Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Donald explores composer Claudio Monteverdi, one of the most important figures in the development of Western music. As a composer of both secular and sacred music, over the course of his career he wor...
5 Aug 20221h 10min
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Donald Macleod explores Beethoven’s life as a set of themes and variations, beginning with his very first musical excursions in the form in the early 1790s.Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) composed pi...
29 Juli 202257min
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Donald Macleod explores Ravel’s meteoric rise to fame and early chamber music - including a long-lost violin sonata, and a unique arrangement for four ondes martenots.The music of Maurice Ravel (1875-...
22 Juli 20221h 9min
Hélène de Montgeroult (1764-1836)
Donald Macleod begins the second leg of his “Tour de France” in three weeks focused on French composers across the centuries. This week, Donald introduces us to the remarkable life story and unsung mu...
15 Juli 20221h 17min
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Donald Macleod begins three weeks focused on French composers, in honour of this month’s ‘Tour de France’ cycle race. "I have followed the theatre since the age of twelve", so said Rameau to a young c...
8 Juli 20221h 7min
Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
Donald Macleod surveys one of the most famed Spanish composers of the Renaissance, Tomás Luis de Victoria.Tomás Luis de Victoria has become the most famed Spanish composer of the Renaissance and ranks...
24 Juni 20221h 1min
Dvořák and America
Donald Macleod explores Dvořák’s American years and uncovers what he achieved during his time there.Antonín Dvořák became the first Czech composer to achieve global fame. His gift for transforming the...
17 Juni 20221h 10min
Handel and the Crown
Donald Macleod explores Handel’s crucial relationship with the British monarchy, and how he and the Georgian Kings helped forge a new sense of British culture and identity.What could be more quintesse...
3 Juni 20221h 19min
