Main content

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.

Available now

29 minutes

Last on

Fri 31 Jan 2020 16:30

Music Played

  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony No. 1 in D major: Mvt I, Langsam. Schleppend

    Performer: London Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Georg Solti.
    • Decca.
  • Morton Feldman

    String Quartet II

    Performer: FLUX Quartet.
    • Mode.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony No. 5 in C major: Mvt I, Allegro con brio

    Performer: Vienna Philharmonic. Performer: Carlos Kleiber.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
  • Joseph Haydn

    String Quartet in E flat, Op. 33/2 "The Joke": Mvt IV, Presto

    Performer: London Haydn Quartet.
    • Hyperion.
  • Joseph Haydn

    Symphony No. 92 in G major 'Oxford': Mvt III, Menuet (Allegretto)

    Performer: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Performer: Ren茅 Jacobs.
    • Harmonia Mundi.
  • Franz Schubert

    String Quintet in C major, D956: Mvt 2, Adagio

    Performer: Tak谩cs Quartet. Performer: Ralph Kirshbaum.
    • Hyperion.
  • Anton Bruckner

    Symphony No. 9 in D Minor: Mvt III Adagio, (Langsam, feierlich)

    Performer: Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Performer: Claudio Abbado.
    • DG.
  • Pet Shop Boys

    Heart

    • Ultimate Pet Shop Boys.
    • Parlophone.
  • James Blake

    Limit To Your Love

    • James Blake.
    • Atlas Recordings.
  • Stella

    La silence

    • Stella.
    • RPM Records.
  • 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.
  • 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 17:00
  • Sun 26 Jan 2020 17:00
  • Fri 31 Jan 2020 16:30

Why do we call it 'classical' music?

Tom Service poses a very simple question (with a not-so-simple answer).

Six of the world's most extreme voices

From babies to Mongolian throat singers: whose voice is the most extreme of all?

How did the number 12 revolutionise music?

How did the number 12 revolutionise music?

How Schoenberg opened a new cosmos for composers and listeners to explore.

Why are we all addicted to bass?

Why are we all addicted to bass?

Bass is everywhere, but why do we enjoy it? Join Tom Service on a journey of discovery.

Watch the animations

Join Tom Service on a musical journey through beginnings, repetition and bass lines.

When does noise become music?

We like to think we can separate 鈥渘oise鈥 from 鈥渕usic鈥, but is it that simple?

Podcast