Howard Goodall's Twentieth Century Greats: Lennon and McCartney

In this illuminating four-part series, British composer Howard Goodall considers the work of five composers who left an indelible mark on the 20th century. From Lennon and McCartney to Bernard Herrmann, Cole Porter and Leonard Bernstein, Goodall demonstrates why they will be judged to be among the greatest and most influential composers of the last century. In each programme, Howard takes some of the greatest music written by his selected composers to demonstrate how it works. In Lennon and McCartney, Goodall shows how two Liverpudlians with no formal musical education went on to influence not just popular music, but classical music too. Lennon and McCartney proved that traditional western harmony - the main building block of European music - still had plenty to offer. They also embraced a bewildering variety of musical styles, and transformed the recording studio from a dull box where you recaptured your live sound into a full-on musical laboratory. Featuring performances and original footage, Goodall's deconstructions and explanations allow even strangers to musical composition to comprehend the originality and genius of the 20th century's musical greats.