Music

Freak Out! The Frank Zappa Story
Germaine Greer presents a profile of eccentric 1970s rock icon Frank Zappa.
07 Oct 2006,30 mins
Composer Joseph Horovitz: No Ordinary Joe
Debbie Wiseman tells the fascinating story of the composer of Captain Noah and Rumpole
26 Jul 2011,30 mins
Darwin's Tunes
Can you apply Darwin's theory of natural selection to music and create the perfect song?
08 Aug 2012,28 mins
Martin Morales' Peruvian Roadtrip
Peruvian-born chef Martin Morales explores the link between food and music in the Andes.
16 Oct 2017,30 mins
New Year's Concert
BBC New Generation Artists Festive Concert
A musical journey with the dazzling BBC New Generation Artists.
27 Dec 2025,53 mins
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UN Year of the Child 1979
Marking the 20th anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child
22 Nov 1979,45 mins
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
Tracey McLeod recalls the girl groups of the 1960s.
28 Feb 2008,30 mins
Fender Heaven
David Stafford celebrates the Fender Stratocaster with the help of some key players.
22 May 2004,28 mins
Punk, the Pistols and the Provinces
The Pistols' played their first and last gig in Yorkshire - what influence did punk have?
24 May 2016,30 mins
The Lost Women of British Jazz
Shining a light on the earliest female jazz pioneers, who were erased from music history.
16 Sep 2014,30 mins
The Art of Water Music
Midge Ure investigates water's role as a constantly flowing source of musical inspiration.
11 Aug 2011,30 mins
The Sound Makers
Paul Gambaccini meets sound engineers James Lock and Geoff Emerick.
05 Feb 2008,30 mins
Rock Transition
Laura Snapes explores how musicians have defied gender boundaries to create art and music
21 Mar 2017,30 mins
Tiny Tinkles
Rainer Hersch investigates how and why tinkly music is so evocative of childhood.
29 Dec 2015,30 mins
Return to Japan
The BBC Philharmonic returns to Japan for an emotional tour for the first time since 2011.
03 May 2013,28 mins
The Unsent Letters of Erik Satie
Alistair McGowan tells the story of the love letters that composer Erik Satie never sent.
13 Jul 2013,30 mins
On The Road
2. Doom Metal And Beyond
Maddy Prior, lead singer of Steeleye Span, and her daughter Rose Kemp on musical futures
10 Nov 2015,30 mins
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Modern Day Griot
Meet the modern musicians adapting traditional West African music.
05 Jun 2012,30 mins
The Essential Guide To...
Jazz - George Reed
Mark Goodier and George Reed from 'Jazz Now And Then' talk about jazz
21 Jul 1993,28 mins
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Music Extra
Hugh Masekela - Words and Music
The BBC’s Audrey Brown pays tribute to South Africa’s Father of Jazz - Hugh Masekela.
27 Jan 2018,49 mins
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Aaron Copland, America's Composer
Looking back at a life in music, on the centenary of his birth
06 Nov 2000,24 mins
The Art of the Loop
Composer Matthew Herbert takes a critical look at looping and sampling in modern music.
01 Mar 2014,30 mins
The Hang Drum Phenomenon
Evelyn Glennie explores the extraordinary story of a new percussion instrument - The Hang.
14 Jul 2015,30 mins
The Honest Musician's Fear of Accidental Plagiarism
What happens when a songwriter accidentally copies someone else's song?
27 Jan 2011,30 mins
The Thing About Hank
Jimmy Page, Mark Knopfler, Phil Manzanera and Cliff Richard explore 'The Thing About Hank'
11 Oct 2011,30 mins
Bellydancing and the Blues
Guy Schalom hunts out the spirit of the new Egypt in the musical roots of the bellydance
26 Dec 2012,30 mins
Ella In Berlin
Cleveland Watkiss and Dame Cleo marvel at Ella Fitzgerald's Mac the Knife and give it a go
23 Apr 2013,30 mins
Field Notes: The Irishman Who Invented the Nocturne
Alistair McGowan uncovers the sensational, creative life of the Irish composer John Field.
17 May 2016,30 mins
How Folk Songs Should Be Sung
Folk singer Martin Carthy examines the rise and fall of Ewan MacColl's Critics Group.
03 Jan 2012,30 mins
Sylvie Simmons: The Rock Chick
Islington-born Sylvie Simmons talks to Nick Barraclough about her life as a rock writer.
16 Apr 2011,30 mins