Barbara Strozzi (1619 – 1677)
The singer, and composer Barbara Strozzi neither held any position at church or court, nor had a consistant patron, and yet she published eight volumes of her own music, and had more secular music in ...
10 Mar 20231h 11min
Thomas Tallis (1505 – 1585)
“So great a musician are you.....that if the Fates carried you off.....music would be mute.” So wrote a contemporary of Thomas Tallis, showing us just how highly this composer was regarded in his own ...
20 Feb 202359min
Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884)
Donald Macleod explores how Smetana created a musical Czech identity The title of Smetana’s most popular work, ‘Ma Vlast’, gives us a clue to what drove him through much of his career. It translates ...
10 Feb 20231h 14min
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
As performer, composer, impresario, musical director, and teacher, Antonio Vivaldi was a key figure in the musical life of Baroque Italy. Thanks to his set of Concertos “The Four Seasons”, he remains ...
3 Feb 20231h 8min
Mel Bonis (1858 – 1937)
Mel Bonis's name may not be a familiar one these days, but she produced somewhere in the region of three hundred compositions. There's no doubt that she was sensitive to gender discrimination. It's wh...
27 Jan 202346min
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Donald Macleod explores the turbulent life of Dmitry Shostakovich, and asks the ultimate question: Who was he? A faithful Soviet lackey… or a secret dissident?Dmitry Shostakovich, like his home countr...
20 Jan 20231h 3min
Max Richter (b 1966)
Donald Macleod chats to Max Richter, one of the world’s most in-demand composersGerman-born British musician Max Richter is one of the most influential composers of his generation. A streaming sensati...
6 Jan 20231h 10min
More One Hit Wonders: Part 2
Donald Macleod presents another selection of composers who are most famous for a single work. Last Easter, Composer of the Week explored the lives of ten composers whose music we adore but mainly only...
30 Des 202247min
