In this episode, I listen to the African American composer's Lyric for strings and think about the difference between music that evokes emotions and music that works through them.

Brahms' second symphony is, as commentators agree, "serene, full of warmth, and brimming with optimism." The philosopher, Roger Scruton, writes that great music does not simply express a state - serenity, warmth, optimism – it interrogates it. In this podcast I explore his idea, and its – and the symphony's – profound relationship to life.

In this podcast I explore the idea that Dvorak redeems the problems of life – specifically the problem of his homesickness for Czechoslovakia – not by solving them but by turning them into music.

Commentators seem unable to praise the Finale of Mozart's 41st symphony enough, containing, "they say," the greatest 30 seconds of music ever written. I thought I'd work out why – and I'm not so sure I agree.

In this podcast I explore the relationship of carols to the magic of Christmas.

When I first rehearsed this music I could make no sense of it! So I made a podcast. Now I find parts of the Carol Symphony quite moving.

Journey to "where no [person] has gone before" or an early morning walk? Chamber music or symphony of gigantic proportions? Mark and Matthew listen to key moments from a work haunted by themes of joy, unrequited love and death.

Matthew and Mark discover the classical in the romantic.

Mark and Matthew listen to the first movement of Brahms' violin concerto and discover that, at heart, its depth and richness lies in the organic development of simple, musical ideas.

The opening pizzicato – the cork pops on a bottle of Prosecco – the brilliant Italian sunshine reveals the exquisite detail of Mendelssohn's mastery.

Mark listens to the first movement of Beethoven 7th Symphony with the conductor, Matthew Jones. What does it mean to hear a work for the first time?

In this podcast, I unpack the narrative that forms the opening of the Ninth Symphony's Finale, as Beethoven searches for "joyful sounds," a tune we can all sing – the Ode to Joy.

The slow movement of the A minor quartet is profound–but somehow difficult to discover without careful listening.

In this podcast, I explore ways in which Schubert uses music in the first song of his cycle, "Winter's Journey," to give the lyrics an angle, rather like a film score gives a scene an angle. The singer is Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau with Gerald Moore on the Piano.

This is a podcast produced for a music class at Humber College. It speaks to Bob Dylan's switch, in Bringing It All Back Home, from purely acoustic instruments to the introduction of the electric guitar: from folk to folk rock.

First impressions of Liszt's symphonic poem, "Les Preludes:" the story of development.

Mark talks about the paradoxical relationship between the piano and orchestra in the opening movement of Brahms' 2nd piano concerto.

This is a podcast I created for a course I teach in music. In it I explore what sets the Beatles apart from their contemporaries in their first no. 1 hit.

I made this podcast for my "musical pioneers" class at Humber College. In it I compare Herman Junior Parker's original song, Mystery Train, released in 1953 with Presley's version released in 1955.

Mark is joined by Matthew, conductor of the EPO, to discuss musical development in the 1st movement of Shostakovich's 10th symphony: the composer's treatment of "dance," the conversation between simultaneous musical lines and the way the composer transforms melodies.