Silence!
Tom Service ponders silence as an integral part of music, from classical and avant-garde concert hall to techno dance floor.
All music begins and ends in silence and often there's a bit in the middle, too. Some pieces skirt silence as they hover at the edge of audibility; in others the performers are completely silent. Tom Service ponders silence's fundamental importance to music and how composers have made it an integral part of their works, from classical concert hall to today's avant-garde, from indie pop to techno dance floor. And as he asks if we, as listeners, can ever actually experience real silence, he's joined by composer Michael Pisaro to hear about the implications of silence for him and his audience.
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Music Played
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Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 1 in D major: Mvt I, Langsam. Schleppend
Performer: London Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Georg Solti.- Decca.
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Morton Feldman
String Quartet II
Performer: FLUX Quartet.- Mode.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 in C major: Mvt I, Allegro con brio
Performer: Vienna Philharmonic. Performer: Carlos Kleiber.- Deutsche Grammophon.
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Joseph Haydn
String Quartet in E flat, Op. 33/2 "The Joke": Mvt IV, Presto
Performer: London Haydn Quartet.- Hyperion.
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Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 92 in G major 'Oxford': Mvt III, Menuet (Allegretto)
Performer: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Performer: Ren茅 Jacobs.- Harmonia Mundi.
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Franz Schubert
String Quintet in C major, D956: Mvt 2, Adagio
Performer: Tak谩cs Quartet. Performer: Ralph Kirshbaum.- Hyperion.
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Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor: Mvt III Adagio, (Langsam, feierlich)
Performer: Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Performer: Claudio Abbado.- DG.
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Pet Shop Boys
Heart
- Ultimate Pet Shop Boys.
- Parlophone.
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James Blake
Limit To Your Love
- James Blake.
- Atlas Recordings.
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Stella
La silence
- Stella.
- RPM Records.
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Michael Pisaro鈥怢iu
Ricefall
Performer: University of South Carolina Experimental Music Workshop. Performer: International Contemporary Ensemble. Performer: Greg Stuart.- https://vimeo.com/187971251.
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Gustav Mahler
Symphony No 9: Mvt IV, Adagio. Sehr langsam und noch zur眉ckhaltend
Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker. Performer: Claudio Abbado.
Broadcasts
- Sun 8 Oct 2017 17:0091热爆 Radio 3
- Sun 26 Jan 2020 17:0091热爆 Radio 3
- Fri 31 Jan 2020 16:3091热爆 Radio 3
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Podcast
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The Listening Service
An odyssey through the musical universe, presented by Tom Service