Composer Andrew Ford presents The Music Show on ABC Radio National. His books include Try Whistling This, Illegal Harmonies: Music in the Modern Age and, most recently, The Shortest History of Music.
Books & arts
When the bough breaks
Andrew Ford
6 July 2014
A lullaby is a parent’s work song, writes Andrew Ford, even if the taskmaster isn’t paying attention to the words
Books & arts
Too much talent
Andrew Ford
11 February 2014
A new collection of letters traces the life of the “outrageously gifted” composer of West Side Story, writes Andrew Ford
Books & arts
The composer who hasn’t let go
Andrew Ford
15 September 2013
We’re still living in Wagner’s world, writes Andrew Ford
Books & arts
Benjamin Britten’s voice
Andrew Ford
16 May 2013
Much of Britten’s vocal music was written for Peter Pears — and that creates quite a challenge for modern interpreters
From the archive
Margaret Thatcher and the moral neutrality of art
Andrew Ford
10 April 2013
The soundtracks of other people’s lives can be unsettling
Books & arts
The symbiotic relationship
Andrew Ford
15 October 2012
Something interesting happens when a piece of music goes out into the world, writes Andrew Ford
Books & arts
Why we need music
Andrew Ford
8 May 2012
The most abstract of our arts is also one of the things that defines our humanity
Books & arts
Tim Stevens’s undertow
Andrew Ford
12 April 2012
Andrew Ford reviews a captivating new recording of improvised jazz piano
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