neptune and beyond… Two of Holst’s Planets
In music that was ground breaking and influential – especially to modern film composers – Gustav Holst takes us on a spectacular, mischievous and mysterious journey to Uranus and Neptune and asks the question what else is out there… Music … Listen
36: Scary organ music – the original and best! Bach’s Toccata & Fugue
No haunted house would be complete without the soundtrack of organ music, right? The supreme example is Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, but the films and TV only ever give us 10 seconds… …crank up the volume so … Listen