This podcast from the Sounds Interesting series takes repetition as its theme, a musical technique that has long served composers very well, time and time and time again. Henry Purcell, Dmitri Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten provide the musical examples.

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

This podcast from the Sounds Interesting series 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 podcast from the Naxos Sounds Interesting series introduces a selection of classical music items associated with natural disasters, from Biblical times to modern eras.

This podcast from the Naxos Sounds Interesting series introduces a selection of classical music items associated with male personal grooming experts, either by profession or name.

This podcast from the Naxos Sounds Interesting series focuses on Mahler’s wife, Alma.

This podcast from the Naxos Sounds Interesting series 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.