Classical

Disco, gospel, Bach, Chinese groove, a splash of the organ and a twist of New Year groove for this very eclectic end-of-year cocktail.

The Swan, The Carnival of the Animals, the Organ Symphony, Samson and Delilah, all peaks in the oeuvre of Camille Saint-Saëns, a popular composer whose death 100 years ago is being commemorated by the Paris Opera. But behind the fame there was a secret, revealed by the author of the celebrated book, Vertige de l’hélice.

In search of the lost voice of the castrati, the countertenors who bring to life the fifth voice, and the complex and fascinating genre placing voices somewhere between traditional ideas of ‘male’ and ‘female’. Here we reconnect with a repertoire driven by emotion.

A marvellous Autumn spent in happy melancholy – crocuses, yellowing leaves and magic mushrooms give voice to Brahms and Mouloudji, Strauss, Vivaldi, Miles Davis and Bruckner.

The femme fatale... A classic figure in novels and operas or a macho fantasy? Circe, Dalila, Manon and Medea (to name but a few) have traversed our imagination for centuries. Ancient man (and bourgeois writers) expressed fear and passion for the ‘eternal feminine’ via La Traviata, Salome and Lulu in the 19th century. For contemporary life we have Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears and Tina Turner, adored as much as they’re sacrificed.

Baroque passion, star castrati, vocal pyrotechnics, theatrical storms and strong emotions from Venice to Rome, and from paradise to hell.

In terms of music, he is Our Father. No need for a calling card, his immense works, even more than that of Mozart, speaks to everyone. Whether you want to meditate or dance amongst the stars, Bach is there, the master of rhythm and enchantment. The proof comes in the number of musical genres that continue to pay tribute to him.

There are two ways to hear the summer. One is with the light music of Bach, Beethoven, Haydn and Debussy. The other is with what emerged from the summers of love between 1968 to 1988 where house music and raves emerged. We will see that these two styles are far from being incompatible.

Music for the bedroom – for lovers, poets and kings. Featuring Purcell, Verdi, Léo Ferré, Depeche Mode, Monteverdi, Charles Trenet, Mel Bonis, Gérard Manset and Prokofiev.

Lully’s trumpets, Rameau’s musical revolution, Couperin’s and Poulenc’s melancholy... join us on a journey behind the scenes of this founding century of French aesthetics.
 

Ecstasy and pollen, feverish funk, electro sunrises, songs of change and seasonal dances from Vienna to Manaus.
 

Russian winters, icy impressions by Debussy and Joël Grare, northern lights with Sibelius and Saarihao, revisited baroque tremors in electro.

At the opera, coloratura is a voice capable of great ornamental virtuosity, especially with vocalisations and trills.

Violinist Rachel Podger has established herself as a leading interpreter of the Baroque and Classical music periods.

Our three-playlist series ‘Birdsong’ is a journey following the many influences of birds throughout the history of music. This is the third and last episode: From inspiration to freedom.

Our three-playlist series ‘Birdsong’ is a journey following the many influences of birds throughout the history of music. This is the second episode: From ornithology to Absolute.

The fleeting thoughts that arise whilst bathing with Satie and Ravel.

20 pieces of classical music inspired by the Devil.

A playlist that gathers spirits, spells and black magic...

We look at the artists who left their mark on Blur without whom their pop may not have tasted quite so delicious.

Why it is wrong to describe Frank Zappa as a brainiac and cynical musician...

"When the inexpressible had to be expressed, Shakespeare laid down his pen and called for music", Aldous Huxley in Music at Night.

"May God keep us safe from the bad neighbor, and from the novice violinist," says an Italian proverb.

The perfect playlist to help your kids develop the same impeccable taste in classical music as you.

This playlist focuses on composers' final works: complete or not, abandoned or interrupted by the very death of their authors.

Michel Legrand played the full spectrum of feelings in the same way he played the full scale of the 88 black and white keys.

Mozart, Salieri, Haydn. The musical goings on in Europe were rich in 1789!

The end is not limited to inescapable and final death. There are other kinds of endings, when we say goodbye or farewell, we leave one another, we depart.

Seasons, and winter in particular, have always inspired classical music composers.