Couch to Concert is a programme for newcomers to our art form: an exercise programme for the ears that will help you work towards attending a concert of contemporary classical music, and arm yourself with the tools to listen to (and even enjoy!) this genre.

Hosted by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Cerys Matthews and seasoned music journalist Paul Morley, our friendly introductory podcasts will explain the context behind the music and answer some of the questions you may have about the repertoire. They will describe what to listen out for in each piece of the concert programme, and explain what made each of them so ground-breaking in its time.

Sign up to our Couch to concert programme at www.londonsinfonietta.org.uk/couch-concert. We’ll also send you curated playlists and an illustrated music map to support the podcast, and you’ll receive a free ticket to one of our concerts, in which you’ll hear this repertoire performed live by the London Sinfonietta.

This season Tōru Takemitsu takes the spotlight, culminating in our concert Turning Points: Takemitsu, on Sunday 27 November. Takemitsu, born in 1930, was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. The London Sinfonietta enjoyed a long and close relationship with the composer, expressed through some extraordinarily beautiful ensemble scores which are now amongst the composer’s most celebrated works. The concert will explore Takemitsu's love for nature, and how it inspired and shaped his musical creations.