CACOPHONY: GREAT CLASSICAL MUSIC

A subtle extremist, in his Symphony no.51 Haydn throws down some extraordinary challenges to his horn players - can they beat the ‘immutable forces of nature’? Listening time 30 mins (podcast 9′, music 21′) Music here on YouTube , Spotify and [with links to first movement only] on Apple and Amazon played by The English Concert, conducted by Trevor Pinnock. They're playing on 'period instruments' w...

A cool and funky wedding anniversary present - a 15 minute classic from the most famous composer alive, Stravinsky's Dumbarton Oaks is stylish, sophisticated and hugely enjoyable!  Listening time 23 mins (podcast 8', music 15')   Music here, played by the Ensemble InterContemporain conducted by Pierre Boulez, on Youtube , Spotify , and (links to the 1st movement) on Amazon and Apple Music . If you...

Pianist Rolf Hind introduces one of the epics of piano music. A heady mix of virtuoso composing and devout faith, Olivier Messiaen's 20 reflections on the infant Jesus, Vingt regards sur l'infant Jésus, brings us a two-hour deep dive of awesome power and beautiful stillness. Listening time 38 mins (plus music 2hrs 8') Music here on Youtube , played live in concert by Rolf Hind. [ https://www.youtu...

Hot off the press! The wonders of modern tech allow us to enjoy Katharina Nohl's rhapsody for piano and orchestra, Spices, before it's even been performed by live musicians! And Katharina joins us to talk us through the recipe. Listening time 33 mins (podcast 15', music 18') The complete music here on Youtube .   What do you think? Tell me with a comment at www.cacophonyonline.com ! I'd love to he...

Always entertaining the crowds, Haydn brings up his 50 with typical style (before settling down for 50 more symphonies). Not a famous piece but well worth a listen! Listening time 27 mins (podcast 9', music 18') Music here on Youtube , Spotify , Amazon and Apple  Musics  played by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Béla Drahos. You can buy the recording as a download from Presto music: htt...

It's the Women’s World Cup of Classical Music! And it's THE FINAL! USA vs Republic of Ireland Complete music here : hthttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCXUbmBaA9OoRjafAn_k1zTnHR8cH9qyj Please listen to the music and then: vote here : https://forms.gle/XJoU1Vr3MfWraQL48   Voting open NOW   Please share the podcast widely, by telling people you know and getting them to listen and vote! If you want...

Maja S K Ratkje joins Cacophony at the Women's World Cup to explore the fun and joy of writing music and choose pieces by her Norwegian colleagues. But there must be something in the Norwegian water, as there's the same tiny inspiration for several of the composers! The complete pieces on Maja's list can be heard here : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCXUbmBaA9Orpqp5R5jfX-LzBIjoUeRim Listening...

It's Cacophony… at the Women’s Football World Cup! A glorious celebration of music from around the world, all written by women, and chosen specially for Cacophony by leading female musicians. Singer, Gabriella di Laccio is our guide to music by women from Brazil - a melting pot of traditions and cultures that ends up with music that sounds... Brazilian! Listening time: podcast 27mins, music playli...

It's Cacophony… at the Women’s Football World Cup! A glorious celebration of music from around the world, all written by women, and chosen specially for Cacophony by leading female musicians. In this episode we turn to Canada, where Melissa Hui's selection is typically diverse with living composers who are first nations, Canadian born and immigrant. Melissa brings her thoughtfulness and insight to...

It's Cacophony… at the Women’s Football World Cup! A glorious celebration of music from around the world, all written by women, and chosen specially for Cacophony by leading female musicians. We shift the focus to England, with Roxanna Panufnik's choice of rich and satisfying pieces from a line up of stellar composers.   Listening time: podcast 20mins, music playlist 23 mins The complete music is...

It's Cacophony… at the Women’s Football World Cup! A glorious celebration of music from around the world, all written by women, and chosen specially for Cacophony by leading female musicians. Elena Kats-Chernin presents her choices of music from Australia - composers who all work hard and write music of vitality, invention, intensity and often fun! Listening time: podcast 24mins, music playlist 25...

It's Cacophony… at the Women’s Football World Cup! A glorious celebration of music from around the world, all written by women, and chosen specially for Cacophony by leading female musicians. In this epsiode, Inés Medina Fernández presents her choices of music from Spain, carefully chosen from accross the country and including including famous musical names we might know - but pieces we definitely...

It's Cacophony… at the Women’s Football World Cup! A glorious celebration of music from around the world, all written by women, and chosen specially for Cacophony by leading female musicians. This episode features music from the Netherlands and Marion von Tilzer's choices of music that gets us more connected. We'll hear how, when a performer is relaxed, it can be like being in the audience...or wr...

It's Cacophony …at the Women’s Football World Cup! A glorious celebration of music from around the world, all written by women, and chosen specially for Cacophony by leading female musicians. This epsiode we hear top young composer, Sage Shurman, getting super excited - in a pretty chilled Californian kind of way - for both the World Cup football and her choices of pieces by living women American...

It's Cacophony …at the Women’s Football World Cup! A glorious celebration of music from around the world, all written by women, and chosen specially for Cacophony by leading female musicians. In this episode we hear from Katharina Nohl, founder of the Swiss Female Composers Festival, with her choices of music from Switzerland and how giving female composers greater exposure helps plant their music...

By turns grand and genial with moments of great inventiveness and wit, Louise Farrenc's Nonet for wind and strings is a bit of magic! Listening time 37 mins (podcast 7', music 30') Music here on Youtube , Spotify , Amazon and Apple  Musics (tracks 7-10) played by the Intercontinental Ensemble with tons of style and (unlike some of the other recordings) totally in tune! You can buy the recording as...

Meeting his boss's insatiable desire for new content 'forced' [his word] Joseph Haydn to write original, inventive music that sounds as fresh and full of life today as when it was written. And he wrote so much great music that I only heard this piano trio for the first time this week - and it's wonderful stuff. Listening time 19 mins (podcast 6', music 13')   The music is here, played by the incom...

110 years ago in Paris, Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring caused a furore and changed music forever. Did the police have to be called? It's still a piece that shocks and stuns and is filled with something amazing every second. Listening time c45 mins (podcast, 12', Music 33')   Music here on Spotify , Amazon and Apple Music played by the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie with conductor, Peter Eötvös. You...

A rarity from Wales (a Welsh rare-bit?), Grace Williams's orchestral piece Penillion surprises, delights and has an epic grandeur. It's terrific stuff and I think you'll love it! Listening time 25 mins (podcast, 7', Music 18')   Music here on Youtube  played by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Owain Arwel Hughes What do you think? Tell me with a comment at www.cacophonyonline.com !...

Another great, short piece, here's the first of Joan Tower's Fanfares celebrating risk-taking and adventurous women. This is both celebratory and substantial, plus a workout for brass and percussion. Listening time 8 mins (podcast 5.5', music 2.5') Listen to the music, Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No.1, here on Youtube , Spotify , Apple Music or Amazon music played by the St. Louis Symphony Orch...

A short podcast about the shortest of pieces, yet Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man still packs a punch and seems to point to big issues. 'No taxation without representation'? Perhaps today's call should be 'No representatives (from the Head of State down) who don't pay their taxes!' Listening time c10 minutes (podcast 6', music 3')   Listen to the whole piece here, played by the San Fran...

Often on the edge, in life and music, Beethoven goes to extremes on the piano to show us the extreme depth of his feelings. His Appassionata Sonata is every bit as intense as its name suggests! Listening time 33 mins (podcast 10', music 23') Listen to the whole piece here, played by Maurizio Pollini on piano on Youtube , Spotify , Apple Music (this links to mvt 1 and you need tracks 23,24,25) and...

Lost for 150 years and then, because it was so good, presumed to have been written by her brother, Fanny Mendelssohn's Easter Sonata for piano is passionate, intense, lyrical and dramatic... and the story of its rediscovery is no less compelling. Listening time c36 mins [11' podcast, 21 or 25' music]   The complete music is here in the original 1970s recording by Eric Heidsieck on Spotify , Youtub...

English folk music is often typically nostalgic and melancholy. Cacophony goes in search of happiness with Malcolm Arnold's English Dances - pretty, witty and bright! Listening time 24 mins (podcast 6', music 18') Music here, played by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Penny on Youtube , Spotify , Apple Music (tracks 1-8 English Dances Set 1 op.27 and Set 2, op.33) and Amazon (...

Haunting and melancholy music from my hometown, Vaughan Williams's Norfolk Rhapsody No.1 features the old songs of fisherman and the last days of a way of life. Like the local landscape it's bleak but beautiful!  Total listening time 18 mins (podcast 7', music 11') Here's Joe Anderson, James ‘Duggie’ Carter and the Reverend Alfred Huddle: The music is here on  Youtube ,  Spotify   Apple Music  and...