The Listening Service
BBC Radio 3
Rethink music with The Listening Service. Tom Service presents a journey of imagination and insight, exploring how music works
All episodes
Best episodes
Top 10 The Listening Service Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Listening Service episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Listening Service for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Listening Service episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Codes, Ciphers, Enigmas
The Listening Service
09/10/17 • 28 min
The Listening Service returns to its regular slot now the Proms are over, and chooses one of the BBC's "Ten Pieces III", Elgar's "Enigma Variations", to look at codes, ciphers and hidden messages in music. What might be the "dark saying" or mystery tune that the Enigma Variations are based around? Which other composers were keen on the use of codes and ciphers in their music? And if we can't crack the codes, does it matter? With Tom Service and Prof. Marcus du Sautoy.
How to listen to... Gilbert and Sullivan
The Listening Service
06/13/21 • 29 min
Tom Service immerses himself in the topsy-turvy world of Gilbert and Sullivan, and finds things are seldom what they seem...
With Derek Clark of Scottish Opera and pianist and composer Richard Sisson.
The Inbetweeners
The Listening Service
01/10/21 • 29 min
Baroque, Classical and Romantic... the big categories of music history all have their big-name composers. But what about the composers less easy to categorise, the ones who fall in between the gaps? Tom Service goes in search of the Inbetweeners from all eras and, with the help of CPE Bach aficionado Andreas Staier, discovers how these once hugely influential figures still speak directly to us now.
David Papp (producer)
The Goldberg Variations
The Listening Service
07/26/20 • 30 min
Tom Service is joined by harpsichordist Richard Egarr to explore one of the most mysterious, complex and rewarding pieces in all music, Bach's keyboard work The Goldberg Variations.
Music and breathing
The Listening Service
06/28/20 • 29 min
How is the rhythm and physicality of our breathing reflected in music? From operatic breath control to circular breathing techniques to a flautist inspired by the relearning of her technique after sinus and asthma problems, Tom looks at a fundamental element of music making.
Close Harmony
The Listening Service
03/29/20 • 29 min
From Corsican polyphony to Jacob Collier, 50s rock and roll and global hit TV series Glee, close harmony runs through music traditions around the world: but nowhere is it more important than in barbershop, famous for its striped waistcoats, bow ties, and comedy parodies. But today over 70,000 singers of all ages and genders participate in barbershop societies around the world, coming together to compete and perform in quartets and larger choruses, enjoying its exuberant and expressive performance style, and revelling in its magical 'overtones'.
With Brian Lynch from the Barbershop Harmony Society in Nashville and members of the BBC Singers, Tom explores what makes it so unique, from its vocal setting to its use of 'just intonation', and discovers the roots of its history, far from the exclusive Ivy League world it's thought to represent.
The music of Kaija Saariaho
The Listening Service
03/08/20 • 29 min
Tom Service takes an introductory journey through the beguiling sound world of Kaija Saariaho.
Finnish-born, Paris-based Saariaho's music, at once dark and dazzling, immediate and sensual, has ensured her position as one of the world's leading living composers. From operas which explore the big human themes, to orchestral and instrumental works which fuse electronic and acoustic sounds, her voice is completely distinctive and instantly recognisable, a triumph of extraordinary imagination and determination over an unpromising family background.
David Papp (producer)
Why backing vocals matter
The Listening Service
12/08/19 • 29 min
Every "sha-la-la-la" and every "wo-o-wo-oh"...Tom Service brings the backing singers of both the pop and opera worlds to the fore. With backing singers David Combes and Izzy Chase, and Royal Opera House chorus member, Rebecca Lodge.
Olivier Messiaen and the Interstellar Call!
The Listening Service
07/29/19 • 30 min
In a live edition of The Listening Service, Tom Service hears and responds to composer Olivier Messiaen’s ‘Interstellar Call’, sent out in his epic "From the canyons to the stars..." The music is inspired by the wild beauty of Arizona, filled with birdsong and the sounds of nature, but also with a cosmic sense of awe - where does Messiaen's visionary work fit in the culture of the early 70s and in the present day?
Musical Highs
The Listening Service
09/27/20 • 29 min
Tom Service looks under the bonnet at musical climaxes and crescendos. How do composers negotiate musical drama to often devastating beauty and power?
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does The Listening Service have?
The Listening Service currently has 251 episodes available.
What topics does The Listening Service cover?
The podcast is about Music and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on The Listening Service?
The episode title 'How to listen to... Gilbert and Sullivan' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Listening Service?
The average episode length on The Listening Service is 28 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Listening Service released?
Episodes of The Listening Service are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of The Listening Service?
The first episode of The Listening Service was released on May 1, 2016.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ