'Mozart 40' & 'Mozart's Legacy' (BBC R4 Documentary)

On the eve of Mozart's 250th anniversary, Huw Edwards visited Vienna to explore current knowledge, and to lay some myths, about Mozart.

Mendelssohn, the Nazis and Me - BBC R3 Documentary

Sheila Hayman, a descendant of Mendelssohn's sister Fanny, explores how Felix tried to reconcile his Christianity with his Jewish roots, tracing the events from his time to the emergence of the Third Reich. She talks to conductor Kurt Masur, an Aryan boy in 1930s Berlin, forbidden to listen to Mendelssohn, and Claus Moser, a Jewish boy in Berlin at the same time, forbidden to listen to Beethoven and consoled by Mendelssohn. Steven Isserlis shows how Mendelssohn's own struggle between his two faiths can be heard in his music. And Hayman's cousin Cecile, an adolescent in the Third Reich, talks for the first time of how it felt to be a 'Mischling', belonging neither with Jews nor Aryans, in a world where being a Mendelssohn had suddenly changed from a badge of pride to a source of shame, and even mortal danger.

'Who Wrote Bach's Toccata?' BBC R4 Documentary

Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor for organ has delighted both audiences and musicians for centuries. Recently, however, musicologists have been suggesting this music is not what it seems. Could Bach's most famous work even be a fake? Simon Townley investigates.

Robert Winston's Musical Analysis - Series 2 (BBC Radio 4 2010)

Professor Robert Winston brings together his expertise and experience in science and medicine with his overriding passion for music, to explore the relationship between the music and the medical conditions of composers who suffered mental and physical illness. 

The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824 - H.Sachs - 2011

The premier of Beethoven`s Ninth Symphony in Vienna on May 7, 1824, was the most significant artistic event of the yearΓÇöand the work remains one of the most precedent-shattering and influential compositions in the history of music. Described in vibrant detail by eminent musicologist Harvey Sachs, this symbol of freedom and joy was so unorthodox that it amazed and confused listeners at its unveiling yet it became a standard for subsequent generations of creative artists, and its composer came to embody the Romantic cult of genius. In this unconventional, provocative book, Beethoven`s masterwork becomes a prism through which we may view the politics, aesthetics, and overall climate of the era. Part biography, part history, part memoir, The Ninth brilliantly explores the intricacies of Beethoven`s last symphony how it brought forth the power of the individual while celebrating the collective spirit of humanity.

"Mozart" by P. Gay (Audiobook)

The greatest mind in Western music is examined by a National Book Award-winning writer on culture and psychology in this concise account of the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The composer's unshakable hold on the public's fascination can only be strengthened by the historian and biographer Peter Gay's bold new perspective. His passionate and painstaking research reveals truths more fascinating than the myths that have long shrouded the maestro's life. Here is the archetypal child prodigy whose genius triumphed over early precociousness and who later broke away from a loving but tyrannical father to pursue his vision unhampered. This is the perfect biography for anyone who has ever wanted to know about Mozart but does not want to dig through massive tomes.

Great Masters: Beethoven - His Life and Music - TTC Video & Audio Lectures

Yale Courses - Professor Craig Wright

1. Fugue - Bach, Bizet and Bernstein.

2. Sonata-Allegro Form Mozart and Beethoven

3. Rondo, Sonata-Allegro and Theme and Variations (cont.)

Craig Wright received the degree Bachelor of Music in piano and music history at the Eastman School of Music (1966) and a Ph.D. in musicology at Harvard (1972), and since 1973 has taught at Yale University where he is currently the Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Music. At Yale, Wright's courses include his perennially popular introductory course "Listening to Music" and his selective seminar "Exploring the Nature of Genius." During the summers he has led several Yale Alumni tours to France, Germany, and Italy. Among his six books are Music and Ceremony at Notre Dame of Paris (1989), Music in Western Civilization (2005), Listening to Music (6th edition, 2011), and Listening to Western Music (2007). He is presently at work on a volume entitled Mozart's Brain: Exploring the Nature of Genius. In 2004 Wright was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters by the University of Chicago.