The Rest Is History: Our Classical Playlist

Almost as long as there has been human history, there has been music of one kind or another. And for the past 1000 years, classical composers have been with us every step of the way, serving up powerful commentaries on major events, bellwethers for our ever-changing times, or simply great works that have since become history-makers in their own rights. Here, Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland, the presenters of the hit podcast The Rest is History, present their personal classical music favorites, taking us from the astonishing Tudor-age surround sound of Tallis’ 40-part motet, Spem in alium, via Mozart’s final and arguably most powerful utterance, the Requiem, to the heady world of Wagner’s intoxicating Tristan und Isolde, the opera that forever changed classical music’s landscape. Below you can read short guides to each piece, along with personal insights from Sandbrook and Holland. Variations on an Original Theme (“Enigma” Variations) (Elgar) Elgar’s 1899 “Enigma” Variations is a series of affectionate, sometimes teasing musical portraits of the composer’s friends and family. And none are more affectionate than “Nimrod,” a reference to Elgar’s dear friend, his publisher August Jaeger. It was Jaeger who supported Elgar through difficult emotional times, and this movement is a testament to their close bond. “Mysterious, melancholy and yet somehow uniquely stirring, ‘Nimrod’ has become synonymous with British national identity, thanks not least to its use in the film Dunkirk,” says Dominic Sandbrook, “but that’s selling it short; it’s an absolutely brilliant piece of music.” The Year in History: Joseph Conrad completes, Heart of Darkness in 1899, a psychological novella exploring, among other themes, the morality of colonialism. Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff) Rachmaninoff completed his Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1901 following a series of counselling sessions to cure his depression and creative block. The Russian premiere was a wild success and the piece quickly achieved global fame. Today, it stands as the composer’s most popular works. “Like lots of people, I first encountered this in the film Brief Encounter,” says Dominic Sandbrook, “so I always associate it with tragically doomed romance. But it’s popular for a reason: few pieces of music are more lyrical, more beautifully judged, more freighted with longing.” The Year in History: Queen Victoria dies in January 1901, the second-longest serving British monarch (63 years) after Queen Elizabeth II (70 years). Spem in Alium (Thomas Tallis) Tallis wrote his spellbinding motet for 40 voices in around 1570, although the finer details surrounding its composition and first performance are shrouded in mystery. What is surely not in doubt is the effect that this incredible music would have had on its congregation. As Tom Holland says, Spem in Alium “feels like angels are in the room.” The Year in History: James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray and the regent of Scotland for the then three-year-old James VI, is assassinated. The Marriage of Figaro, Act IV, Scene 14 (Mozart) In just five minutes, Mozart whisks his characters (and audience) from utter confusion to reconciliation and happy resolution with music ranging from delightful comedy to ravishingly beautiful. Composed in 1786, The Marriage of Figaro revolves around two servants who plot to outsmart their master. “Here is Mozart at his most mischievous,” says Tom Holland. “The music spins chaos into comedy.” The Year in History: In August 1786, mountaineers Michel-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat become the first to reach the summit of Mont Blanc. Tristan und Isolde: Liebestod (Wagner) With its ambiguous harmonies and continuous, seamless music, Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde, premiered in 1865, changed opera forever. Over almost five hours, Wagner explores themes of lust, love, and death, leading to the climactic, intoxicating Liebestod during which Isolde sings over Tristan’s lifeless body. Tristan and Isolde’s is “a love that burns beyond life,” says Tom Holland, “and the music carries you through its highs and lows.” The Year in History: The 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude, is passed by the US Senate in April 1864, and ratified soon after. Symphony No. 5 (Mahler) Gustav Mahler’s Vienna in the first decade of the 20th century presented a rich ferment both in the arts and in science—Mahler himself was one of Sigmund Freud’s patients. His Symphony No. 5 (completed in 1902), described by Sandbrook as “a vast journey from darkness into light, sometimes intimate, sometimes overwhelming,” reflects Mahler’s inner strife but also, in its famous “Adagietto,” his deep love for his young wife, Alma. The Year in History: Cuba gains its independence from the US in May 1902 after four years of American occupation. Rite of Spring (Stravinsky) This is history—the ballet which caused a riot on its opening night in Paris, 1913, performed by the legendary Ballets Russes company, so outrageous did its revolutionary style of dancing appear to its audience. Still packing a punch today is what Tom Holland calls the “raucous and shocking” qualities of its music, in which its composer “Stravinsky pushes rhythm and color to the edge.” The Year in History: Death Valley in California, US, reaches a temperature of 56.7 degrees Celsius (134 degrees Fahrenheit) in July 1913, the highest ever recorded anywhere on earth. Requiem (Mozart) “For me this is the height of Mozart’s genius,” says Dominic Sandbrook. “It’s the kind of classical blockbuster that makes you want to turn the volume up to 11.” Mozart began his Requiem in the final year of his life, 1791, but failed to finish it before his death (most performing versions today use Franz Xaver Süssmayr’s completions). The Requiem contains music of almost unbearable emotional power, with music that looks forward to the Romantic era. The Year in History: Charles Babbage, English mathematician, philosopher, and inventor of the first mechanical computer, is born December 26, 1791. “Ombra Mai Fu” (Handel) Handel’s operas, once highly popular entertainments in London, perhaps seemed too frivolous in 1738 as England prepared for war with Spain over “Jenkins’ Ear.” But this aria from one of his least successful, Serse, subsequently took a life of its own with its noble melody. Tom Holland describes it as “a small, perfect aria. Gentle and haunting, it lingers long after it ends”. The Year in History: In October 1738, King Charles III of Spain orders the excavation of Herculaneum, a Roman city buried in AD 79 by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The Radetzky March (Johann Strauss I) Johann Strauss I, father of the legendary “waltz king,” secured his own place in musical history with his Radetzky March, written in 1848 during the European Revolution. Its bold swagger has proved irresistible fixture to the Vienna New Year’s Concert. “You can see why Viennese audiences always clap along to this,” enthuses Dominic Sandbrook; “it’s pure jollity, brimming with vim and vigor.” The Year in History: In November 1848 General Zachary Taylor is elected 12th President of US.