The Joy of Classical Music

Over the course of this Podcast series I’ve delved into all kinds of odd corners. Composers inspired by esoteric spirituality and science fiction, music of the paranormal and the strange world of outsider composers to name but a few. Then there’s one of my favourite episodes - the search for the Cloud Atlas Sextet - the fictional work at the heart of one of my favourite novels, David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. All of which has been a lot of fun and following in the spirit of that tradition, this week it’s pop and rock music that’s cross-pollinated with classical.


Alice Sarah Ott performs Claude Debussy - Reverie.

Larry Clinton’s Big Band and vocalist Bea Wain perform Clinton and Debussy - My Reverie.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra performs Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: II. Adagio sostenuto.

Eric Carmen - All By Myself.

The Summit Brass and Pianist Theodore Lichtmann perform Paul Hidemith - Sonata for Tuba and Piano.

PaulMcCartney - Blackbird.




London Symphony Orchestra performs Aaron Copland - Fanfare for the Common Man.

Emerson, Lake and Palmer perform Aaron Copland - Fanfare for the Common Man.

Nick Ward - Piano ft. Glenn Gould.

Glenn Gould performs Johann Sebastian Bach - Goldberg Variations (1955 Recording): Variation 5 a 1 ovvero 2 Clav.

The Oxtet perform Paul Hindemith - Sonata for Bass Tuba and Piano.

Exploring classical music in all its glories and complexities. From the sweetest melodic to the cutting edge of the avant-garde... from the deep past to the freshest contemporary. All of it. The joy of classical music.

Unlike Loused Ferranc, there was little support from either family or husbands for Germaine Taillefrre. Nevertheless, this supremely talented composer found her way and led the vanguard of the new European music that arose from the wake of the first world war.

The Foundation Philharmonic Orchestra performs Germaine Tailleferre - Petite Suite.

Harpist Claudia Antonelli performs Germaine Tailleferre - Sonata for Harp.

Nicole Narboni and mark Clinton perform Germaine Tailleferre - Jeux de plein air.

The Morgenstern Trio perform Germaine Tailleferre - Piano Trio.

Soprani Maria Lagios and pianist Elizabeth Buccheri perform Germaine Tailleferre - 6 Chansons françaises.

The Tailleferre Ensemble perform Germaine Tailleferre - Sonate Champêtre.

Soprano Arleen Auger and The Paris Opera Orchestra perform Germaine Tailleferre - Concerto de la Fidélité.


Exploring classical music in all its glories and complexities. From the sweetest melodic to the cutting edge of the avant-garde... from the deep past to the freshest contemporary. All of it. The joy of classical music.

Born in an age when women were largely excluded from the world of classical music, Louise Farrenc was an anomaly. Though her talent was considerable, talent alone was not enough to penetrate the male dominated institutions of the 19th century - and here luck was her side. Unusually for the time, her parents supported her in every way they could, as did her husband. Then there was her indomitable spirit. When she ran up against the common sexism the age, she stood up to it and beat it down.

Sharon Su performs Louise Farrenc: Étude, Op. 26: No. 10 in F-Sharp Minor.

Joanne Polk performs Louise Farrenc - Air russe varié.

Linda Di Carlo, Amedeo Cicchese and Sergey Galaktionov perform Louise Farrenc -Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 46.

The North German Radio Symphony, Hannover performs Louise Farrenc - Symphony No. 3 in G Minor, Op. 36.

Exploring classical music in all its glories and complexities. From the sweetest melodic to the cutting edge of the avant-garde... from the deep past to the freshest contemporary. All of it. The joy of classical music.

New Adventures in Music is a series within a series about the thrill of musical discovery and the joy of listening. This week I’m playing selections from new albums by composers Cecelia McDowall, Gao Ping and David Sisco, the Santa Fe Chorale and guitarist Sean Shibe.

The Santa Fe Desert Chorale perform Shawn Kirchner - Sweet Rivers.

The Rudolfus Choir perform Cecilia McDowall - A Tree is A Song.

The Rudolfus Choir perform Cellia McDowell - Here Hum the Bees.

Michael Houston performs Gao Ping - Wanderings.

David Sisco, Laura Strickling and David Fung perform David Sisko - The Wrong Kind of Fountain Enthusiast.

Santa Fe Desert Chorale performs Reena Esmail - The Tipping Point.

Sean Shibe performs Thomas Ades - Forgotten Dances.

Exploring classical music in all its glories and complexities. From the sweetest melodic to the cutting edge of the avant-garde... from the deep past to the freshest contemporary. All of it. The joy of classical music.

Last week’s episode featured two Jazz influenced classical works by Ukrainian Soviet composer Nicolai Kapustin. Energised by the joy and verve of his style, this week I’ve decided to dig a little deeper into his repertoire and devote a whole episode to his music.

Nikolai Kapustin performs Kapustin – Impromptu No.2.
Ludmil Angelov and Daniel Del Pino perform Nicolai Kapustin – Paraphrase on Dizzy Gillespie's Manteca.

Frank Dupree and Adrian Brendle perform Nicolai Kapustin – Sinfonietta for 4-Hand Piano.

Yuja Wang and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra perform Nicolai Kapustin – Piano Concerto No. 4.

Frank Dupree and the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra of Heilbronn perform Nikolai Kapustin – Chamber Symphony.

Exploring classical music in all its glories and complexities. From the sweetest melodic to the cutting edge of the avant-garde... from the deep past to the freshest contemporary. All of it. The joy of classical music.