The Listening Service Podcast
Rethink music with The Listening Service. Tom Service presents a journey of imagination and insight, exploring how music works
Episodes to download
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The Music of Sound
Sunday
Tom Service on the mutually creative relationship between music and its surroundings.
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What's the point of cadenzas?
Sun 12 Jun 2022
Tom Service explores cadenzas with the American pianist Jeremy Denk at the Hay Festival.
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Royal Music
Sun 5 Jun 2022
Music fit for kings, queens, princes and princesses: but what do we mean by royal music?
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Can music be funny?
Sun 22 May 2022
Tom Service on the art of classical music comedy. And it's not necessarily about timing.
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The Musical Recycling Plant
Sun 8 May 2022
From composers to composters: how and why do composers re-use their own music?
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What's in a Name?
Sun 24 Apr 2022
Tom Service on the often baffling language of classical music naming and numbering.
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Song Cycles and Concept Albums
Sun 10 Apr 2022
Tom Service explores the connections between song cycles and concept albums.
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Finishing the Hat
Sun 27 Mar 2022
Tom Service explores the lyrics and legacy of musical theatre composer Stephen Sondheim.
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John Williams - the Force of Music!
Sun 20 Mar 2022
Tom Service has a close encounter with the film music of John Williams.
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Classical Crossover
Sun 20 Feb 2022
Tom Service turns his ears to a musical world where classical and pop converge.
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Recorders
Sun 30 Jan 2022
Tom Service explores the music and mystery of that schooldays favourite - the recorder.
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Dancing about Architecture
Sun 23 Jan 2022
Is writing about music really like dancing about architecture?
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Making Overtures
Sun 2 Jan 2022
Tom Service explores the rise and fall of the musical curtain-raiser.
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Playing at sight and playing from memory
Sun 12 Dec 2021
Tom Service flexes his musical memory muscles whilst also improving his sight reading.
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How to listen to...Erik Satie
Sun 21 Nov 2021
Tom Service explores the musical universe of Erik Satie.
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The timeless power of contemporary choral music
Sun 17 Oct 2021
Tom Service immerses himself in the resonant sound world of 21st-century choral music.
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Eat to the Beat
Sun 3 Oct 2021
The many long-standing and sometimes surprising connections between food and music.
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Out of Tune
Sun 26 Sep 2021
Tom Service asks what it really means to be in tune? In tune with what - or who?
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How to listen to... Arvo Pärt
Sun 19 Sep 2021
Tom explores Arvo Pärt's music - what makes it so unique and why is it so popular?
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Fiddles and Fiddle Tunes
Sun 25 Jul 2021
Tom Service explores fiddles and fiddle tunes from around the world.
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Themes and Variations
Sun 18 Jul 2021
Tom Service explores the endless potential of musical variations on a theme.
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Money Makes the Music Go Round
Sun 27 Jun 2021
Tom Service explores the relationship between money and music.
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How to listen to... Gilbert and Sullivan
Sun 13 Jun 2021
Tom Service enters the topsy-turvy world of Gilbert and Sullivan.
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Playing Second Fiddle (and Horn and Trumpet...)
Sun 6 Jun 2021
The joys and frustrations of being the unsung heroes of the orchestral world.
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Leoš Janáček: music is a being come alive
Sun 18 Apr 2021
What makes the extraordinary music of Czech composer Leoš Janáček instantly recognisable?
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?
