CACOPHONY: GREAT CLASSICAL MUSIC

I played this over a week ago and still the tunes dance around inside my head - it's the jazz- and latin-fuelled brilliance of the Symphonic Dances from Leonard Bernstein's smash hit musical, West Side Story - perhaps the greatest musical there is? Let me know! Listening time 34 minutes (podcast 10', music 24') Complete performances of the music on Youtube (filmed concert performance with The Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, conducted by Mikko Franck), Spotify and Apple Music (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Christian Lindberg, conductor). The Apple link only plays the first track - you'll have to work out the rest, sorry. What do you think? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are easy, great, ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe/ review and keep listening! Thanks to NY resident, Emma Cotter for the photo - actually taken from Queensboro bridge, so it's an East Side Manhattan photo, but in the right uptown/ downtown area! Thanks for listening!

I'm no fan of horror films - too scary for me - but, in any case, nothing really scares us more than the thoughts in our heads! I do love scary music though and Béla Bartók wrote the best. Music for strings, percussion and celesta is unusual, gripping, terrifying and thrilling. It's also brilliant at clearing my mind of any 'unneccessary' thinking. Listening time 40 mins (podcast 11', music 29'). Listen to the complete music, played by the awesome Budapest Festival Orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer on Spotify or Youtube, or Susanna Mälkki conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic on Apple Music (where you have to find the tracks after track 1, sorry) Sometimes, especially with unfamiliar, complex, music I find it's good to have something to watch - it can help guide our ears a bit, and make concentration easier. There's are two exellent filmed performances on youtube: this one shot during the pandemic with no audience, with the Oslo Philharmonic and conductor Vasily Petrenko, and this one from The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Alan Gilbert. It's got a noisy audience, but the France Musique cameracrews are allowed to move around the stage, which makes for much more interesting video than you often get with orchestras on tv. Which means they catch things like this fantastic smile of musical- and colleague- enjoyment from the harpist too: Watch these few seconds anyway! You can buy the recordings as downloads, here (Fischer) (& here (Mälkki)) What do you think? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are easy, great, ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe/ review and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

When Haydn came to London he was treated like a superstar: wined and dined by the great and good, and his concerts were the hottest ticket in town. The 'Miracle' Symphony, no.96, was Haydn's first written for Londoners and is designed to win us over with its charms. Music to put a smile on our faces and a spring in our step! Listening time c32 mins (podcast 10', music 22') Click here for complete performances of the Symphony on Youtube, Spotify or here. What do you think? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are easy, great, ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe/ review and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

A mix of grit, swagger and persistence help us to make it through in the big city. Shirley Thompson's Urban Livinggives us all this plus, perhaps, a tinge of fear and some pheonmenal piano sounds in 7 minutes of [mainly] self-assured city beats. The only performance of the music I can find is here, on Soundcloud, played by the Shirley Thompson Ensemble. Listening time 12 mins (podcast 5', music 7') What do you think? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are easy, great, ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe/ review and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

I've come over all nostalgic at the prospect of returning to London in a few days, so here's a swaggering piece of escapism back to the heady optimistic days of the 1930s in Eric Coates London Suite. Listening time 21 mins (podcast 7’, music, 14’) Music here on youtube, Apple Music or Spotify, conducted by John Wilson, who's unbeatable at this sort of thing, with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. What do you think? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. You can buy a recording as a download here. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are easy, great, ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe/ review and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

Bursting full of life, Ravel’s music for this everyday love story of shepherd meets goatherd meets Greek god of nature is dreamy, sensual, and downright thrilling, all delivered in glorious orchestral technicolor. Meet Daphnis & Chloé! Listening time: 25 mins (podcast 9', music 16 Complete music is here on Spotify or Apple Music played by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Myung-Whun Chung. (Start at Track 16 on Apple Music.) Music here on Youtube with pictures but (no choir) played by the London Symphony Orchestra with conductor Simon Rattle. There is a video of a great performance conducted by Mr Chung, but the sound is a bit dodgy. It's on Youtube here What do you think? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are easy, great, ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe/ review and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

Comfortably crossing cultural boundaries, composer Reena Esmail draws on both western and Indian traditions to write distinctive music that is at home in both. Darshan is a terrific solo violin piece which transports us to a timeless state and may even offer a glimpse of the divine! Listening time 21 mins (Podcast 9', Music 12') Music on Youtube (video performance), Spotify or Apple Music (Bihag and Charukeshi) What do you think? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. You can buy a recording as a download of Vijay Gupta's performance on Bandcamp. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are easy, great, ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe/ review and keep listening! Extract from The Americans for the Arts 33rd Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy given by Vijay Gupta provided by AmericansForTheArts.org. Thanks for listening!

Shakespeare reaches people across the world with his insights into our shared humanity and his plays have inspired countless composers to write music - providing their own way for us to connect to Shakespeare, each other and ourselves. Tchaikovsky’s The Tempest overture gives us a torrential storm, a big love theme that beats Romeo & Juliet, and one of the most atmospheric, goose-bump-inducing beginning and end to any piece of music. And almost no one knows it at all! Listening time 33 mins (podcast 9’, music, 24’) Music here youtube with pictures and then here, brilliantly played by the Orchestra of St Luke's with conductor Pablo Heras-Casado on Spotify or Apple Music. What do you think? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. You can buy a recording as a download here, but you have to buy a whole album to get the brilliant Spotify/Apple recording. A cheaper alternative is the equally assuredly brilliant Berlin Philharmonic and Claudio Abbado If you'd like to support Cacophony there are easy, great, ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe/ review and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

How is it that when an artist shares their pain we can all feel it? And how does listening to music full of suffering make us feel better? I don't know how or why, but I know that it does. Dmitri Shostakovich knew all about war, loss, and suffering. His 8th string quartet is desperate but defiant and deeply moving, bleak but often beautiful and whilst it doesn't provide any answers it somehow gives consolation to us all. Listening time 28 mins (podcast 8', music 20') Music here youtube, and then here on Spotify or Apple Music. If you use Spotify with adverts I'd avoid it for this piece, because this is really a piece you don't want interrupted! What do you think? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. You can buy a recording as a download here. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are easy, great, ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe/ review and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

We've all got pieces of music that instantly remind us of special times and places in our lives. What are yours I wonder? (Tell me!) We're in Sri Lanka at the moment and, bizarrely, the piece of music we've heard more than any other in the last few months has been Beethoven's perfect little piano piece, Für Elise, but perhaps not as we're used to hearing it... Here's the story of why, and how it's in the ears of everyone Sri Lanka. (Listening time 8 mins: podcast 5', music 3') Apologies for the gratuitous idyllic beach photo. Listen to the piece played by Rudolf Buchbinder on Spotify or Apple Music or on Youtube (Georgii Cherkin). What do you think? What are the pieces of music from the soundtrack to your life? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are four easy great ways - share this episode with everyone you know. - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

Individual, passionate, soulful music rooted in the southern states, Florence Price's Symphony No.1 was the first by a black woman composer to be played by a major US orchestra back in the 1930s. A Moment of History, but those 'twin handicaps' [her words] meant that her music has hardly been played since and we've been missing out on really great music from a distinctive voice - it's time to put that right! (Listening time 47 mins: podcast 8', music 39') Music here on Spotify or Apple Music in a brand new recording with another of the 'great' US Orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin or on Youtube with the New Black Repertory Ensemble & Leslie B. Dunner, conductor. What do you think? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. You can buy the Philadelphia recording as a download here. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are four easy great ways - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

Thrilling, chilling, but still somehow delighting in its brilliance, Dvořák's Noon Witch packs a punch and leaves you stunned. Also in this episode, free parenting advice and some musings on Dr Suess! Listen to the complete piece here on Apple Music, Youtube, or Spotify, in fab live-in-concert recordings from the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Sir Charles Mackerras. Unfortunately you can't get these as a download. So if you want to buy it, try this recording from the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Rafael Kubelik for only 55p. If you enjoyed this, check out previous episodes for more excellent Dvorak and if you like Witches head for Musorgsky's Night on Bare Mountain. Let me know what you think! Ways to get in touch bellow: Comment at cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter or now you can leave me a voice message If you'd like to support Cacophony there are four great ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

One of music's ultimate mood improvers, Dvořák's "Slavonic Dances" put a smile on everyone's face. Not merely shallow dance tunes, this is music that shows us the warmest, most generous view of humanity. It's no wonder everyone loves them! Listening time 15-45mins (Podcast is 10.5', total music length is 35') Listen to the music here on Spotify, Apple Music, or Youtube (this is harder to dip in and out of, because it's all one track on Youtube. You get another 8 dances too that he wrote later. Just as good, some say... better!) They're thrilling performances from the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor, Rafael Kubelik, which you can buy as high quality download here. What do you think? Which dance is your favourite? We'd love to hear from you at cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are four great ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

A few years back my Mum got me to buy her this for Christmas and I've finally got around to 'discovering' it for myself. It's powerful, intense and profound: Schubert's Fantasy for piano duet. I think you'll love it. [Listening time 25 mins - podcast 6', music 18') Listen to the complete piece on Youtube, Apple Music or Spotify performed by the wonderful Maria João Pires and Ricardo Castro, which you can also buy as a download here, for a couple of quid. The official title is Fantasy in F minor for piano four hands, D.940 What do you think? We'd love to hear from you at cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter. If you'd like to support Cacophony there are four great ways: - share this episode - share the 100 second trailer - buy us a cuppa at ko-fi.com - subscribe and keep listening! Thanks for listening!

One of my favourite things on TV in recent years has been Wolf Hall. Debbie Wiseman's haunting and memorable music captures all the tension, mood and atmosphere. Music here on Youtube or Spotify both taken from the official soundtrack which you can buy at lots of places. What do you think? I really want to know, so please tell me with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com. You can support Cacophony here, by 'buying me a ko-fi'. Please share the podcast with everyone you know - start by sharing this episode or the 100 second trailer! Thanks for listening!

Everyone knows and loves Silent Night, right? But you probably haven't heard it sound quite like this. It probably won't actually give you nightmares, but it will certainly stay with you (Listening time 7mins: podcast 3', music 7'). And despite the bleak music, I do wish you a happy Christmas! Music here with pictures, played by Starikov Stepan and Nail Mavliudov: or on Spotify or Apple Music, played by Daniel Hope and Alexei Botvinov, which you can also buy here as a download for less than £1. Tell me what you think - is this a cacophony, a joke or a thought provoking masterpiece? Comment at cacophonyonline.com If you'd like to support Cacophony, you can buy me a ko-fi here. Please share our love of great music by sharing this episode and/or the trailer: www.cacophonyonline.com/trailer Thanks for listening!

If you want a change from Christmas pop, Christmas baroque is the way to go - here's a sparkling little gem from Arcangelo Corelli - a great 15 minute way to reset, reflect and energise - it manages all these things! (17 mins: podcast 3', music 14') Music here on Spotify or Youtube with pictures. Officially it's Concerto Grosso in G minor op.6 no.8 "Fatto per la notte di Natale" Happy Christmas! What do you think? I really want to know, so please tell me with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com. You can support Cacophony here, by 'buying me a ko-fi'. Please share the podcast with everyone you know - start by sharing this episode or the 100 second trailer! Thanks for listening!

A bold statement from composer Carl Nielsen, that music IS life, who demonstrates it with a breathtaking symphony of awesome power and overwhelming optimism. The perfect piece for Cacophony's 100th episode. (50 mins: podcast 15', music 35') Music here with pictures from the terrific Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia conducted by Dima Slobodeniouk - and check out the lovey smile and wink from the oboe player at 5'50"! or here on Spotify with the equally terrific Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Michael Schønwandt. You can buy this as a download here. I think Carl Nielsen looks like John Bercow, what do you think? Please let me know what you think of Cacophony, this music, and lookalikes with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com Please share this episode and also the 100 second trailer cacophonyonline.com/trailer If you're able to support Cacophony financially we're very grateful. You can do that at ko-fi.com Thanks for listening!

For Cacophony episode 99, I wanted to explore something deeply personal. Mahler's Symphony No.4 is one of the first pieces I discovered for myself and it moves me like very little else. Sometimes pained, sometimes playful, but most often sublime, the third movement takes you all the way to heaven, just by opening your heart. Listening time 33 mins (podcast 11', music 22') Music here, on Youtube or Spotify with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen (who conducted the performance I recorded off the radio back in the day) and the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. The solo singer in the last movement if you listen to that is Barbara Hendricks. You can buy a high quality download of the whole piece for the shockingly low price of £1.11 here! What do you think of this brilliant piece? What do you think of Cacophony? Tell us with a comment at the website, Facebook or Twitter. Please share this episode and the trailer! If you'd like to support Cacophony with cash you can click here to 'buy us a Kofi"! Thanks for listening!

It's inexplicable to me, but Anton Bruckner's music has been dividing opinion since he started writing around 140 years ago. He goes in search of the meaning of life and comes back with... Marmite! Personally, I love it. There are few better noises than the transcendental climax of a Bruckner symphony. In this episode, it's the thrilling end of his 3rd. (Podcast 8', Music 13') Music here with video or sound only on youtube or Spotify. What do you think? I really want to know, so please tell me with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com. You can support Cacophony here, by 'buying me a ko-fi'. Please share the podcast with everyone you know - start by sharing this episode or the 100 second trailer! Thanks for listening!

One of the closest [classical] things to electronic dance music, John Adams's Shaker Loops is one of my favourite things. Dreamy and reflective music mixed with thrilling dance music that leaves us ecstatic, maybe even transcendent! Music here on Spotify or Youtube with the London Chamber Orchestra conducted by Christopher Warren Green in the classic recording I was given by my best school mate, Mark. You can buy it here in hi-quality download. If you like pictures, there's a video option too that's pretty good with nice lighting (for classical music videos anyway!) What do you think? I really want to know, so please tell me with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com. You can support Cacophony here, by 'buying me a ko-fi'. Please share the podcast with everyone you know - start by sharing this episode or the 100 second trailer! Thanks for listening!

Freethinking, inventive - quiet and mysterious one moment, giddy and playful the next, Debussy's préludes - short pieces for piano - are great escapes for your imagination! Listening time 26 mins (podcast 9', music 17') Music here on Spotify or Youtube with the excellent Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. The pieces on the play list are: 1. Danseuses de Delphes (Dancers of Delphi) 5. Les collines d'Anacapri (The hills of Anacapri) 8. La fille aux cheveux de lin (The girl with the flaxon hair) 9. La sérénade interrompue (Interrupted serenade) 10. La cathédrale engloutie (The submerged cathedral) You can buy a download of the pieces - in top quality sound here What do you think? Please tell me with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com. You can support Cacophony here, by 'buying me a ko-fi'. Please share the podcast with everyone you know - start by sharing the trailer! Thanks for listening!

Powerful and moving, Lili Boulanger's cry From the Bottom of the Abyss (Psalm No.130) shows her deep commitment to her faith, and to her music-writing, in the face of major illness. Diana Ambache, long-time champion of women composers, joins me to talk about Boulanger's short life, major talent and this subtle masterpiece for huge choir and orchestra. Listening time: 42 mins (18' podcast, 24' music) Music here on Youtube or Spotify The recording I've chosen features Manchester's BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and soloists Ann Murray and Neil MacKenzie, conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier. What do you think? Tell me at Cacophonyonline.com. You can support Cacophony here, by 'buying me a ko-fi'. Please share the podcast with everyone you know - start by sharing the trailer! Thanks for listening!

The intensity, joy, heartbreak and thrills of great sporting moments are almost unmatchable... except by those in great music. The magic of the Olympics is transformed by the alchemist John Williams into four minutes of musical, life-affirming perfection. Olympic Fanfare and Theme is one of my favourite Williams pieces, and that's really saying something! Music here, on Spotify or Youtube in a terrific performance that brings out every tiny detail from the LA Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. You can buy a download of the piece in top quality sound for a mere 17 British pence! What do you think? Best Williams piece ever? Tell me at Cacophonyonline.com. You can support Cacophony here, by 'buying me a ko-fi'. Please share the podcast with everyone you know - start by sharing the trailer! Thanks for listening!

Celebratory music from Haydn that's pretty perfect and sure to leave you in a good mood and feeling happy! Music here on youtube or spotify Listening time 34 mins (podcast 7', music 27') What do you think? Let us know with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com If you like it, why not buy a download? You can get that here for less than a pound, or elsewhere. Cacophony doesn't make and money from it, but the musicians will make much more than through streaming. You can support Cacophony here. Please share the podcast with everyone you know - maybe by sharing the trailer? Thanks for listening!

Even more irresistible than the Italian football team and their ace national anthem is Verdi's overture to Nabucco. It's rousing and joyous and one of my favourite things. Music here, on Youtube or Spotify, super-stylishly played by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado. Listening time: 13 mins (Intro podcast, 6'; music 7') What do you think? Let us know with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com If you like it, why not buy a download? You can get that here in top quality lossless sound for THIRTEEN English pence! or elsewhere... You can support Cacophony here.

I get floored every time by these six songs of lost youth, love and life written on the cusp of World War 1 by a young composer who didn't make it through. Raw, simple and unforgettable. Music here, with the terrific partnership of Roderick Williams and Iain Burnside, on Youtube or Spotify. Listening time: 21 mins (Intro podcast, 8'; music 13') Here you'll find all the words to the songs. Recorded in inescapable heavy rain, so apologies for the sound quality on this episode! What do you think? Let us know with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com If you like it, why not buy a download? You can get that here in top quality lossless sound for an English fiver or elsewhere. Cacophony doesn't make any money from it, but the musicians will make much more than through streaming. You can support Cacophony here.

How Scottish do you have to be to be worthy of the name? If you're going to write a Scottish Symphony should it contain Scottish music? Does Mendelssohn pass the test? Regardless, his Symphony No.3 is brilliant, moving and surprising... Music here on Youtube or Spotify (full piece. Part 2 on the Youtube vid starts at 20:46) Listening time: 29 mins (Podcast 9', music 20') or 49' if you listen to the whole piece. I'd love to hear from you! If you liked this (or didn't) please tell me with a comment at cacophonyonline.com If you really like the piece, please consider buying a recording. The artists get very little from streams, so the best way to support them is to buy the album. You can buy it as a download here, and elsewhere. If you like Cacophony and want to support it please click here to 'buy me a coffee'! Please subscribe to the podcast and share it with your friends and family. Thanks for listening!

Every time I hear it, I'm amazed by the power and emotion in Mendelssohn's music. Inspired by a trip to Scotland, his Symphony No.3 delights and surprises, without resorting to bagpipes! Music here on Youtube or Spotify Listening time: 32 mins (Podcast 12', music 20') I'd love to hear from you! If you liked this (or didn't) please tell me with a comment at cacophonyonline.com If you really like the piece, please consider buying a recording. The artists get very little from streams, so the best way to support them is to buy the album. You can buy it as a download here, and elsewhere. If you like Cacophony and want to support it please click here to 'buy me a coffee'! Please subscribe to the podcast and share it with your friends and family. Thanks for listening!

Asked to write funeral music for his friend and patron during the middle of a war, with millions dying all around plus a shortage of musicians, Heinrich Schütz finds hope, beauty and joy among the devastation. His Musikalische Exequien [Funeral Music] is a 400-year old masterpiece that still works its magic. Music here on Youtube or Spotify, sung with urgent intensity by The Sixteen. Listening time: 39 mins (Podcast 11', music 28') If you want to know exactly what's being sung, you can download the cd booklet, which contains (among much else) the words in German with a rather old-churchy-English translation. Your feelings are important! If you liked this (or didn't) please tell me with a comment at cacophonyonline.com If you really like the piece, please consider buying a recording. The artists get very little from streams, so the best way to support them is to buy the album. You can buy it as a download here, and elsewhere. If you like Cacophony and want to support it please click here to 'buy me a coffee'! Please subscribe to the podcast and share it with your friends and family. Thanks for listening!

Come on the fantastic - and fantastical - musical adventure that is Anna Clyne's This Midnight Hour. You'll be thrilled, excited, maybe a bit scared, ultimately consoled... or maybe not... What does this great music do to you? Music here on youtube with video, or listen here on Spotify. Listening time 19 mins (podcast 5', music 12-14'). Please let me know what you think of This Midnight Hour and of this episode of Cacophony by leaving a comment. The Baudelaire poem which inspired Clyne can be found on this fab page. If you want to buy a recording you can get a high quality download for £1.98 here, or elsewhere! Subscribe to and share the podcast! If you like Cacophony, you might want to buy me a Ko-fi? Thanks for listening!

Exhilarating and fun, Beethoven's fourth symphony is like one of the best days out. This is Beethoven in the best of moods and relishing what's possible. It's a joyful ride! Music here on Youtube or Spotify. Listening time 43 mins (podcast 11', music 32') What do you think? Let us know with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com If you like it, why not buy a download? You can get that here for less than a pound, or elsewhere. Cacophony doesn't make and money from it, but the musicians will make much more than through streaming. You can support Cacophony here.

This is a new discovery for me - and it's deeply wonderful. Beethoven's late string quartet song of thanks: written as he recovered from severe illness, it's music that heals and restores our mind and soul. Music here on Youtube, beautifully filmed and played by the Danish String Quartet. Or on Spotify with the fab Takacs Quartet. Listening time: 31 mins (Podcast 12', music 17/19') If you liked this (or didn't) please tell me with a comment at cacophonyonline.com If you want to buy a recording of this piece you can get a high quality FLAC download here for only 13p which is still more than the quartet get through Spotify! [Details: Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132, Track 3: Heiliger Dankgesang e. Genesenden an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart!] If you like Cacophony and want to support it please click here to 'buy me a coffee'! Please subscribe to the podcast and share it with your friends and family. Thanks for listening!

Why is Beethoven - perhaps - the greatest composer of them all? One thing he does is expand everything - the volume goes up to 11 and down to almost nothing. Also he cared deeply, about music and humanity. In his Coriolan Overture he makes us care about an obscure Roman general intent on [self-]destruction... and it's electrifying. Listening time 14 mins (Podcast 6', Music 8') Music here with pictures on youtube, or here on Spotify If you want to buy a recording you can get the Spotify recording here as a download in highest quality FLAC for a mere 13p! This is not an affiliate link, I just want to point you to a really good recording and even at 13p, the artists make more money than if we keep streaming. Please help Cacophony by telling us what you think! Leave a comment here, at Cacophony's website. Subscribe to the podcast, rate it, review it and share it widely! If you're enjoying Cacophony and want to help, you can support us, by 'buying me a ko-fi'! Come back for more and thanks for listening!

After three years 'vegetating' in New York, Béla Bartók produced a handful of late great pieces. A dying man's birthday gift to his wife, his life-affirming, often easygoing and playful last piano concerto is, perhaps, my favourite concerto of all time... Listening time 35 mins (Podcast 11', Music 24') Music here with pictures on youtube, or here on Spotify If you want to buy a recording you can get the Spotify recording here as a download . This is not an affiliate link, I just want to point you to a really good recording. It's played by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. FLAC gives the highest sound quality. Please help Cacophony grow, and develop in the way you'd like, by doing some of these things: Tell us what you think with a comment at Cacophony's website. Subscribe to the podcast, rate it and share it widely! If you're enjoying Cacophony and want to help, you can support us, by 'buying me a ko-fi'! Thanks for listening!

When Tristan & Isolde take a magic love potion it's not exactly happy ever after. Love wins in the end, it's just they're both dead. Passionate, overwhelming, transformative music from Richard Wagner sends them on their way and leaves us all in a state of transcendent bliss. Listening time 30 mins (Podcast 11', Music 19') Music here on Youtube and Spotify. The Youtube video from the Orchestra National de Lille starts and end with music by Sibelius: the melancholy Valse Triste to start and then, after the Wagner, the beyond fab Symphony No.3, which gets the Cacophony treatment in episode 54. Please help Cacophony grow, and develop in the way you'd like, by doing some of these things: Tell us what you think with a comment at Cacophony's website. Subscribe to the podcast, rate it and share it widely! If you're enjoying Cacophony and want to help, you can support us, by 'buying me a ko-fi'! Thanks for listening!

Democracy and our rights, that earlier generations fought and went to prison, to obtain are fragile and always need to be looked after closely. Ethel Smyth's life and music serve as a good reminder to us all that we need to be ready to stand up and make our voices heard in order to make change happen. Listening time 19 mins (Podcast 11', Music 8') Music here on Youtube The lower banner in the picture reads "It appears that your demands are just". Shakespeare innit? (it's from Henry IV part 2) The words to the very from the March of the Women are: Shout, shout, up with your song! Cry with the wind, for the dawn is breaking; March, march, swing you along, Wide blows our banner, and hope is waking. Song with its story, dreams with their glory Lo! they call, and glad is their word! Loud and louder it swells, Thunder of freedom, the voice of the Lord! Please help Cacophony grow and develop in the way you'd like by doing some of these things: Leave a comment to tell us what you think at Cacophony's website. Subscribe to the podcast, rate it and share it widely. If you're enjoying Cacophony and want to help, you can support us, by 'buying me a ko-fi'! Thanks for listening!

Battered, bruised but not broken, Tchaikovsky's emotional rollercoaster ride continues... Does this ride finish with squeals of terror or delight? You may want to listen to episode 79 before this (but it's not essential) Listening time: 34 mins (Podcast 10', music 24') Episode 2 music here on Youtube or Spotify (but start at track 2). Whole piece here on Youtube or Spotify Did you enjoy this? Please help Cacophony grow and develop in the way you'd like by doing some of these things: Leave a comment to tell us what you think at Cacophony's website. Subscribe to the podcast, rate it and share it widely. If you like this piece, you can buy it here or elsewhere in top quality download (FLAC is ‘lossless quality’, MP3 is compressed, so might loose some impact). This isn't an affiliate link, I just want to make sure you get a great recording, by the always brilliant Budapest Festival Orchestra and conductor, Iván Fischer. The artists get almost nothing via youtube/Spotify... If you're enjoying Cacophony and want to help, you can support us, by 'buying me a ko-fi'! Thanks for listening!

The song goes that life is a rollercoaster, baby, and few can give us all the emotional ups and downs as well as Tchaikovsky. The first part of this ride is stormy, turbulent, passionate and full of loss and yearning, as Tchaikovsky is battered by what fate and life throws at him. As the other song [almost] goes: He gets knocked down, but he gets up again! Listening time: 31 mins (Podcast 12', music 19') Music here on Youtube (first 19 mins only) or Spotify. Did you enjoy this? Please help Cacophony grow and develop in the way you'd like by doing some of these things: Leave a comment to tell us what you think at Cacophony's website. Subscribe to the podcast, rate it and share it widely. If you like this piece, you can buy it here or elsewhere in top quality download (FLAC is ‘lossless quality’, MP3 is compressed, so might loose some impact). This isn't an affiliate link, I just want to make sure you get a great recording, by the always brilliant Budapest Festival Orchestra and conductor, Iván Fischer. The artists get almost nothing via youtube/Spotify... If you're enjoying Cacophony and want to help, you can support us, by 'buying me a ko-fi'! Thanks for listening!

Punchy, gut-churning and wow-inducing: Miserere by Scottish composer James MacMillan reflects deep religious faith and 1000 years of church music tradition, with music to move all of us, regardless of belief. Music here on Youtube or Spotify. (Listening time 16 mins: podcast 4', music 12') Please help Cacophony grow and develop by doing some of these things: Leave a comment to tell us what you think at Cacophony's website. Subscribe to the podcast, rate it and share it widely. If you like this piece, you can buy it here or elsewhere in top quality download for a couple of quid (FLAC is ‘lossless quality’, MP3 is compressed, so might loose some impact). This isn't an affiliate link, I just want to make sure you get a great recording, it's by The Sixteen. The artists get almost nothing via youtube/Spotify... If you're enjoying Cacophony and want to help, you can support us, by 'buying me a ko-fi'! Thanks for listening!

Sometimes the best things happen by accident! Allegri's 'Miserere' is famously beautiful, ethereal and transports us out of ourselves - or maybe deeper within. But the 'best bit', when one of the singers soars high above the others, wasn't actually composed at all - could it be music's greatest mistake? And how did it happen? Let's find out... Music here on Youtube or Spotify. (Listening time 20 mins: podcast 8', music 12') Please help Cacophony grow and develop by doing some of these things: Leave a comment to tell us what you think at Cacophony's website. Subscribe to the podcast, rate it and share it widely. If you like this piece, you can buy it here or elsewhere in top quality download (FLAC is ‘lossless quality’, MP3 is compressed, so might loose some impact). This isn't an affiliate link, I just want to make sure you get a great recording, it's by The Sixteen. The artists get almost nothing via youtube/Spotify... If you're enjoying Cacophony and want to help, you can support us, by 'buying me a ko-fi'! Thanks for listening!

I'm always a bit surprised to find myself humming bits of Ma Vlast - My Country by one of the Czech's favourite sons. I guess I must really love it! Feared by the Nazis, loved by the Czechs, this is the acceptable face of nationalism, and its full of great tunes and causes deep satisfaction. Music here on Youtube or Spotify. (Listening time 32 mins: podcast 10', music 23') Please help Cacophony grow and develop by doing some of these things: Leave a comment to tell us what you think at Cacophony's website. Subscribe to the podcast, rate it and share it widely. If you like this piece, you can buy it here or elsewhere in top quality download (FLAC is ‘lossless quality’, MP3 is compressed, so might loose some impact). This isn't an affiliate link, I just want to make sure you get a great recording: it's the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jakob Hruša. Please buy recordings! The artists get almost nothing via youtube/Spotify... If you're enjoying Cacophony and want to help, you can support us, by 'buying me a ko-fi'! Thanks for listening!

American composer Amy Beach was so popular that her followers held ‘Beach Clubs’* to play and listen to her music! Her Quartet for strings is lean and powerful, as well as being a great jump-off into the world of string quartets: a place fraught with danger for the players, where composers go to bare their souls. Take a listen and join the Beach Club! Music here on Youtube or Spotify. (Listening time 21 mins: podcast 7', music 13') Please leave a comment to tell us what you think at Cacophony's website. Please subscribe to the podcast and share widely. If you like this piece, you can buy it here or elsewhere in top quality download (FLAC is ‘lossless quality’, MP3 is compressed, so might loose some impact) for a couple of quid! This isn't an affiliate link, I just want to make sure you get a great recording. It's the Ambache Chamber Ensemble. Please buy recordings! The artists get almost nothing via youtube/Spotify... If you're enjoying Cacophony and want to help, you can support us, by 'buying me a ko-fi'! Thanks for listening! *This means I can milk the terrible Beach pun, cos it was used in her lifetime in the 1930s and 40s!

Poignant, peaceful, maybe even transcendental music for choir with cello: Svyati by John Tavener is the result of a lifetime of spiritual enquiry and of perfecting a simple and profound musical style. Beautiful. Listening time 19 mins (Intro 5', music 14') Music on youtube or Spotify Please leave a comment to tell us what you think at Cacophony's website. Please subscribe to the podcast and share widely. If you like this piece, you can buy it here or elsewhere in top quality download for pennies! This isn't an affiliate link, I just want to make sure you get a great recording. It's Tavener: Svyati 'O Holy One', played by cellist, Steven Isserlis with the Kiev Chamber Choir. It may only be a few p, but it's more than the artists would get via youtube/Spotify! If you're enjoying Cacophony and want to help, you can support us, by 'buying me a ko-fi'! Thanks for listening!

What's in a name? Not much it seems. An 'Intermezzo' is often a short piece that breaks up something bigger... but Brahms used it as his go to name for any short piano pieces where nothing else came to mind! In any case, these three Intermezzos for solo piano from late in Brahms's life are beautiful, wistful, dreamy and give us a perfect break from whatever you've got going on... Like all Brahms pieces they're musically perfect too. Listening time 21 mins (Intro 6', music 15') Music on youtube or Spotify Please leave a comment to tell us what you think at cacophony's website. Please subscribe to the podcast and share widely. If you really like these pieces, why not buy them? Only 51p in the UK! This isn't an affiliate link, I just want to make sure you get a great recording. It's Brahms Intermezzi op.117 played by Maria João Pires. Thanks for listening!

Delicate, sparkling and perhaps surprisingly touching, here are three short diversions from the various trials of modern life - written 300 years ago by Couperin and brilliantly rewritten in 2006 by Thomas Adès who takes obvious delight in the sound of music. Listening time 20' [podcast intro 7', music 13'] Francois Couperin liked nice titles - we're listening to The amusements, Sleight of hand and The soul in torment from his Pieces for Harpsichord. Music here on Youtube or Spotify. Please let me know what you think at cacophonyonline.com or Facebook. Please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast and tell everyone you know about it! Thanks for listening!

Great music to mark the US Presidential hand-over! Raucous fun alongside the deep and meaningful, Three Places in New England is challenging, confusing, complex, silly and surprising music that leaves me baffled but smiling and moved too! A hundred years old but way ahead of its time from one of America's first great composers, Charles Ives. Listening time 28mins (10' intro, 18' music) Listen to the music on Spotify or Youtube Let me know what you think at cacophonyonline.com or Facebook. Please rate and subscribe to the podcast and tell everyone you know about it! Thanks for listening!

If you've got any new year sluggishness, sweep all that away with a blast of Respighi's Roman Festivals - four vivid musical pictures featuring love songs and folk dances, wine, religion and state-sponsored violence (lions eating Christians)! Listening time c32 mins [8' podcast, 24' music] Listen to the the music here on youtube or spotify and also here with pictures, played by the same Italians (the fabulous and fabulously titled Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma and their conductor Antonio Pappano) or this awesome band of 18s and under, the National Youth Orchestra of GB(&NI) Please like, rate and share the podcast. Please visit Cacophonyonline.com to let us know what you think! Thanks for listening!

Three musical geniuses really make the magic come alive in Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's adaptation of Tchaikovsky's classic, Nutcracker. Essential Christmas listening to bring joy to the word! For the original Tchaikovsky Nutcracker check out Episode 50 of Cacophony Music on Youtube or Spotify Listening time 38 mins [8' podcast, 30' music] Please like, rate and share the podcast. Please visit Cacophonyonline.com to let us know what you think! Thanks for listening!

There's so much unknown great music out there! You almost certainly won't have heard this great piece or have heard of its writer. I certainly hadn't. Henriëtte Bosman's wrote her Concert Piece for violin and orchestra for her fiancé. He died before he could play it, and in her grief she couldn't compose any more. Then the war and Nazi occupation of Amsterdam cut short her career as a performer too. I'm joined by my friend, violinist Marina Solarek, who tells us the story of an amazing woman, her intense and passionate concerto, and why it's still so hard to hear great music by women composers. ...And the great music shows us that we're missing out. Music on Youtube or Spotify Listening time 36 mins [18' each, podcast and music] Marina's group, the Solarek Piano Trio, dedicates itself to the lives of extraordinary composers who happen to be women. Check them out! Please like, rate and share the podcast. Please visit Cacophonyonline.com to leave a comment and see some cool pictures of Bosmans, Koene and Belinfante. Thanks for listening!