Orchestral Manoeuvres
As the BBC Proms begin, Tom Service ponders the seemingly never-ending allure of the orchestra for both composers and audiences, and how and why they've changed over the centuries.
As the world's greatest celebration of orchestras and orchestral music that is the BBC Proms gets underway, Tom Service attempts to shed some light on three centuries of orchestral manoeuvres... When did orchestras begin and why? Why do they have standardised sections of strings, woodwind, brass and percussion? Why did they seem to get bigger and bigger as the 19th century turned into the 20th? Why have so many of the great composers spent so much of their time writing for them? Are they still relevant to today's composers and what's their future?
And to find out what it's actually like to play in an orchestra, an individual working together with sometimes 100 others, Tom talks to Beverley Jones, double bassist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
David Papp (producer).
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Clip
-
![]()
The thrills of playing in an orchestra!
Duration: 01:58
Music Played
-
![]()
Richard Strauss
Don Juan, Op. 20
Performer: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Fritz Reiner.- RCA.
-
![]()
Benjamin Britten
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34
Performer: London Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Benjamin Britten.- Decca.
-
![]()
Anon.
Mater
Performer: Ensemble Melpomen. Performer: Conrad Steinmann.- Harmonia Mundi.
-
![]()
Henry Wood
Fantasia on British Sea Songs
Performer: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Sakari Oramo.- BBC Recording.
-
![]()
Claudio Monteverdi
L'Orfeo: Toccata
Performer: Concert d'Astree. Performer: Emmanuelle Haïm.- Virgin.
-
![]()
Claudio Monteverdi
L'Orfeo: Act 1: 'Lasciate i monte, lasciate i fonte'
Performer: Concert d'Astrée. Performer: Emmanuelle Haïm.- Virgin.
-
![]()
Claudio Monteverdi
L'Orfeo, Act 3: 'A lei volt'ho il camin per l'aer cieco'
Performer: Ian Bostridge. Performer: Concert d'Astrée. Performer: Emmanuelle Haïm.- Virgin.
-
![]()
Claudio Monteverdi
L'Orfeo, Act 3: Sinfonia
Performer: Concert d'Astrée. Performer: Emmanuelle Haïm.- Virgin.
-
![]()
Claudio Monteverdi
L'Orfeo, Act 5: Moresca
Performer: Concert d'Astrée,. Performer: Emmanuelle Haïm.- Virgin.
-
![]()
Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 22 in E flat major "Der Philosoph": I. Adagio
Performer: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Sir Simon Rattle.- Warner Classics.
-
![]()
Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 51 in B flat major: II. Adagio
Performer: The English Concert. Performer: Trevor Pinnock.- Archiv.
-
![]()
Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 31 in D major Horn Signal': I. Allegro
Performer: Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Performer: Robin Ticciati.- Linn CKD500 .
-
![]()
Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 6 in D major Le Matin': I. Menuet
Performer: The English Concert. Performer: Trevor Pinnock.- Archiv.
-
![]()
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major, K175: I. Allegro
Performer: Ronald Brautigam. Performer: Die Kölner Akademie. Performer: Michael Alexander Willens.- BIS.
-
![]()
Johann Sebastian Bach
Canata Zerreisset, zersprenget, zertrummert die Gruft BWV.205: Opening Chorus
Performer: Choir of the Age of Enlightenment. Performer: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Performer: Gustav Leonhardt.- Philips.
-
![]()
Johann Sebastian Bach
Cantata Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ BWV.177: Opening Chorus
Performer: Bach Collegium Japan. Performer: Masaaki Suzuki.- BIS.
-
![]()
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 'Pastoral': IV. Allegro
Performer: Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Performer: Nikolaus Harnoncourt.- Teldec.
-
![]()
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67: IV. Allegro
Performer: Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Performer: Nikolaus Harnoncourt.- Teldec.
-
![]()
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67: III. Allegro
Performer: Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Performer: Nikolaus Harnoncourt.- Teldec.
-
![]()
Richard Strauss
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40: Des Helden Walstatt
Performer: Staatskapelle Berlin. Performer: Daniel Barenboim.- DG.
-
![]()
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 8 in E-Flat Major: Part II: Alles Vergängliche ist nur ein Gleichnis
Performer: Schweizer Chamber Choir. Performer: WDR Rundfunkchor Köln. Performer: Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. Performer: David Zinman.- RCA.
-
![]()
Igor Stravinsky
The Rite of Spring, Part 1: L'Adoration de la Terre
Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
-
![]()
Maurice Ravel
Boléro
Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
-
![]()
Alexander Mosolov
Zavod (Iron Foundry)
Performer: State Academic Symphony Orchestra of The Russian Federation. Performer: Evgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov.- Melodiya.
-
![]()
Jean Sibelius
Symphony No. 7 in C major,Op.105
Performer: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Sakari Oramo.- BBC recording.
-
![]()
Dmitry Shostakovich
Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 'The year 1905'
Performer: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Semyon Bychkov.- BBC recording.
-
![]()
John Adams
Harmonielehre
Performer: The Multi-Story Orchestra. Performer: Christopher Stark.- BBC recording.
-
![]()
Igor Stravinsky
Petrushka: Scene 1
Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
Broadcasts
- Sun 15 Jul 2018 17:00BBC Radio 3
- Fri 23 Aug 2019 16:30BBC Radio 3
- Sun 16 Jul 2023 17:00BBC Radio 3
- Fri 21 Jul 2023 16:30BBC Radio 3
Why do we call it 'classical' music?
Tom Service poses a very simple question (with a not-so-simple answer).
Six of the world's most extreme voices
From babies to Mongolian throat singers: whose voice is the most extreme of all?
How did the number 12 revolutionise music?
How Schoenberg opened a new cosmos for composers and listeners to explore.
Why are we all addicted to bass?
Bass is everywhere, but why do we enjoy it? Join Tom Service on a journey of discovery.
Watch the animations
Join Tom Service on a musical journey through beginnings, repetition and bass lines.
When does noise become music?
We like to think we can separate “noise” from “music”, but is it that simple?
Podcast
-
![]()
The Listening Service
An odyssey through the musical universe, presented by Tom Service
