Classical For Everyone

The name comes from the night of the week when for some of us, the frustrations of insomnia hit the hardest… and because my preferred antidote is getting lost in some music. Of course this series is for everyone… but it is perhaps intended a little more for those of you whose sleep has been troubled. The idea of the special is to play just one piece, uninterrupted and in its entirety… with a few minutes of background explained at the end of the episode. This month… Johannes Brahms Fourth Symphony. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Manfred Honeck.

I was listening to the conductor Joshua Weilerstein's podcast 'Sticky Notes' the other day. It was an episode on Ludwig van Beethoven's 8th string quartet. He was playing the second section and he described the music as having a sense of 'consolation'… and there was something about that which really struck me. So I started looking into music connected to the idea of consolation but the more I delved the more I realised that wasn't quite what I was hearing in the Beethoven. For me it was not about the small gift or healing gesture to balance a loss… it was more about the small supportive joys that hold us up… keep us going… replenish optimism… and regardless of circumstances makes each day worthwhile. And I think 'Solace' is a better word for what the music said to me. And that led to a slightly different search for music for this show and I think the 'solace' theme delivers some really wonderful music… that does… as the subtitle says… 'hold you'.

The relationship between classical music and William Shakespeare's writing is one of the longest and most productive partnerships in the history of either art form. Composers have been drawn to Shakespeare's plays for four centuries and there is a vast amount of music to choose from. For this episode I have nine pieces, but only from four plays which suggests that some of the plays are perhaps more beloved by composers than others… Music from composers responding to 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Hamlet' and 'Othello'. And those composers… ranging from the 19th century to the 21st are… Felix Mendelssohn, Sergei Prokofiev, Benjamin Britten, Hector Berlioz, Giuseppe Verdi, Dmitri Shostakovich, Frederick Delius and Thomas Adès.

Haydn's music is in no way neglected or forgotten but I wonder if, because he lived a long life, during which he achieved significant success and seemed free of personality disorders, he is a little taken for granted. The creative artist dying at the height of his or her powers, or never recognised in their lifetime, or plagued by psychosis all seem to have an extra attraction for us. And Haydn was born a couple of generations before the 'artist as hero' cult began to emerge. For most of his working life he was 'artist as employee' or 'artist as courtier'. This episode includes sections from his early efforts with the string quartet, the symphony, opera and sacred music. Early but in no way juvenile. In fact surprisingly developed, mature and confident.

I did an episode of music by women composers back in November based around a CD Box release by the record label 'Brilliant Classics' and called it 'Brilliant Women'. No prizes for imagination but it was clear and accurate. So, I am going to keep things simple and call this show 'More Brilliant Women'. I could also call it 'music I am genuinely extremely excited to play for you that just happens to be written by women'. But that would be a little cumbersome. What I can say is this is just fabulous music which I think there is a very good chance you will enjoy. In the next hour and a bit I am going to play music by Ethel Smyth, Augusta Read Thomas, Rachel Portman, Anna Clyne, Liza Lim, Katia Beaugeais, Jenny McLeod, Maria Grenfell, Elena Kats-Chernin and Florence Price.