Belize-born British composer Errollyn Wallen, recently announced as Master of the King's Music, and composer and silent film music specialist Neil Brand, join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye to round off the current series. From the first winner of the Eurovision Song contest to a Marvin Gaye masterpiece, via warring brothers, Add to Playlist wraps …

Keyboard maestro and prog rock musician Rick Wakeman and concert violinist Fenella Humphreys are today's studio guests with Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye. In the penultimate episode of the current series, they take us from a Bach favourite via an Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong classic before hopping on a train to Moldova for some lively Eurov…

Saxophone player and composer Emma Rawicz and jazz pianist and bandleader Julian Joseph join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they take us from a 1973 Elton John hit to music with historical links to the Deep South. Special guest Rhiannon Giddens, the American folk musician, fiddler and banjo player, reveals the history of the bluegrass banjo, tak…

Cellist Gabriella Swallow and singer, pianist and songwriter Joe Stilgoe join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the next five tracks, taking us from a pioneering use of a vocoder for a Stanley Kubrick soundtrack to a Grace Jones synth hit, via some early American Doo-wop. Producer: Jerome WeatheraldPresented with musical direction by Jeffr…

Ukrainian-British pianist Dinara Klinton and Scottish operatic tenor Nicky Spence join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye, taking us from a cheeky 1980s boy band from Birmingham via Domenico Scarlatti to the famous French duo behind the mask as they add the next five tracks. Producer: Jerome WeatheraldPresented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye …

Baritone Roderick Williams and bassoonist Amy Harman kick off with a famous four-letter acronym as they add the next five tracks to the playlist with Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they go on their latest international musical journey. From the cop, the cowboy and the construction worker in Greenwich Village, the show drops in on Brahms, visits …

Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason and lyricist and musician Richard Stilgoe join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the first five tracks in the new series, taking us from a pop/disco banger from 2001 to Nina Simone, via a heartfelt countertenor revival. Producer: Jerome WeatheraldPresented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe …

Recorder and baroque flute player Heidi Fardell and pianist Keelan Carew join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the last five tracks, which include the theme for a famous animated woodpecker, a huge recent TV soundtrack with echoes of Beethoven, and a funked-up version of a classic 1960 guitar track by The Shadows. Add to Playlist will ret…

Sitar player and composer Jasdeep Singh Degun and composer and musician Anne Dudley continue the musical journey with Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye. From New York punk to Björk's debut via a 13th century drinking song in Latin, this penultimate episode of the series brings the current tally of tracks to 25. Producer: Jerome WeatheraldPresented wit…

Singer-songwriter Andrew Roachford and organist and conductor Anna Lapwood join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye in the studio as they add the next five tracks to the playlist. Starting in Jamaica in the 1960s, they travel via the Hunger Games and a Rolling Stones choir classic to the Congo, finishing up at arguably the most famous song on the planet…

Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Emma Rawicz, and composer Gavin Higgins, join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the next five tracks. From a Muddy Waters masterpiece, they take us to Aldeburgh for Benjamin Britten's tragic tale, before jumping on their bicycles and heading to Copenhagen for an audacious saxophone composition. The five…

Folks singer and song collector Sam Lee, and composer Debbie Wiseman, join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye in the studio as they add the next five tracks. Starting with time travel, they head to a ground-breaking Coachella performance, a May Day celebration, and finish off with an unexpected dogleg from Fleetwood Mac, following their all-conquering …

Add to Playlist returns for its ninth series and Jeffrey is joined by a new co-host, the violinist and composer Anna Phoebe. To kick off the new six-part series, Jeffrey and Anna are joined in the studio by the composer and silent film specialist Neil Brand and jazz singer and composer Natalie Duncan, who create a playlist of five tracks which take…

UK-based Syrian qanun player and composer Maya Youssef and concert pianist Keelan Carew put the finishing touches to the current playlist with Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye. The final leg of the journey takes us from Wagner's famous water nymphs to a massive Beyoncé hit from this year, via France, Sicily and Lebanon. Add to Playlist returns to …

Fiddler and folk musician Eliza Carthy and choral conductor Tim Rhys-Evans join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the next five tracks. Starting at a famous masked ball in Vienna, they then head for the Genoa docks, rounding off with a cheeky Soca hip-thrusting classic. In the penultimate episode of the current series, recorder player a…

Composer, producer and arranger Anne Dudley and concert violinist Emily Sun add five more tracks to the playlist with Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye. The journey takes them from a dark tale of deceit and entrapment to a hotel you can never leave. Irish pipes and whistle player John McSherry also calls in to tell us about his live recording of tr…

Anna Meredith - composer, producer and performer of both acoustic and electronic music - and singer, songwriter and pianist Joe Stilgoe join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add five more tracks. The journey takes them from Hugh Masekela's South Africa to a masked ball in Brazil, and ending up at arguably the most famous notes ever played on th…

Composer, conductor and bassoonist Leo Geyer, and The Southbank Centre's Gillian Moore, join Jeffrey Boakye and saxophonist Jess Gillam - standing in for Cerys Matthews - as they head from a famous Bach well-tempered classic, via Taiwan, to David Bowie's parting gesture. British-Chinese flautist Daniel Shao explains the intricacies of a traditional…

Bassoonist Amy Harman and Wolf Hall composer Debbie Wiseman are today's studio guests, as Linton Stephens sits in for Cerys Matthews alongside Jeffrey Boakye. This episode takes us from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to Glenn Miller's wartime smash hit. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPresented, with music direction, by Jeffrey Boakye and Linton Stephens The fi…

Organist Anna Lapwood MBE and Bavarian baritone Benjamin Appl join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye on a trans-continental journey as they explore the music of dance in different cultures, from the beer tents in Munich to Transylvania. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPresented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye The five tracks i…

It's the start of a new playlist, and to get things going, singer/songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae and the Scottish operatic tenor Nicky Spence join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the first five tracks. As well as discussing the five compositions, the four are outnumbered by the London Bulgarian Choir who give a special live performance…

Composer, silent film music specialist and musician, Neil Brand, and violinist and composer Anna Phoebe, join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye for the final episode of the current series. From Ma Rainey's loud and proud blues to a singalong classic from 1981, via an 8'25" digitally-manipulated track that could split the room, the current musical j…

Pianist, singer and songwriter Natalie Duncan and Martin Phipps, composer of TV's The Crown and Ridley Scott's new film Napoleon, join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they travel from Senegal to a massive Cher hit from 1998. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPresented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye The five tracks in this …

Composer Debbie Wiseman and the writer and multi-instrumentalist Rhodri Marsden join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add five more tracks, taking us from a Drifters' classic hit to one of Beethoven's most famous compositions. For Add to Playlist, the Chinese pianist Lang Lang reflects on playing Beethoven, and percussionist Ruairi Glashee…

Fraser T Smith - producer, musician and collaborator with artists including Adele, Stormzy, Dave and Sam Smith - and Welsh jazz harpist Amanda Whiting, add the next five tracks to the growing playlist. With Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye they go from a Snoop Dogg 1994 hit to Brazil via some serious jazz piano. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPresented…

Baritone and composer Roderick Williams and violinist Jennifer Pike - the youngest ever winner of BBC Young Musician of the Year at the time in 2002, aged just 12 - join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add five more tracks to the playlist. The musical choices take us from one of the most famous tunes in the UK (composer unknown) to a Labi Siff…

Trumpet player Matilda Lloyd and gold steel pan player Leon Foster Thomas bring their instruments to the studio as they join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add five more tracks to the playlist, each chosen for its musical connections with the previous one. In this episode the journey takes us from Mozart via a classic jazz trio to a 1964 kite…

21-year-old saxophonist and composer Emma Rawicz, finalist of BBC Young Musician 2022, and conductor Ben Gernon add five more tracks to the playlist with Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye. The musical links take them from a Langston Hughes poem set to jazz to a seventies Spanish disco classic via the dusty plains of Argentina. Producer Jerome Weath…

Bassoonist Amy Harman and pianist Keelan Carew are today's guests in the studio with Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the next five tracks to the playlist. From a gentle nursery rhyme, the musical links take us to a Russian dance, a celebration of the Earth's origins in Estonia, and a testosterone-fuelled TV theme with helicopters and …

Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason and musician and silent movie score composer Neil Brand launch a new playlist. With presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye, they choose the first five tracks which take us from a celebratory anthem chanted in football stadiums to a live, mischievous performance by a 12-year-old Stevie Wonder. Producer Jerome Weather…

Composer Isobel Waller-Bridge and baritone Roderick Williams join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add the final five tracks to the current series, bringing the playlist up to 40. And the joy of rounds, or canons, with singer, composer and producer Esbe, and one in particular that she sings which goes back to the 13th century. From lovesick ind…

Downton Abbey composer John Lunn and saxophonist Jess Gillam join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye on a journey from the snowy landscape of northern Finland to the warmth of Ecuador as they add the next five tracks, exploring unusual instruments and effects, including the theremin and the tremolo. Guitarist and songwriter Johnny Marr, formerly of …

Musician and composer Anne Dudley and percussionist Ruairi Glasheen embark on a musical journey across continents, centuries and styles as they add the next five tracks to the playlist. Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye also find out from specialist Simon Heighes about the background to a popular work by Bach, famously used in those old cigar adver…

Jazz pianist Julian Joseph and bassoonist Amy Harman join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye in a journey that takes them from Manchester, via a baggy-pants classic pop hit, to a celebrated track from the most popular jazz album of all time. Drummer Romarna Campbell is also on-hand to provide a drummer's perspective on the percussive elements. This …

In the final episode of the current series, Sir Richard Stilgoe joins Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the final five tracks, taking us from a live recording in California's Folsom Prison to a massive 1980s pop classic via a celebration of freedom with the dismantling of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Drummer Jeremy Stacey is also on hand to…

Film and TV composer Debbie Wiseman OBE and musician and fiddler Sam Sweeney, formerly of the folk group Bellowhead, join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they choose the next five tracks, in the penultimate episode of the current series. This week's journey takes us from a popular Sunday evening TV theme to an Etta James classic via the 1984 W…

Rick Wakeman - keyboard player and former member of the progressive rock group Yes - and organist Anna Lapwood join Cerys and Jeffrey as they add the next five tracks, taking us from a Welsh/Indian collaboration to Hans Zimmer via a 1995 rap classic. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPresented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye The…

Pianist and singer Natalie Duncan and cellist Gabriella Swallow take us from the French Alps to a dusty airstrip in the Australian outback with Miles Davis as they add the next five tracks. Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye are also joined by Ukrainian-born pianist Dinara Klinton for some Hungarian Rhapsody. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPresented, wit…

Rakhi Singh - violinist, music director and composer - and composer, producer and pianist, Alexis Ffrench, join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the next five tracks. From the King's coronation via the Bolivian Andes and Finland, they end up on Highway 61, and there's a surprise bonus track along the way. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPres…

Violinist and composer Anna Phoebe and pianist and composer Neil Brand join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to explore ground-breaking techniques on traditional instruments, from the classical flute to the tuba. The journey takes us from Spain to Beirut, taking in surf rock, 'maximalism' and the beauty of Egyptian scales. And jazz flautist Chip W…

Composer and producer Hannah Peel and pianist Keelan Carew consider the soundtrack for one of the most famous scenes in cinema, and they take us to Venice where Visconti famously used a celebrated atmospheric Mahler composition for one of his films. Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye also bring us a track by one of the most successful pop acts of al…

Cor anglais and oboe player Kate St. John and pianist and composer Joe Stilgoe join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add another five tracks to the playlist. Their short ride in a fast machine takes them from a Parisian classic to Buenos Aires tango via a train tour to Rainbow City. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPresented, with music direction, by …

Bassoon player Amy Harman and composer Gavin Higgins join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye for the opening episode of the new series of the Prix Italia and Prix Europa award-winning music programme. Starting from scratch, the new adventure takes us from the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee via the Aegean Sea to a hand-rubbing fado song from…

Singer/songwriter Natalie Duncan and Norwegian Baroque violinist Bjarte Eike join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add five more tracks to the playlist, and Brian Eno remembers discovering a new piece of equipment that changed the face of popular music in 1977. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPresented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews an…

James Taylor of the British jazz-funk outfit the James Taylor Quartet brings his C3 Hammond organ to the studio while Ukrainian-born pianist Dinara Klinton sets herself up at the grand piano as they join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add the next five tracks to the playlist. The journey takes them from Cape Verde to The Gambia and Lebanon, w…

Gareth Malone, who brought choral singing into the mainstream with his TV series The Choir, is joined by The Southbank Centre's Gillian Moore as they take us on the rolling sea from Benin in West Africa to the streets of Havana. Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye continue to compile the new playlist, with additional insights from Afrobeat musician D…

Organist Anna Lapwood and bassoon-player Linton Stephens join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add the first five tracks to the new playlist, from a Yiddish anti-fascist song - with context provided by ethnomusicologist Dr Abigail Wood at the University of Haifa in Israel - to a celebrated homage to Duke Ellington. Produced by Jerome Weatherald…

This week, Radio 4 is revisiting four episodes of the award-winning music series Add to Playlist, first broadcast in October. Today, Anne Dudley, composer and co-founder of The Art of Noise, and Welsh traditional musician Patrick Rimes join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add five more tracks to the playlist, including a tender but rather…

This week, Radio 4 is revisiting four episodes of the award-winning music series Add to Playlist, first broadcast in October. Today, Welsh harpist and composer Catrin Finch and composer and musician Neil Brand help Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye add the next five songs to the playlist. The adventure takes them from the highest of high notes to t…

This week, Radio 4 is revisiting four episodes of the award-winning music series Add to Playlist, first broadcast in October. Today, Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye are joined by trumpet player Laura Jurd and operatic tenor Nicky Spence. Together, with the help of Dr Martin Neary - former Organist and Master of Choristers at Westminster Abbey - t…