The Piano Tuner
This week Joanna and Stephen are joined by a very special guest, Stephen's personal piano tuner, David Widdicombe. From concert grands, upri...
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Joanna Lumley & The Maestro
Joanna Lumley and her husband Stephen Barlow invite you into their home for a fascinating, funny journey into their shared love of music. You probably know Joanna Lumley, but you may not be...
Episodes
20 of 63 episodesThe Bohemians: Martinů & Janáček
This week we’re diving into two bohemian heroes of classical music, Bohuslav Martinů and Leoš Janáček. Stephen remembers encountering the mu...
Women Composers, the "Ol' 55" and the wonders of 'The Trout'
Which note could the Maestro not live without? Where are all the female composers? And is there a better quintet going than Franz Schubert's...
A Few Blobs On A Stave
This episode is all about the written language of music, the 'hieroglyphs' or 'blobs on the stave'. Stephen and Joanna discuss the connectio...
Earworms, Engravers and Glastonbury
Which earworm keeps the Stephen from his bedtime reading? What's stopping Joanna from going to Glastonbury? Is the Maestro being clear enoug...
Let's Get Stringy
In today's episode, Stephen and Joanna pour over some of the most passionate music ever performed and conceived - the violin concerto. They...
Mongolian Throat Singing & The Love For Three Oranges
In this mini episode, Joanna and Stephen explore the most pressing questions. What is the Maestro's preferred sobriquet? Music that sounds l...
The French Impressionists
Is it a faun? Is it moonlight? Yes, it's Claude Debussy! Over the next 30 minutes, Joanna and Stephen discuss the musical development of Fre...
Colours, Moods, Shoes and trouble with Transposition
In this mini episode, Joanna and Stephen field more vital questions from listeners, such as, why does transposition jangle the Maestro's min...
The Glorious British Brass Band
Is there anything quite so majestic as the British brass band? Joanna and Stephen describe their first encounters with these ensembles, how...
Bonus Stephen Fry: The Audience, Artificial Intelligence and a very un-Hollywood story
In this bonus mini episode with the actor, writer and broadcaster Stephen Fry, we discuss why audiences matter, the transcendent force of pi...
Anna Lapwood: Bach, Lutosławski & The Ministry of Sound
The celebrated organist, choir director and presenter Anna Lapwood joins Stephen and Joanna to discuss a case of mistaken identity at a book...
Concerts, Carols & All Things Christmas
When can one acceptably pour a bucks fizz during the Christmas holidays? Did the Holy Trinity (Beethoven, Mozart and Bach) care much for the...
Merry Christmas From Joanna & the Maestro
Christmas has landed and The Music Room is in full reverberation. From carols to ditties, oratorios and Wham! the Maestro and Joanna leave n...
Bonus Christmas Ken Bruce
Did you think we'd forgotten to get you a Christmas present? Far from it! Joanna was Ken Bruce's special guest on Greatest Hits Radio, so we...
Child Prodigies, The Jocundity of Rossini and The Big Snare Drum
Joanna and Stephen fire up the email inbox in the week's mini episode, diving into listeners' questions on everything from how conductors co...
Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan on the making of 'Maestro'
This week, Joanna and the Stephen are joined by Hollywood royalty. On the eve Netflix's worldwide release of 'Maestro' - a new biopic about...
Great Conductors, Musical Signatures and Whizz Kids
How do great conductors like Furtwängler and Haitink command an orchestra? Do some conductors have a signature sound? And how did meeting th...
Stephen Fry and the Virtuosity of Classical Music
Today, Joanna and the Maestro are joined by the actor, writer and national treasure, Stephen Fry. The trio discuss Stephen’s deep love for c...
Unsung Heroes: Lili Boulanger, Prodigy meets Tragedy
This week's mini episode continues our theme of 'unsung heroes'. And today we're diving into the works of another prodigious French composer...