Mozart

Mozart

From Evil Genius with Russell Kane by BBC Sounds

June 3, 2026 · 38 min

About this episode

The episode explores the life and legacy of Mozart, questioning whether he was a true genius or merely a child with peculiar interests.

He’s the most famous composer there’s ever been; a child prodigy who produced more than 600 works in his short life. But was the ‘miracle of Vienna’ really anything more than just a manchild with a scat fetish? Kate Cheka, Stephen Bailey and Steve Bugeja must decide whether the ‘boy genius’ was actually more ‘boy evil’, via water sports and magic flutes. Additional material: Miriam O’Byrne and Katie Sayer Researcher: Miriam O’Byrne Recording Engineer: Dom Boucher Sound Editor: Kate Mac Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy Executive Producer: Paul Smith The producer was Katie Sayer. Evil Genius with Russell Kane is a BBC Studios Production for BBC Sounds.

People in this episode

Host: Russell Kane

Guests: Kate Cheka, Stephen Bailey, Steve Bugeja

Topics covered

  • music
  • composers
  • child prodigies
  • history
  • humor
  • critique

Keywords

  • Mozart
  • composers
  • child prodigy
  • music history
  • humor
  • Evil Genius

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC Sounds, BBC Studios

Books & works: Mozart

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