Key Changes: Radio 3's Essential History of Classical Music

Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new BBC Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1000 years of classical music history.

Radio 3,11 episodes

Episodes

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1600: Opera's First Breath
1600, Florence. At a Medici wedding, a new artform is born.
06 Jun 2026,56 mins
1564 - The Queen’s Gambit
It's the year 1564. A Scottish envoy has an unexpected musical encounter with Elizabeth I.
30 May 2026,56 mins
1527: The Church on Fire
It's the year 1527. As imperial troops storm Rome, its musical life is thrown into crisis.
23 May 2026,56 mins
1521: Why should the devil have all the best tunes?
It's the year 1521. On the road to Worms, Martin Luther leads a hymn as he faces judgement
09 May 2026,56 mins
1501: The Printed Composer
Venice, 1501. In a canal-side workshop, Petrucci produces the first printed book of music.
02 May 2026,56 mins
1492: The Fall of Granada
It's 1492. Granada has fallen. In the Alhambra, a Moorish musician awaits his fate.
25 Apr 2026,38 mins
1415: War, Pestilence and Sweet Sounds
The year is 1415. The Battle of Agincourt heralds a profound change in the sound of music.
18 Apr 2026,41 mins
1182: Raising Notre-Dame
The year is 1182. Notre-Dame de Paris is consecrated, and new musical ideas are born.
11 Apr 2026,35 mins
1150: Songs of the Troubadours
In the 1150s, the King of the Troubadours meets Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.
04 Apr 2026,56 mins
1026: As simple as do-re-mi
The year is 1026. Monk Guido d'Arezzo causes a musical revolution with a new invention.
01 Apr 2026,56 mins
Introducing Key Changes: Radio 3's Essential History of Classical Music
Journey through 1000 years of classical music with Gillian Moore and eminent historians.
01 Apr 2026,3 mins