Classical Podcasts
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Episode 18: A Tale of Three Conductors with Rob Cowan
25th May 2021
Podcast regular Rob Cowan joins Paul to assess recent archival boxsets devoted to three émigré American conductors: Artur Rodzinski, Rafael Kubelik, and Eugene Ormandy.
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Episode 17 Bonus: Pierrot Lunaire with Patricia Kopatchinskaja
2nd May 2021
For this special bonus episode of the podcast, Patricia Kopatchinskaja tells us about her longstanding relationship with Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire.
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Episode 16: Britain, by George! - Handel with Suzanne Aspden
25th Apr 2021
Professor Suzanne Aspden joins Paul to trace Handel's journey from the youthful Italian cantatas & operas to his later English oratorios.
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Episode 15: Clarinet Chronicles with Julian Bliss
11th Apr 2021
Paul is given a guided tour of the clarinet's history by Julian Bliss, from its first appearances in the eighteenth century, up to the present day, and the important role it played in the development of jazz.
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Episode 14: The Music of Malcolm Arnold with Piers Burton-Page
21st Mar 2021
Author and President of the Malcolm Arnold Society, Piers Burton-Page, gives an overview of the life and work of this important voice in twentieth-century British music.
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Episode 13: Symphonic Titans - Bruckner & Mahler with Peter Quantrill
7th Mar 2021
Bruckner and Mahler are the focus of this week's show, as Paul Thomas is joined by Gramophone writer Peter Quantrill to assess a couple of recent box-sets devoted to each composer.
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Episode 12: A Song in Our Hearts with Natasha Loges
11th Feb 2021
In this Valentine's Day Special, Paul talks with author Natasha Loges about the art of Romantic song, as it moved from Vienna to Leipzig in the nineteenth Century.
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Episode 11: Tinkling the Ivories with Harriet Smith
27th Jan 2021
After a short break, the Presto Music Podcast is back, and for this first episode, Harriet Smith and Paul Thomas talk through some of their favourite pianists.
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Episode 10: Across the Pond with David Hurwitz
15th Dec 2020
In the final Podcast of 2020 Paul and American writer, YouTuber and hilarious classical commentator David Hurwitz exchange music from each other's nations that has made an impact on them.
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Episode 9: The English Choral Tradition with David Smith
3rd Dec 2020
Presto's own David Smith, a lay clerk at St. Philip's Cathedral Birmingham and member of Ex Cathedra, charts the turbulent development of the English choral tradition.
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Episode 8: The Stalin Prize with Marina Frolova-Walker
11th Nov 2020
Paul talks to Russian-born music historian Marina Frolova-Walker about the subject of her book, the notorious (and often misunderstood) Stalin Prize, and some of the composer stories behind it.
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Episode 7: Beethoven in Nine Pieces with Laura Tunbridge
28th Oct 2020
Professor Laura Tunbridge offers some new perspectives on Beethoven in the year of his 250th anniversary, by walking us through the pieces she chose to represent him in her acclaimed new book Beethoven: A Life in Nine Pieces.
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Episode 6: Played in the USA with Rob Cowan
15th Oct 2020
Rob Cowan returns to the show to discuss several box-sets by three European émigré artists who settled in America - pianist Andor Foldes, conductor Antal Doráti, and violinist Isaac Stern.
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Episode 5: Time & Place with Jess Gillam
23rd Sep 2020
Saxophonist Jess Gillam talks about the music on her new album Time and how moving from rural Cumbria to London, and the various projects she was involved in during lockdown have shaped her music over the past year.
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Episode 4: Outside the Box with Tom McKinney
10th Sep 2020
Classical guitarist, broadcaster and new music curator Tom McKinney talks about all things contemporary music... with a bit of Haydn thrown in for good measure.
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Episode 3: A Scandinavian Sojourn with Andrew Mellor
20th Aug 2020
Music writer Andrew Mellor takes our host Paul Thomas on a musical grand tour of the Nordic nations, spotlighting several contemporary composers as well as pieces by Nielsen, Grieg and Sibelius.
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Episode 2: The Art of Music Criticism with Harriet Smith
29th Jul 2020
For the second Presto Music Podcast, Paul is joined by music critic Harriet Smith, to discuss the art involved in reviewing classical music recordings.
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Episode 1: Confessions of a Bartók Salesman with Rob Cowan
4th Jul 2020
The first episode in the brand new Presto Music Podcast series finds our Product Manager Paul Thomas in conversation with radio presenter and critic Rob Cowan, discussing recent releases and unearthing some juicy nuggets from Rob's past.
