Add to Playlist

UK-based Syrian qanun player and composer Maya Youssef and concert pianist Keelan Carew put the finishing touches to the current playlist with Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye.

The final leg of the journey takes us from Wagner's famous water nymphs to a massive Beyoncé hit from this year, via France, Sicily and Lebanon.

Add to Playlist returns to Radio 4 with a new series on 24th May

Producer Jerome Weatherald Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

"Weia! Waga! Woge du Welle!" from Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner Mouvement de Sicilienne by Charles Koechlin The Magic Number by De La Soul Ya Nassim Alrouh by Toufic Farroukh Texas Hold ‘Em by Beyoncé

Other music in this episode:

Bye, Bye Boozoo by BeauSoleil Dollar Wine by Colin Lucas Money by Pink Floyd Money, Money, Money by ABBA Price Tag by Jessie J Greenback Dollar by Woody Guthrie I Need a Dollar by Aloe Blacc Independent Women, Pt.1 by Destiny's Child The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel Diamonds are Forever by Shirley Bassey Prelude to Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner Three is the Magic Number by Bob Dorough Amen Brother by The Winstons Brimful of Asha by Cornershop

Fiddler and folk musician Eliza Carthy and choral conductor Tim Rhys-Evans join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the next five tracks.

Starting at a famous masked ball in Vienna, they then head for the Genoa docks, rounding off with a cheeky Soca hip-thrusting classic. In the penultimate episode of the current series, recorder player and baroque flautist Heidi Fardell demonstrates some of her collection of early instruments.

Producer Jerome Weatherald Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

'Ach, ich darf nicht hin zu dir!' From Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II La Partenza (The Parting) by Trallaleri of Genoa Gagliarda by Giorgio Mainerio, performed by Il Giardino Armonico How High The Moon by Nancy Hamilton and Morgan Lewis, sung by Ella Fitzgerald Dollar Wine by Colin Lucas Other music in this episode:

Hotel California by The Eagles The Flower Duet from the opera Lakmé by Léo Delibes Eye of the Tiger by Survivor Battalia a 10 by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber Die Katz (The Cat) by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber Mack the Knife by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, sung by Ella Fitzgerald

Composer, producer and arranger Anne Dudley and concert violinist Emily Sun add five more tracks to the playlist with Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye. The journey takes them from a dark tale of deceit and entrapment to a hotel you can never leave. Irish pipes and whistle player John McSherry also calls in to tell us about his live recording of traditional jigs.

Producer Jerome Weatherald Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Babooshka by Kate Bush Piano Concerto in A Minor (1st mvt) by Edvard Grieg Theme from Mission: Impossible by Lalo Schifrin The Roaring Promenade by John McSherry, Brendán Quinn & Francis McIlduff Hotel California by The Eagles

Other music in this episode:

The Look of Love Pt 4 by ABC Poison Arrow by ABC The Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini Piano Concerto in A minor by Robert Schumann Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff Canon in D major by Johann Pachelbel

Anna Meredith - composer, producer and performer of both acoustic and electronic music - and singer, songwriter and pianist Joe Stilgoe join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add five more tracks. The journey takes them from Hugh Masekela's South Africa to a masked ball in Brazil, and ending up at arguably the most famous notes ever played on the saxophone.

Producer Jerome Weatherald Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Grazing in the Grass by Hugh Masekela You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon My End is My Beginning by Guillaume de Machaut Baile De Máscaras by Bala Desejo The Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini

Other music in this episode:

Titanium by David Guetta feat. Sia Nautilus by Anna Meredith Lazarus by David Bowie Mr Bull No. 4 by Freddie Gumbi In My Solitude by Branford Marsalis Old Landmark by Aretha Franklin Padam Padam by Kylie Minogue

Composer, conductor and bassoonist Leo Geyer, and The Southbank Centre's Gillian Moore, join Jeffrey Boakye and saxophonist Jess Gillam - standing in for Cerys Matthews - as they head from a famous Bach well-tempered classic, via Taiwan, to David Bowie's parting gesture. British-Chinese flautist Daniel Shao explains the intricacies of a traditional Taiwanese flute tune.

Producer Jerome Weatherald Presented, with music direction, by Jeffrey Boakye and Jess Gillam

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Well-Tempered Clavier: Prelude in C Major by Bach Bad Romance by Lady Gaga A Tayal Folk Song by Ming Flute Ensemble Symphony No.9 in D Major (1st movement) by Gustav Mahler Lazarus by David Bowie

Other music in this episode:

Pull Up To The Bumper by Grace Jones In the Mood by Glenn Miller Ave Maria by Charles Gounod Don't Cry For Me Argentina by Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice Fugue No 24 in B Minor by Bach Symphony No.6: 'Pathétique' by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Bassoonist Amy Harman and Wolf Hall composer Debbie Wiseman are today's studio guests, as Linton Stephens sits in for Cerys Matthews alongside Jeffrey Boakye. This episode takes us from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to Glenn Miller's wartime smash hit.

Producer Jerome Weatherald Presented, with music direction, by Jeffrey Boakye and Linton Stephens

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Nonet, Op.2 ‘Gradus ad Parnassum’: 1st movement by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Nobody Knows (Ladas Road) by Loyle Carner Adagio from Piano Sonata in G minor by Clara Schumann If I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys In the Mood by Glenn Miller

Other music in this episode:

Top Hat, White Tie and Tails by Irving Berlin Moondance by Van Morrison Symphony No. 6 in B minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Nobody Knows by Pastor T L Barrett & The Youth for Christ Choir Tar Paper Stomp by Wingy Manone

Organist Anna Lapwood MBE and Bavarian baritone Benjamin Appl join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye on a trans-continental journey as they explore the music of dance in different cultures, from the beer tents in Munich to Transylvania.

Producer Jerome Weatherald Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus by The Bavarian Oompah Band ‘Burlesque Overture’ Suite in B-flat Major by Georg Philipp Telemann Fast Dance + Romanian Folk Dances by Béla Bartók Il est cinq heures, Paris s'éveille by Jacques Dutronc Moondance by Van Morrison

Other music in this episode:

Jumpin' at the Woodside by Count Basie and Duke Ellington Set Fire to the Rain by Adele Sakura Sakura by Tadaaki Misago and the Tokyo Cuban Boys

It's the start of a new playlist, and to get things going, singer/songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae and the Scottish operatic tenor Nicky Spence join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the first five tracks.

As well as discussing the five compositions, the four are outnumbered by the London Bulgarian Choir who give a special live performance in the Add to Playlist studio. Also, producer Fraser T Smith sends a message about the recording of one of Adele's biggest hits.

Producer Jerome Weatherald Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Povela E Yova / Dilmano Dilbero by The London Bulgarian Choir Confrontation and Rescue from Satyagraha by Philip Glass Bad Guy by Billie Eilish Meditation (Meditação) by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Frank Sinatra Set Fire to the Rain by Adele

Other music in this episode:

A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band

Joni Mitchell’s songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever. Jesca Hoop explores her extraordinary story to reveal the life behind the legend.

In the first episode, we hear how young Joni loves to watch the trains go by from the window of her house in a Saskatchewan prairie town. Even as a child, there is a desire to see what's around the next bend. She's a tomboy and an athlete, until polio forces her into a period of convalescence; she's no longer picked first for sports teams but when she gets the use of her legs back she rock 'n' roll dances her way through her teens. Her childhood ambition is to be a painter, but when she finally makes it to art school everything changes....

“I’ve always been a creature of change” – Joni Mitchell

Through archive, fresh interviews, narration, immersive sound design and an original score, we trace the story of an extraordinary life and explore what makes Joni Mitchell a singular artist: the genius of her lyrics; her incredible talent as guitarist, painter and producer; and her restless drive for innovation.

In Legend, we follow Joni from her ‘flatlander’ childhood on the Canadian prairies, through the folk clubs of Toronto and Detroit, to a redwood cottage in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon, to a cave in Crete, to a deserted desert highway, to recording studios and stages around the world. From her earliest home recordings to masterpieces like Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira, we explore some of the stories behind her best-loved songs and celebrate her remarkable return to live performance in 2023: “like seeing, in the wild, a rare bird long feared extinct” (Lindsay Zoladz).

Our guide through the series is the California-born, Manchester-based musician, Jesca Hoop. Jesca speaks to musicians like Blake Mills, Allison Russell, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, who have played alongside Joni, and we hear tributes from those, like musician John Grant, who have been inspired and influenced by her music. We also hear from friends, including Larry Klein and Graham Nash; and from music critics and biographers, including Ann Powers, David Yaffe, Lindsay Zoladz, Kate Mossman, Barney Hoskyns, Miles Grier and Jenn Pelly.

The Joni Mitchell Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producers: Mair Bosworth and Eliza Lomas Production Coordinator: Andrew Lewis Editor: Chris Ledgard Story Editor: Emma Harding Story Consultant: John Yorke Sound Design and Original Music: Hannis Brown Studio Engineers: Ilse Lademann and Michael Harrison Commissioning Editor: Daniel Clarke

Composer, silent film music specialist and musician, Neil Brand, and violinist and composer Anna Phoebe, join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye for the final episode of the current series.

From Ma Rainey's loud and proud blues to a singalong classic from 1981, via an 8'25" digitally-manipulated track that could split the room, the current musical journey is making its last stop.

Add to Playlist returns on 9th Feb 2024

Producer Jerome Weatherald Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Prove It On Me Blues by Ma Rainey O Superman by Laurie Anderson Yo Soy Cubano by The Chakachas Finale from The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky Lay All Your Love On Me by ABBA

Other music in this episode:

Peter Gunn Theme from The Blues Brothers, written by Henry Mancini Believe by Cher Backseat Freestyle by Kendrick Lamar Crazy Frog by Axel F Magic Carpet Ride '07 by Mighty Dub Katz Theme from Stingray by Barry Gray