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Tim The Composer

Tim The Composer

By: Tim Benjamin
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About this listen

 Join composer Tim Benjamin as he reveals the untold stories behind history's greatest music. From the earliest notation of medieval times to Beethoven's musical revolution, from Shostakovich's struggles under Stalin through to composers of the present day, discover the political intrigue, personal struggles, and creative risks that shaped 1000 years of music. Each episode focuses on a single work, exploring what moved the composer to write what they did. No musical knowledge required - just curiosity about the extraordinary human stories behind immortal art. Literate music from the inside out.Tim Benjamin Music
Episodes
  • 4: Orfeo

    4: Orfeo
    Sep 27 2025

    Episode 4 of Tim The Composer's podcast is all about Monteverdi's opera, Orfeo, one of the very earliest of all operas. Tim discovers the fascinating story behind the opera's creation, exploring how and why Monteverdi and his collaborator Striggio ended up picking on this story in particular and creating this new artform, and the background in the Duchy of Mantua and the influence of the remarkable House of Gonzaga.
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • 3. Ut

    3. Ut
    Aug 3 2025

    In Episode 3 of Tim the Composer's Podcast, Tim goes back to the earliest origins of reliably written music, and talks about Guido d'Arezzo, his life, and his solutions to the problem of writing down music such that it can be reconstructed precisely years, decades, or centuries later. Tim also discovers a number of surprising and entertaining connections between Guido d'Arezzo and the musical film "The Sound of Music"!
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    55 mins
  • 2. Tempered

    2. Tempered
    Jul 13 2025

    In Episode 2 of Tim the Composer's Podcast, Tim looks at J.S. Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier". He explains what both "well-tempered" and "clavier" mean precisely, and then explores the music itself in the dramatic context of Bach’s life at around the time of the music’s composition.
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    1 hr and 5 mins
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