Five Under 35
Donald Macleod speaks to five members of a new generation of British composers about their work and the issue of women in music from a contemporary perspective
Mar 13, 2015•1 hr 20 min
Composer of the Week
BBC Radio 3's Composer Of The Week is a guide to composers and their music. The podcast is compiled from the week's programmes and published on Friday, it is only available in the UK.
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Episodes
Jacquet de la Guerre
Hailed by scholars as one of the most successful women in the history of French music, Donald Macleod explores with Mary Cyr, the life and music of Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre.
Mar 06, 2015•59 min
Verdi
Donald Macleod explores Giuseppe Verdi’s middle period.
Feb 27, 2015•57 min
Purcell
Henry Purcell's stageworks: William and Mary's accession heralds a change in direction for one of England's most brilliant and respected composers. Donald Macleod charts Purcell's activities during their reign.
Feb 13, 2015•1 hr 2 min
Schubert
Donald Macleod explores music written in a critical time in Schubert's life, following the diagnosis of serious illness
Feb 06, 2015•1 hr 7 min
Bartok
Donald Macleod explores the life and career of composer Bela Bartok (1881-1945), one of the most influential composers of the 20th Century. Today he focuses on Bartok's sickly childhood, early life and musical beginnings, including his first major work Kossuth, influenced by Strauss and inspired by a Hungarian revolutionary.
Jan 30, 2015•1 hr 13 min
Haydn
Exploring Haydn's time at the Hungarian palace of Eszterhaza, the composer's primary base of operations for nearly a quarter of a century and where, he said, he 'was forced to become original'
Jan 23, 2015•1 hr 10 min
Lassus
Donald Macleod surveys the life and music of Orlande de Lassus, a cosmopolitan composer who became so famous he was known as 'the divine Orlando'.
Jan 16, 2015•56 min
Liszt
Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Franz Liszt with a rare opportunity to hear all 13 of his symphonic poems
Jan 09, 2015•49 min
Chabrier
Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Emmanuel Chabrier, a composer whose originality is acknowledged by leading voices of French music in the 20th century.
Jan 02, 2015•51 min
Vivaldi
Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Antonio Vivaldi, a Venetian priest, feted in his lifetime as both composer and violinist, yet destined to die in obscurity in faraway Vienna
Dec 26, 2014•1 hr 3 min
Previn
In conversation with Donald Macleod, celebrated conductor, composer, jazz performer and classical pianist Andre Previn discusses his remarkable life and music
Dec 19, 2014•1 hr 31 min
Schumann
Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Robert Schumann, focusing on the literary influences that helped shape his work
Dec 12, 2014•55 min
Lord Berners
Donald Macleod explores the life and music of the colourful and eccentric British composer Lord Berners. While he behaved as a very English gentleman, his compositions had a distinctive European slant.
Dec 05, 2014•1 hr 4 min
Falla
Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Spanish composer Manuel de Falla
Nov 28, 2014•56 min
Mozart
Donald Macleod explores five key years of Mozart's life and presents five of his chamber works for solo wind and strings
Nov 14, 2014•1 hr 3 min
Stradella
Donald Macleod on the music of Alessandro Stradella. Highly respected and successful, he wrote in all genres: oratorios, cantatas, theatre music, opera seria, songs, and sacred and instrumental music
Nov 07, 2014•57 min
Khachaturian
Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Aram Khachaturian, a composer whose colourful scores led him to be dubbed the 'Rubens of Russian Music'
Oct 31, 2014•58 min
Debussy
Donald Macleod explores a less celebrated, but important, area of Debussy's output - his chamber works
Oct 17, 2014•56 min
Brahms Experience- Johannes Brahms
Exploring the friendship between Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann, who would become a lifelong friend, critic and inspiration
Oct 10, 2014•1 hr 10 min
Dyson
Donald Macleod explores the life and music of George Dyson, celebrated composer, broadcaster, teacher and author of the first manual on hand grenade use
Oct 03, 2014•1 hr 12 min
Panufnik
Donald Macleod celebrates the life and music of Warsaw-born composer Andrzej Panufnik
Sep 26, 2014•1 hr 2 min
Donizetti
Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Gaetano Donizetti, who composed almost 70 operas in 19th-century Italy
Sep 19, 2014•59 min
Rameau
Donald Macleod is joined by Professor Graham Sadler to celebrate the work of one of the greatest figures in French musical history, composer and theorist Jean-Philippe Rameau
Sep 12, 2014•1 hr 9 min
Dvorak
Donald Macleod explores Dvorak's relationship with the British Isles, which he visited nine times between 1884 and 1896
Sep 05, 2014•53 min
Stravinsky
Donald Macleod explores Igor Stravinsky's life and work up to the end of World War I, introducing rarely-heard and early compositions
Aug 08, 2014•1 hr 3 min
Cole Porter
Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Cole Porter, one of the most famous Broadway composers of his time. His achievements include a catalogue of witty, sophisticated and sometimes risque songs
Aug 01, 2014•1 hr 18 min
Janacek
Donald Macleod celebrates the life and music of Leos Janacek. Known primarily as a folklorist and teacher, he didn't achieve international recognition as a composer until he was into his sixties
Jul 25, 2014•51 min
Dittersdorf
Donald Macleod on the life and music of Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, a composer whose concertos, operas, string quartets and over 100 symphonies made him a rival to Haydn in the late 18th century.
Jul 18, 2014•53 min
Buxtehude
Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Danish organist and composer Dietrich Buxtehude
Jul 11, 2014•51 min
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