The Making of MusicSeries 1Episodes Episode guide

Back up to: The Making of Music

1. Albertopolis

   30/30The Royal Albert Hall opened in 1871 with a prince championing culture.
2. Grand Opera

   29/30In the first half of the 19th century, Italy consummated its love affair with opera.
3. Virtuosi

   28/30In the 1820s and 30s, audiences craved virtuosi performances.
4. Weber and German Romanticism

   27/30Weber gave German audiences what they wanted - storms and disasters.
5. Schubert and the Piano

   26/30Schubert used improving piano quality to make it an instrument for the voice.
6. Beethoven's Eroica

   25/30The composer allegedly removed his original dedication to Napoleon from the manuscript.
7. Beethoven

   24/30The great German composer worked at a time of seismic change in Europe.
8. The French Revolution

   23/30La Marseillaise became a national anthem, and music inspired by revolution was everywhere.
9. Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro

   22/30The play on which Mozart's opera was based was banned in its original form by Louis XVI.
10. Mozart

    21/30In the middle of the 18th century composers needed patrons, but this was soon to change.
11. Haydn and the Esterhazys

    20/30Joseph Haydn lived mainly in his patrons' isolated palace and produced music on demand.
12. Music and Society

    19/30By the late 1700s, music was becoming part of the social fabric.
13. Rameau and the Philosophes

    18/30Paris during the 1750s was the centre of a clash of cultural ideas.
14. Handel

    17/30German-born composer George Frideric made English music great.
15. Bach's St Matthew Passion

    16/30Johann Sebastian's recurring choral theme had a profound effect on the history of music.
16. Bach in Leipzig

    15/30Johann Sebastian Bach produced some of the most sublime church music ever written.
17. The Restoration

    14/30The return of Charles II from exile heralded a revival in English music.
18. The Puritans

    13/30Oliver Cromwell not only appreciated music but also employed former royal composers.
19. The Violin

    12/30The design of the violin was perfected in Cremona around 1700.
20. The Sun King

    11/30How English composer John Dunstable's music travelled to the Burgundy court.
21. The Birth of Opera

    10/30The idea of telling a story in music proved immediately successful across Italy.
22. Elizabeth I

    9/30In the Elizabethan age, composers Byrd and Tallis revealed the religious divide.
23. Venice

    8/30Uncle and nephew Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli wrote music that filled St Mark's Basilica.
24. The Counter Reformation

    7/30The composer Palestrina became accidentally embroiled in the politics of the high church.
25. The Reformation

    6/30During the Reformation, Martin Luther harnessed secular songs for religious music.
26. The Renaissance

    5/30Music and the arts were beginning to celebrate man as well as God.
27. Burgundy

    4/30The Burgundy Court was influenced by the musical style of England's John Dunstable.
28. Troubadours

    3/30In courts and great houses, the troubadours wrote secular songs of love and jealousy.
29. Notre Dame

    2/30As Notre Dame was built, composers Perotin and Leonin wrote music to fill it.
30. Origins

    1/30James Naughtie looks at classical music origins in churches and monasteries.