BBC Radio 3

Composer of the Week Podcast

Music EN ↓ 666 episodes

BBC Radio 3's Composer Of The Week is a guide to composers and their music. The podcast is compiled from the week's programmes and published on Friday. It is only available in the UK.

Author

BBC Radio 3

Category

Music

Podcast website

www.bbc.co.uk

Latest episode

Jul 10, 2026

Where to listen?

Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soon

Podcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts

Get it on Google Play Install for free Android 5M+ downloads · 4.8 rating iOS soon

Episodes

Schubert 24.01.2014

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Franz Schubert

Vienna on the Brink 10.01.2014

Donald Macleod explores the music of Vienna, the most exciting cultural city in the world in the early 1900s and home of Mahler, Schoenberg and Freud.

The Sammartini Brothers 03.01.2014

Donald Macleod explores the lives and music of Giuseppe and Giovanni Sammartini

Beethoven 27.12.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven, focusing on how he transformed the classical legacy of Haydn and Mozart

70th Anniversary Special - Louise Farrenc 20.12.2013

Donald Macleod marks Composer of the Week's 70th birthday by featuring a composer suggested by Radio 3 listeners: Louise Farrenc

Iceland 13.12.2013

Donald Macleod explores the landscapes and vistas of Iceland, to discover its unique musical culture, including the work of its greatest 20th-century composer, Jon Leifs

Pietro Mascagni 06.12.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Mascagni, who triumphed in his early twenties with his opera Cavalleria Rusticana and, during his lifetime, was one of the most famous figures in Italy

Saint-Saens 29.11.2013

Donald Macleod explores the charming and eccentric variety of later works by Camille Saint-Saens

Britten 100 22.11.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Benjamin Benjamin Britten for the 100th anniverary of the composer's birth. From humdrum origins, he rose to be the pre-eminent British composer of his day.

Bill Evans 15.11.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Bill Evans, the 'poet of the piano' and the 'Chopin of jazz'. He came to prominence working with Miles Davis and played with Tony Bennett and Stan Getz

Ethel Smyth 08.11.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of composer, author and women's rights champion Ethel Smyth

Franz Joseph Haydn 01.11.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Haydn through another musical form apart from the symphony that the composer made his own, his music for trio

Lully 25.10.2013

Donald Macleod explores the work of Lully, the pre-eminent composer of the French court in the late 17th century, the founding father of French opera and a leading figure in the music of his era.

Chaminade and Holmes 18.10.2013

Donald Macleod, with the help of experts Marcia Citron of Rice University and Karen Henson of Columbia University, explores the life and work of Cecile Chaminade and Augusta Holmes

Verdi 200 11.10.2013

Donald Macleod explores Verdi's later life and music when, after years of honing his craft, he propelled opera from the world of the 19th century into the modern age

British Film Music 27.09.2013

Donald Macleod is joined by writer and film music expert John Huckvale to explore British film music. Covering over eight decades, their focus embraces Ealing comedy, Hammer horror, jazz and rock

Golden Age of Hollywood 20.09.2013

"Sound of Cinema" continues as Donald Macleod explores the soundtrack of The Golden Age of Hollywood, in the company of conductor and film music expert, John Wilson.

Gluck 13.09.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Christoph Willibald Gluck, seen as having 'reformed' opera in the second half of the 18th century, rescuing it from the excesses of the opera seria style

Dvorak 06.09.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Antonin Dvorak.

Sibelius 23.08.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, from his early years to his famous silent period

200 Years of the Royal Philharmonic Society 09.08.2013

Donald Macleod recalls the story of the Royal Philharmonic Society - and the remarkable roll-call of commissions and world premieres given by the Society during its two centuries of existence

Robert Schumann 02.08.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Robert Schumann, who drew his inspiration as much from literature and the dramas of his own life as from the music of the composers he revered

Tchaikovsky 26.07.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and works of Russia's most popular Romatic composer.

Ravel and His World 05.07.2013

Donald Macleod explores Ravel's life and music in context with his friends in the artistic group Les Apaches. As well as Ravel, there is music by Maurice Delage, Déodat de Séverac and Florent Schmitt

George Lloyd 28.06.2013

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of George Lloyd, the English Romantic composer who never stopped writing tunes, long after they had gone out of fashion.

Listen to the Composer of the Week Podcast podcast in Replaio

Radio and podcasts in one app - free, with no sign-up. Install today and do not miss the launch

Get it on Google Play

Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.