Classical Music · Big Ear Radio
A themed journey through six centuries of musical genius — from Renaissance polyphony to Post-modern minimalism, every single week.
The Classical Continuum is Big Ear Radio's flagship classical music programme, hosted by the knowledgeable and warm Alina Caulfield. Each week Alina selects a theme — a mood, an idea, a story, a season — and then takes the listener on a guided journey through that theme, discovering how composers across six distinct musical periods approached it.
From the sacred polyphony of the Renaissance to the soaring drama of the Romantic era, from the experimental boldness of the Modern period to the quiet minimalism of the Post-modern — every episode covers all six, so you always leave with a complete picture of how music has evolved.
Whether you are a lifelong concert-goer or someone who has never listened to a classical piece in your life, Alina's warmth, depth of knowledge and gift for storytelling make The Classical Continuum accessible, moving and genuinely unmissable.
Every episode of The Classical Continuum visits all six eras — tracing how one theme echoes and transforms across six centuries of musical history.
c. 1400 – 1600
Music of the Church and the emerging secular world. Polyphony blossomed as composers layered independent voices into intricate, celestial tapestries of sound.
c. 1600 – 1750
Drama, ornamentation and emotional intensity. The basso continuo underpinned music of extraordinary structural ambition — from Bach's fugues to Handel's oratorios.
c. 1750 – 1820
Clarity, balance and formal elegance. The symphony and string quartet came of age, and composers like Haydn and Mozart brought structural perfection to new heights.
c. 1820 – 1900
Emotion unleashed. The orchestra swelled, the piano sang, and composers poured personal feeling into music of sweeping grandeur, longing and passionate intensity.
c. 1900 – 1970
The old rules were broken. Atonality, serialism and new rhythmic languages emerged as composers responded to a world transformed by war, technology and rapid change.
c. 1970 – Present
Everything is permitted. Minimalism, spectralism, neo-romanticism and cross-genre experimentation define an era that looks both backward and boldly forward.
Catch The Classical Continuum with Alina Caulfield four times a week — all times UK (GMT/BST).
All times shown in UK time (GMT/BST). View full station schedule →