Donald Macleod and Erica Buurman examine some of Beethoven’s personal possessions at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn. This week, Donald Macleod takes us to Beethoven’s home town of Bonn and the Beethoven-Haus museum which now occupies the building where he was born. Donald is joined by Erica Buurman, director of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, and together they explore some of the everyday objects and household artefacts owned by the composer to see what they can tell us about how he lived. We’ll hear about Beethoven’s hearing aids and the onset of his hearing loss. Next, with his personal cashbox, they talk about his relationship with money and the world of business. We’ll discover Beethoven’s domestic circumstances by inspecting his cut-throat razor, and his walking stick and writing desk shine a light on his everyday processes. Finally, Donald and Erica compare various samples of the composer’s hair. Composer of the Week will be returning to the story of Beethoven’s life and music throughout 2020. Part of Radio 3’s Beethoven Unleashed season marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Music featured: Bagatelles Op 126, Nos 1 & 6 Trio for Clarinet, Cello & Piano Op 38 Overture, The Consecration of the House Op 124 Wellington’s Victory (Part II) Piano Sonata No 9 in E, Op 14 No.1 Triple Concerto Cello Sonata in A, Op 69 Missa Solemnis (Agnus Dei) Sonata No 29 in Bb, Op 106 ‘Hammerklavier’ Aus Goethes Faust, Op 75, No 3 Symphony No 6 String Quintet in Eb Op 4 Mailied, Op 52 No 4 String Quartet Op 59 No 2 Trauerkantate auf den Tod Kaiser Josephs II, No 3 Aria, “Da stiegen die Menschen an’s Licht” Grosse Fugue (arr. Piano, 4 hands) Op 134 Piano Trio Op 1 No 3 Symphony No 1 Mass in C (Kyrie) Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Chris Taylor for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Beethoven Unleashed: At Home https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000g3l7 And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Composer of the Week

Beethoven Unleashed: At Home

Donald Macleod uncovers the story and prolific output of American composer Florence Price. Florence Price became a highly successful classical composer, organist, pianist and teacher of music during the twentieth century in America. She was the first African-American woman to be recognised as a composer of symphonic music, and also the first African-American woman to have her works performed by one of the world’s leading orchestras. In collaboration with the Arts and Humanities Research Council, BBC Radio 3 launched the Forgotten Women Composers Project. Championed by the composer and educator Shirley Thompson, Florence Price became a particular focus for the project. Scores by Florence Price were located and recorded by BBC Orchestras and Choirs. It will be the first time Florence Price has been featured on Composer of the Week, and the series is supplemented by many specially recorded works. Over the course of the episode, we’ll hear about the impact racial prejudice and marriage had on her life and career, her battles for recognition, ultimate fame, and her prolific output, despite health issues late in life. Music featured: The Deserted Garden Sonata in E minor (Andante – Allegro) Suite for Organ No 1 (Fughetta and Air) The Oak Violin Concerto No 2 My Dream Cotton Dance The Old Boatman The Moon Bridge My Soul’s been anchored in the Lord Symphony No 1 in E minor Song for Snow Sinner Don’t Let This Harvest Pass Poem of Praise Piano Concerto in D minor Dances in the Canebrakes Suite for Organ No 1 (Toccata) Sonata in E minor (Andante) Sympathy The Glory of the day was in her face Resignation Symphony No 3 The Goblin and the Mosquito Concert Overture No 2 Five Folksongs in Counterpoint (Drink to me only with thine eyes) Night My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord Violin Concerto No 1 in D major Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Florence Price https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000fwf0 And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Florence Price

Donald Macleod follows Beethoven as he sets himself up in his new home of Vienna. All through 2020, Donald Macleod takes an unprecedented deep dive into the compelling story and extraordinary music of Ludwig van Beethoven. In this uniquely ambitious series, told across 125 episodes of Composer of the Week, Donald puts us inside Beethoven’s world and explores his hopes, struggles and perseverance in all the colourful detail this amazing narrative deserves. Alongside this in-depth biography, Donald will also be meeting and talking to Beethoven enthusiasts and experts from across the world to discover how his music continues to speak to us in the 21st century. Through story and sound, the series builds into a vivid new portrait of this composer, born 250 years ago this year, who made art that changed how people saw themselves and understood the world. This week, Donald Macleod’s focus is on Beethoven’s first months and years in Vienna, following his move there from his home town of Bonn. The young composer was still in his early twenties, low on cash, and had only a handful of works to his name. He was going to have to work hard to find success in the imperial capital, where audiences had grown up on the music of Mozart and Haydn. Music featured: La Partenza, WoO 124 String Quartet in A minor, Op 132 (II. Allegro ma non tanto) Piano Concerto No 2 (III. Rondo) Trio in G major, Op 1 No 2 Bagatelle, Op 33 No 7 (Presto) String Trio, Op 3 in E flat major ( I. Allegro con brio) Piano Sonata No 2, Op 2 No 2 (3rd and 4th movements) Symphony No 8, (2nd and 3rd movements) String Quartet No 16 in F, Op 135 (3rd and 4th movements) Sextet for horns and string quartet, Op 81b Symphony No 2 (1st movement) Quartet in E flat major, Op 127 (3rd and 4th movements) Piano Sonata No 12 in A flat, Op 26 Piano Sonata No 3 in C, Op 2 No 3 (3rd movement) Piano Sonata No 1, Op 2 No 1 (final movement) Violin Sonata, Op 30 No 2 (3rd movement) ‘Adelaide’, Op 46 String Trio Op 3 in E flat major (4th, 5th and 6th movements) 12 Minuets, WoO 7, No 1 Piano Concerto No 1 in C major, Op 15 (1st movement) Piano Trio Op 1 No 3 (1st and 2nd movements) 12 Minuets WoO 7, Nos. 7 & 11 Piano Concerto No 1 in C major, Op 15 (3rd movement) Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Chris Taylor for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Beethoven Unleashed: Making His Way https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000fmt0 And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Ludwig van Beethoven: Making His Way

Donald Macleod looks at five themes in Claudio Monteverdi's life through the letters he wrote. Claudio Monteverdi’s compositions range from the secular to the sacred. He is a composer whose work spans the Renaissance and Baroque periods of musical history, and is known as a pioneer of the development of opera in Italy throughout the early 17th century. Throughout the week, Donald looks at five themes in Monteverdi’s life through the letters he wrote. Using Denis Stevens’ translations from the 1970s, we look at the excuses given by Monteverdi – a perpetually busy man – for not finishing compositions on time, the politics and hierarchy of life in the Italian Courts and Church, the financial struggles faced by Monteverdi, the illnesses that plagued his life and the lives of his close family and the importance of his family throughout his life. Across the episode, we’ll hear stories of Monteverdi’s penchant for procrastination, his revered opinions of singers, many financial struggles, tempestuous heath and the lengths he went to in order to support his family. Music featured: Chiome d’oro Cantai un tempo, & se fu dolc’il canto L’Orfeo: Prologue and Act I Dixit Dominus Lamento d’Arianna a voce sola Cantate Domino Dominus vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo Con che soavità L’Incoronazione di Poppea: Act II: Amici, è giunta l’hora Ballo delle ingrate ‘Batto’, qui pianse Ergasto L’incoronazione di Poppea: Prologue and Act I: Lamento d’Arianna a 5 Adoramus te Zefiro torna Quel sguardo sdegnosetto L’Orfeo: Toccata Lamento della Ninfa Missa In illo tempore Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria: Act V: O dolor, o martir L’incoronazione di Poppea: Act III: Pur ti miro Damigella tutta bella L’Orfeo: Act V: Extracts Tirsi e Clori Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria: Act I Magnificat a 7 Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Eleri Llian Rees for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Claudio Monteverdi https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ffwm And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Claudio Monteverdi

Donald Macleod is joined by Raphael Wallfisch and Sara Bitlloch to discuss Beethoven’s early chamber music. All through 2020, Donald Macleod takes an unprecedented deep dive into the compelling story and extraordinary music of Ludwig van Beethoven. In this uniquely ambitious series, told across 125 episodes of Composer of the Week, Donald puts us inside Beethoven’s world and explores his hopes, struggles and perseverance in all the colourful detail this amazing narrative deserves. Alongside this in-depth biography, Donald will also be meeting and talking to Beethoven enthusiasts and experts from across the world to discover how his music continues to speak to us in the 21st century. Through story and sound, the series builds into a vivid new portrait of this composer, born 250 years ago this year, who made art that changed how people saw themselves and understood the world. This week, cellist Raphael Wallfisch and violinist Sara Bitlloch join Donald Macleod to talk about Beethoven’s early chamber music from 1795 to 1811, including beloved works such as the ‘Razumovsky’ quartets, the ‘Kreutzer’ violin sonata, and the ‘Ghost’ and ‘Archduke’ piano trios. Music featured: String Trio No 3 in G major: Op 9, No 1 (3rd movement - excerpt; 4th movement) Cello Sonata in F major Op 5 No 1 (Allegro) Piano Trio in C minor Op 1 No 3 (4th movement) String quartet in F major Op 18 No 1 (2nd movement) Violin Sonata in D major Op 12 No 1 (1st movement) Sonatina in C major for mandolin and piano WoO44 No 1 String Quartet in C minor Op 18 No 4 (3rd movement) Violin Sonata in A major Op 30 No 1 (3rd movement) Serenade in D major Op 8 (1st and 2nd movements) Cello Sonata No 2 in G minor Op 5 (1st movement) String Quintet in C major Op 29 (4th movement) Piano Trio Op 121a, “Kakadu Variations” String Quartet in F major No 7, Op 59 (“Razumovsky”) (4th movement) Violin Sonata in A major No. 9 Op 47 ("Kreutzer") (1st movement) Septet in E flat major for clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and double bass Op 20 (2nd movement) String Quartet in C major Op 59 No 3 (“Razumovsky”) (1st movement) Piano Trio No 5 in D major Op 70 No 1 ("Ghost") (2nd movement) Violin Sonata No 5 in F major Op 24 ("Spring") (1st and 4th movements) String Quartet in E flat Op 74 (“Harp”) (1st movement) String Trio in C minor Op 9 No 3 (1st mvt) String Quartet in F minor (“Serioso”) Op 95 (1st and 4th mvts) Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major Op 69 (1st mvt) Piano Trio in B flat ("Archduke") Op 97 (1st mvt) Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Iain Chambers for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Beethoven Unleashed: Conversations with Friends https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000f5mp And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Ludwig van Beethoven: Conversations with Friends

Donald Macleod delves into the life and work of Samuel Wesley. Samuel Wesley was a child prodigy, and it was the older composer William Boyce who said of the boy that he was the English Mozart, and that he had dropped down from heaven. Wesley’s star speedily ascended to the heights from an early age as both performer and composer, but with issues surrounding his often extreme character, and also his health and morals, this ascendency was not to last. His popularity went in and out of fashion during his lifetime, and trying to secure a permanent position as an organist was something which eluded him for a long time. However, he was one of Britain’s leading musicians, mixed in the highest circles, and was responsible for promoting the largely unknown J. S. Bach to these shores. Towards the end of his life, famous musicians and composers sought Wesley out and even Mendelssohn asked the famed organist Samuel Wesley to play for him. We’re only just beginning to understand Wesley’s importance to the development of British classical music, and many of his substantial works, including numerous concertos for piano, organ, and violin, and large scale works for choir and orchestra, all still remain to be recorded. In this week’s episode, we’ll hear about Wesley’s religious background and fluctuating views, his circle of friends, his virtuosic performance career, his passion for JS Bach, and the mystery surrounding his health. Music featured: Symphony in A major (Brillante) O Lord God most holy Might I in thy sight appear Psalm 42 & 43 Dixit Dominus Preludium, Ariette & Fuga in C minor Symphony in A major Fugue in B minor for Dr Mendelssohn Sinfonia obbligato O sing unto mie roundelaie Voluntary in D Air and Gavotte Violin Concerto No 2 in D major Sonatina Op 4 No 1 Sonatina Op 4 No 2 Duet for the organ Symphony in E flat Arrangement with Variation of Rule Britannia Rondo on God rest you merry, Gentlemen All go unto one place Duet in B flat major (for Eliza) Voluntary in D, Op 6 No 8 Handel Arr. Wesley Rejoice the Lord is King Symphony in D major String Quartet in E flat major (Allegro spiritoso) Confitebor tibi, Domine Voluntary in G minor Ode to St Cecilia (extract) Might I in thy sight appear Memoriam fecit mirabilium suorum Symphony in B flat major Fidelia omnia mandata ejus Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Samuel Wesley https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000dy1k And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Samuel Wesley

Donald Macleod looks for clues in Beethoven’s early life that point towards the great man he would become. All through 2020, Donald Macleod takes an unprecedented deep dive into the compelling story and extraordinary music of Ludwig van Beethoven. In this uniquely ambitious series, told across 125 episodes of Composer of the Week, Donald puts us inside Beethoven’s world and explores his hopes, struggles and perseverance in all the colourful detail this amazing narrative deserves. Alongside this in-depth biography, Donald will also be meeting and talking to Beethoven enthusiasts and experts from across the world to discover how his music continues to speak to us in the 21st century. Through story and sound, the series builds into a vivid new portrait of this composer, born 250 years ago this year, who made art that changed how people saw themselves and understood the world. This week, Donald looks at Beethoven’s humble beginnings as a child born into a family of court musicians, working for the Archbishop-Elector’s retinue in Bonn, Germany. He showed musical talent early and followed his father and grandfather into the Elector’s employ as soon as he reached his teens. Would he continue to follow the family pattern and retire there too? Music featured: Piano Sonata No 24 in F# major, Op 78 (2nd movement) Fugue in D for organ, WoO 31 Symphony No 6 (movts. IV & V) Violin Sonata Op 30 No 2 (2nd movement) String Quartet Op 18 No 4 (1st and 3rd movements) String Quartet No 13 in Bb, Op 130 (2nd movement) Piano Sonata No 2, Op 2 No 2 (1st and 2nd movements) Symphony No 4 (4th movement) Sonata for cello and piano, Op 102 No 1 (2nd and 3rd movements) Piano Quartet, WoO 36 No 3 Piano Sonata No 19, Op 49 No 1 (2nd movement) Piano Trio, WoO 38 (arr. Alec Frank-Gemmill) Der Mann von Wort, Op 99 24 Variations on "Venni Amore" by Righini, WoO 65 Piano Trio, Op 70 No 2 (3rd and 4th movements) String Quartet, Op 95 (Serioso) (1st movement) Fidelio: Act I (finale) Musik zu einem Ritterballett, Woo 1 12 Variations on 'See the conqu'ring hero comes' by Handel for cello and piano, WoO 45 Rondo a capriccio in G major (Rage over a lost penny) for piano, Op 129 7 Variations on 'Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen', WoO 46 Resignation, WoO 149 String Quartet, Op 59 No 1 (1st movement) Violin Concerto (2nd and 3rd movements) Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Chris Taylor for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Beethoven Unleashed: Making a Man https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000dpzm And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Ludwig van Beethoven: Making a Man

Donald Macleod explores the myriad influences on the life’s work of Karol Szymanowski. The reshaping of Europe at the end of the First World War had a defining effect on Polish composer Karol Szymanowski. As Europe was being reapportioned, the comfortable world he’d known up to that point disappeared for good. His family’s comfortable and cultured life disappeared, their assets wiped out by the October Revolution. From that point on, Szymanowski ceased to be a man of some privilege, able to compose in the relative seclusion of his family’s estate in what was then part of Ukraine. He needed to support himself and his mother and sisters but he found himself ill-equipped temperamentally to deal with this dramatic change in his lifestyle. He became increasingly weighed down by illness, quite probably tuberculosis. That, coupled with a chain-smoking habit and struggles with alcoholism, were to take their toll. He died in poverty at the age of just 54 in 1937. Across the week, Donald Macleod explores five distinct influences on Szymanowski’s music, starting with his formative years growing up in a family with a passion for the arts. As a young student, his studies in Warsaw led him towards the language of Richard Strauss and Max Reger, while his love of travel directed him towards impressionism, the ancient world and the Orient. Meeting Stravinsky in Paris and hearing the Ballets Russe was another turning point, as was in his later years in particular, his commitment to establishing a national musical voice for the newly formed country of Poland. Music featured: Study in G flat major, Op 4 No 2 The Swan, Op 7 L’île des sirènes (Métopes, Op 29) Violin Concerto No 1, Op 35 Songs of a Fairytale Princess, Op 31 Mazurka, Op 50 No 11 Desires; The infatuated east wind; Dance (Love Songs of Hafiz, Op 26) Concert Overture in E major, Op 12 Piano Sonata No 2 in A major, Op 21 (2nd movement) Symphony No 2 in B flat, Op 19 (1st movement) La fontaine d’Aréthuse (Mythes, Op 30) Sérénade de Don Juan (Masques, Op 34) Demeter, Op 37b String Quartet No 1 in C major, Op 37 (3rd movement) Symphony No 3, Op 27: The Song of the Night Study in B flat minor, Op 4 No 3 Penthesilea, Op 18 Thème varié 'Caprice No 24' (Three Paganini Caprices, Op 40) King Roger, Act 1 (excerpt) King Roger Act 2 (excerpt) Mazurkas, Op 50 Nos 1, 3, 6 Wanda, Op 46b No 5 Whip on the horse, Op 58 No 4 String Quartet No 2 (2nd movement) Harnasie, Op 55 (Tableau 1: In the mountain pasture) Symphony No 4, Op 60, 'Sinfonie concertante' (1st movement) Stabat Mater (excerpt) Mazurka, Op 62 No 1 Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Johannah Smith for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Karol Szymanowski https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000dj02 And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Karol Szymanowski

Donald Macleod asks conductor Marin Alsop and historian Simon Schama why Beethoven's life and work still matter today. All through 2020, as part of Radio 3's Beethoven Unleashed season, Donald Macleod takes an unprecedented deep dive into the compelling story and extraordinary music of Ludwig van Beethoven. In this uniquely ambitious series, told across 125 episodes of Composer of the Week, Donald puts us inside Beethoven’s world and explores his hopes, struggles and perseverance in all the colourful detail this amazing narrative deserves. Alongside this in-depth biography, Donald will also be meeting and talking to Beethoven enthusiasts and experts from across the world to discover how his music continues to speak to us in the twenty-first century. Through story and sound, the series builds into a vivid new portrait of this composer, born 250 years ago this year, who made art that changed how people saw themselves and understood the world. Music featured: Bagatelle in A minor (Fur Elise), WoO 59 String Quartet No 10, Op 74 (Harp) (3rd movement) Symphony No 3 in E flat major (Eroica) (3rd movement) Grosse Fuge, Op 133 Symphony No 5 in C minor (1st and 2nd movements) Symphony No 8 in F major, Op 93 (2nd movement) Sonata in A major, Op 30 No 1 for violin and piano Leonore Overture No 3 Piano Sonata No 27 in E minor, Op 90 (2nd movement) Piano Concerto No 4 in G major, Op 58 (2nd movement) Piano Sonata No 13 in E flat major, Op 27 No 1 (2nd movement) Symphony No 3 in E flat major (Eroica), Op 55 (2nd movement) The Creatures of Prometheus: Overture Fidelio: Act II finale Symphony No 4 in B flat major, Op 60 (1st movement) Piano Sonata No 14 (Moonlight), Op 27 No 2 (1st movement) String Quartet in F minor, Op 95 (1st movement) Egmont Overture, Op 84 Symphony No 9 in D major (Choral), Op 125 String Quartet in A minor, Op 132 (5th movement) String Quartet in E flat major, Op 127 (1st movement) Bagatelle in E flat major, Op 126 No 6 Mass in D major (Missa Solemnis), Op 123 (Kyrie) Coriolan Overture, Op 62 String Quartet in B flat major, Op 130 (5th movement) Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Martin Williams for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Beethoven: Why Beethoven? https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000d7zg And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Ludwig van Beethoven: Why Beethoven?

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of George Walker, in conversation with his son Gregory. When Rosa King Walker announced to her five-year-old son George that, like it or not, he was going to have piano lessons, she can scarcely have been aware that she was dispatching him on a lifelong journey in music. He made his concerto début at the age of 23 playing Rachmaninov’s 3rd Piano Concerto, with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the great Eugene Ormandy. A stellar career on the concert platform surely beckoned, but in the event, things were not so straightforward. We’ll hear how Walker began to turn his back on the idea of a solo career, gravitating instead towards a life in teaching – and, increasingly, composition. Donald and Gregory discuss Walker’s studies with the formidable Nadia Boulanger, the relief when his commissions started rolling in, and the far reaches of his stylistic ambition. Walker won the epic Pulitzer Prize for music in 1996 for his piece Lilacs, a career-defining moment, which makes what happened next in Walker’s career all the more surprising. “I got probably more publicity nationwide than perhaps any other Pulitzer Prize-winner,” he recalled in 2015. “But not a single orchestra approached me about doing the piece or any piece. It materialized in nothing.” In this emotional look back at the life and work of his father, Gregory discusses identity, representation and perseverance, ending with the story of his swansong, Visions, inspired by the tragedy of the Charleston church massacre. Music featured: Response String Quartet No 1 Lyric for Strings Piano Sonata No 1 Cello Sonata Trombone Concerto The Bereaved Maid Sonata No 1 for violin and piano Spatials Variations for Orchestra Five Fancies for clarinet and piano four hands (Theme and 5 variations) Piano Concerto Music for Brass (Sacred and Profane) Cantata Piano Sonata No 4 Sinfonia No 1 Hey Nonny No (anon) Poème for violin and orchestra In Time of Silver Rain Mother Goose (Circa 2054) Lilacs Modus Icarus in Orbit Piano Sonata No 5 Da Camera, for piano trio, harp, celesta, string orchestra and percussion Violin Concerto Bleu Sinfonia No 5 (‘Visions’) Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Chris Barstow for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for George Walker https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cz2q And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

George Walker

Donald Macleod delves into the international successes of Arcangelo Corelli. Arcangelo Corelli was something of a European phenomenon not only during his lifetime, but also after his death. His compositional output was not large, but the development of the printing press enabled his music to be widely circulated. Musically, he bridged the gap between the Baroque and the Classical periods, and is seen as pivotal in the development of the sonata and the concerto. Even today, Corelli’s music is held in high esteem, with composers still inspired by his music. As a violinist he was also legendary, and people flocked from all over Europe to not only hear him play, but to also be taught by him. Corelli spent most of his career in Rome, maintained in some luxury by royalty, nobility and the Church. During his career he collaborated with many other composers including Alessandro Scarlatti and Handel. Despite his fame and continued popularity, we still know relatively little about Corelli, and this Composer of the Week series seeks to explore the man and his music through his personal and professional relationships. Music featured: Sonata in G minor, Op 4 No 2 (Corrente) Concerto Grossi, Op 6 No 3 Sonata in G, Op 1 No 9 Handel: La Resurrezione (Ho un non so che nel cor) Sonata in F major, Op 5 No 10 Concerto Grosso in D, Op 6 No 1 Fuga con un soggetto solo Sonata in G minor, Op 5 No 5 Sonata in F, Op 1 No 1 Sonata in A minor, Op 1 No 4 Sonata in B minor, Op 3 No 4 Sonata in F minor, Op 3 No 9 Concerto Grosso in F, Op 6 No 12 Sonata in D Sonata in B major, Op 2 No 5 Sonata in E flat major, Op 2 No 11 Sinfonia to Santa Beatrice d’Este in D minor, WoO1 Concerto in G minor, Op 6 No 8 (Christmas Concerto) Sonata in C, Op 5 No 9 Sonata in A minor, op 4 No 5 Sonata in B minor, op 4 No 12 Sonata in C, Op 2 No 3 Sonata in F major, Op 2 No 7 Handel: Sonata a 5, HWV288 (Violin Concerto in B flat) Sonata in G minor WoO2 Corelli Arr. J. C. Schickhardt: Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 3 Sonata No 2 in D minor, Op 2 No 2 Concerto Grosso in F, Op 6 No 2 Corelli Arr. Geminiani: Concerto Grosso VII in D minor Sonata in D minor, Op 5 No 12 (Follia) Concerto Grosso in F, Op 6 No 9 Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Arcangelo Corelli. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000d6y6 And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Arcangelo Corelli

Donald Macleod explores the music of Johannes Brahms through his close relationships. Brahms was a deeply private man and very guarded about his life, his friends and his feelings. Across this week, Donald goes “Behind Closed Doors” with Brahms to discover what really made him tick. He finds friends, mentors and lovers along the way who together help solve the enigma of the composer. We’ll hear about Brahms’s doomed early romance with a young singer, Agathe von Siebold, plus his lifelong friendships with Robert, and particularly Clara Schumann - probably the person he was closest to in his life. Donald explores the music written for some of the women he knew intimately, and why he sought solitude and how it came to influence his music. Throughout his life, there was a great expectation placed on Brahms’s shoulders. We end by looking at how that shaped his character and music. Music featured: Sonata No 3 in F minor, Op 5 (4th movement) Lieder & Romanzen, Op 14 (No 4, Ein Sonett & No 7, Ständchen) Piano Concerto No 1 in D minor, Op 15 (1st movement) Ave Maria, Op 12 String Sextet No 2 in G, Op 36 (1. Allegro non troppo) 2 Gavottes, WoO 3 (Nos 1 and 2) Piano Sonata No 1 in C major, Op 1 (1. Allegro) 6 Songs, Op 3 (Nos 2 and 3) Piano Quartet, Op 25 (3rd and 4th movements) String Sextet No 1in B flat major, Op 18 (2nd movement) Piano Quintet in F minor, Op 34A (1st movement) Rhapsody in B minor, Op 79 No 1 6 Songs, Op 7 (Nos 2 -5) Variations in E flat on a Theme by Schumann (Nos 8-11) Alto Rhapsody, Op 53 16 Waltzes, Op 39 (Nos 1-4) Cello Sonata No 1 in E minor, Op 38 (3rd movement - Allegro) Klavierstücke, Op 76 (No 7 - Intermezzo in A major; No 8 - Capriccio in C major) Violin Sonata No 2, Op 100 (1st movement: Allegro amabile) Nanie, Op 82 Piano Concerto No 2 in B flat major, Op 83 (3rd movement - Andante) Serenade No 1 in D major, Op 11 (2nd movement) Piano Sonata No 2 in F sharp minor, Op 2 (4th movement) Vier ernste Gesänge, Op 121 (Nos 3 and 4) Ein Deutsches Requiem [A German Requiem], Op 45 (2nd and 3rd movements) Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Glyn Tansley for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Johannes Brahms. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cb1x And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Johannes Brahms

Donald Macleod surveys the life, music and quirks of Australian composer, Percy Grainger Donald Macleod begins this week episode about Percy Grainger by tracing the composer's ambivalent relationship with his primary musical instrument, the piano, and the ever-present influence of his mother. He then follows Grainger to London, where his composing took second place to performing, leading to concert tours of Scandinavia, South Africa, New Zealand and back home to Australia. We’ll also hear about his enthusiastic and sometimes controversial role in the folksong revival of the 1900s, away from starchy drawing rooms and concert halls. Donald keeps up with Grainger during an anxiety-ridden move to America during the First World War. To end, he explores some of the composer's more unsavoury views and his quest for musical 'freedom'. Music featured: Mowgli's Song Against People Molly on the Shore Walking Tune Tribute to Foster Marching Song of Democracy Hill-Song 1 and 2 Handel in the Strand English Dance Colonial Song Scotch Strathspey and Reel The Warriors Brigg Fair Creeping Jane I'm Seventeen Come Sunday Four Settings from 'Songs of the North' Green Bushes Lincolnshire Posy Country Garden Suite: In a Nutshell The Power of Rome and the Christian Heart Irish Tune from County Derry The Bride's Tragedy Shepherd's Hey The Power of Love Jutish Melody (Danish Folk Song Suite) To a Nordic Princess Immovable Do Free Music Free Music No 2 The Jungle Book (excerpts) Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Martin Williams for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Percy Grainger. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000c4kf And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Percy Grainger

Donald Macleod illustrates Leos Janacek’s inner tensions through five key relationships One of the most original voices of the twentieth century, Leoš Janáček was a composer, musical theorist, folklorist and teacher. Born in 1854 in the Moravian village of Hukvaldy, which was then part of the Austrian Empire, in his youth German was the language of government, education and social influence. Having returned from studies in Germany, Janáček made detailed studies of native folk song and spent years annotating the natural rhythms of the Czech language. He was to write all his works for stage in his native language. The range of his professional activities gave him a range of outlets to voice what quickly became a life-long commitment to Czech culture. Janáček was a contradictory man, who spent much of his life feeling at odds with his circumstances. Through five of his closest relationships, Donald Macleod builds a picture of how his inner tensions found expression in his music. Music featured: Suite for Strings, Andante con moto (3rd movement) Four male-voice choruses Lachian Dances Šárka (excerpt from Act 1) Sinfonietta Lavečka (The Bench) Theme with variations (Zdenka Variations) Amarus (3rd movement) Janacek, rev. Mackerras: The Cunning Little Vixen Orchestral Suite JW 1/9 Quartet no.1 (The Kreutzer Quartet) Nejistota JW V/2 Hukvaldy Songs Taras Bulba Pohádka Jenůfa – excerpt from Act 1 Kat’a Kabanova – Act 3 excerpt The diary of one who disappeared (excerpt) Quartet for strings no. 2: Intimate Letters Glagolitic Mass – Credo Žárlivost On the overgrown path (excerpts) The Excursions of Mr Brouček The Fiddler’s Child Potulný šílenec Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Johannah Smith for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Leoš Janáček https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cr48 And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Leoš Janáček

Donald Macleod charts the extraordinary life of composer and jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams’ music stands out from the crowd because, as Duke Ellington recognised, “her writing and performing have always been just a little ahead throughout her career.” A prolific composer and arranger, she was also a gifted pianist. A master of blues, boogie woogie, stride, swing and be-bop, Williams was quick to absorb the prevailing musical currents in her own music, naturally able to exploit her ability to play anything she heard around her. It is this restless musical curiosity that defines her own compositions, and led her to become friends with and mentor many younger musicians, among them Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Born around 1910 in Atlanta, Georgia, Williams grew up in Pittsburgh, where she had to overcome racial segregation, gender discrimination and the disadvantages of an impoverished family to realise her musical ambitions. Learning to play entirely by ear, she was performing locally by age six. Barely into her teens she was touring professionally as a pianist, living proof that - contrary to the prevailing views - women really could play jazz as well as men. But her artistic success came at some personal cost, with instances of domestic abuse, two divorces, a gambling addiction, and the ongoing strain of trying to support her extended family, all taking its toll over the years. After taking a spiritual path, she spent some years trying to rehabilitate addicted musicians, and developed an interest in writing sacred jazz pieces, and after a long career of some sixty years she took on the mantle of educating future generations about the cultural roots of jazz. Over the course of the episode, Donald Macleod follows Mary Lou Williams as her life and musical pathways intertwine, from the early years playing Kansas City swing, to embracing be-bop, religion and modern jazz. Music featured: The History of Jazz (excerpt) Rosa Mae My mama pinned a rose on me Willis Nite Life Variations Close to Five Lonely Moments Cloudy Kool Bongo Walkin’ and Swingin’ Corky Stomp Froggy Bottom Lotta Sax Appeal Mess-A-Stomp The Rocks Little Joe from Chicago Sammy Cahn & Saul Chaplin, arr. by ML Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band A Mellow Bit of Rhythm Twinklin’ Jelly Roll Morton, arr. ML Williams: The Pearls What’s Your Story, Morning Glory Scratchin’ in the Gravel Roll ‘Em Gjon Mili Jam Session Boogie misterioso Zodiac Suite (excerpt) In the land of Oo-bla-dee Mary Lou Williams Orchestra In the land of Oo-bla-dee A Fungus A Mungus Nicole Irving Berlin, arr. by ML Williams: Blue Skies (Trumpets no end) Tisherome New Musical Express Hymn to St. Martin de Porres The Devil O.W. Mary Lou’s Mass ML Williams, Sonny Henry: Lazarus Zodiac Suite Syl-o-gism Why? Chunka Lunka Ode to Saint Cecilie Medi II Blues for Timme Praise the Lord Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Johannah Smith for BBC Wales For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Mary Lou Williams https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000bdx1 And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Mary Lou Williams

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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Composer of the Week

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