Joanna Lumley & The Maestro

In this bonus mini episode with the actor, writer and broadcaster Stephen Fry, we discuss why audiences matter, the transcendent force of pianist Ervin Nyiregyházi and what artificial intelligence really means for classical music.

The celebrated organist, choir director and presenter Anna Lapwood joins Stephen and Joanna to discuss a case of mistaken identity at a book launch several years ago. We also get in to the wonderful organ music of Lutosławski, Bach, Duruflé and rock out to Faithless when the Ministry of Sound took over the Royal Albert Hall in 2023.

When can one acceptably pour a bucks fizz during the Christmas holidays? Did the Holy Trinity (Beethoven, Mozart and Bach) care much for festive period? Which carol is best for crooning? And which book does Joanna read every year at Christmas? Joanna and Stephen have opened the email inbox and answer your yuletide queries and concerns.

Christmas has landed and The Music Room is in full reverberation. From carols to ditties, oratorios and Wham! the Maestro and Joanna leave no stone unturned in this Christmas special.

Did you think we'd forgotten to get you a Christmas present? Far from it! Joanna was Ken Bruce's special guest on Greatest Hits Radio, so we thought we'd slip a little extra episode under your tree in the shape of their brilliant interview. If you want to hear the whole show - and listen to the music Joanna chose - go to https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/shows/ken-bruce/id-216166043/

Joanna and Stephen fire up the email inbox in the week's mini episode, diving into listeners' questions on everything from how conductors convey depth and complex emotions; how to coax a child prodigy and how not behave in the opera halls of 1870.

This week, Joanna and the Stephen are joined by Hollywood royalty. On the eve Netflix's worldwide release of 'Maestro' - a new biopic about the world renown conductor Leonard Bernstein - Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan drop into the Music Room to discuss the making of a Hollywood love story like no other. Furthermore, Bradley tells us how he meticulously practiced the art of conducting for the role; we dive into early musical influences ranging from Vivaldi to Mozart, and hear how the gift of a conductor's baton set the whole thing off.

Maestro is on Netflix from 20th December

How do great conductors like Furtwängler and Haitink command an orchestra? Do some conductors have a signature sound? And how did meeting the driver of The Flying Scotsman in Woolworths almost derail Stephen's musical destiny? In this mini episode, Joanna and Stephen reveal all.

Today, Joanna and the Maestro are joined by the actor, writer and national treasure, Stephen Fry. The trio discuss Stephen’s deep love for classical music, which began in childhood with the soft sounds of Schubert, Brahms and Chopin emanating from his father's practice room. They discuss the deeply emotional music of composers like Bach through to Mahler and Schoenberg. Fry explains how great concertos like Tchaikovsky’s Violin and Beethoven's 5th should be interpreted as an allegory for society, and why generative AI only heightens the virtuosity of the live orchestra.

This week's mini episode continues our theme of 'unsung heroes'. And today we're diving into the works of another prodigious French composer, Lili Boulanger, celebrating the flourish, colour and romance of her music.