Joanna Lumley & The Maestro

This week Joanna and Stephen are joined by a very special guest, Stephen's personal piano tuner, David Widdicombe. From concert grands, upright 'domestics' and honkytonks, David has tuned them all. Having worked with the world's most prestigious piano maker, Steinway, for 3 decades David tells us about his life working alongside the world's most gifted players, how fractions of millimetres make al...

This week we’re diving into two bohemian heroes of classical music, Bohuslav Martinů and Leoš Janáček. Stephen remembers encountering the music of Martinů at Cambridge, and being confronted by the "pure simple joy" of it. From the lyricism of Martinů, we work back towards Janáček – another gifted Czech composer – and get to grips with the fairy-tale essence of The Cunning Little Vixen, Sinfonietta...

Which note could the Maestro not live without? Where are all the female composers? And is there a better quintet going than Franz Schubert's Trout? In this mini episode Joanna puts your questions to the Maestro.

This episode is all about the written language of music, the 'hieroglyphs' or 'blobs on the stave'. Stephen and Joanna discuss the connection between reading music and words, elaborating on symbols, sounds, expression, speed and time signature. Stephen tests the boundaries of Joanna's musical literacy with a test and Wagner offers a 'moderate' interpretation of tempi.

Which earworm keeps the Stephen from his bedtime reading? What's stopping Joanna from going to Glastonbury? Is the Maestro being clear enough for his engraver? In this mini episode Joanna and Stephen dive into the email inbox once again...

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, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius.

In this mini episode, Joanna and Stephen explore the most pressing questions. What is the Maestro's preferred sobriquet? Music that sounds like it's from a different dimension, and how one should conduct music for the love of three oranges?

Is it a faun? Is it moonlight? Yes, it's Claude Debussy! Over the next 30 minutes, Joanna and Stephen discuss the musical development of French impressionism. We see how three composers, Debussy, Ravel and Boulez, summoned images through sound and set the imagination free.

In this mini episode, Joanna and Stephen field more vital questions from listeners, such as, why does transposition jangle the Maestro's mind? Which musical keys suit certain moods? And most importantly, what not to wear when meeting the President?

Is there anything quite so majestic as the British brass band? Joanna and Stephen describe their first encounters with these ensembles, how they evolved and which pieces reach out to the soul. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, brass bands first appeared as a means of fostering community ties among workers. These bands have since become popular in various contexts, from marches and compe...

In this bonus mini episode with the actor, writer and broadcaster Stephen Fry, we discuss why audiences matter, the transcendent force of pianist Ervin Nyiregyházi and what artificial intelligence really means for classical music.

The celebrated organist, choir director and presenter Anna Lapwood joins Stephen and Joanna to discuss a case of mistaken identity at a book launch several years ago. We also get in to the wonderful organ music of Lutosławski, Bach, Duruflé and rock out to Faithless when the Ministry of Sound took over the Royal Albert Hall in 2023.

When can one acceptably pour a bucks fizz during the Christmas holidays? Did the Holy Trinity (Beethoven, Mozart and Bach) care much for the festive period? Which carol is best for crooning? And which book does Joanna read every year at Christmas? Joanna and Stephen have opened the email inbox and answer your yuletide queries and concerns.

Christmas has landed and The Music Room is in full reverberation. From carols to ditties, oratorios and Wham! the Maestro and Joanna leave no stone unturned in this Christmas special.

Did you think we'd forgotten to get you a Christmas present? Far from it! Joanna was Ken Bruce's special guest on Greatest Hits Radio, so we thought we'd slip a little extra episode under your tree in the shape of their brilliant interview. If you want to hear the whole show - and listen to the music Joanna chose - go to https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/shows/ken-bruce/id-216166043/

Joanna and Stephen fire up the email inbox in the week's mini episode, diving into listeners' questions on everything from how conductors convey depth and complex emotions; how to coax a child prodigy and how not behave in the opera halls of 1870.

This week, Joanna and the Stephen are joined by Hollywood royalty. On the eve Netflix's worldwide release of 'Maestro' - a new biopic about the world renown conductor Leonard Bernstein - Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan drop into the Music Room to discuss the making of a Hollywood love story like no other. Furthermore, Bradley tells us how he meticulously practiced the art of conducting for the r...

How do great conductors like Furtwängler and Haitink command an orchestra? Do some conductors have a signature sound? And how did meeting the driver of The Flying Scotsman in Woolworths almost derail Stephen's musical destiny? In this mini episode, Joanna and Stephen reveal all.

Today, Joanna and the Maestro are joined by the actor, writer and national treasure, Stephen Fry. The trio discuss Stephen’s deep love for classical music, which began in childhood with the soft sounds of Schubert, Brahms and Chopin emanating from his father's practice room. They discuss the deeply emotional music of composers like Bach through to Mahler and Schoenberg. Fry explains how great conc...

This week's mini episode continues our theme of 'unsung heroes'. And today we're diving into the works of another prodigious French composer, Lili Boulanger, celebrating the flourish, colour and romance of her music.

One of the UK's most loved vocalists and broadcasters, Aled Jones, sits down with Joanna and Stephen to discuss the moment he unearthed a trove of unreleased music from his childhood. In this candid conversation, Aled reveals what it was like meeting Richard Branston at Virgin Records as a teenager, recording 16 albums in 4 years before his voice broke and becoming the 'radio son' of the veteran b...

This week's mini episode comes to you as a pair. Stephen and Joanna discuss their favourite 'unsung heroes' - this time focusing on the strange and absorbing late works of Charles Koechlin. 'Les Bandar-Log' is part of a cycle of symphonic poems based on Kipling's Jungle Book, completed in 1940. The score touches on a range of early 20th-century styles, from Debussyan impressionism to 12-note techn...

Which three composers tore up the rule book and changed music forever? Joanna and Stephen begin this episode with the cold-blooded murderer, Carlo Gesualdo - a dreadful man who composed sacred music. Known for plundering the depths of emotion in his madrigals, Gesualdo's 'word-paintings' broke the 16th century Venosan equivalent of the internet. We also discover how Beethoven reimagined the sympho...

We enjoyed speaking to Rob Brydon so much that we kept the tape rolling after the interview finished – much to our joy. In this extra mini-episode, Rob runs through the 'schlocky' teen movie he’ll never forget and how to start a conversation in the style of Richard Burton.

We're back! Starting a new series with comedian, actor and Welsh icon Rob Brydon who discusses the poetry of Bruce Springsteen, his life on stage and a burgeoning love for jazz. Sharing stories about early life in Porthcawl, Swansea and the wonderfully flamboyant 'Mr Crute', Rob tells us how his life took a turn towards musicals later in his career and how he's never looked back (even if his finge...