What counts as 'classical music'?

What do we actually mean when we talk about 'classical music'? What is or isn't it?

• 28 mins

Rossini - Master Chef and Maestro

A celebration of 'Signor Crescendo' Gioachino Rossini, operatic genius and gourmand.

• 29 mins

Concertos: All for one and one for all?

What is a concerto? Tom Service asks how they work and what it is like to be a soloist.

• 29 mins

The Nutcracker - Strange Enchantments

Think The Nutcracker is a super-saccharine classic for the feelgood season? Think again.

• 30 mins

How to Sing Classical - Vibrato!

Good vibrations or horrible wobbling? Why do singers use vibrato?

• 30 mins

Classical Icons

Who are the icons of classical music? And are they born or made?

• 30 mins

Riffs, loops and ostinati - the art of repeating yourself!

Tom presses repeat - again and again and again ...

• 31 mins

The Key to Keys

Tom Service asks why western music is in so many different keys and what exactly they are.

• 30 mins

Can music be gendered?

Can you hear 'masculine' and 'feminine' in music?

• 29 mins

The Double Bass

The elephant in the room? No, the Double Bass is much more.

• 30 mins

Bruckner and the Symphonic Boa Constrictors

Is listening to a Bruckner symphony really like being crushed to death by a giant snake?

• 30 mins

Anger in Music

Today at Sage Gateshead Tom finds out how music can induce, express and exorcise anger.

• 30 mins

The Power of One

What special magic happens in music where there is no harmony?

• 29 mins

Why are classical audiences so quiet?

Tom Service looks at why we are all so tense and silent during classical concerts. Shhhh!

• 29 mins

Ranked Amateurs

Amateur musicians' vital role in music and performance over the last three centuries.

• 29 mins

What Is Sound Art? And Why?

Tom Service considers the rise of sound art. Is it art music or something else?

• 28 mins

Sound of the Underground

What does underground sound like? From earth-inspired music to sounds of the earth itself.

• 29 mins

What's the point of practice?

Does practice make perfect? And what is perfect practice? Tom Service finds out.

• 28 mins

Countertenors - classical rock gods!

A celebration of the male singers who can hit the high notes!

• 28 mins

Better than background music?

Is music for theatre more than just a prop?

• 29 mins

Why do babies love music?

Tom Service asks why we seem to love music from the day we're born - are we born musical?

• 29 mins

Is complicated music better than simple music?

Tom Service looks at complexity in music - can we actually hear what's going on?

• 29 mins

Olivier Messiaen and the Interstellar Call!

In a live edition of The Listening Service, Tom responds to Messiaen’s ‘Interstellar Call’

• 30 mins

All the Tunes

After 1,000 years of written music, can there be any more new tunes?

• 29 mins

The Music of the Night

Tom Service discovers what happens to music at night.

• 29 mins

Al-Andalus: What makes music sound Spanish?

Tom Service looks for the essence of Spain in the music of later centuries.

• 29 mins

Prog Rock - apotheosis or nadir?

Tom Service looks at Prog Rock, and asks: apotheosis of rock music, or vapid pomposity?

• 29 mins

The Simple Truth

When is less more, and less less? How hard is it to achieve meaningful musical simplicity?

• 29 mins

Turn up the Volume, Dial up the Drama

Dynamics are crucial to the dramatic effect of music. Tom Service adjusts the volume.

• 29 mins

The Real Red Priest

Tom Service goes beyond the cliches to explore the music of Antonio Vivaldi.

• 29 mins