Composer of the Week Folgen

Kate Molleson sets out so show us why Elizabeth Maconchy deserves much more of our attention Elizabeth Maconchy is surely the greatest composer of string quartets ever to emerge in the British Isles; and yet her music is often ignored in favour of lesser works by more famous British composers. So says Maconchy’s biographer, Erica Siegel, who joins Kate Molleson to explore the life and works of this key figure in Britain and Ireland’s musical story. Across the week, Kate and Erica set out to show us why Maconchy deserves much more of our attention. We’ll hear stories of personal crises, public apathy and outrageous institutional sexism, and how Maconchy met each challenge with characteristic grace and perseverance. Her works fizz with invention and purpose and she described her own music as “impassioned argument”.Music Featured:String Quartet No 2 (4th mvt) Clarinet Quintet (3rd & 4th mvt) Four Shakespeare Songs (No 1, Come Away, Death) The Land - A Suite for Orchestra Concertino No 2 for Piano and String Orchestra String Quartet No 1 (4th mvt) Concertino for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (2nd mvt) Oboe Quintet Sonata for Viola and Piano String Quartet No 3 Nocturne Dialogue for Piano and Orchestra (2nd & 4 mvts) Two Dances from Puck Fair String Quartet No 5 (2nd & 3rd mvt) Concertino for Bassoon and String Orchestra String Quartet No 7: (4th mvt, Scherzo I) Proud Thames Overture The Sofa (excerpts) The Departure (excerpts) Serenata Concertante There is no rose Trittico Epyllion Morning, Noon and Night String Quartet No 13 'Quartetto Corto'Presented by Kate Molleson Produced by Chris Taylor for BBC Audio Wales and WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001yyf6And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

In 1773, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach sat down to record his life story. He’d been asked to write it down for a new book on German music and it made him one of the first composers to produce an autobiography. This week, Donald Macleod follows the composer’s story, using Bach’s own account as his guide. Bach’s words provide fascinating insights into the things he considered most important but it’s possible that what he chose to leave out is even more revealing.Music Featured: L'Aly Rupalich, Wq 117 No 27 Symphony for Strings and Continuo in G major, Wq 182 No 1 Fantasia for keyboard in C major, Wq 61 No 6 Trio Sonata in B minor, Wq 143 Keyboard Concerto in G major, Wq 3 Symphony in G major, Wq 173 (1st mvt) Trio Sonata in A Minor, Wq 148 Sonata in A minor, Wq 132 (1st mvt) Cello Concerto No 3 in A major, Wq 172 (2nd & 3rd mvts) Sonata in E minor, Wq 49 No 3 Magnificat in D, Wq 215 (1, Magnificat anima mea Dominum; 5, Fecit potentiam; 10. Sicut erat in principio) Keyboard Sonata in E flat major, Wq 52 No 1( 2nd & 3rd mvts) Sonata in C minor ‘Sanguineus and Melancholicus’ Wq 161 No 1 Phyllis and Thirsis, Wq 232 (excerpt) Sinfonia in B-Flat Major, Wq 182 No 2 (3rd mvt) 30 Geistliche Gesänge mit Melodien, Book 2, Wq 198: (Nos 2 & 8) Die Israeliten in der Wüste, Wq 238 (extract from Part 1) Symphony in B minor, Wq 182 No 5 Rondo in E Major, Wq 58 No 3 Rondo in F Major, Wq 57 No 5 Sonata in D Minor, Wq 57 No 4 (2nd mvt) Quartet in G Major, Wq 95 (3rd mvt) Heilig, Wq 217 Keyboard Sonatina in D Major, Wq 109 Freye Fantasie in F sharp minor, Wq 80Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Chris Taylor for BBC Audio Wales and WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for CPE Bach (1714-1788) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001yr0r And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Donald Macleod tracks the scandalous life of Achille-Claude DebussyIn the music of Claude Debussy there have been said to run dangerous and destructive currents. His radical works did forge a path which would redefine music in the 20th Century, but his beautiful music runs contrary to his shocking personal life. The Scottish soprano Mary Garden said of him, “I honestly don’t know if he ever loved anybody really. He loved his music – and perhaps himself.” The lies and duplicity, deception and debt left other unfortunate people in their wake, with Debussy unrepentant throughout. In the aftermath of these scandals, Debussy was disowned by his friends, and by most of Parisian society, but the notoriety he gained only seemed to heighten his appeal with audiences. Over the course of this week, Donald Macleod tracks the scandalous life of Achille-Claude Debussy and tries to reconcile his appalling behaviour with his transcendent music.Suite Bergamasque (3rd mvt, Claire de Lune) La Mer (2nd mvt, Jeux de vagues) Ariettes Oubliee (No 5, Green) Images for Orchestra (No 2, Iberia) Mélodies de Jeunesse (No 3, Les Papillons) Recueil Vasnier, L 53 (Romance – Silence ineffable) Printemps (2nd mvt, Modere) Danse bohemienne Deux Arabesques Rodrigue et Chimene (excerpt) (arr. Smith & orch. Denisov) La damoiselle élue (Chorus: La damoiselle élue s’appuyait) Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune Proses Lyriques (No 3, De fleurs) Prelude – La Fille aux cheveux de lin 3 Chansons de Bilitis Fetes Galantes (Claire de Lune) Trois Nocturnes Images, L 110 (No 2, Hommage a Rameau) Estampes (No 2, La soiree dans Grenade) Pelléas et Mélisande, Act III (excerpt) Rhapsodie for saxophone and orchestra L’isle joyeuse Danse Sacrée et Danse Profane La Mer (3rd mvt. Dialogue of the Waves) Children’s Corner (Cakewalk) 5 Poemes de Charles Baudelaire (No 3, Le Jet d’eau) The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian (Act V: Paradise) Jeux, L 126 Sonata for flute, viola and harp, L 137 (Finale) La chute de la maison Usher, L112 (excerpt) (completed and orchestrated by R Orledge) SyrinxPresented by Donald Macleod Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Audio Wales and WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Claude Debussy (1862-1918) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001ygtn And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z