20th Century Greats backdrop
Documentary

The Best Episodes of 20th Century Greats

Every episode of 20th Century Greats ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of 20th Century Greats!

Howard Goodall examines the work of The Beatles, Cole Porter, Bernard Herrmann and Leonard Bernstein.

Airs on
Channel 4
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons1

All1

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Click to reveal
    20th Century Greats Season 1 Episode 1 - Lennon/McCartney
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #1 - Lennon/McCartney

    S1:E1

    John Lennon and Paul McCartney turned themselves into the most influential composers of the late twentieth century. Their music wasn’t just immensely popular. It also proved that traditional western harmony – the main building block of European music – still had plenty to offer. They, more than anyone, saved the western musical tradition from extinction, and gave it a new purpose and a direction.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. 20th Century Greats Season 1 Episode 2 - Cole Porter
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #2 - Cole Porter

    S1:E2

    Cole Porter was the most gifted of a richly talented generation of composers who transformed popular music in the 1920s and 30s. It had started the century, for the most part, bland, patronising and trite, the gauche, poor relation of classical music. Cole Porter, more than anyone, made it musically, and lyrically sophisticated, emotionally satisfying and subtle. Remarkably, not only did he write some of the best music ever, but was also one of the greatest lyricists in the English language.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. 20th Century Greats Season 1 Episode 3 - Bernard Herrmann
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #3 - Bernard Herrmann

    S1:E3

    Bernard Herrmann wrote some of the most famous film music of the twentieth century, from Citizen Kane to The Day The Earth Stood Still, Fahrenheit 451 to Taxi Driver. He is best known for his scores for Alfred Hitchcock, in particular the masterpieces Vertigo and Psycho. Herrmann completely transformed film music, dragging it out of its reliance on the sounds and textures of nineteenth centuryVienna and into the modern age.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. 20th Century Greats Season 1 Episode 4 - Leonard Bernstein
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #4 - Leonard Bernstein

    S1:E4

    Leonard Bernstein was the composer who, more than anyone else in the twentieth century, embodied the trend we now call ‘cross-over.’ A brilliant musician and conductor, he wrote in the ‘classical’ style, but also wrote some of the best known ‘popular’ music of the century, from On The Town to West Side Story. By his own mixing of European classical, pop and Latin styles, Bernstein may have prefigured the next important phase in the music of our own time – the fusion of Western and Asian styles.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Best Episodes Summary

"Lennon/McCartney" is the best rated episode of "20th Century Greats". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 11/27/2004. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Cole Porter".