''Composer of the Week'' is a biographical music programme produced by

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and broadcast on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. It is broadcast daily from Monday to Friday at 4pm for an hour, with each week's programmes being a self-contained series of five dedicated to a particular composer or a group of related composers. With the "great composers", weeks dedicated to them tend to focus on a particular aspect of their life or works.

History

Originally titled ''This Week's Composer'', the series was first broadcast on 2 August 1943 on the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

, running from 7.30am to 7.55am, Monday to Saturday. There were some breaks in the schedule: for instance, ''Music Diary'' was used as a replacement from January to March 1945. But in terms of longevity, it is only surpassed by ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'' (first heard on 29 January 1942). From the beginning and for many years there was no regular host: it was presented live by the day’s duty continuity announcer. As a consequence, there are no recordings of the programme in the BBC archives from before the 1980s.BBC blogs: ''Composer of the Week at 70''
/ref> In December 1964 it was transferred to the

BBC Third Programme The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces ...

, beginning at 9.04am on weekdays. The title was quietly changed to ''Composer of the Week'' on 18 January 1988. From 9 October 1995 ''Composer of the Week'' was moved from its long-standing 9am slot to 12 noon, making way for a new morning schedule at Radio 3. The series has been written and presented by Donald Macleod since 1999. Sometimes recordings are made on location with Macleod visiting composers at homesuch as the

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...

episodes in October 2019. BBC. Since May 2023, some weeks have been presented by Kate Molleson. Molleson's first week was about

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

. A schedule refresh in April 2024 moved the programme from its 12 noon slot to 4pm.

Notable episodes

* The first composer chosen, on 2 August 1943, was

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, followed over the following four weeks by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

and

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

. *

Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

was the first living composer to be featured, on 7 February 1944. * The first group composer episodes were ‘The Elizabethans’ from 14 February 1944, followed by 'Three Seventeenth-Century Masters’ (

Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

Couperin The Couperin family was a musical dynasty of professional composers and performers. They were the most prolific family in French musical history, active during the Baroque era (17th—18th centuries). Louis Couperin and his nephew, François Coup ...

and

Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; ; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera a ...

) the following week.

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian-American actor and film director. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in New York City, he came to prominence with film audiences for his supporting roles i ...

and

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral music ...

were joint composers on 6 March 1944, followed by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

and

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

on 27 March 1944. * The first composer to be chosen for a second set of episodes was

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

first series 6 September 1943, second series 26 June 1944. Mozart was chosen for the second time on 10 July 1944. From then on the majority of choices were repeats, suggesting a core repertoire of around 60 composers. * In July 2014 the first of a series of live editions with the

BBC National Orchestra of Wales The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) () is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both ...

was broadcast to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the programme. * In 2020 the ''Beethoven Unleashed'' series of 25 weekly editions (broadcast on alternate weeks) marked the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth. There were 125 programmes in total, including a final personal highlights selection by Donald Macleod to conclude the series. * Coverage of women composers and the spread of ethnicity have both been expanded in recent years. Donald Macleod cites the July 2022 episodes on Hélène de Montgeroult, whose music saved her from the guillotine, as "one of the best stories I’ve ever had to tell".

References

External links