Donald Macleod explores the key influences and music of Edvard Greig. Donald Macleod looks at the people and places that had a significant impact on Edvard Grieg’s life and work, meeting Norwegian fiddlers, folksong collectors and nationalist firebrands along the way. From Henrik Ibsen, who commissioned Grieg to write his most famous work, to the composer's wife Nina, for whom he wrote all his songs, this week Donald explores the key influences on the composer’s outlook and development. Music Featured: Holberg Suite: I. Praeludium Symphonic Dances (3rd & 4th mvts) Piano Concerto No 1 (2nd ..read more

Donald Macleod follows Mozart and his family on an ambitious European adventure. When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was just seven years old, he and his family set out on an epic journey. Their goal: to travel through Europe and become famous; bringing their awesomely talented children to concert halls, homes and royal palaces across Germany, Belgium, France, Britain, the Netherlands and Switzerland. At the start of their trip, young Wolfgang could already perform and improvise better than most adults. By the time they returned home, three and a half years later, he’d grown into a fully-fledged comp ..read more

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Charles Villiers Stanford. With Jeremy Dibble Marking the centenary of his death, Composer of the Week explores the remarkable life and music of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. Stanford was one of the leading musicians of his generation and, along with Parry and Mackenzie, he was one of the main protagonists in Britain’s musical renaissance at the end of the 19th century. Born in Dublin, Stanford rose to the very top of the British music scene, as both a conductor and composer. He also maintained strong links to Germany, following his studies in Lei ..read more

Donald Macleod explores the lives and music of uncle and nephew Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli share a name that dominated Venetian music during the late 16th and early 17th century. Both uncle and nephew were organists and composers, and their music was linked inextricably with the exceptional city in which they lived and worked. From the organ loft of St Mark’s Basilica to the resplendent palazzos of merchants and noblemen, they provided the soundtrack to Venice’s golden age, with its numerous feast days and celebrations. But together, they would also pioneer an am ..read more

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone is cited as one of the most experimental and influential composers of all time, undoubtedly recognised as one of the world’s greatest ever composers of music for film. A legendary figure who over the course of his career won numerous awards, and accolades, his innovative soundworlds helped to define what film music could be for multiple genres of cinema. Morricone’s music extended far beyond the desert landscapes of Spaghetti Westerns, not just to other genres on the Silver Screen, but also into the worlds of pop mus ..read more

Kate Molleson & Nastasha Loges explore the life and music of Johanna Senfter. If you know the name Johanna Senfter, it is probably in connection with her teacher, the composer, Max Reger. Senfter won the Arthur Nikisch prize for composition in 1910, and went on to be one of the most prolific of all late-Romantic female composers, writing at least 150 works, yet she has all but disappeared from our history books. In between the two World Wars she was very active within the world of music too, founding the Oppenheim Music Society, organizing her own concert series and founding the Oppenheim ..read more

Donald Macleod delves into the world of Venetian composer, Maddalena Sirmen Maddalena Sirmen was born in Venice in 1745 and christened Maddalena Laura Lombardini. Her poverty-stricken family were unable to support her and by the age of seven she was admitted to one of Venice’s ‘Ospedali’. The Ospedali were hospitals and orphanages set up to help the needy but also celebrated for the musical education they provided to their residents . Sirmen soon excelled in her training. By the age of fourteen she was accepted for additional music lessons in Padua with the famed violinist, Tartini, and became ..read more

Karl Jenkins has had a career of contrasts – from accomplished jazz fusion, prog rock and the worlds of film and advertising, to phenomenal success in concert halls around the world as a composer of music that delights audiences and often defies categorisation; music that is rhythmic, emotional – and hugely popular: he just might be the most performed living composer in the world. In these special programmes, Sir Karl Jenkins joins Donald Macleod to talk about his life and music ahead of the composer’s 80th birthday. Music Featured: Benedictus One World: In the Beginning One World: Let’s Go (T ..read more

Kate Molleson explores the legends and lore of Igor Stravinsky Music Featured: Rite of Spring Fireworks Three Movements from Petrushka (Russian Dance) The Firebird: Infernal Dance The Rite of Spring, Part 2: The Sacrifice Three Pieces for String Quartet (Excentrique) Four Russian Peasant Songs Song of the Nightingale (The Mechanical Nightingale) Renard (excerpt) Soldier’s Tale (excerpt) Les Noces: The Wedding Feast Pulcinella Suite (Sinfonia) Suite Italienne Sonata for Piano Symphonies of Wind Instruments Octet Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments Oedipus Rex(excerpt) Serenade in A for pian ..read more

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach’s life throws a light on the political turbulence and identity within 19th century Europe. He struggled to break into the musical establishment of Paris, but he didn’t struggle with creating a dazzling array of work for the theatre. His 98 stage works established and defined what operetta was, paving the way for modern musical theatre. Music Featured: Les contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann), Act III: Barcarolle (arr. A. Sedlar) Grand Concerto in G Major for cello and orchestra, Concerto Militaire (I. Allegr ..read more