Sam and Tim emerge from their winter hibernation for a special episode celebrating the musical culture of Ukraine. Six Ukrainian composers and performers share their favourite Ukrainian-composed music, while Sam takes a sideways look at Valentin Silvestrov’s delicate piece for synthesiser, piano and strings The Messenger. Big thanks to Antonii Baryshevsky, Anna Fedorova, Pavel Gintov, Victoria Loukianetz, Ivan Nebesnyy and Ludmilla Yurina.

This Christmas, to celebrate 50 years since Jesus Christ Superstar first opened on Broadway, we’ve dedicated an entire episode to unwrapping its magic. What is it about the rock opera that makes it, as one Times critic wrote, ‘the one masterpiece of Lloyd Webber’s career’? Why, after five decades, does it still give pause for theological thought? And how can one piece of music connect such disparate-seeming artists as Dmitri Shostakovich, Googoosh, Lin Mannuel Maranda, and Kanye West? Featuring interviews with Sirs Tim Rice and Karl Jenkins, Alain Boublil, Peaches and Nico Muhly, this is … The Jesus Christ Superspecial.

NuqneH! In this week’s episode Sam has a good old podcast chat with the founding members of Manchester Collective, Rakhi Singh and Adam Szabo. They discuss unusual programming and widely sourced inspirations – as well as the range of skills a modern musician needs. Qapla'!

Against all the odds, the boys were invited backstage to the Ivors Composer Awards. Tune in to hear them try almost too hard to brand themselves the Ant and Dec of the classical music world. Also – the late, great Victoria Wood in this week’s analysis of Franz Schmidt’s Fourth Symphony, not before some flagrant Handelian recycling.

It’s the 50th episode of the Classical Music Pod! We struck gold with today’s guest, composer and bandleader Cassie Kinoshi, who previews her upcoming Aurora Orchestra commission, Three Suns Suite, and discusses how labels and preconceptions can be limiting for musicians.

There’s a French flavour to this week‘s episode as we take the next step in our series of neglected pieces, unwrapping Louise Farrenc’s Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano (with a little help from Adele). We also pay tribute to the composer of the Channel 4 News theme, Alan Hawkshaw, and receive police guidance on where not to practise your flute.

Sam chats to an innuendo-filled Nicky Spence about Jenůfa at the Royal Opera, the ‘vortex of need’ and his rustic roots …

The boys profile the new Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, lay bare one of classical music’s most flagrant pick pockets and polish up a rough diamond by Italian Baroque composer Antonio Caldara.

Sam and Tim return from their summer break with a new season of classical shenanigans. Kicking things off is an interview with organist, conductor, broadcaster and all-round musical superstar Anna Lapwood. She discusses her latest release for solo organ, Images, recorded at Ely Cathedral, as well as the role of secular music in church services and the mixing of boy and girl choristers.

In today’s episode: Mendelssohn’s concert overture ‘The Hebrides’ goes under the microscope, Tim unwraps the musical history of the Olympic Games and Sam chats to Andrew Moore, Head of Music at the Edinburgh International Festival.