David Walliams' Marvellous Musical Podcast Classic FM

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: You might well have heard of Mozart – but did you know he had a really rude sense of humour? Or that he owned a pet starling? In the first episode, David meets one of the most famous composers of all time… and has a bit of a run in with a music professor.

Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150

Music from:

Mozart: The Magic Flute – Bayerischen Staatsoper/Wolfgang Sawallisch (Warner);

Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro – Collegium Vocale Gent, Concerto Köln/René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi);

Mozart: Symphony No.41 ‘Jupiter’ – Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner (Warner);

Mozart: Piano Concerto No.21 – Murray Perahia, English Chamber Orchestra (Sony);

Mozart: Clarinet Concerto – Martin Fröst, Amsterdam Sinfonietta/Peter Oundjian (BIS);

Mozart: Eine kleine nachtmusik – Camerata Nordica/Terje Tønnesen (BIS);

Mozart: Piano Sonata No.11 ‘Alla turca’ – Fazil Say (Warner);

Wagner: Wedding March from Lohengrin – Bayreuth Festival/Andris Nelsons (Opus Arte);

Mozart: La finta semplice – Jeremy Ovenden, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Jonathan Cohen (Signum Classics);

Mozart: Don Giovanni – MusicAeterna/Teodor Currentzis (Sony);

Allegri: Miserere – Tenebrae/Nigel Short (Signum);

Mozart: Requiem – Freiburger Barockorchester, RIAS Kammerchor/René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi)

Franz Liszt was music’s first true rock star, baby. Join David Walliams as he enrols in Liszt’s school of cool, and discovers what it really means to rock, old school.

Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150

Music from:

Liszt: La Campanella – Ji Liu (Classic FM);

Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 – Georges Cziffra (Warner);

Liszt: Liebesträum – Ji Liu (Classic FM);

Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No.1 – Leif Ove Andsnes (Warner);

Liszt: Transcendental Studies – Yevgeny Sudbin (BIS);

Liszt: Totentanz – Louis Lortie, Residentie Orchestra The Hague/George Pehlivanian (Chandos);

Liszt: Un sospiro – Leslie Howard (Hyperion)

This instrument may seem pretty black and white, but there’s more to the piano than meets the eye. Join David Walliams as he travels inside the piano, discovers its most famous players and explores the unlikely ways it changed music forever.

Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150

Music from:

Beethoven: Für Elise – Ronald Brautigam (BIS);

Mozart: Piano Sonata No.11 ‘Alla turca’ – Fazil Say (Warner);

J. S. Bach: Concerto in G major, BWV 973 – Richard Egarr (Harmonia Mundi);

Chopin: Nocturne in E flat major – Ji Liu (Classic FM);

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 ‘Emperor’ – Leif Ove Andsnes (Sony);

Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 – Georges Cziffra (Warner);

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.23 ‘Appassionata’ – Lang Lang (Sony)

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.2 – Leif Ove Andsnes (Warner);

Chopin: Piano Sonata No.3 – Martha Argerich (Warner);

Round Midnight – Thelonious Monk (Sony/ATV);

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue – André Previn, London Symphony Orchestra (Warner)

Things are Getting Better (Echobass)

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.23 ‘Appassionata’ – Lang Lang (Sony)

Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150

We journey back a hundred years to explore the life of Ethel Smyth: composer, suffragette and all-round legend. Also, there are pirates.

Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150

Music from:

Ethel Smyth: Concerto for Violin – BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/Odaline de la Martinez (Chandos)

Ethel Smyth: Mass in D – Orchestra of the Plymouth Music Series/Philip Brunelle (EMI)

Ethel Smyth: The Wreckers – Scottish National Orchestra/Sir Alexander Gibson (Warner)

Ethel Smyth: March of the Women – Orchestra of the Plymouth Music Series/Philip Brunelle (EMI)

Ethel Smyth: The Boatswain’s Mate, Overture – BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Rumon Gamba (Chandos)

Ethel Smyth: String Quartet in E minor – Mannheim String Quartet (CPO)

Ballet: You may think it’s all tutus and tippy toes, but there’s a world of wild, daring and downright bizarre stories behind this dainty dance. Join David Walliams as he journeys around the globe to give us a peek into the highly competitive, and fantastically strange world of ballet.

Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150

Music from:

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker – Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Neeme Järvi (Chandos)

Saint-Saëns: The Swan from Carnival of the Animals – Ji Liu (Classic FM)

Lully: Alcidiane, Ritournelle et air de Mademoiselle Hilaire – La Risonanca/Fabio Bonizzoni (Glossa)

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake – Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Neeme Järvi (Chandos)

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring – MusicAeterna/Teodor Currentzis (Sony)

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet – Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Litton (BIS)

They broke the mould and changed the face of music. Meet the marvellous mavericks and devilish divas who took the musical world by storm. And don’t be surprised if a number of old friends turn up to join the party… Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150

Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.13 – Arcadi Volodos (Sony)

Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee – Royal Scottish National Orchestra//Neeme Järvi

excerpts from Mozart: Don Giovanni – MusicAeterna/Teodor Currentzis (Sony)

Mozart: ‘Voi che sapete’ from Don Giovanni – Adelina Patti (Nimbus)

Paganini: 24 Caprices – Augustin Hadelich (Warner Classics)

Paganini: Violin Concerto – Itzhak Perlman/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Lawrence Foster

Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 – Arcadi Volodos (Sony)

Bizet : ‘L’amour est un oiseau rebelle’ from Carmen – Maria Callas, Orchestra de l’Opéra National de Paris