The Listening Service

Latest Episodes:

The Key to Keys Feb 10, 2019

Show notes

What is a key? In western music, if all the intervals and possible chords in every scale in any major key are the same (and ditto for every scale and chord in every minor key), why do we need 12 major keys and 12 minor ones? What have keys meant to composers down the centuries and has that changed? Are keys now so last-century (or even before that)? What even is a key? Why is the Pythagorean Comma important and what even is it?

So many questions... To attempt some answers, Tom Service enlists the help of harpsichord maker and tuner Andrew Wooderson, harpsichord player Masumi Yamamoto and musicologist Katy Hamilton.

David Papp (producer)

Schubert - The Dark Side Feb 03, 2019

Show notes

Tom Service delves into the dark side of Franz Schubert. What can we hear in his music?

A provincial composer who died young, described as looking like a "little mushroom", on the face of it Franz Schubert doesn't seem a likely candidate for deep insight into the human condition. But appearances are very definitely deceptive, and some of his music can seem deceptively straightforward as well. Join Tom Service for a journey into Schubert's psyche and discover what his music tells us about the man, and perhaps about ourselves.

With Dr Laura Tunbridge of Oxford University.

Riffs, loops and ostinati - the art of repeating yourself! Jan 26, 2019

Show notes

Tom Service investigates the ostinato, a repeated phrase in music that can nag or hypnotise the listener (the word derives from the Italian for "stubborn "). From Ravel's Boléro to Donna Summer's "I Feel Love", the ostinato is everywhere in music - driving the crescendo of Rossini's William Tell overture, underpinning the primitive ritual dances of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring - but is it an accompaniment or a riff? A rhythm or a tune? Tom finds it can be all those things and more....

Classical Icons Jan 20, 2019

Show notes

As BBC 2's epic history series Icons is underway, Tom Service takes a closer look at four icons of the classical music world: Maria Callas, Nigel Kennedy, Jacqueline du Pré, and Luciano Pavarotti. With the help of opera critic Anna Picard Tom asks whether these icons are born or whether they're made, and what factors (beyond great artistry and talent) are at play in the making of an icon.

What Makes a Song? Jan 06, 2019

Show notes

Tom Service considers what makes a good song work - verse, chorus, a good tune and...? Is a pop song using fundamentally the same structure as an art song or lied? From the timeless pop of The Carpenters to the gigantic "song symphonies" of Gustav Mahler, Tom examines what you can do with a few verses, perhaps a chorus, and maybe a "middle eight". He's also joined by composer and pianist Richard Sisson to consider the genius of Robert Schumann's songcraft, and by producer Dan Carey who considers contrasting song structures by The Beach Boys and Frank Ocean.

The Nutcracker - Strange Enchantments Dec 30, 2018

Show notes

Think of The Nutcracker as a super-saccharine classic for the feel-good season? Think again. Is everything really all sweetness and light in the world of sugar-plum fairy? No! But don't let the tale's dark undertones spoil your enjoyment of the wonderful music.

Tom Service tears the gaudy wrapping paper from Tchaikovsky's balletic masterpiece to remind us you don't always get what you want. Behind the tinsel and fluffy snowflakes lies a story imbued with darkness and death. But maybe that is the secret of its unfading allure and beauty.

Tom is joined by Marina Frolova-Walker and Peggy Reynolds to crack the most popular nut in the repertoire.

The bells, the bells... Dec 23, 2018

Show notes

Tom Service on the mystery, magic and music associated with bells

For thousands of years human life has been accompanied by the sound of bells - calls to prayer, driving away evil spirits, marking the hours and seasons of life - births, marriages, deaths, alarm bells, peace bells, sleigh bells and Christmas bells. In a programme first broadcast in 2018, Tom looks at the meaning and magic of the sound of bells, and listens to the interpretations and reverberations of bells in music.

Concertos: All for one and one for all? Dec 09, 2018

Show notes

With the help of violinist Pekka Kuusisto Tom Service explores the concerto from Vivaldi in the early 18th century to today's composers. How has the idea of the concerto evolved over three centuries and what are the challenges for the soloist, walking the tightrope of virtuosity, sandwiched between orchestral colleagues and expectant audience?

David Papp (producer)

Extreme Classical! Dec 02, 2018

Show notes

What are the most extreme pieces of classical music ever written? And is today's shock-of-the-new tomorrow's old-hat?

Tom Service looks some of the longest, the most apocalyptic, the weirdest and the most expensive music ever written - what were the composers up to, exactly? And where do we go from here?

The Power of Three Nov 25, 2018

Show notes

From medieval English music to the Everly Brothers - what is it about the musical interval of the third that sounds so attractive? Why does a major third tend to feel positive, and a minor third tend to feel sad? Nature or nurture? And what about their dark cousin, the tritone - the so-called "Devil in Music" - what on earth can be that sinister about a couple of notes?

Tom Service is joined by Dr Adam Ockelford to try and find some answers.