Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2 (The One With the Funeral March)
When the great pianist and composer Frederic Chopin decided to write a piano sonata in 1837, fashions had turned against the genre itself. Perhaps it was a feeling that Beethoven had essentially "finished" the genre, or perhaps it was a sense that a non-Germanic composer couldn't ...Show more
Gerald Finzi: Dies Natalis
As I've often said, I love doing Patreon-sponsored episodes in part because they allow me to discover music I might never have encountered otherwise. Today's episode is one of those, because the truth is that before I made it, I had heard of Finzi, but that was about it. I knew n ...Show more
In today's episode, Stephen and Joanna pour over some of the most passionate music ever performed and conceived - the violin concerto. They explore the mechanics of violin playing, discuss their favourite virtuoso fiddlers and also explore major works by Elgar, Brahms, Tchaikovsk ...Show more
When Mendelssohn wrote his Violin Concerto in 1844 he could hardly have imagined how famous and well loved it would become. In this programme, people tell how it has played an important part in their lives. Violinist Daniel Hope tells how he got caught practising this concerto se ...Show more