So, Hear Me Out – the classical music podcast

In this episode, we find Beethoven in hip-hop and Chopin in pop. 
We're diving into how modern music channels the classics, starting with Linton, who unpacks Nas’s hip-hop anthem ‘I Can’ and its iconic 'Für Elise' sample.
And then Gillian traces the transformation of Chopin's Prelude No. 20 into Barry Manilow’s soaring pop sensation, 'Could It Be Magic?'

Episode highlights:
00:00 Introduction
00:47 Pop music's classical roots
02:33 Personal musical journeys
05:10 Classical inspirations in Pop
06:21 Nas and Beethoven
19:24 Chopin's Influence on Barry Manilow’s ‘Could it be Magic?’
33:27 Conclusion and final thoughts

Featured music:
Nas' I Can (2002)
Barry Manilow's Could It Be Magic? (1971)

Get in touch:
📩 Send your classical questions to ⁠[email protected]⁠
Get updates on ⁠Instagram⁠
Follow us on ⁠TikTok⁠
⁠Subscribe to The Tonic newsletter⁠ for articles, video and audio
And don’t forget to subscribe, like and comment, wherever you get your podcasts.

Credits
Produced by Connor Gani
Executive Producers Emily Dicks and Phil Smith
Sound Mix by Solomon King
A Reduced Listening production for Southbank Centre

Using the examples of Mica Levi's score for the 2013 film 'Under the Skin' and the soundtrack from the video game 'Soulcalibur II', Gillian and Linton explore whether film soundtracks and video game scores should be considered true classical music. 
 
Episode highlights:
00:00 Introduction
01:55 Debating the legitimacy of film and video game scores
06:16 Exploring Mica Levi's score for 'Under the Skin'
14:48 The genius of live Instruments and synthesised sounds
23:16 Healing Winds from Soulcaliber II
26:26 The evolution of game music
35:51 The role of orchestras in game music

Featured music:
Mica Levi's Under the Skin (2014)

Junichi Nakatsuru, Yoshihito Yano, Asuka Sakai, Rio Hamamoto, Ryuichi Takada, and Junichi Takagi's Soulcalibur 2 (2002)

Get in touch:
📩 Send your classical questions to ⁠[email protected]⁠
Get updates on ⁠Instagram⁠
Follow us on ⁠TikTok⁠
⁠Subscribe to The Tonic newsletter⁠ for articles, video and audio
And don’t forget to subscribe, like and comment, wherever you get your podcasts.

Credits:
Produced by Connor Gani
Executive Producers Emily Dicks and Phil Smith
Sound Mix by Solomon King
A Reduced Listening production for Southbank Centre

We deep dive into why and how classical music is able to capture pure joy in sound, featuring joyful pieces by Felix Mendelssohn and Francesca Caccini.
Gillian and Linton discuss the innovative and emotional power of Mendelssohn's Octet in E Flat, written by the composer when he was just 16, and the hypnotic, rhythmically alive Chaconne by Cini, one of the first women composers in Europe to earn a living from her music.
In this episode:
00:00 Welcome to So Hear Me Out
00:59 Today's Big Question: Why Does Classical Music Make Us Happy?
01:19 Felix Mendelssohn: A Burst of Brilliance
02:15 Nile Rodgers and the Joy of Music
04:19 Mendelssohn's Musical Legacy
08:43 The Joyful Octet in E Flat
15:50 Mendelssohn's Signature Sound
18:54 Mozart's Early Masterpieces
19:42 Felix Mendelssohn's Emotional Journey
21:56 Discovering Francesca Cini
24:20 The Joy of Baroque Music
35:00 The Science of Joy in Music
38:44 Conclusion and Farewell
Featured music:
Felix Mendelssohn's Octet in E Flat
Francesca Caccini’s Chaconne
Get in touch:
📩 Send your classical questions to [email protected]
Get updates on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Subscribe to The Tonic newsletter for articles, video and audio
And don’t forget to subscribe, like and comment, wherever you get your podcasts.
Credits
Produced by Connor Gani
Executive Producers Emily Dicks and Phil Smith
Sound Mix by Solomon King
A Reduced Listening production for Southbank Centre

Can music provide hope when freedom has been taken away? Ethel Smyth’s March of the Women rang out as a rallying cry for imprisoned suffragettes, its rhythms defiant and unifying.  Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, composed and first performed in a Nazi POW camp in 1941, fused faith, birdsong, and dazzling visions of colour into music that offered hope and transcendence to prisoners and guards alike.
Gillian Moore and Linton Stephens explore how these works — and many others — testify to the resilience of creativity. Gillian also recalls her own encounters with music behind bars, where moments of song broke down walls both physical and emotional.
Episode highlights
00:00 Welcome to So Hear Me Out
02:03 Exploring music's role in prisons
03:42 Personal experiences with music in prisons
08:33 Introducing Ethel Smyth's March of the Women
11:33 The impact and legacy of March of the Women
21:12 More notable music behind bars
22:38 The iconic title and its significance
23:14 Introduction to Olivier Messiaen
24:24 The Quartet for the End of Time: background and composition
24:57 A unique orchestration and instrumentation
27:55 Messiaen's religious and natural inspirations
29:14 The First Movement: Abyss of the Birds
32:27 Synesthesia and Messiaen's colorful music
39:27 The first performance in the prison camp
40:56 The emotional heart of The Quartet…
44:46 Music as emancipation and resistance
46:23 Closing thoughts and farewell

Featured music:
Quartet for the End of Time (1941) Olivier Messiaen

March of the Women (1910) Ethel Smyth

Expect a whirlwind tour through Luciano Berio’s mashup masterpiece Sinfonia, complete with Mahler, Beckett, and a generous helping of 1960s political angst.
Then it’s off to a galaxy far, far away to explore how Star Wars composer John Williams borrowed from the greats to create some of the most iconic music in film history (spoiler: Holst and Wagner would probably want royalties).
In this episode of So Hear Me Out, your ever-curious hosts Gillian Moore and Linton Stephens dig into how classical music has been sampling, stealing from (sorry, paying homage to), and reinventing itself for centuries.
This episode asks, is anything truly original? Do composers all have a secret sampling habit? And can reworking the past speak to the world today?
In this episode:
08:51 Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia Movement No. 3
13:43 Analyzing Berio's Sinfonia
23:01 Intertextuality in music: Beckett, Mahler, and 1968
23:51 The radical politics of the 1960s in classical music
24:28 Breaking the fourth wall in music
25:28 A memorable performance at the Southbank Centre
26:25 John Williams and the Influence of classical music
29:22 The genius of John Williams: Star Wars and beyond
31:46 Iconic melodies and orchestration techniques
33:53 The familiar sound world of Star Wars
37:19 The influence of classical composers on John Williams
42:04 The brilliance of John Williams' scores
47:29 Remixing and reworking classical music
50:18 Closing thoughts and farewell
Chapters:
00:04 - Introduction

05:35 - Historical context of remixing in classical music

13:48 - Berio's influences: The Beatles, Beckett, Mahler, and 1968

23:19 - Berio’s Resurrection Symphony

26:31 - The Influence of Classical Music on Modern Composers

32:25 - The legacy of John Williams' film music

39:54 - Exploring the classical homages in Star Wars

46:18 - The Impact of John Williams' Music

50:18 - Closing thoughts and farewell

Featured music:
Sinfonia Movement No. 3 (1969) Luciano Berio

Star Wars (1977) John Williams

Get in touch:
📩 Send your classical questions to [email protected]

Get updates on Instagram @southbankcentre

Follow us on TikTok @southbank.centre

Subscribe to The Tonic newsletter for articles, video and audio

And don’t forget to subscribe, like and comment, wherever you get your podcasts.