The Power of Love Songs

Tom Service explores the enduring power of love songs.

• 33 mins

How Do You Make a National Anthem?

Tom Service on the music, meaning and occasional madness of national anthems.

• 29 mins

Schubert - The Dark Side

Tom Service delves into the dark side of Franz Schubert.

• 30 mins

The bells, the bells...

The mystery, magic and music associated with bells.

• 30 mins

The Listening Service Extra 9 of 12 - Tennis Partners

Tom looks at Schoenberg’s love of Gershwin, who was also his tennis partner in Hollywood.

• 3 mins

The Listening Service Extra 1 of 12 - Who am I?

Schoenberg’s objection to being dubbed a “famous theoretician and controversial musician”

• 3 mins

The Listening Service Extra 2 of 12 - Heir to the German Mainstream

Tom looks at why Schoenberg felt a strong lineage from Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Bach

• 3 mins

The Listening Service Extra 3 of 12 - Dissonance

Tom explores what Schoenberg meant by the dissonance and how he broke free from tonality.

• 3 mins

The Listening Service Extra 4 of 12 - Schoenberg’s IDEA

Schoenberg’s conception of what the “idea” of a piece of music really was...

• 3 mins

The Listening Service Extra 5 of 12 - Boiling Water

Schoenberg’s experience in the new atonal world...

• 3 mins

The Listening Service Extra 6 of 12 - Twelve Tones

Schoenberg’s distillation and defence of his theory of composition with 12 tones...

• 4 mins

The Listening Service Extra 7 of 12 - Expressive Melodies

Tom looks at Schoenberg’s demonstration of how to harmonize a melody to maximum effect...

• 4 mins

The Listening Service Extra 8 of 12 - Alban Berg

We listen to Schoenberg’s praise of his pupil, Alban Berg...

• 3 mins

The Listening Service Extra 10 of 12 - Do the correct notes matter?

Tom looks at Schoenberg’s plea to musicians to play the correct notes in his String Trio.

• 2 mins

The Listening Service Extra 11 of 12 - Twelve-tone music and its reception

We hear Schoenberg on the reception of his music in America, Europe.

• 3 mins

The Listening Service Extra 12 of 12 - Schoenberg’s Compositional Vision

Tom explores how Schoenberg hears the music that he is going to write.

• 4 mins

What Makes a Song?

Tom Service explores what makes a good song work.

• 30 mins

In space no-one can hear you sing...

Tom Service explores why space-inspired music sounds the way it does.

• 30 mins

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Tom Service explores the finale from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

• 29 mins

Deep Listening: Pauline Oliveros

Tom Service explores deep listening, a practice created by composer Pauline Oliveros.

• 29 mins

Music - It's About Time

Tom Service explores how music warps and changes our sense of how time is flowing.

• 30 mins

Brevity

Tom Service explores brevity in music in the company of sonic artist JLIAT.

• 28 mins

Who Wrote the First Folk Song?

Tom Service considers the question of who wrote the first folk song.

• 28 mins

Brahms - Behind the Beard

Tom Service considers whether Brahms had the most famous beard in classical music.

• 28 mins

Breaking Free: Martin Luther's Revolution

Tom Service explores the power and politics of communal singing.

• 28 mins

Endings

Tom Service explores how pieces of music end, asking what endings mean.

• 28 mins

What's the Point of the Conductor?

Tom Service explores the role of the conductor.

• 29 mins

Hay Festival 2017

In a special edition from 2017's Hay Festival, Tom Service explores setting words to music

• 41 mins

The Power of Three

Tom Service asks why we love to harmonise in thirds and why sometimes thirds go rogue.

• 29 mins

I Got Rhythm

Tom Service discovers why we find rhythm irresistible.

• 28 mins