Naxos: Sounds Interesting

This podcast episode from the Sounds Interesting series spotlights music expressed through the prism of madness in a range of contexts, from the world of fantasy to the theatre of war.

This episode takes rats as its theme, a topic that, perhaps surprisingly, has caught the attention of composers across the world and down the ages. 

This episode examines how a musical composition can be pampered by alternative wardrobes, when an original is dressed in different presentations of style and instrumentation while retaining its core character.

This episode introduces a selection of classical music items associated with natural disasters, from Biblical times to modern eras.

This episode introduces a selection of classical music items associated with male personal grooming experts, either by profession or name. 

The life of Mahler’s wife, Alma, was as multi-faceted as her several talents, that ranged from competent composer to sizzling socialite. This episode peels back the intriguing layers beneath the common perception of her as simply the hard done by wife of the illustrious Gustav. 

This episode spotlights a collection of unfortunate musicians who became hostages of war at the outbreak of the First World War and whose story is as inspiring as the music that sustained them. The setting is Ruhleben, a racecourse in Berlin.  

An overview of the life, times and music of Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů, whose free spirit ranged both musically and geographically during the first half of the 20th century.

Composers can’t always hang around waiting for a visit by Euterpe, the ancient Greek Muse of music, to sow a seed of inspiration for their next composition. Commissioning agents have a long and much-appreciated record of standing in for when that vital role of providing a creative impetus is required and this episode spotlights a few of them. 

Gothic art feeds off deathly horror, and music from the Romantic period especially tapped into its creative possibilities. This episode contains a selection of extracts from compositions with literary, historical and architectural Gothic associations. 

This episode highlights some humorous lines from the pens of the past masters. 

This episode spotlights the contributions of seven composers who made significant, but neglected contributions to the heritage of American symphonic music.

The rainbow. A beautiful natural phenomenon with its terminus of an illusionary pot of gold. A bridge to nowhere. Except in the imagination, that is. This episode looks at how composers have tackled the tricky task of recreating the concept of a rainbow in sound, approaching the subject variously via mythology, folklore, fantasy and religion. 

With temperatures shifting unpredictably, the hibernating bee must occasionally get confused about when it’s time to rise from slumber and resume its pollinating routine. In many parts of the world, however, they’ll have long been about their business. This week’s blog gives a nod to that vital work they do, and a mention of some pieces that have taken them as their focus.

Did you know J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations were originally written to help alleviate a nobleman’s insomnia? Knowing few bounds, music is well placed to invoke lullabies, the onset of sleep, and its otherworldly, dreamy state. Nightmares add the yang to the yin. This episode spotlights musical works about various stages of somnolence. If you fancy a bit of music for simply day-dreaming, this is the episode for you.

This episode focuses on music inspired by the works of Rudyard Kipling, the celebrated journalist, editor, poet, and novelist. Kipling’s literary works continue to attract the attention of composers and filmmakers the world over, and this episode dips into a few of these musical adaptations, including Oley Speaks ‘On the Road to Mandalay’ to, of course, ‘Bare Necessities’.

He murdered his wife and her lover, then paid a price of torment for the rest of his life, the anguish often oozing from his searing harmonies. This podcast from the Naxos Sounds Interesting series recounts the colourful life and music of the Italian composer Carlo Gesualdo, who was active at the turn of the sixteenth century. The musical selections for this episode highlight some of Gesulado’s most significant works.