Thoroughly Good Classical Music Podcast
596 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 days ago - ★★★★ - 6 ratingsJon Jacob talks to artists, writers, and audience members about classical music.
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Episodes
43: Composer Alexey Shor
June 16, 2019 17:21 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MBMaths prodigy and now composer. Alexey Shor is the composer in residence at the Malta International Festival. In this podcast he discusses why he writes and how he writes, and challenges a whole load of assumptions about the classical music world as he does so. Read the accompanying blog post on the Thoroughly Good Blog.
42: Andrew Nethsingha discusses Choir of St Johns College of Cambridge release on Signum
June 09, 2019 14:52 - 1 hour - 56.6 MBDirector of Music at St Johns College of Cambridge discusses his work at St Johns College Cambridge, the educational impact of Cambridge music making, and the choir's new release on Signum Records, Locus Iste.
41: Composer Jonathan Dove at Salisbury International Arts Festival
June 05, 2019 16:17 - 56 minutes - 51.7 MBJon Jacob speaks to composer Jonathan Dove at the Salisbury International Arts Festival about the compositional language he uses in some of his works. An album of orchestral music by Jonathan with the BBC Philharmonic and Timothy Redmond is available on Spotify.
40: Cellist and composer Joy Lisney
May 20, 2019 15:46 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBPodcast 40 features an interview with cellist Joy Lisney who appears at the Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre, on 8th June in a recital of Bach, Chopin and Brahms with her piano playing father James Lisney. More information on the [Southbank Centre website](https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/128978-joy-and-james-lisney-2019) or at [www.joylisney.com](http://www.joylisney.com). Music: Vriend's '[Anatomy of Passion](https://youtu.be/LDzdp6mc8Zc)' performed live in 2004.
39: Violinist Itamar Zorman discusses the music of Jewish composer Paul Ben-Haim
May 16, 2019 09:13 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBComposer Paul Ben-Haim moved from Germany during the 1930s to escape the Nazi regime to settle in the British Mandate of Palestine. There he continued his work as a composer spanning musical styles - Western European classical music and Arabic classical music. Itamar's exploration of Ben-Haim's work is documented in an album recorded with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and is supported by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust.
38: Double Bassist Leon Bosch
April 30, 2019 10:55 - 44 minutes - 41 MBDouble bassist Leon Bosch discusses education, detail, knowledge and expertise. His South African Double Bass Concert with Rebeca Omordia is at the October Gallery, London on Thursday 2 May.
37: Adam Szabo from Manchester Collective
April 27, 2019 17:28 - 1 hour - 66.8 MBAdam Szabo from [Manchester Collective](https://manchestercollective.co.uk/) discusses alternative classical music experiences in this hour long discussion about audience development (fuelled by wine).
36: Being a composer: doing the creating and managing the business
April 09, 2019 16:00 - 41 minutes - 37.8 MBJon Jacob visits PRS for Music for the Wild Plum Songbook Workshop recently held in London in collaboration with Wild Plum Arts and Cheltenham Music Festival. He speaks to composers workshopping their new works, and Wild Plum Arts Artistic Director and workshop mentor Lucy Schaufer. Composers in order of appearance in the podcast: Ella Jarman-Pinto, Kate Marlais, Rose Miranda Hall, Janet Oates, Lisa Robertson, Sarah Lianne Lewis.
35: Gisle Kverndokk & Aksel-Otto Bull discuss the new opera 'Upon This Handful of Earth'
March 31, 2019 12:49 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBUpon this Handful of Earth received its European premiere at the Church Music Festival in Oslo on Monday 24 March 2019\. Jon Jacob speaks to composer and librettists Gisle Kverndokk and Aksel-Otto Bull about the work, the issues it highlights, and the challenges in bringing the conversation about climate change to the operatic form.
34: Composer James Macmillan, Tenebrae’s Nigel Short & the SJSS Holy Week Festival
March 24, 2019 11:44 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBJames Macmillan and Tenebrae’s Nigel Short discuss the Holy Week Festival, faith and how it supports Macmillan’s work as a composer, and how Tenebrae chorus creates its distinctive sound. Including excerpts from Macmillan’s Seven Last Words (Naxos) and Schoenberg’s Friede auf Erden (Signum). More information about the festival can be found at [sjss.org.uk](http://sjss.org.uk).
33: Samir Savant and Bridget Cunningham preview the London Handel Festival 2019
March 19, 2019 19:32 - 46 minutes - 42.7 MBFestival Director Samir Savant and conductor and Handel scholar Bridget Cunningham discuss Handel in London, Handel the coach, and Handel the fundraiser.
32: Fretwork's Richard Boothby and Kieran Cooper
March 14, 2019 15:57 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBPodcast 32 spotlights a new release on Signum Classics entitled 'If'. It's the latest release by consort of viols Fretwork, and celebrates the 75th birthday of composer Michael Nyman pairing a collection of contemporary works arranged for the consort with music by Henry Purcell. The album is out on 22nd March 2019\. Pre-order here >> [http://hyperurl.co/NymanPurcell](http://hyperurl.co/NymanPurcell)
31: Sophie Webber's Kickstarter campaign for 'B2C: Bach Cello Suites Unleashed'
March 11, 2019 19:44 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBListen to exclusive demo material from British cellist Sophie Webber's Kickstarter-funded album 'Bach Cello Suites Unleashed' fusing solo cello with vocal accompaniment. Podcast recorded on Monday 11 March 2019\. To support Sophie's project visit Kickstarter and search 'Bach Cello Suites Unleashed' or visit [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sophiewebber/b2c-bach-cello-suites-to-choir](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sophiewebber/b2c-bach-cello-suites-to-choir)
30: Dani Howard and Hamish McKay discuss The Opera Story's 'Robin Hood' at CLF Art Cafe in Peckham
February 21, 2019 20:18 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBAll you really need to know about Podcast Number 30 is that it was recording on Wednesday 20 February 2019 at the Bussey Building - a former Victorian cricket bat factory saved from demolition ten years ago. It's home to a new opera - Robin Hood - premiered at the end of February, written by former Royal College of Music graduate Dani Howard, and performed by a small cast accompanied by the Aurora Orchestra. There is an infectious kind of energy to small scale fringe-infused endeavours like ...
29: Pianist Peter Donohoe discusses Mozart, Richter and the Soviet Union
February 20, 2019 14:08 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBAn extended interview with pianist Peter Donohoe features in episode number twenty nine of the Thoroughly Good Classical Music Podcast. Peter and I sat down ostensibly to discuss his new release on the SOMM label - a collection of Mozart Piano Sonatas plus the Fantasia in D minor. As with anything unplanned and unscripted our conversation took in a great many other subjects too, including interpretation, Richter, and Soviet Russia. Musical excerpts included in this 1 hour episode record...
28: Conductor Jessica Cottis introduces the new opera The Monstrous Child
February 15, 2019 13:14 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBA new opera - The Monstrous Child - by composer Gavin Higgins and author Francesca Simom about the teenage daughter of a Norse God who's search for her place in a mythical world opens at the Royal Opera House's Linbury Theatre on Thursday 21 Febraury. Jessica Cottis conducts the Aurora Orchestra. Jessica and I met in the Linbury Theatre during a break in rehearsals on Thursday 14 February. In addition to talking about the opera, we discussed the connection between science and the arts, orch...
27: Ian Page from the Mozartists and Classical Opera
January 26, 2019 16:08 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBIan Page, conductor of the Mozartists and Classical Opera, whose twenty seven year plan to perform the music written by Mozart throughout his life, 250 years on is already underway. In this podcast Ian discusses the value of honest feedback from non-musicians, Sibelius, Wagner, Britten, and lipstick. 1769: A Year In Music is at Queen Elizabeth Hall on Tuesday 29 January, 7.30pm. More details on the Southbank [website](https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/120181-1769-year-music-2019). ...
27: Ian Page from the Mozartists and Classical Opera
January 26, 2019 16:08 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBIan Page, conductor of the Mozartists and Classical Opera, whose twenty seven year plan to perform the music written by Mozart throughout his life, 250 years on is already underway. In this podcast Ian discusses the value of honest feedback from non-musicians, Sibelius, Wagner, Britten, and lipstick. 1769: A Year In Music is at Queen Elizabeth Hall on Tuesday 29 January, 7.30pm. More details on the Southbank [website](https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/120181-1769-year-music-201...
26: Signum Records Steve Long and Yehuda Shapiro
January 19, 2019 15:52 - 43 minutes - 39.7 MBSteve Long, Yehuda Shapiro and Jon Jacob discuss classical music streaming, independent record labels and the opportunity for data-driven marketing of core classical music.
25: Categorising Classical Music
January 16, 2019 12:39 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MBA recent announcement from the BPI celebrated an increase in streaming of classical music. But the reporting on the story has highlighted the misrepresentation of the genre, something that inevitably presents an opportunity for a spot of pissing and moaning.
25: Categorising Classical Music
January 16, 2019 12:39 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MBA recent announcement from the BPI celebrated an increase in streaming of classical music. But the reporting on the story has highlighted the misrepresentation of the genre, something that inevitably presents an opportunity for a spot of pissing and moaning.
24: Violinist Jennifer Pike talks about her new album release "The Polish Violin"
January 02, 2019 14:23 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBViolinist Jennifer Pike talks about her new album release dedicated to Polish violin music. The album is available on the Chandos label from Friday 4 January 2019\. For more information and a gallery of pictures, visit the [Thoroughly Good Blog](https://www.thoroughlygood.me/2019/01/02/thoroughly-good-podcast-24-violinist-jennifer-pike/).
23: Martin Wahlberg talks Gretry, literature and the French Revolution
November 19, 2018 20:30 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBAcademic and conductor Martin Wåhlberg from Trondheim discusses French literature of the Enlightenment, opera-comique, and the work of composer Andre Gretry during a run of performances of Raoul Barbe Bleue. Recorded in Trondheim on Thursday 15 November 2018.
22: Dr Sophie Fuller from Trinity Laban Conservatoire discusses Venus Blazing
October 24, 2018 16:19 - 47 minutes - 43.1 MBThis podcast features Dr. Sophie Fuller who is the Programme Leader at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Greenwich, South East London, author of The Pandora Guide to Women Composers in Britain and the United States, and along with the Head of Orchestral Studies at Trinity Laban Jonathan Tilbrook is behind the year-long celebration of women composers [Venus Blazing](https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/creative-innovation/venus-blazing). Excerpts from works by women composers featu...
21: Richard Tognetti from the Australian Chamber Orchestra
October 09, 2018 17:25 - 56 minutes - 52 MBAhead of the start of the Australian Chamber Orchestra's Barbican residency on 22nd October 2018, I talk to artistic director Richard Tognetti about Sydney Opera House, Mozart 40, Beethoven String Quartets and Bach. He explains why there's absolutely nothing wrong with arrangements for string ensembles. [Concert listings](https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2018/series/aco-international-associate-at-milton-court) on the Barbican website.
20: Calidore String Quartet (in London)
October 01, 2018 20:56 - 44 minutes - 40.9 MBTips on how start up a string quartet, how to do competitions, and the mindset for approaching any work (terrifying advice). And ahead of their latest release on [Signum](https://signumrecords.com/product/resilience/SIGCD551/), the impetus for selecting the works that appear on their latest album. Recorded at St George's Hotel on Saturday 14 July 2018.
19: Poland's NOSPR Concert Hall and the music of Szymanowski
September 22, 2018 16:34 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBRecorded during the first Karol Szymanowski Music Competition staged at the NOSPR Concert Hall in Katowice, Poland. Jon Jacob speaks to competitors, and discovers the hall's distinctive acoustic and the appeal of Polish composer Szymanowski's music.
18: Leeds International Piano Competition 2018
September 16, 2018 12:48 - 52 minutes - 47.9 MBSounds from the 2018 Leeds International Piano Competition, including an exclusive tour of The Cobbe Collection of antique pianos, masterclasses with Lars Vogt and Imogen Cooper, and reflections on the final performances from Aljoras Jurinic, Anna Geniushene, Mario Haring, XinyuanWang, and winner Eric Lu.
17: 'Now the Hero' composer Owen Roberts
September 11, 2018 10:04 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBThis podcast features composer Owen Roberts who is part of the creative team behind concluding work in the 14-18 NOW season - the UK's cultural commemoration of the WW1 centenary. Owen has composed the music that accompanies an immersive theatrical experience in Swansea 'Now the Hero'. The production opens the Swansea International Festival on 29th September. Owen Roberts has joined forces with Welsh artist Marc Rees, writer Owen Sheers and the choir Polyphony to create and perform Now the ...
16: Musicologist and Symphony Graphique's Hannah Chan-Hartley
September 05, 2018 18:38 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBMusicologist Hannah Chan-Hartley discusses academia, the shift from scholarly study to content marketing, and her visual Listening Guides developed for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. For more information on the Visual Guides and to purchase individual copies, visit [[https://www.symphonygraphique.com/shop](https://www.symphonygraphique.com/shop)](Musicologist Hannah Chan-Hartley discusses academia, the shift from scholarly study to content marketing, and her visual Listening Guides develope...
15: How British Youth Opera trains new talent
August 29, 2018 09:40 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MBThe fifteenth Thoroughly Good Podcast was recorded in August 2018 at the British Youth Opera rehearsals in London South Bank University. British Youth Opera - an opera training company for graduates and young professionals was founded in 1987\. It has annual programme of productions, masterclasses and workshops for new opera talent. Amongst its alumni features Laura Attridge who appeared on the Thoroughly Good Podcast about Trinity Laban's production of Rape of Lucretia a few episodes back. ...
14: Behind the scenes at Waterperry Opera Festival
August 17, 2018 15:24 - 44 minutes - 40.9 MBEpisode 14 of the Thoroughly Good Classical Music Podcast was recorded behind the scenes at the inaugural Waterperry Opera Festival in the idyllic setting of Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire. This podcast features a tour of the site with Festival Director Guy Withers, and an interview with baritone Nick Morton and Musical Director Bertie Baigent plus excerpts from the final dress rehearsal for one of the operas in production - Jonathan Dove's sparkling setting of Jane Austen's Mansfield Par...
13: Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva preview the London Piano Festival
August 10, 2018 12:54 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBThis episode features pianists Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva - artistic directors of the London Piano Festival - a five day series of concerts from 3-7 October 2018 at Kings Place featuring appearances from Stephen Kovacevich, Pavel Kolesnikov, and Samson Tsoy. Charles, Katya and I met at Kings Place in London on the 10th August 2018 and talked about Debussy, the performance experience, and the challenges of running a festival. They provide some highlights of the Festival towards the end...
13: Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva preview the London Piano Festival
August 10, 2018 12:54 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBThis episode features pianists Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva - artistic directors of the London Piano Festival - a five day series of concerts from 3-7 October 2018 at Kings Place featuring appearances from Stephen Kovacevich, Pavel Kolesnikov, and Samson Tsoy. Charles, Katya and I met at Kings Place in London on the 10th August 2018 and talked about Debussy, the performance experience, and the challenges of running a festival. They provide some highlights of the Festival towards the e...
12: The Philharmonia's Virtual Orchestra in Bedford
July 22, 2018 13:07 - 44 minutes - 40.8 MBFunded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Esmee Fairburn Trust, the Philharmonia's award-winning multimedia digital is touring the UK with an exhibition dedicated to Holst's Planet Suite and a virtual reality experience. Jon Jacob meets Events Manager Elizabeth Howard, Director of Residencies Jonathan Mayes, and Audience Development Manager Tom Spurgin at the exhibition's current home in Bedford. For more information on the exhibition visit philharmonia.co.uk/virtualorchestra. Watch a v...
11: Laura Attridge, Jonathan Tilbrook & Britten’s Rape of Lucretia in the age of #MeToo
June 26, 2018 10:35 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MBLaura Attridge and Jonathan Tilbrook discuss opera production and the challenges staging Benjamin Britten's problematic opera Rape of Lucretia in the #MeToo era. Trinity Laban's production of Rape of Lucretia is on 6, 7 and 8 July 2018 at Stratford Arts Circus, London. Tickets are £15\. More details here >> https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/whats-on/britten-the-rape-of-lucretia-2
10: Khachaturian Cello Competition 2018
June 14, 2018 07:59 - 59 minutes - 54.6 MBRecorded at the Khachaturian Cello Competition in Yerevan, Armenia, Jon Jacob speaks to some of the finalists competing for the first prize about the competition experience, the challenges of playing some of the repertoire and their own hopes and aspirations for the future.
9: Opera Holland Park's Michael Volpe and Ruth Elleson
May 29, 2018 13:05 - 1 hour - 60.7 MBOpera Holland Park General Director Michael Volpe and opera-goer Ruth Elleson join Jon Jacob in a discussion about opera appreciation, inspiring the younger generation, ticket prices, and this year's OHP season. For more information about the 2018 season, visit http://www.operahollandpark.com/2018-season/. Watch Hip Hop to Opera on YouTube here >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coz6CUlXi38 And for the Inside Out character Michael refers to in the podcast, see here >> https://twitter.com...
8: Adam Gatehouse and Fran Wilson
May 15, 2018 19:02 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBThe Thoroughly Good Classical Music Podcast invites three people who play, listen or otherwise work in classical music to sit and discuss the subject they love. They’re unplanned conversations recorded as live, very nearly unedited, and more often than not take unexpected twists and turns. Podcast 8 recorded in the Steinway Piano Showroom in London features a returning participant – the marvellous Fran Wilson from the Cross-Eyed Pianist blog - one of the two artistic directors of this years ...
7: Huw Wiggin and Geoff Parkin from the Royal Overseas League
May 03, 2018 13:25 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBPodcast seven was recorded in the Royal Overseas League off Arlington Street in Central London. It features Royal Overseas League Arts Director Geoff Parkin, and previous Royal Overseas League Gold Medal Final winner saxophonist Huw Wiggin. For a full list of the topics we discussed head over to the Thoroughly Good Blog.
6: Ariane Todes and Hugo Ticciati
April 05, 2018 17:52 - 47 minutes - 43.8 MBPodcast six was recorded in the much-maligned hotel bar The Heights – and features music journalist Ariane Todes and I talking to violinist Hugo Ticciati. Hugo talks about his new album 'White Light – The Space Between', why he went without glasses for five years, the challenge of improvisation for classical music musicians, and rock balancing. For a full list of the topics we discussed head over to the Thoroughly Good Blog.
5: Damian Iorio and Alexander van Ingen
March 15, 2018 18:04 - 59 minutes - 54.8 MBEpisode 5 of the Thoroughly Good Classical Music Podcast features conductor Damian Irorio, currently the music director of the Milton Keynes City Orchestra, and Alexander van Ingen of the Academy of Ancient Music. The Academy of Ancient Music will be playing Bach’s St John Passion on Good Friday at 3pm at the Barbican.
4: Andrew James Johnson and Deborah Henry-Pollard
March 02, 2018 14:36 - 57 minutes - 52.4 MBRecorded at Barbican, Jon Jacob is joined by pianist and composer Andrew James Johnson, and author, coach and art lover Debs Henry-Pollard for a conversation spanning piano lessons, Wagner and the CBSO. Andy's new album Winter's Heart is out now and available via Spotify. **Show Notes** Breakfast: bacon and spinach Introductions Andy’s CBSO work experience Orchestral manager job interview Marin Alsop’s womens conductors masterclass Audience members with conductors scores How d...
3: Gediminas Gelgotas and Augusta Jusionytė from the New Ideas Chamber Orchestra
February 20, 2018 10:00 - 43 minutes - 39.4 MBLithuanian composer Gediminas Gelgotas and member of the New Ideas Chamber Orchestra Augusta Jusionytė break from recording at Real World Studios in Box near Bath, to talk about breakfasts, names and contemporary classical. Gediminas' piece for double bass and piano Sanctifaction is available via Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/1opMe2xOkwYkAEBpSwjBnD?si=6eu0H1O-TwW6huJkO9lX5g). Find out more at the New Ideas Chamber Orchestra website (http://www.nicomusic.eu/).
2: Cross-Eyed Pianist Fran Wilson and composer Thomas Hewitt Jones
January 31, 2018 16:05 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBThe second in this new series of Thoroughly Good Podcasts features blogger Cross-Eyed Pianist (Fran Wilson) and composer Thomas Hewitt Jones, recorded in the Crypt Cafe in St John's Smith Square late last year. Many thanks to Richard Heason at St John's Smith Square for giving us a space in the crypt to record the podcast.
1: Pianists Christina McMaster and Tom Poster
January 12, 2018 19:02 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBThe first episode of a new series of Thoroughly Good Podcasts featuring pianists [Christina McMaster](www.twitter.com/pianochristina) and [Tom Poster](www.twitter.com/postertom), recorded at Bluthner Piano Showroom in Central London. Subscribe via iTunes, or visit the [Thoroughly Good Blog](www.thoroughlygood.me).
3.12 Meeting Howard Shelley
October 22, 2016 17:27 - 58 minutes - 53.9 MBPianist and conductor Howard Shelley is conducting a series of lunchtime concerts featuring Mozart's early piano concertos at St Johns Smith Square in London. In this interview Shelley talks about his career, the challenges of playing Mozart and his experiences singing in the Proms performance of Britten's War Requiem in the early 60s.
3.11: The Problem With Other People
September 02, 2016 16:16 - 40 minutes - 37 MBAudience behaviours in the concert hall and online can make the concert hall a hostile place. Three accounts help explain why Jon Jacob sometimes feels rather lonely in the classical music world.
3.11: The Problem With Other People
September 02, 2016 16:16 - 40 minutes - 37 MBAudience behaviours in the concert hall and online can make the concert hall a hostile place. Three accounts help explain why Jon Jacob sometimes feels rather lonely in the classical music world.
3.10: Verbier Festival Academy
August 02, 2016 19:56 - 26 minutes - 23.8 MBChristian Thompson is Director of the Verbier Festival Academy - a residential training programme for exceptional young musicians. In this podcast, recorded in Verbier in August 2016, Christian explains his vision for the Academy and its participants, and how the Academy is developing the next generation of soloists. The music featured in this podcast is the opening movement from Brahms' first piano quartet. #VF2016