Music
8 episodes
Beethoven
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise of Beethoven, from Bonn to Vienna, where he became one of the great composers, despite his growing deafness.
21 December 2017
Featuring: Laura Tunbridge, John Deathridge, Erica Buurman
German Roman CatholicsNational anthem writers19th-century German male musiciansGerman Romantic composers, German male opera composers, German opera composers18th-century German male musicians, 18th-century classical pianists, 19th-century keyboardists, Beethoven family, Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery, Catholic liturgical composers, Child classical musicians, Composers for piano, Deaf classical musicians, German ballet composers, German classical composers of church music, German deaf people, German emigrants to Austria, German male classical pianists, German people of Flemish descent, German string quartet composers, Ludwig van Beethoven, Musicians from Bonn, Oratorio composers, People from the Electorate of Cologne, Pupils of Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Pupils of Joseph HaydnAge of Enlightenment18th century19th centuryMusicFrederick the Great
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Frederick II, king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786.
2 July 2015
Featuring: Tim Blanning, Katrin Kohl, Thomas Biskup
HistoryGerman critics of ChristianityWriters from BerlinGerman FreemasonsGerman male classical composers18th-century classical composersRoyal reburials18th-century male musiciansGerman classical composersPeople of the Silesian Wars18th-century German LGBTQ peoplePeople of the Age of EnlightenmentGerman military writersGerman opera librettists18th-century German composers18th-century art collectors, German art collectors, People of the War of the Bavarian Succession, Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)18th centuryGermanyMusicHildegard of Bingen
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval mystic, composer and writer Hildegard of Bingen.
26 June 2014
Featuring: Miri Rubin, William Flynn, Almut Suerbaum
HistoryGerman women philosophersManuscript illuminatorsAnglican saintsRoman Catholic mysticsPre-Reformation Anglican saintsHerbalistsCatholic philosophersGerman classical composersWomen religious writersWomen mystics12th-century writers in LatinMystic poetsMedieval Latin-language poets12th-century Christian saintsBenedictine philosophersAngelic visionariesCreators of writing systemsDoctors of the Church12th centuryLanguageMusicNietzsche's Genealogy of Morality
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Nietzsche's influential ideas about what it means to be moral.
12 January 2017
Featuring: Stephen Mulhall, Fiona Hughes, Keith Ansell-Pearson
PhilosophyCritics of the Catholic Church19th-century German male musicians19th-century German journalistsPhilosophers of timeUniversity of Bonn alumni19th-century German non-fiction writersPhilosophers of sexualityWriters about religion and scienceMetaphilosophersGerman philosophers of historyGerman male non-fiction writersCritics of work and the work ethicGerman critics of Christianity19th-century Prussian peopleGerman music criticsWriters about activism and social changeStateless peoplePhilosophy writersIrony theoristsDeterministsPhilosophers of psychology19th-century German novelistsPeople from the Province of SaxonyCritics of religionsCritical theoristsAnti-consumeristsMetaphysiciansGerman philosophers of culturePeople associated with the University of BaselGerman military personnel of the Franco-Prussian WarGerman ethicists, German philosophers of education19th-century German philosophersTheorists on Western civilizationDeaths from pneumonia in GermanyGerman philosophers of mind, German philosophers of religionGerman epistemologistsPhilosophers of nihilismLeipzig University alumniPhilosophers of social science19th-century German male writersGerman male essayistsOntologistsAphoristsExistentialistsAnti-nationalistsPhilosophers of literatureGerman philosophers of art19th centuryGermanyMedicineMusicPsychologyWarRousseau on Education
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Rousseau's ideas on how to educate children so they retain their natural selves and are not corrupted by society.
10 October 2019
Featuring: Richard Whatmore, Caroline Warman, Denis McManus
PhilosophyPhilosophers of culturePhilosophers of mind18th-century classical composers18th-century philosophersWriters about activism and social changeSimple living advocatesBurials at the Panthéon, ParisContributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772)Proto-evolutionary biologistsPhilosophers of educationFrench political philosophersPhilosophers of artConverts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism, Romantic philosophersPeople with hypochondriasisClassical-period composersDeist philosophersPhilosophers of scienceAutobiographersPhilosophers of economicsEnlightenment philosophersCatholic philosophers18th-century male musiciansSocial philosophersAge of EnlightenmentPhilosophers of literature18th centuryEconomicsFranceMusicTagore
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize for Literature.
7 May 2015
Featuring: Chandrika Kaul, Bashabi Fraser, John Stevens
English-language poets from IndiaNational anthem writersKnights Bachelor19th-century Bengali poets, 19th-century Indian composers, 19th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights, 19th-century Indian educational theorists, 19th-century Indian essayists, 19th-century Indian male artists, 19th-century Indian musicians, 19th-century Indian painters, 19th-century Indian philosophers, 19th-century Indian poets, 19th-century classical musicians, 19th-century male musicians, 20th-century Bengali poets, 20th-century Indian composers, 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights, 20th-century Indian educational theorists, 20th-century Indian essayists, 20th-century Indian novelists, 20th-century Indian painters, 20th-century Indian philosophers, 20th-century Indian poets, Alumni of University College London, Bengali Hindus, Bengali male poets, Bengali musicians, Bengali nationalists, Bengali philosophers, Bengali zamindars, Bengali-language poets, Brahmos, Dramatists and playwrights from British India, Hindu poets, Indian Hindus, Indian Nobel laureates, Indian classical composers, Indian male dramatists and playwrights, Indian male essayists, Indian male painters, Indian male poets, Indian male songwriters, Indian portrait painters, Indian social reformers, Indian songwriters, Musicians from Kolkata, Oriental Seminary alumni, Painters from West Bengal, People associated with Santiniketan, People associated with Shillong, People from the Bengal Presidency, Poets from British India, Poets from West Bengal, Presidency University, Kolkata alumni, Rabindranath Tagore, Tagore family, Vangiya Sahitya Parishad, Writers from KolkataNobel laureates in LiteratureArtist authorsFounders of Indian schools and collegesHaiku poets19th century20th centuryLanguageMusicPaintingWagner
Melvyn Bragg discusses the life, and legacy of the German composer Richard Wagner, mentor of Nietzsche and disciple of Schopenhauer, who changed the face of 19th century opera.
20 June 2002
Featuring: John Deathridge, Lucy Beckett, Michael Tanner
German music critics19th-century German male musiciansLeipzig University alumni19th-century German essayistsGerman male essayistsGerman Romantic composers, German male opera composers, German opera composersGerman theatre directors19th-century German composers, 19th-century classical composersGerman opera librettistsGerman autobiographers19th centuryGermanyMusicWilliam and Caroline Herschel
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the pioneering brother and sister who, between them, discovered Uranus, comets, double stars and infrared light at the end of the 18th century.
11 November 2021
Featuring: Monica Grady, Carolin Crawford, Jim Bennett
ScienceRecipients of the Copley MedalMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesClassical-period composersGerman male classical composers19th-century German male musicians18th-century classical composersHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences18th-century German astronomersGerman LutheransGerman classical composers18th-century keyboardistsBritish scientific instrument makersFellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences18th-century German composersFellows of the Royal Society18th century19th centuryAstronomyGermanyMusic
