Better Known

Harriet Constable

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Episode notes

Harriet Constable is a journalist and filmmaker based in London. Her journalism and documentary work has featured in outlets including the BBC, Economist and New York Times. She is a graduate of Colombia University’s School of Journalism summer school, is a Pulitzer Center grantee and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Her first novel is The Instrumentalist.

Anna Maria della Pietà: the greatest violinist of 18th century, possibly a composer in her own right, fundamental to Vivaldi's music, grew up in the extraordinary Ospedale della Pietà - the original conservatoire of music
Synaesthesia: people think it's seeing music through colour - which it is in The Instrumentalist - but it's more than that. Words can have smells and taste, one sense can trigger another in profound ways.
Bach’s Cello Suite in G minor while standing on a mountain: anyone can enjoy classical music, it's supposed to be listened to LOUDLY, it's supposed to be magnificent. Go somewhere epic, ideally in nature, and play this piece. Track the mountain with your eyes.
The Foundling Museum: the UK’s first children’s charity, a heartfelt ode to the orphans and their parents.
Female musicians: Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara Schulman, Nannerl Mozart, Francesca Caccini - listen to Nocturne in G minor.
Spaghetti Aglio Olio