Composer of the Week Podcast

Béla Bartók was regarded as one of Hungary’s greatest composers. His fellow countryman, the pianist Andras Schiff, called him “one of the giants in the history of music.” But he was also one of the founders of what we now call ethnomusicology, spending much of his time immersed in peasant life, collecting folk songs. As around him Europe was torn apart by conflict, Bartók found relief in rural life and took inspiration from these traditional tunes, incorporating them into his own compositions.
Music featured:
Romanian Folk Dances
Rhapsody for piano, Op. 1, BB36a, Sz. 26
Kossuth Symphonic Poem Sz21
Szekely Folksong, BB 34, "Piros alma"
3 Hungarian Folksongs from Csik, BB 45b, Sz. 35a
Eight Hungarian Folksongs
Allegro Barbaro
14 Bagatelles
For Children
Violin Concerto No. 1, BB48a, Sz 36: Andante sostenuto
7 Sketches, BB 54, Sz. 44
Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11
Four Dirges, Op. 9a
The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60
Village Scenes, Sz. 79
5 songs Op. 15
Hungarian Folksongs (5), for voice & orchestra, BB. 108, Sz. 101
44 Duos for Two Violins, BB 104, Sz. 98
Out of Doors, Sz. 81
Mikrokosmos, Book V
String Quartet No. 6, Sz 114
Piano Concerto No. 3, BB 127, Sz. 119
Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Alice McKee for BBC Audio Wales and West
For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Béla Bartók (1881-1945) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002vl6f
And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Camille Saint‑Saëns, a composer whose career was shaped as much by personality and circumstance as by precocious talent. Raised in Paris by strong‑minded women who recognised his gifts early, Saint‑Saëns grew into a formidable pianist and an alert observer of the musical world around him. He moved easily through the city’s salons, where reputations were made, ideas exchanged, and music absorbed as a social force as much as an art. Alongside influential relationships, including a lasting creative bond with Gabriel Fauré, Saint‑Saëns was drawn into a life increasingly shaped by travel.
Music featured includes:
Danse macabre, Op. 40
Calme des nuits (Deux Chœurs, Op. 68 No. 1)
Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75
Oratorio de Noël, Op. 12 (Movements 1–4)
Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 2
Tarantelle in A minor, Op. 6
Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 14
Violin Concerto No. 1 in A major, Op. 20
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
Le timbre d’argent (extract)
Marche héroïque, Op. 34
La jeunesse d’Hercule, Op. 50
A Voice by the Cedar Tree
Romance in C major, Op. 48
Romance, Op. 36
Le Déluge: Prelude
Samson et Dalila: “Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix”
Requiem, Op. 54 (extracts)
Suite algérienne, Op. 60: Prélude
Étienne Marcel: Ballet Music (extracts)
Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 33
Le carnaval des animaux
Oboe Sonata in D major, Op. 166
Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio Wales and West
For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002v8nk.
And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z.

This week, Donald Macleod traces the making of Joseph Haydn – from his long years of service to the Eszterházy princes on a remote Hungarian estate to his emergence as one of the most celebrated composers in Europe. Working in relative isolation, Haydn developed a distinctive musical voice while managing opera houses, orchestras and singers, gradually attracting attention far beyond the court. As new freedoms allowed him to publish and sell his music more widely, commissions came from Paris, Spain and London, and friendships in Vienna – most notably with Mozart – reshaped his artistic world. The programmes follow Haydn at a moment of transition, as growing fame sits alongside frustration, ambition and a readiness for change that would soon alter his life completely.
Music featured includes:
Baryton Trio No. 126: Finale
Philemon und Baucis: Triumph, dem Gott der Götter!
Il mondo della luna: Overture; Non aver di me sospetto
Symphony No. 59 in A major ‘Fire’
Armida: Se pietade avete, oh numi
L’isola disabitata: Fra un dolce deliro
Symphony No. 60 ‘Il distratto’: Presto
Piano Sonata No. 20 in C minor, Hob. XVI:20
Missa Cellensis, Hob. XXII:8: Gloria
Il ritorno di Tobia: Anna, m’ascolta
Symphony No. 81: Vivace
Piano Sonata No. 56, Hob. XVI:42
String Quartet Op. 33 No. 4: Finale
Piano Concerto No. 11 in D major
Symphony No. 98: Adagio
Stabat Mater: Sancta Mater istud agas
Symphony No. 85 in B flat major ‘La Reine’
String Quartet Op. 33 No. 5: Largo
The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross: Nos. 8 & 9
Symphony No. 77 in B flat major: Vivace
Three Pieces for Musical Clock: Tempo di minuetto
London Trio No. 3: Spirituoso
Arianna a Naxos
Symphony No. 92 ‘Oxford’: Finale
Libera me
Symphony No. 45 in F sharp minor ‘Farewell’: Finale
Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Audio Wales and West
For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002typ2.
And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z.

Donald Macleod talks to British composer, pianist and conductor Thomas Adès.
Music featured:
Hotel Suite from Powder Her Face
Gefriolsae Me, Op 3B
Arcadiana
Chamber Symphony
…but all shall be well
Powder Her Face
Still Sorrowing
Asyla
Concerto Conciso
The Tempest
Lieux retrouvés (Les champs)
Violin Concerto
Concert Paraphrase on Powder Her Face
In Seven Days
The Four Quarters
Totentanz
Coffee-Spoon Cavatina
Alchymia
Blanca Variations
Növények
Concerto for piano and orchestra
Aquifer
Produced by Luke Whitlock.
For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Thomas Adès: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002sq64
And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Gaetano Donizetti was one of Italy’s most prolific tunesmiths, with almost 70 operas to his name – about as many as Rossini, Bellini and Verdi all combined - whose arias still cut straight to the heart today. Donald Macleod follows his irresistible rise: from a child brought up in a dark, cramped cellar to become a pioneering master of the style known as bel canto. And like any opera plot, there’s triumph and tragedy, headaches and heartbreak…
Music featured:
L’Elisir d’amore
Gloria (from Messa di Gloria)
String Quartet No 5 in E minor
Waltz in G major
Zoraida
Amor marinaro
L’Esule di Roma
Lucrezia Borgia
Lucia di Lammermoor
String Quartet No 16
Maria Stuarda
Messa di Requiem
ll sogno “Nostre misere menti”
Il sospiro “Donna felice, stanca d’amore”
Poliuto
La fille du regiment
Les Martyrs
La fille du regiment
Maria Padilla
Trovatella “Sovra il campo della vita”
Don Pasquale
String Quartet No 18
Dom Sebastien: Seul sur la terre
Requiem: Offertorio – Lux Aeterna
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West.
For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002sd9n
And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z