CACOPHONY: GREAT CLASSICAL MUSIC

The intensity, joy, heartbreak and thrills of great sporting moments are almost unmatchable... except by those in great music. The magic of the Olympics is transformed by the alchemist John Williams into four minutes of musical, life-affirming perfection. Olympic Fanfare and Theme is one of my favourite Williams pieces, and that's really saying something!

Music here, on Spotify or Youtube in a terrific performance that brings out every tiny detail from the LA Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. 

You can buy a download of the piece in top quality sound for a mere 17 British pence!

What do you think? Best Williams piece ever? Tell me at Cacophonyonline.com.

You can support Cacophony here, by 'buying me a ko-fi'.

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Celebratory music from Haydn that's pretty perfect and sure to leave you in a good mood and feeling happy!

Music here on youtube or spotify

Listening time 34 mins (podcast 7', music 27')

What do you think? Let us know with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com

If you like it, why not buy a download? You can get that here for less than a pound, or elsewhere. Cacophony doesn't make and money from it, but the musicians will make much more than through streaming. You can support Cacophony here.

Please share the podcast with everyone you know - maybe by sharing the trailer?

Thanks for listening!

Even more irresistible than the Italian football team and their ace national anthem is Verdi's overture to Nabucco. It's rousing and joyous and one of my favourite things.

Music here, on Youtube or Spotify, super-stylishly played by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado.

Listening time: 13 mins (Intro podcast, 6'; music 7')

What do you think? Let us know with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com

If you like it, why not buy a download? You can get that here in top quality lossless sound for THIRTEEN English pence! or elsewhere...

 You can support Cacophony here.

I get floored every time by these six songs of lost youth, love and life written on the cusp of World War 1 by a young composer who didn't make it through. Raw, simple and unforgettable.

Music here, with the terrific partnership of Roderick Williams and Iain Burnside, on Youtube

or Spotify.  Listening time: 21 mins (Intro podcast, 8'; music 13')

Here you'll find all the words to the songs.

Recorded in inescapable heavy rain, so apologies for the sound quality on this episode!

What do you think? Let us know with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com

If you like it, why not buy a download? You can get that here in top quality lossless sound for an English fiver or elsewhere. Cacophony doesn't make any money from it, but the musicians will make much more than through streaming. You can support Cacophony here.

How Scottish do you have to be to be worthy of the name? If you're going to write a Scottish Symphony should it contain Scottish music? Does Mendelssohn pass the test? Regardless, his Symphony No.3 is brilliant, moving and surprising...

Music here on Youtube or Spotify (full piece. Part 2 on the Youtube vid starts at 20:46)

Listening time: 29 mins (Podcast 9', music 20') or 49' if you listen to the whole piece. 

I'd love to hear from you! If you liked this (or didn't) please tell me with a comment at cacophonyonline.com

If you really like the piece, please consider buying a recording. The artists get very little from streams, so the best way to support them is to buy the album. You can buy it as a download here, and elsewhere.

If you like Cacophony and want to support it please click here to 'buy me a coffee'!

Please subscribe to the podcast and share it with your friends and family.

Thanks for listening!

Every time I hear it, I'm amazed by the power and emotion in Mendelssohn's music. Inspired by a trip to Scotland, his Symphony No.3 delights and surprises, without resorting to bagpipes!

Music here on Youtube or Spotify

Listening time: 32 mins (Podcast 12', music 20')

I'd love to hear from you! If you liked this (or didn't) please tell me with a comment at cacophonyonline.com

If you really like the piece, please consider buying a recording. The artists get very little from streams, so the best way to support them is to buy the album. You can buy it as a download here, and elsewhere.

If you like Cacophony and want to support it please click here to 'buy me a coffee'!

Please subscribe to the podcast and share it with your friends and family.

Thanks for listening!

Asked to write funeral music for his friend and patron during the middle of a war, with millions dying all around plus a shortage of musicians, Heinrich Schütz finds hope, beauty and joy among the devastation. His Musikalische Exequien [Funeral Music] is a 400-year old masterpiece that still works its magic.

Music here on Youtube or Spotify, sung with urgent intensity by The Sixteen.

Listening time: 39 mins (Podcast 11', music 28')

If you want to know exactly what's being sung, you can download the cd booklet, which contains (among much else) the words in German with a rather old-churchy-English translation.

Your feelings are important! If you liked this (or didn't) please tell me with a comment at cacophonyonline.com

If you really like the piece, please consider buying a recording. The artists get very little from streams, so the best way to support them is to buy the album. You can buy it as a download here, and elsewhere.

If you like Cacophony and want to support it please click here to 'buy me a coffee'!

Please subscribe to the podcast and share it with your friends and family.

Thanks for listening!

Come on the fantastic - and fantastical - musical adventure that is Anna Clyne's This Midnight Hour. You'll be thrilled, excited, maybe a bit scared, ultimately consoled... or maybe not... What does this great music do to you?

Music here on youtube with video, or listen here on Spotify.

Listening time 19 mins (podcast 5', music 12-14').

Please let me know what you think of This Midnight Hour and of this episode of Cacophony by leaving a comment.

The Baudelaire poem which inspired Clyne can be found on this fab page.

If you want to buy a recording you can get a high quality download for £1.98 here, or elsewhere!

Subscribe to and share the podcast!

If you like Cacophony, you might want to buy me a Ko-fi?

Thanks for listening!

Exhilarating and fun, Beethoven's fourth symphony is like one of the best days out. This is Beethoven in the best of moods and relishing what's possible. It's a joyful ride!

Music here on Youtube or Spotify. 

Listening time 43 mins (podcast 11', music 32')

What do you think? Let us know with a comment at Cacophonyonline.com

If you like it, why not buy a download? You can get that here for less than a pound, or elsewhere. Cacophony doesn't make and money from it, but the musicians will make much more than through streaming. You can support Cacophony here.

This is a new discovery for me - and it's deeply wonderful. Beethoven's late string quartet song of thanks: written as he recovered from severe illness, it's music that heals and restores our mind and soul.

Music here on Youtube, beautifully filmed and played by the Danish String Quartet. 

Or on Spotify with the fab Takacs Quartet.

Listening time: 31 mins (Podcast 12', music 17/19')

If you liked this (or didn't) please tell me with a comment at cacophonyonline.com

If you want to buy a recording of this piece you can get a high quality FLAC download here for only 13p which is still more than the quartet get through Spotify! [Details: Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132, Track 3: Heiliger Dankgesang e. Genesenden an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart!]

If you like Cacophony and want to support it please click here to 'buy me a coffee'!

Please subscribe to the podcast and share it with your friends and family.

Thanks for listening!