Orchestral Manoeuvres

Tom Service considers composers' and audiences' never-ending commitment to orchestras.

• 28 mins

Pioneers of Sound - Proms 2018 Special

Why synths are so cool

• 29 mins

Devilish Musical Pacts

Tom Service signs his soul to the devil to explore the Faust story in music.

• 27 mins

Mahler's 8th Symphony - 2018 Proms Special

Dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight

• 28 mins

Folk Music - 2018 Proms Special

Tom delves in to folk music’s mysterious history ahead of Prom 27

• 29 mins

Britten's Sea Interludes - 2018 Proms Special

The sea in all its musical majesty

• 29 mins

Colour and Music - 2018 Proms Special

Ahead of Prom 45, Tom investigates the link between music and colour

• 29 mins

Endings - 2018 Proms Special

Time for the big finish. But what do endings in music mean? Should it all just fade away?

• 29 mins

Virtuosity - 2018 Proms Special

What does it mean to be a good - a really good - musician?

• 29 mins

Searching for Paradise - 2018 Proms Special

Exploring sacred music and how it transports us to the divine.

• 29 mins

Maxing out on Minimalism

Minimalism in music - is less really more?

• 30 mins

Technical Mastery

Music and technology - what do you do when anything is possible?

• 29 mins

Speed

A rollercoaster of a show as Tom experiences how music gets our hearts racing.

• 29 mins

The Cowpat Controversy

Calling 20th-century English music 'cowpat music' is just plain rude! And it's inaccurate.

• 30 mins

The Magical Forest

Enter the magical musical world of the forest. Your guide is Tom Service

• 30 mins

Extreme Classical!

What are the most extreme pieces of classical music ever written?

• 29 mins

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