More One Hit Wonders

Last Easter, Composer of the Week explored the lives of ten composers whose music we adore but mainly only for a lone composition. This week, Donald Macleod makes a second selection of classical ‘One Hit Wonders' - ten more composers who have been catapulted into the mainstream thanks to the surprising popularity of just one of their pieces. He's joined by pianist and music director, Yshani Perinpanayagam, to uncover these composers' stories and to share examples of their best music. We'll hear the familiar hits alongside plenty of captivating music that's less well-known.

In Monday's programme, Donald and Yshani reveal their first two composers. Ponchielli is probably most famous for music that Walt Disney borrowed to accompany ballet-dancing hippopotamuses and crocodiles in his movie, Fantasia. Widor's celebrated Toccata has accompanied thousands of beaming brides down the aisle, but what else did he achieve, away from the organ bench?

Ponchielli: Dance of the Hours (La Gioconda, Act III)

Munich Radio Orchestra, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, conducted by Marcello Viotti

Ponchielli: Sinfonia in Bb minor, Op 153

Banda Civica Musicale di Soncino, directed by Luca Valenti

Widor: Toccata (from Symphony No 5)

Olivier Latry, organ

Widor: Piano Quartet in A minor Op 66 (2nd and 3rd mvt)

Ames Piano Quartet

Ponchielli: Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, Eb Clarinet and Piano Op 110 (extract)

Ensemble Villa Musica

Donald Macleod with another selection of composers who are most famous for a single work.

Last Easter, Composer of the Week explored the lives of ten composers whose music we adore but mainly only for a lone composition. This week, Donald Macleod makes a second selection of classical ‘One Hit Wonders' - ten more composers who have been catapulted into the mainstream thanks to the surprising popularity of just one of their pieces. He's joined by pianist and music director, Yshani Perinpanayagam, to uncover these composers' stories and to share examples of their best music. We'll hear the familiar hits alongside plenty of captivating music that's less well-known.

Today Donald and Yshani bring the composer behind the Skater's Waltz into the limelight, and discuss how Waldteufel measures up to his great rival, the ‘waltz king' himself, Johann Strauss. They also explore the life and music of Paganini whose most famous work inspired dozens of other composers to create their own versions of its instantly recognisable melody.

Waldteufel: The Skaters' Waltz, Op 183

Wiener Volksopernorchester, conducted by Franz Bauer-Theussl

Waldteufel: Solitude Waltz, Op 174

Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice, conducted by Alfred Walter

Paganini: Caprice in A minor, Op 1 No 24

Itzhak Perlman, violin

Paganini (arr. Sedlar): Moses Fantasy

Nemanja Radulovi?, violin

Les Trilles du Diable, Orchestre Symphonique de la Ra, conducted by Eiji Oue

Paganini: Sonata No 6 in F major: Minuet - Allegretto

Marco Tamayo, guitar

Paganini: Violin Concerto No 1 in D major, (3rd mvt)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Lawrence Foster

Donald Macleod with another selection of composers who are most famous for a single work.

Last Easter, Composer of the Week explored the lives of ten composers whose music we adore but mainly only for a lone composition. This week, Donald Macleod makes a second selection of classical ‘One Hit Wonders' - ten more composers who have been catapulted into the mainstream thanks to the surprising popularity of just one of their pieces. He's joined by pianist and music director, Yshani Perinpanayagam, to uncover these composers' stories and to share examples of their best music. We'll hear the familiar hits alongside plenty of captivating music that's less well-known.

Today, Donald and Yshani look at how one man's crusade to preserve the traditional folk songs of his homeland led to enormous popular success. They also unpack John Cage's most notorious work and discuss how its four-and-a-half minutes of apparent silence connects to some of his other, often very beautiful, music.

Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne: Bail耀ro

Dawn Upshaw, soprano

Orchestre de l'Op退ra de Lyon, conducted by Kent Nagano

Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne: Chut, Chut & L'Antou耀no

Natania Davrath, soprano

Unnamed orchestra, conducted by Pierre de la Roche.

John Cage: 4'33' (extract)

John Cage: Hymns & Variations: Hymn A (After W. Billing's 'Old North')

Latvian Radio Choir, directed by Sigvards Klava

John Cage: Sonata No 5 for prepared piano

Boris Berman, prepared piano

John Cage: In a Landscape

Alexei Lubimov, piano

Canteloube: Triptyque

V退ronique Gens, soprano

Orchestre National de Lille, conducted by Serge Baudo

Donald Macleod with another selection of composers who are most famous for a single work.

Last Easter, Composer of the Week explored the lives of ten composers whose music we adore but mainly only for a lone composition. This week, Donald Macleod makes a second selection of classical ‘One Hit Wonders' - ten more composers who have been catapulted into the mainstream thanks to the surprising popularity of just one of their pieces. He's joined by pianist and music director, Yshani Perinpanayagam, to uncover these composers' stories and to share examples of their best music. We'll hear the familiar hits alongside plenty of captivating music that's less well-known.

Today Donald and Yshani unveil Jeremiah Clarke whose tragic story was only compounded when his most famous tune was credited to someone else. Plus they investigate why a single movement out of the thousands produced by Luigi Boccherini came to be held up as the quintessential sound of classical sophistication.

Jeremiah Clarke: Trumpet tune 'The Prince of Denmark's March

Maurice Murphy, trumpet

Consort of London; directed by Robert Clark

Jeremiah Clarke: Ode On The Death Of Henry Purcell (extracts)

Jeffrey Thompson, tenor

Geoffroy Buffi耀re, bass

Le Po耀me Harmonique

Les Cris de Paris; directed by Vincent Dumestre

Boccherini: String Quintet in E major, Op 11 No 5, (3rd mvt)

Enrico Casazza, violin

La Magnifica Comunita

Boccherini(arr. Grützmacher) Cello Concerto in B-Flat Major (2nd mvt)

Jacqueline du Pr退, cello

English Chamber Orchestra; conducted by Daniel Barenboim

Boccherini: Cello Concerto No. 7 in G major (3rd mvt)

Enrico Bronzi, cello;

Accademia I Filarmonici

Boccherini: Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D (3rd mvt)

Jos退 Miguel Moreno, guitar

La Real Cကmara

Donald Macleod with another selection of composers who are most famous for a single work.

Last Easter, Composer of the Week explored the lives of ten composers whose music we adore but mainly only for a lone composition. This week, Donald Macleod makes a second selection of classical ‘One Hit Wonders' - ten more composers who have been catapulted into the mainstream thanks to the surprising popularity of just one of their pieces. He's joined by pianist and music director, Yshani Perinpanayagam, to uncover these composers' stories and to share examples of their best music. We'll hear the familiar hits alongside plenty of captivating music that's less well-known.

In their final programme, Donald and Yshani struggle to track down even one other work by one of classical music's most archetypical One Hit Wonders: Vittorio Monti. They also celebrate the fertile musical mind of Joaqu퀀n Rodrigo, who produced hundreds of works and won many honours across his 97 years - although, outside of his native Spain, it's only his Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra that audiences clamour for.

Monti: Czardas

Tasmin Little, violin

John Lenehan, piano

Monti: No뀀l de Pierrot, Act II, 'Ԁ vous que j'adore

Aim退 Doniat, tenor

Marcel Cariven Orchestra, conducted by Marcel Cariven

Monti: The Whistle

Gilles Apap, violin

The Transylvanian Mountain Boys

Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar and Orchestra

Pepe Romero, guitar

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner

Rodrigo: Canc퀀on y danza

Rodrigo: Serenata espaကola

Artur Pizarro, piano

Donald Macleod with another selection of composers who are most famous for a single work.