David Walliams takes a ride through the magical career of legendary film composer John Williams, from Star Wars to Harry Potter – with a little help from a ghost. Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150 Music from: John Williams: Star Wars, Main Title – London Symphony Orchestra/Gavin Greenaway (Decca/Classic FM) John Williams: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Raiders March – London Symphony Orchestra/Gavin Greenaway (Decca/Classic FM) John Williams: Jaws, The Shark Theme – London Symphony Orchestra/Gavin Greenaway (Decca/Classic FM) John Williams: Jurassic Park, Theme – London Symphony Orchestra/Gavin Greenaway (Decca/Classic FM) John Williams: Superman, Superman March – London Symphony Orchestra/Gavin Greenaway (Decca/Classic FM) John Williams: Saving Private Ryan, Hymn to the Fallen – London Symphony Orchestra/Gavin Greenaway (Decca/Classic FM) John Williams: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Hedwig’s Theme – London Symphony Orchestra/Gavin Greenaway (Decca/Classic FM) Tchaikovsky: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker – Bergen Philharmonic/Neeme Järvi (Chandos)

From a helicopter quartet to a vegetable orchestra, prepare to have your idea of what an ‘instrument’ can be blown wide open. David Walliams explores some of the most fantastical, needlessly complex and sometimes tasty musical instruments that human beings have ever created. Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150 Viola Organista performed by S?awomir Zubrzycki The Vegetable Orchestra John Cage: Variations I – Langham Research Centre Leroy Anderson: The Typewriter – Richard Hayman Orchestra/Richard Hayman Verdi: ‘Anvil Chorus’ from Il trovatore – Orchestra e coro del teatro alla scala/Riccardo Muti Mahler: Symphony No.6 – Minnestora Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä (BIS) Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko (Classic FM) Ligeti: Poème Symphonique for 100 Metronomes – Françoise Terrioux (Sony) Leopold Mozart: Cassation in G ‘Toy Symphony’ Rautavaara: Cantus Arcticus – Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/Leif Segerstam Tchaikovsky: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy on glass harmonica – William Zeitler

It’s time to delve into the tale of Clara Schumann, the phenomenally gifted composer who was, in many ways, The Greatest Schumann. Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150 Clara Schumann: Three Romances – Jennifer Pike and Tom Poster (Chandos) Beethoven: Für Elise – Ji Liu (Classic FM) Robert Schumann: Piano Quartet in E flat – Alexander Melnikov/Jerusalem Quarete (Harmonia Mundi) Brahms: Piano Sonata in F minor – Stephen Hough (Hyperion) Chopin: Nocture Op.9, No.2 – Ji Liu (Classic FM) Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn – Georg Solti/Murray Perahia Clara Schumann: Scherzo in D minor, Op.10 – Konstanze Eickhorst

You’ve heard his music, now it’s time to hear his story. David dives into the life of one of history’s greatest – and grumpiest – composers. Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150 Beethoven: Symphony No.5 – Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique/John Eliot Gardiner (SDG) Beethoven: Symphony No.7 – Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique/John Eliot Gardiner (SDG) Walter Murphy: A Fifth of Beethoven Beethoven: Rage Over a Lost Penny – Ronald Brautigam (BIS) Beethoven: Symphony No.3 – Dresden Philharmonic/Michael Sanderling (Sony) Beethoven: Für Elise – Ji Liu (Classic FM) Beethoven: Symphony No.9 (BIS) Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.14 ‘Moonlight’ – Ji Liu (Classic FM)

They broke the mould and changed the face of music. Meet the marvellous mavericks and devilish divas who took the musical world by storm. And don’t be surprised if a number of old friends turn up to join the party… Each episode is also accompanied by a playlist in Apple Music – you can find those here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/curator/classic-fm/1211395150 Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.13 – Arcadi Volodos (Sony) Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee – Royal Scottish National Orchestra//Neeme Järvi excerpts from Mozart: Don Giovanni – MusicAeterna/Teodor Currentzis (Sony) Mozart: ‘Voi che sapete’ from Don Giovanni – Adelina Patti (Nimbus) Paganini: 24 Caprices – Augustin Hadelich (Warner Classics) Paganini: Violin Concerto – Itzhak Perlman/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Lawrence Foster Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 – Arcadi Volodos (Sony) Bizet : ‘L’amour est un oiseau rebelle’ from Carmen – Maria Callas, Orchestra de l’Opéra National de Paris