Joanna Lumley & The Maestro

Bauer Media

Joanna Lumley and her husband Stephen Barlow invite you into their home for a fascinating, funny journey into their shared love of music. You probably know Joanna Lumley, but you may not be aware that her husband Stephen Barlow is a famed conductor, composer and musician - and the pair of them are passionate about classical music. On this, their new podcast, the pair welcome you into their home for a personal, fascinating and funny journey through a musical world. Joanna is the enthusiastic amateur - asking the questions she’s always wanted to ask - and Stephen is The Maestro, providing the answers. Who was better: Mozart or Beethoven? Why do certain pieces of music make us feel a certain way? What do conductors actually do? They also discuss the great composers and symphonies, and the often-remarkable stories behind them, all delivered in Joanna and Stephen’s unique, engaging and affectionate way. Maybe you think classical music isn’t for you? Or you know a little and want to know more? Or perhaps it's been a lifetime love? Regardless, you definitely need to meet Joanna & The Maestro. read less

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Joanna Lumley and her husband Stephen Barlow invite you into their home for a fascinating, funny journey into their shared love of music.

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Welcome back to Joanna Lumley & The Maestro Season 3

Welcome back to Joanna Lumley & The Maestro Season 3

Joanna & The Maestro are overjoyed to be back, and this time they're bringing some friends with them. In a brand new series Joanna Lumley and composer and conductor Stephen Barlow once again invite listeners into their home for more fascinating, funny journeys into their lifelong shared passion; classical music. Joining them for the ride are comedians, musicians, broadcasters and national treasures including Stephen Fry, Aled Jones and Anna Lapwood, who join our hosts on their mission to explore centuries of breath-taking music and celebrate the most talented composers to have ever lived. Subscribe to hear our season launch next week with special guest Rob Brydon, talking everything from Miles Davis, Elvis and The Boss.

Rob Brydon: Springsteen, Miles Davis and paying homage to The King

Rob Brydon: Springsteen, Miles Davis and paying homage to The King

We're back! Starting a new series with comedian, actor and Welsh icon Rob Brydon who discusses the poetry of Bruce Springsteen, his life on stage and a burgeoning love for jazz. Sharing stories about early life in Porthcawl, Swansea and the wonderfully flamboyant 'Mr Crute', Rob tells us how his life took a turn towards musicals later in his career and how he's never looked back (even if his fingers are a little sore).

Bonus Brydon: Mashups, Richard Burton and 'The Swinging Doors'

Bonus Brydon: Mashups, Richard Burton and 'The Swinging Doors'

We enjoyed speaking to Rob Brydon so much that we kept the tape rolling after the interview finished – much to our joy. In this extra mini-episode, Rob runs through the 'schlocky' teen movie he’ll never forget and how to start a conversation in the style of Richard Burton.

Rule Breakers: Gesualdo, Beethoven and Stravinsky

Rule Breakers: Gesualdo, Beethoven and Stravinsky

Which three composers tore up the rule book and changed music forever? Joanna and Stephen begin this episode with the cold-blooded murderer, Carlo Gesualdo - a dreadful man who composed sacred music. Known for plundering the depths of emotion in his madrigals, Gesualdo's 'word-paintings' broke the 16th century Venosan equivalent of the internet. We also discover how Beethoven reimagined the symphony and explore Stravinsky's daring new experiments in rhythm and orchestration.

Unsung Heroes: Charles Koechlin and Magic of The Jungle Book

Unsung Heroes: Charles Koechlin and Magic of The Jungle Book

This week's mini episode comes to you as a pair. Stephen and Joanna discuss their favourite 'unsung heroes' - this time focusing on the strange and absorbing late works of Charles Koechlin. 'Les Bandar-Log' is part of a cycle of symphonic poems based on Kipling's Jungle Book, completed in 1940. The score touches on a range of early 20th-century styles, from Debussyan impressionism to 12-note technique, but somehow welds all the tongue-in-cheek references into a dazzling whole.

Aled Jones: Teenage Choirs, Richard Branston and the Music of Everything

Aled Jones: Teenage Choirs, Richard Branston and the Music of Everything

One of the UK's most loved vocalists and broadcasters, Aled Jones, sits down with Joanna and Stephen to discuss the moment he unearthed a trove of unreleased music from his childhood. In this candid conversation, Aled reveals what it was like meeting Richard Branston at Virgin Records as a teenager, recording 16 albums in 4 years before his voice broke and becoming the 'radio son' of the veteran broadcaster Terry Wogan.

Unsung Heroes: Lili Boulanger, Prodigy meets Tragedy

Unsung Heroes: Lili Boulanger, Prodigy meets Tragedy

This week's mini episode continues our theme of 'unsung heroes'. And today we're diving into the works of another prodigious French composer, Lili Boulanger, celebrating the flourish, colour and romance of her music.

Stephen Fry and the Virtuosity of Classical Music

Stephen Fry and the Virtuosity of Classical Music

Today, Joanna and the Maestro are joined by the actor, writer and national treasure, Stephen Fry. The trio discuss Stephen’s deep love for classical music, which began in childhood with the soft sounds of Schubert, Brahms and Chopin emanating from his father's practice room. They discuss the deeply emotional music of composers like Bach through to Mahler and Schoenberg. Fry explains how great concertos like Tchaikovsky’s Violin and Beethoven's 5th should be interpreted as an allegory for society, and why generative AI only heightens the virtuosity of the live orchestra.

Great Conductors, Musical Signatures and Whizz Kids

Great Conductors, Musical Signatures and Whizz Kids

How do great conductors like Furtwängler and Haitink command an orchestra? Do some conductors have a signature sound? And how did meeting the driver of The Flying Scotsman in Woolworths almost derail Stephen's musical destiny? In this mini episode, Joanna and Stephen reveal all.

Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan on the making of 'Maestro'

Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan on the making of 'Maestro'

This week, Joanna and the Stephen are joined by Hollywood royalty. On the eve Netflix's worldwide release of 'Maestro' - a new biopic about the world renown conductor Leonard Bernstein - Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan drop into the Music Room to discuss the making of a Hollywood love story like no other. Furthermore, Bradley tells us how he meticulously practiced the art of conducting for the role; we dive into early musical influences ranging from Vivaldi to Mozart, and hear how the gift of a conductor's baton set the whole thing off.Maestro is on Netflix from 20th December

Child Prodigies, The Jocundity of Rossini and The Big Snare Drum

Child Prodigies, The Jocundity of Rossini and The Big Snare Drum

Joanna and Stephen fire up the email inbox in the week's mini episode, diving into listeners' questions on everything from how conductors convey depth and complex emotions; how to coax a child prodigy and how not behave in the opera halls of 1870.

Bonus Christmas Ken Bruce

Bonus Christmas Ken Bruce

Did you think we'd forgotten to get you a Christmas present? Far from it! Joanna was Ken Bruce's special guest on Greatest Hits Radio, so we thought we'd slip a little extra episode under your tree in the shape of their brilliant interview. If you want to hear the whole show - and listen to the music Joanna chose - go to https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/shows/ken-bruce/id-216166043/

Merry Christmas From Joanna & the Maestro

Merry Christmas From Joanna & the Maestro

Christmas has landed and The Music Room is in full reverberation. From carols to ditties, oratorios and Wham! the Maestro and Joanna leave no stone unturned in this Christmas special.

Concerts, Carols & All Things Christmas

Concerts, Carols & All Things Christmas

When can one acceptably pour a bucks fizz during the Christmas holidays? Did the Holy Trinity (Beethoven, Mozart and Bach) care much for the festive period? Which carol is best for crooning? And which book does Joanna read every year at Christmas? Joanna and Stephen have opened the email inbox and answer your yuletide queries and concerns.

Anna Lapwood: Bach, Lutosławski & The Ministry of Sound

Anna Lapwood: Bach, Lutosławski & The Ministry of Sound

The celebrated organist, choir director and presenter Anna Lapwood joins Stephen and Joanna to discuss a case of mistaken identity at a book launch several years ago. We also get in to the wonderful organ music of Lutosławski, Bach, Duruflé and rock out to Faithless when the Ministry of Sound took over the Royal Albert Hall in 2023.

Bonus Stephen Fry: The Audience, Artificial Intelligence and a very un-Hollywood story

Bonus Stephen Fry: The Audience, Artificial Intelligence and a very un-Hollywood story

In this bonus mini episode with the actor, writer and broadcaster Stephen Fry, we discuss why audiences matter, the transcendent force of pianist Ervin Nyiregyházi and what artificial intelligence really means for classical music.

The Glorious British Brass Band

The Glorious British Brass Band

Is there anything quite so majestic as the British brass band? Joanna and Stephen describe their first encounters with these ensembles, how they evolved and which pieces reach out to the soul. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, brass bands first appeared as a means of fostering community ties among workers. These bands have since become popular in various contexts, from marches and competitions to concerts and even movie scores.

Colours, Moods, Shoes and trouble with Transposition

Colours, Moods, Shoes and trouble with Transposition

In this mini episode, Joanna and Stephen field more vital questions from listeners, such as, why does transposition jangle the Maestro's mind? Which musical keys suit certain moods? And most importantly, what not to wear when meeting the President?

The French Impressionists

The French Impressionists

Is it a faun? Is it moonlight? Yes, it's Claude Debussy! Over the next 30 minutes, Joanna and Stephen discuss the musical development of French impressionism. We see how three composers, Debussy, Ravel and Boulez, summoned images through sound and set the imagination free.

Mongolian Throat Singing & The Love For Three Oranges

Mongolian Throat Singing & The Love For Three Oranges

In this mini episode, Joanna and Stephen explore the most pressing questions. What is the Maestro's preferred sobriquet? Music that sounds like it's from a different dimension, and how one should conduct music for the love of three oranges?