Main content

Especially for New Year, Tom looks at the idea of resolutions - and what they mean in the world of music.

The word 'resolution' has several meanings. It can refer to something that has been settled or resolved. It can infer a desire to do something differently or to behave in a changed way - as in a New Year resolution. It can also mark the final unravelling of some great complication or drama. In music, it means something more specific: the progression from discord to consonance. With New Year in mind, Tom Service considers the idea of resolution in music in the widest sense of the word; including a look at how composers set about creating a resolve to their musical ideas. Tom's guest expert is the composer Dobrinka Tabakova.

Available now

29 minutes

Last on

Fri 5 Jan 202416:30
BBC Radio 3

More episodes

Previous

New York, New York!

Next

Jumping Fleas: the rise and rise of the Ukulele

See all episodes from The Listening Service

Music Played

  • Trad.

    Auld Lang Syne

    Performer: The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
    • Decca (UMO).
    • B001RTVEKS.

  • Mike Oldfield

    Tubular Bells: Part One

    Performer: Mike Oldfield.
    • UMC (Universal Music Catalogue).
    • 00602455589514.

  • Robert Schumann

    Papillons Op.2 No.12

    Performer: Marc‐André Hamelin.
    • Hyperion.
    • CDA-67120.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony No 1 in C major I. 'Adagio molto - Allegro con brio'

    Conductor: Michael Gielen. Performer: Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra.
    • SWR Classic.
    • SWR19103CD.

  • Richard Wagner

    Tristan und Isolde; Act 3, Liebestod (Mild und leise, wie er lachelt)

    Conductor: Herbert von Karajan. Performer: Jessye Norman. Performer: Wiener Philharmonika.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 00028942361324.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Ein Musikalischer Spass IV. Presto

    Performer: Capella Istropolitana.
    • EMG Classical.
    • 894231644924.

  • Béla Bartók

    Sonata for 2 pianos and percussion III. Allegro non troppo

    Performer: Jean-Pierre Drouet. Performer: Katia Labèque. Performer: Marielle Labèque. Performer: Sylvio Gualda.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 190296422089.

  • John Coltrane

    Giant Steps

    Performer: John Coltrane.
    • Violent Hill Records.
    • 887396298590.

  • Dobrinka Tabakova

    Such Different Paths

    Conductor: Stacy Watton. Performer: Amihai Grosz. Performer: Boris Andrianov. Performer: Janine Jansen. Performer: Julia-Maria Kretz.
    • ECM New Series.
    • 4764826.

  • Dobrinka Tabakova

    Timber and Steel

    Conductor: Delyana Lazarova. Performer: Hallé.
    • Halle Concerts Society.
    • CDHLL7562.

  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Symphony no. 5 in D minor IV. Allegro non troppo

    Conductor: Charles Mackerras. Performer: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

  • Joseph Haydn

    Symphony no. 45 in F sharp minor (Farewell) IV. Finale (Presto - adagio)

    Conductor: Neville Marriner. Performer: Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
    • Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd..
    • 00028948432387.

  • Roger Waters

    Grantchester Meadows

    Performer: Pink Floyd.
    • Pink Floyd Records.
    • 5099902983257.

  • Dudley Moore

    Beethoven Sonata Parody

    Performer: Dudley Moore Trio.
    • Techniche Label OMP.
    • N/A.

  • Peter Schickele

    Quodlibet for Small Orchestra

    Conductor: Peter Schickele (1935). Performer: P D Q Bach (1935).
    • Vanguard Records.
    • 00015707919555.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony no. 5 in C minor II. Andante con moto

    Conductor: Franz Konwitschny. Performer: MDR Sinfonieorchester.
    • Forlane.
    • FC16674.

  • Jean Sibelius

    Symphony no. 5 in E flat major Original IV. Allegro Commodo - Largamente Molto [1915]

    Conductor: Osmo Vänskä. Performer: Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
    • BIS.
    • BIS-CD-863.

  • Jean Sibelius

    Symphony no. 5 in E flat major Final III. III. Allegro Molto - Largamente Assai [1919]

    Conductor: Ole Schmidt. Performer: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • RPO103.

  • John Dowland

    In Darkness Let Me Dwell

    Performer: Iestyn Davies. Performer: Jonathan Manson. Performer: Thomas Dunford.
    • Wigmore Live.
    • WHLIVE0074.

  • Erik Satie

    Vexations

    Performer: Peter Dickinson.
    • Sony Music.
    • 88697532072.

  • DADABOTS

    Bach Faucets

  • London Vegetable Orchestra

    Melang

    Performer: London Vegetable Orchestra.
    • Transacoustic Research.
    • TRES008.

  • Henry Mancini

    Baby Elephant Walk

    Performer: Henry Mancini & His Orchestra.
    • RCA Victor.
    • RD-85938.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 31 Dec 202317:00
    BBC Radio 3
  • Fri 5 Jan 202416:30
    BBC Radio 3

Why do we call it 'classical' music?

Why do we call it 'classical' music?

Tom Service poses a very simple question (with a not-so-simple answer).

Six of the world's most extreme voices

Six of the world's most extreme voices

From babies to Mongolian throat singers: whose voice is the most extreme of all?

How did the number 12 revolutionise music?

How did the number 12 revolutionise music?

How Schoenberg opened a new cosmos for composers and listeners to explore.

Why are we all addicted to bass?

Why are we all addicted to bass?

Bass is everywhere, but why do we enjoy it? Join Tom Service on a journey of discovery.

Watch the animations

Watch the animations

Join Tom Service on a musical journey through beginnings, repetition and bass lines.

When does noise become music?

When does noise become music?

We like to think we can separate “noise” from “music”, but is it that simple?

Podcast