So, Hear Me Out – the classical music podcast

We deep dive into why and how classical music is able to capture pure joy in sound, featuring joyful pieces by Felix Mendelssohn and Francesca Caccini.Gillian and Linton discuss the innovative and emotional power of Mendelssohn's Octet in E Flat, written by the composer when he was just 16, and the hypnotic, rhythmically alive Chaconne by Cini, one of the first women composers in Europe to earn a living from her music.In this episode:00:00 Welcome to So Hear Me Out00:59 Today's Big Question:

Expect a whirlwind tour through Luciano Berio’s mashup masterpiece Sinfonia, complete with Mahler, Beckett, and a generous helping of 1960s political angst.Then it’s off to a galaxy far, far away to explore how Star Wars composer John Williams borrowed from the greats to create some of the most iconic music in film history (spoiler: Holst and Wagner would probably want royalties).In this episode of So Hear Me Out, your ever-curious hosts Gillian Moore and Linton Stephens dig into how classical music

Linton and Gillian explore how classical music has been used to challenge power, uplift marginalised voices, and fuel social movements. From radical sounds to revolutionary ideas, we discover how music becomes activism.Linton introduces Julius Eastman’s Gay Guerrilla, a defiant and deeply moving work that reclaims the idea of the ‘guerrilla’ as a symbol of queer resistance. The piece is raw, repetitive, and electrifying – built to reflect both personal struggle and collective power.Gillian guides us

Music doesn’t exist in a vacuum – it travels, it transforms, and sometimes it takes what isn’t freely given.Hosts Linton Stephens and Gillian Moore wade into one of the most complex questions in music today: is it okay to use sounds from cultures that are not your own? And, perhaps more importantly, how can you tell the difference between inspiration and appropriation?Together they dig into Claude Debussy’s Pagodas, written after his encounter with Javanese gamelan music at the 1889 Paris

Kicking off with the worst classical music jokes we could find, Linton and Gillian dive into the hidden humour of the classical world — from Haydn’s cheeky Surprise Symphony to Ravel’s mischievous opera L’enfant et les sortilèges.Q: Why did the pianist keep banging her head against the keys?A: Because she was playing by ear.(We’re sorry. It only gets slightly better from here.)Expect orchestral pranks, singing teacups, and musical punchlines you didn’t see coming. But it's not all laughs — our hosts

Can classical music be protest? Can it make you laugh? Or is it just one big remix?In So Hear Me Out, hosts Gillian Moore and Linton Stephens dig into the big questions, uncovering unexpected stories, surprising connections, and the hidden humour behind the music you thought you knew.This is classical music without the clichés — and with plenty to say about the world today.👉 Subscribe now to So Hear Me Out and don’t miss an episode.Get in touch:📩 Send your classical questions to

So Hear Me Out is a brand new podcast from London’s Southbank Centre, exploring the big questions around classical music — and why it still matters today.Join hosts Linton Stephens (musician, broadcaster and Deputy Artistic Director of Chineke! Orchestra) and Gillian Moore (writer, broadcaster and Artistic Associate at Southbank Centre) as they challenge assumptions, unpick controversies, and share fresh ways of listening to the music you thought you knew.Each episode starts with a question — from