Joanna & The Maestro

Joanna & The Maestro is a new podcast hosted by Dame Joanna Lumley and her husband Stephen Barlow; the famed conductor, composer and musician.

Expect to hear affectionate, engaging and funny conversations between the pair. After almost 40 years of marriage, they realise there are still lots of new things to learn about each other. Listeners will also be treated to live music performed by the maestro himself, as they open the doors to their musical world.

Recorded in the music room in Joanna and Stephen’s back garden, listeners will be invited into delightful, intimate conversations as they discuss their shared passion: classical music. 

Joanna Lumley is the enthusiastic music amateur and her husband, Stephen Barlow, is The Maestro. Joanna will be using this time with Stephen to ask all the questions she’s always had about the music form.

What is a Maestro? What do conductors actually do? Why do certain pieces of music make us feel a certain way? Who was better: Mozart or Beethoven?

Joanna and Stephen will be delving into the remarkable stories behind some of the greatest composers and symphonies, intertwined with their own personal anecdotes about their own musical journeys. From growing up in music-loving households, listening to classical music and playing the piano, to their teen years - where Stephen shares his experiences of falling in love with ’the king of instruments’ - the organ - and Joanna talks about rock and roll, piano music, and asks why The Maestro loves Led Zeppelin so much.

Joanna & The Maestro brings you a new episode every Tuesday.