« Tuning in and Tuning out » New Paths to Classical Music: Hildegard von Bingen & Women's Work(s)

In this show we listen to the music of 12th century composer Hildegard von Bingen and reflect on her life and the many works she produced in several different fields. We also discuss the space that women artists of all genres need to create and compose and reflect on the situation of women composers today. Tracing lines through history, literature and up to the present day, inspired by one of the most remarkable women and creators in European history.

This show not only thinks about who, how and why we can or should listen to classical music today but also who speaks about it and performs it and how this can be challenged and understood. What perspectives or histories are forgotten from the canon? It looks at the broader context of a composer's work and looks around at what was happening at the time it was written, what has happened since and how we could listen and interpret it today. Where did this music emerge from, what was it doing musically and why could that be interesting ? It eschews traditional ways of talking and educating about classical music and looks for a subversive way round the side door and into the concert hall.