Composer of the Week Podcast Folgen

Donald Macleod delves into the character and music of Camille Saint-SaënsThis week’s episode begins with a look at Saint-Saëns the innovator, who introduced new-fangled ideas to an opera-loving Parisian public. Donald investigates the driving force behind the composer’s unstoppable ambition and his dogged determination to find an audience for his music. Next, the playful side of Saint-Saëns’ character - one which he kept under wraps in public, yet amongst friends and in private correspondence he sparkled with wit, and it reveals itself in some of his most popular and enduring music. We hear about the many obstacles Saint-Saëns encountered in his attempts to be recognised as a serious operatic composer, and finally, the composer’s critical views on emerging musical trends in the final decades of his life, when he was condemned as a reactionary for his outmoded attitudes.Music featured: Guitares et mandolines Havanaise Piano Trio No 1 in F, Op 18 (1st mvt) Piano Concerto No 2 Danse Macabre Tarantelle Piano Quintet in A minor Op 14 (final mvt) Cello Concerto No 1 Septet La Cigale et la Fourmi Wedding Cake Waltz La Coccinelle Suzette et Suzon Tournoiement ‘Songe d’opium’ Six Studies for the Left Hand, Op 135 (Nos 4, 5 & 6) Le Carnaval des Animaux La Princesse Jaune: Overture O Cruel Souvenir (Henry VIII) Samson et Dalila: Act II (excerpt) Bacchanale (Samson et Dalila) Proserpine: Act II (excerpt) L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise (5th tableau) Fantaisie for violin and harp Piano Concerto No 5 (1st mvt) Romance for flute and piano Organ Symphony (2nd mvt)Presenter: Donald Macleod Producer: Deborah Preston for BBC WalesFor 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 Camille Saint-Saëns: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001d2qAnd 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

Donald Macleod looks at five key environments that shaped Billy Strayhorn's personal and musical trajectory.Donald starts the journey in Homewood, Pittsburgh, where Billy Strayhorn’s early life was over-shadowed by poverty and a violent father. Over six years of toil as a “soda jerk and delivery boy” he saved up for music college, but an Art Tatum record showed him that everything he loved about classical music was there in one form or another in jazz. Strayhorn cut free and moved to New York, where his path crossed with Duke Ellington. He was quick to discover an exciting new world of opportunity, playing and writing for Ellington’s famous band – a complex relationship that continued for almost thirty years. Work took him to Hollywood - Donald explores the reasons why this turned out to be both an opportunity and a source of disillusionment. We also hear of Strayhorn’s love affair with Paris, the city where he found the night-life and the artistic independence he craved, and where he was given the chance to record his first album under his own name. Finally, Donald charts the ups and many downs of Strayhorn's final years, which he spent in Riverside Drive, New York.Music featured: Take the “A” Train Lush Life Valse Something to Live For Fantastic Rhythm Suite for the Duo My little Brown Book The Hues Snibor Tonk Passion Flower Your Love has faded Three and Six Grouya/Anderson, arr. Strayhorn: Flamingo Chelsea Bridge Strayhorn/Ellington: The Perfume Suite Clementine Ellington/Strayhorn/Gaines: Just a-sittin' and a rockin' Rain Check Pentonsilic You're the One Tchaikovsky, arr Strayhorn: The Nutcracker Suite Boo-dah Ballad for very tired and very sad lotus eaters Johnny Come Lately Satin Doll Music for The Love of Don Perlimplin for Belisa in their Garden The Newport Jazz Festival Suite Multicoloured Blue Day Dream UMMG Ellington/Strayhorn: Smada Cue's Blue Now Far East Suite Blood Count Cashmere Cutie Le Sacre Supreme Lotus Blossom Presenter: Donald Macleod Producer: Johannah Smith for BBC WalesFor 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 Billy Strayhorn: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00016tc 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

Donald Macleod presents five takes on the life and music of Gioachino Rossini.Donald starts by unpacking the winning formula Rossini hit on right at the start of his operatic career. Aged 18, Rossini was thrown in at the deep end, learning on the job at Venice’s Teatro San Moisè, and the structural groundplan he concocted for his early farces continued to come in handy later in life. Rossini is best known as a composer of comic operas, but Donald introduces us to his serious side, looking at three of his opere serie: Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra, Zelmira and Ermione. Next, a look at Rossini’s life through the enthusiastic but distorting lens of the writer Stendahl, the composer’s earliest biographer and an eyewitness of his most productive period. Donald then delves into the large collection of music that Rossini didn’t have to write – his forays into other genres and forms that came out of his spare time and retirement. Finally, we journey to Paris, to explore the composer’s on-off relationship with the city where he wrote so many of his most celebrated works.Presenter: Donald Macleod Producer: Chris Barstow for BBC WalesFor 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 Gioachino Rossini: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00013x1And 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