Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ludwig Van Beethoven: The Battle For Joy | 20250217 | 
Surly, irascible, hot-tempered - Ludwig van Beethoven was notoriously difficult to work with; and famously often drove away those closest to him. Yet at his very darkest moment, amidst increasing hearing loss and personal isolation, he chose a different path - reaching out instead of retreating in. Dominic West chronicles the turbulent journey of the creation of the composer's only opera, Fidelio - a story underpinned by collaboration, true friendship and giving the gift of joy. In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Toby Jones, Maxine Peake, Andrew Lincoln and Don Warrington. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience, and the composers who confronted them - to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music. This episode is narrated by Dominic West, and features contributions from Sophie Green, fine artist and conservationist, and Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo, clinical psychologist and podcaster. The programme is written and produced by Gareth Ceredig and Katie Hill. Dominic West exposes Beethoven's emotional pain in search of joyful, life-affirming music. Stars of stage and screen reveal the intense emotional battles of ten pioneering composers | |
| 02 | Dmitri Shostakovich: Staring Down The Terror | 20250217 | 20250218 (R3) | 
Dmitri Shostakovich was the golden boy of Russian music – a star before he was even out of his teens. Shy and nervous in public, his music was outrageous, daring, and brilliant. But as Stalin tightened his grip on Soviet society at the height of the 'Great Terror' of the 1930s, the young composer found himself in the crosshairs of the regime. The ink was barely dry on his new, daring, Fourth Symphony. But he also knew that it could lead him to ruin. Michael Sheen explores how Shostakovich faced up to unimaginable fear and uncertainty – and through his music, his genius and his cunning, was ultimately able to survive. In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Toby Jones, Maxine Peake, Andrew Lincoln and Don Warrington. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience, and the composers who confronted them - to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music. This episode is narrated by Michael Sheen, and features contributions from Iranian-born illustrator Nahid Kazemi, and psychologist Dr Mengyao Li. The programme is written and produced by Hannah Dean. Michael Sheen uncovers Shostakovich's fear and defiance in Stalin's terrifying USSR. Stars of stage and screen reveal the intense emotional battles of ten pioneering composers |
| 03 | Florence Price: Power And Pride | 20250217 | 20250219 (R3) | 
Florence Price was a brilliant young musician and composer. But as an African-American woman growing up in early 20th-century America, she was also doubly disenfranchised - so much so that her mother would advise her to hide her racial heritage and 'pass' as a white woman. But when Florence went to Chicago, everything changed - as an extraordinary community helped her take pride in who she was both personally and musically. Nina Sosanya tells the story of the ground-breaking premiere of Price's First Symphony in 1933 - the first symphony by a woman to be performed by a major American orchestra, and the culmination of a set of experiences that changed her life for ever. In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Toby Jones, Maxine Peake, Andrew Lincoln and Don Warrington. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience, and the composers who confronted them - to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music. This episode is narrated by Nina Sosanya and features contributions from opera singer Janine De Bique, author Kelly McWilliams and psychologist Dr Roberta Babb. The programme is written and produced by Hannah Dean. Nina Sosanya confronts Price's battle with prejudice to reveal her true musical identity. Stars of stage and screen reveal the intense emotional battles of ten pioneering composers |
| 04 | Anton\u00edn Dvo\u0159\u00e1k: Heartache And Hope | 20250217 | 20250220 (R3) | 
By his late 30s, Antonín Dvořák was a musical hero in his home nation of Bohemia: his music famous for brimming with joy, happiness and the natural world. Yet around the same time, as a young father, he had to endure an almost unimaginable series of bereavement – after losing all three of his children to illness and accidents in barely two years. Adeel Akhtar explores Dvořák's struggle to go on musically and personally – and how he channeled his deep grief into a powerful and moving memorial to his loss: his Stabat Mater. In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written, told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Toby Jones, Maxine Peake, Andrew Lincoln and Don Warrington. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience, and the composers who confronted them - to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music. This episode is narrated by Adeel Akhtar, and features contributors from musician and composer Ben Kweller and psychotherapist Dr Liz Gleeson. The programme is written and produced by Hannah Dean. Adeel Akhtar unravels Dvo\u0159\u00e1k's grief and musical rebirth after the deaths of his children. Adeel Akhtar tells the story of Dvořák's grief and musical rebirth after the deaths of his three young children and how he came to create a memorial to his experience in music. Stars of stage and screen reveal the intense emotional battles of ten pioneering composers |
| 05 | Sergei Rachmaninov: Fear Of Failure | 20250217 | 20250221 (R3) | 
In this episode, Kit Harington is in the psychiatrist's therapy room with the Russian composer to discover how Rachmaninov found the courage to create again. After his First Symphony was mocked and pilloried by critics, the composer suddenly found himself unable to write a note - assailed by a crippling fear of failure. But through the talking therapies of Dr Nikolai Dahl - including an early form of hypnosis - Rachmaninov slowly came back to himself, to create one of his most cherished works: the Second Piano Concerto. In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen, including Toby Jones, Maxine Peake, Andrew Lincoln and Don Warrington. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience - and the composers who confronted them: to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music. This episode is narrated by Kit Harington, and features contributors from writer and UK Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, and psychiatrist and concert pianist Dr. Richard Kogan. The programme is written and produced by Leonie Thomas, with additional writing and development by Martin Jameson. Kit Harington tackles Rachmaninov's paralysing writer's block to reveal a masterpiece. Kit Harington narrates how Rachmaninov - Russian music's brightest star - was floored by paralysing writer's block - and how through therapy he overcame it to create a masterpiece. Kit Harington narrates how Rachmaninov - Russian music's brightest star - was floored by paralysing writer's block after a catastrophic premiere in 1897. And how, through one doctor's remarkable and controversial therapy, the composer overcame it to create a masterpiece. In this episode, Kit Harington is in the psychiatrist's therapy room with the Russian composer to discover how Rachmaninov found the courage to create again. After his First Symphony was mocked and pilloried by critics, the composer suddenly found himself unable to write a note, assailed by a crippling fear of failure. But through the talking therapies of Dr Nikolai Dahl - including an early form of hypnosis - Rachmaninov slowly came back to himself, to create one of his most cherished works: the Second Piano Concerto. In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written, told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Toby Jones, Maxine Peake, Andrew Lincoln and Don Warrington. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience, and the composers who confronted them - to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music. This episode is narrated by Kit Harington, and features contributors from writer and UK Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell Boyce and psychiatrist and concert pianist Dr Richard Kogan. The programme is written and produced by Leonie Thomas. Additional Writing and Development: Martin Jameson Stars of stage and screen reveal the intense emotional battles of ten pioneering composers |
| 06 | Jean Sibelius: Rage Against The Machine | 20250217 | 20250224 (R3) | 
Stars of stage and screen reveal the intense emotional battles of ten pioneering composers Toby Jones tells how an act of creative destruction freed Sibelius - Finland's most celebrated artist - from decades of torment, as he tried to finish his doomed Eighth Symphony. Even in his lifetime, Jean Sibelius was considered Finland's greatest artist and national hero: the Finnish nation's musical Shakespeare. The late 1920s saw the composer seemingly at the peak of his powers - in his early sixties, and with seven celebrated symphonies to his name, the entire Finnish nation waited with bated breath for a glorious Eighth - and more. Yet he suddenly fell silent, crushed under a weight of expectation - one that would only be released years later in a dramatic, rageful episode of creative destruction, as he fed his masterpiece into the flames of his fireplace - never to be heard. In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen, including Toby Jones, Maxine Peake, Andrew Lincoln and Don Warrington. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience - and the composers who confronted them: to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music. This episode is narrated by Toby Jones, and features contributors from dancer Baroness Deborah Bull, and psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos. The programme is written and produced by Hannah Dean. Toby Jones reveals how Sibelius's anger and destruction freed him from musical torment. |
| 07 | Ethel Smyth: Resilience And Resistance | 20250217 | 20250225 (R3) |
Stars of stage and screen reveal the intense emotional battles of ten pioneering composers Maxine Peake tells the story of how Dame Ethel Smyth's anthem for equality, March of the Women, propelled the Suffragettes to victory, despite her arrest and imprisonment. In this episode, we meet Dame Ethel Smyth in her prison cell: locked up for smashing windows in her fight for the right to vote. Despite the composer's genteel upbringing, she had been battling for equality since she was a girl - in music, in politics, and in life. As the Suffrage movement swelled into more violent protest in the face of police brutality, Ethel Smyth's exceptional musical skills gave women on the front lines something to yell from the top of their lungs, or whisper in the depths of a hunger strike. Maxine Peake explores how the composer's “March of the Women ? became the ultimate campaign anthem. In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Michael Sheen, Dominic West, Nina Sosanya, Kit Harington and Adeel Akhtar. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience - and the composers who confronted them: to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music. This episode is narrated by Maxine Peake and features contributions from Lauren Duncan, Professor of Psychology at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and Laurie Stras, Professor Emerita of Music at the University of Southampton. The programme is written and produced by Leonie Thomas. Maxine Peake embraces Smyth's rule-breaking as the composer takes on the patriarchy. |
| 08 | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Lust For Life | 20250217 | 20250226 (R3) |
Stars of stage and screen reveal the intense emotional battles of ten pioneering composers Andrew Lincoln tells the story of how Mozart's passionate love (and lust) for his future wife drove him to escape the clutches of boyhood expectation - and his controlling father. The Boy Genius, the golden child - since he was old enough to stand up, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had struggled under the heavy weight of other people's expectations. Until, one day, he had enough. Throwing off the suffocating influences of both his father and his rich patron, Mozart gambles his entire reputation to live life on his own terms. And the fact that he was falling in love with the beautiful Constanze Weber - Well, that didn't hurt either. Mozart poured his love, lust, and newfound freedom into an extraordinary opera. The Abduction of the Seraglio heralds Mozart's transition from boy - to man. Andrew Lincoln narrates the scandalous - and uplifting - story. In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Michael Sheen, Dominic West, Nina Sosanya, Kit Harington and Adeel Akhtar. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience - and the composers who confronted them: to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music. This episode is narrated by Andrew Lincoln and features contributions from psychotherapist Julia Samuel, and poet and author Owen Sheers. The programme is written and produced by Leonie Thomas. Andrew Lincoln revels in Mozart's new-found love as he and his music break free. Facing The Music is an Overcoat Media production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 3 The series is written and produced by Hannah Dean, Leonie Thomas, Gareth Ceredig, Katie Hill and Barney Rowntree – with additional production from Melvin Rickarby Original Music: Peter Gregson Sound Design and Mixing: Mike Woolley, with additional mixing by John Scott Executive Producer: Steven Rajam Production Management: Amy Wheel and Janice Jardine Commissioner for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds: Philip Raperport Stars of stage and screen reveal the intense emotional battles of 10 pioneering composers |
| 09 | Duke Ellington: In Control | 20250217 | 20250227 (R3) |
Stars of stage and screen reveal the intense emotional battles of ten pioneering composers Don Warrington tells the story of a remarkable musical rebirth, as a down-on-his-luck Duke Ellington risks it all - to spontaneously and joyously spark his band into life at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. In the mid 1950s, Edward Kennedy “Duke ? Ellington was washed up. His musicians in disarray, his own star waning, his band had been reduced to playing obscure and tawdry gigs for cash - a far cry from their heyday a decade and a half before. Then, Ellington had enjoyed billboards, magazine shoots, and even a ‘National Ellington Week' to mark 20 years since his band's debut. But now, with a low-billing spot at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Ellington was staring down the end of the road. But there was just time for one last hurrah - and to, musically, risk everything. What happened next was to go down in jazz history... and reignite Ellington's career. In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Michael Sheen, Dominic West, Nina Sosanya, Kit Harington and Adeel Akhtar. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience - and the composers who confronted them: to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music. This episode is narrated by Don Warrington and features Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet, and Jochen Menges, Professor of Leadership at the University of Zurich and Cambridge University. The programme is written and produced by Gareth Ceredig and Katie Hill. Don Warrington watches Ellington risk it all to save his name and musical legacy. Don Warrington tells a story of a remarkable rebirth, as a down-on-his-luck Duke Ellington spontaneously and joyously sparks his band into life at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. |
| 10 | Joseph Haydn: Letting Go Of Loneliness | 20250217 | 20250228 (R3) |
Stars of stage and screen reveal the intense emotional battles of ten pioneering composers In a city torn apart by war, an enemy soldier shatters Joseph Haydn's isolation - and quells his loneliness. David Suchet narrates a moment of unexpected beauty amidst the decay. Joseph Haydn lived through war, sorrow, and the disappearance of his dear friends. But it wasn't until the elderly composer's piano was taken away that he faced his darkest hour. David Suchet narrates the poignant and unexpected moment of connection and joy that arrived at Haydn's door, in the form of a French solider from Napoleon's invading army. Across generations and enemy lines, Haydn's music transcended all differences to allow two men to share pure joy on the eve of both their deaths. In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Michael Sheen, Dominic West, Nina Sosanya, Kit Harington and Adeel Akhtar. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience - and the composers who confronted them: to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music. This episode is narrated by Sir David Suchet and features contributions from Sarah Harper, Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford, and Richard Holloway, writer and former Bishop of Edinburgh (92 years young). The programme is written and produced by Leonie Thomas. David Suchet plunges into Haydn's isolation and how it was shattered in war-torn Vienna. |
Experience the emotional drama behind the most pioneering composers and their music.
Experience the emotional drama behind the most pioneering composers and their music.
Experience the emotional drama behind the most pioneering composers and their music.
Experience the emotional drama behind the most pioneering composers and their music.
Experience the emotional drama behind the most pioneering composers and their music.