1816: Engineering Music

1816, Bavaria. A stolen metronome leads to one of the most influential inventions in music history. Promoted by the inventor Johann Nepomuk Maelzel and endorsed by leading composers including Beethoven, the metronome offers something musicians have never possessed before: a precise and portable way of measuring tempo.

As the Industrial Revolution gathers pace, new technologies begin to alter the musical landscape. Mechanical instruments, precision engineering and advances in manufacturing shape the way music is created, performed and taught. The metronome sparks debate about the relationship between accuracy and expression, while innovations such as the valve transform brass instruments and expand the possibilities available to composers.

From Beethoven's enthusiasm for metronome markings to the rise of brass bands, larger orchestras and the emergence of the modern conductor, musicians find themselves working in a world increasingly influenced by technology, standardisation and industrial progress.

Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new BBC Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1000 years of classical music history. For the next eight programmes, historian Simon Schama is in the chair, as together they explore the rich musical world of the Classical era.

Producer: Zerlina Vulliamy
Academic Consultant: Professor Laura Tunbridge, University of Oxford
Story Consultant: Kate Leys
Series Editor for BBC Audio: Emma Harding

Key Changes theme tune composed by Joseph Howard and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Kerem Hasan.

To listen to this programme using most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Key Changes."