Proms Interval: Smetana's Ma Vlast - musical myth-making and majesty
Tom Service examines the cultural significance of Smetana’s orchestral masterpiece, exploring the poetry and politics of a piece deeply embedded in Czech national consciousness.
Tom Service examines the cultural significance of Smetana’s six-part orchestral masterpiece, exploring the poetry and politics of a piece deeply embedded in the Czech national consciousness. Combining countryside and folklore, myth and majesty, Ma Vlast (My Country) is a Romantic symphonic work par excellence, but Tom considers the reasons it remains such a powerful and important piece today.
Why do we call it 'classical' music?
Tom Service poses a very simple question (with a not-so-simple answer).
Six of the world's most extreme voices
From babies to Mongolian throat singers: whose voice is the most extreme of all?
How did the number 12 revolutionise music?
How Schoenberg opened a new cosmos for composers and listeners to explore.
Why are we all addicted to bass?
Bass is everywhere, but why do we enjoy it? Join Tom Service on a journey of discovery.
Watch the animations
Join Tom Service on a musical journey through beginnings, repetition and bass lines.
When does noise become music?
We like to think we can separate “noise” from “music”, but is it that simple?
Podcast
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The Listening Service
An odyssey through the musical universe, presented by Tom Service
