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PODCAST

Composer of the Week

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.

music

All Episodes

61:28

Thomas Adès

Composer of the Week ·

2026/03/27

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 AquiferProduced by

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66:04

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)

Composer of the Week ·

2026/03/20

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

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72:12

New Zealand Composers

Composer of the Week ·

2026/03/13

Donald Macleod explores five classical composers from the land of the long white cloud, New Zealand: Douglas Lilburn, Jenny McLeod, Dame Gillian Whitehead, John Psathas, and Gareth Farr.Music featured:Douglas Lilburn:Symphony No 1 Aotearoa Elegy Sings Harry Symphony No 3 Three Inscapes, No 1 17 Pieces for Guitar Symphony No 2Jenny McLeod: Rock Concerto Hear the Great Ocean (from Childhood, No 4) 24 Tone Clock Dolly Bird (Music for Four) Nā Kui ki a Tama: Te Pūroto Kōpua Three celebrationsDame

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65:19

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

Composer of the Week ·

2026/03/06

This week, Kate Molleson traces the development of Jean Sibelius’s symphonies. Set against Finland’s changing political climate and Sibelius’s own, turbulent personal circumstances, the podcast explores what shaped each symphony’s character – from the nationalism surrounding Nos. 1 and 2, to the renewed sense of form in the Third, the more inward Fourth, and the reworked Fifth. The week concludes with the distinctive Sixth and the single‑movement Seventh, composed during a period of uncertainty both

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55:46

Amy Beach (1867-1944)

Composer of the Week ·

2026/02/27

Donald Macleod explores how Amy Beach railed against the sexism of her time to journey from a child piano prodigy to a respected composer.Young BirchesValse – Caprice, op.4 3 Songs, Op 2 no 3 - Empress of Night Eilende Wolken, segler der Lufte, Op. 18 Violin Sonata, Op.34 - I. Allegro Moderato Quartet for Strings in One Movement The Lark Quartet Romance for violin and piano, op.23 Ecstasy, Op.19 no 2 Symphony in E Flat, Op.32 'Gaelic' Peace I leave with you Dreaming (4 Sketches, Op.15) Piano

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67:24

Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672)

Composer of the Week ·

2026/02/17

Donald Macleod delves into the life of the great German composer Heinrich Schütz.Music featured: Wohl denen, die ohne Wandel leben, SWV 482 Tugend ist der beste Freund, SWV 442 O primavera, SWV 1 Wohl dem der ein tugendsam Weib hat, SWV 20 Zion spricht, der Herr hat mich verlassen, SWV 46 En novus Elysiis, SWV 49 (Syncharma Musicum) Ich heb mein Augen sehnlich auf, SWV 226 (Becker Psalter) Mit dem Amphion zwar mein Orgel und mein Harfe, SWV 501 Auferstehungshistorie, SWV 50 Fili mi, Absalon, SWV

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96:01

Erik Chisholm (1904-1965)

Composer of the Week ·

2026/02/06

This week, Kate Molleson, joined by Dr John Purser, explores the life and music of Erik Chisholm – one of Scotland’s most original and adventurous composers. From his early fascination with folk melody and the piano in Glasgow, through his championing of new music and his wide‑ranging artistic friendships, to his bold ventures in opera, ballet and international musical life, Chisholm’s story is one of restless curiosity and invention. We follow his journey from Scotland to India, Singapore and South

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72:02

Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (1791-1844)

Composer of the Week ·

2026/01/30

Donald Macleod takes a tour of the life of Franz Xaver Mozart, son of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with guest Professor Cliff Eisen.Music featured:Piano Concerto No 1 in C, Op 14 (excerpt) Das Finden, Op 27 No 2 (Drei Deutsche Lieder) Variations on a Minuet from W. A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Op 2 Piano Quartet in G minor Op 1 Variation 28 for Anton Diabelli’s Waltz Piano Concerto No 1 in C, Op 14 (Allegro maestoso) Rondo in F, Op 4 (excerpt) Nein! (Sechs Lieder, No 3) Violin Sonata in B flat, Op 7 Piano

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73:47

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

Composer of the Week ·

2026/01/13

This week, Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Aaron Copland, one of the most distinctive voices in 20th-century American music. From his Brooklyn childhood and formative studies in Paris to his return home with bold new ideas, Copland’s career charts a path through modernism, jazz, and the search for an unmistakably American sound. We hear music that captures the spirit of a nation – from Billy the Kid and Lincoln Portrait to his Fanfare for the Common Man, before he made the move from

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62:23

A Georgian Christmas

Composer of the Week ·

2025/12/26

Donald Macleod visits the home of Jane Austen with historian Amanda Vickery to discover some of the seasonal customs and Christmas music of late-Georgian Britain.Music featured: Thomas Clark: While Shepherds Watched William Matthews: How beauteous are their feet Anon: The Holly and the Ivy Viotti: Violin Concerto No 13 in A Major Handel: Messiah Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade: Sinfonia Thomas Wilson: Wellington's Triumph Thomas Straight: Trip to Vauxhall, Sailor Laddie Weber (orch Berlioz):

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66:34

Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)

Composer of the Week ·

2025/12/19

This week, Kate Molleson explores the life and music of Sergey Prokofiev – a composer whose imagination shaped some of the most vivid music of the 20th century. From childhood stories in rural Ukraine to bold experiments at the St Petersburg Conservatory, from revolutionary Russia to the bright lights of New York, and finally to his dramatic homecoming, Prokofiev’s journey is full of ambition, upheaval and colour. We hear music that tells tales – fairytales, fantasies and fragments of real life –

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105:09

John Rutter (born 1945)

Composer of the Week ·

2025/12/05

This week, Donald Macleod visits Sir John Rutter at his Cambridgeshire home to celebrate his 80th birthday and explore the twists and turns of his extraordinary career. One of the most influential choral composers of the 20th and 21st centuries – and for many, the sound of Christmas – Rutter is also an international conductor, arranger, editor and producer, describing himself as a musical “magpie.” Across the week, we hear hallmark carols alongside music shaped by his life’s milestones: from

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105:35

Max Roach (1924-2007)

Composer of the Week ·

2025/11/28

This week, Kate Molleson explores the life and work of a musical giant – drummer and composer Max Roach – in the company of writer and broadcaster Kevin Le Gendre. Together they trace Roach’s extraordinary journey: from his early days at the heart of bebop alongside Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, through his pioneering role as a bandleader, his political activism during the civil rights era, and his later innovations in percussion and collaboration. Roach’s story is

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61:23

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Composer of the Week ·

2025/11/21

This week, Donald Macleod explores Wagner’s world of dreams – musical, romantic and revolutionary. Wagner didn’t just write operas; he imagined entire worlds, reshaping reality to fit his ideals. His stories blur fact and fantasy, turning myth into truth and politics into drama. From youthful ambitions and radical uprisings to scandal, patronage and the creation of Bayreuth, we follow a composer whose dreams were as grand as his music.Götterdämmerung, Act III: Siegfried’s Funeral MarchDie Feen, Act

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65:28

Elfrida Andrée (1841-1929)

Composer of the Week ·

2025/11/14

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Elfrida Andrée, a Swedish composer and organist who fought for women’s rights in classical music. Featuring guests Anastasia Belina and Jonas Lundblad. Music Featured: Fritiof Suite Summer memories from Bjurslätt Piano Sonata in A, Op 3 An angel walks through the room Symphony No 1 Romance No 2 Serenade String Quartet in A major Chorale with variations in D minor Piano Quintet in E minor Andante quasi recitativo Swedish Mass No 1

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54:57

Michael Haydn (1737-1806)

Composer of the Week ·

2025/11/08

This week, Donald Macleod explores the life and music of the often overlooked younger Haydn brother, Michael. From his early years in Vienna to his long tenure in Salzburg, Michael Haydn’s career was shaped by family ties, shifting patronage, and ecclesiastical politics. His relationship with the Mozart family ranged from friendly collaboration to bitter rivalry, and his music—both sacred and secular—reflected the changing demands of the church and court. As he aged, Michael faced new opportunities

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54:40

Luciano Berio (1925-2003)

Composer of the Week ·

2025/10/31

To celebrate the centenary of his birth, Kate Molleson explores the life and music of one of most influential figures in all of modern music – Luciano Berio. Berio’s music is lyrical and expressive, while never ignoring the most advanced techniques and technologies of his time. He worked with many key figures in 20th Century music while always following his own, very individual path, both through life and in his music, where he constantly pushed at and broke the boundaries he encountered.Music

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66:41

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Composer of the Week ·

2025/10/17

Johann Sebastian Bach is a towering cultural icon, a composer who might be seen as the poster boy for “serious music” and spent most of his career in the service of the church. But he played many roles in the course of his life, and could be funny, sassy, conniving, obstinate, and rebellious. Donald Macleod dives into Bach's secular music, and follows his trail as he makes his way in the world, from courts to coffee houses, building a family, two-timing his bosses, and even a stint behind

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68:41

Eleanor Alberga

Composer of the Week ·

2025/10/10

Kate Molleson speaks to Jamaican-born composer Eleanor Alberga about her life and career. Eleanor Alberga is a quietly rebellious composer. She draws inspiration from Jamaican folk songs, children's fairytales, ancient mythology - even chemistry. She was one of the first pianists to take modern dance seriously. And as a student, she arrived to performances on a motorcycle. Alberga joins Kate Molleson and takes us on a journey from Kingston to London and beyond. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

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66:53

Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999)

Composer of the Week ·

2025/09/26

Donald Macleod explores the life of Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo.The Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo is responsible for one of the most instantly recognisable works for classical guitar - if not one of the most famous pieces of classical music full stop. But when he was just three years old, a bout of diptheria left him almost completely blind, and a future in composition seemed out of the question. How did he become one of Spain's most revered musical minds?Music featured:Concierto de

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