Programme Information

Friday 2 January 2009

BBC RADIO 3 Friday 2 January 2009

Classical Collection – Complete Haydn Symphonies Friday 2 January 10.00-12.00 BBC RADIO 3

BBC Radio 3 begins its first complete cycle of symphonies by Joseph Haydn, the Austrian composer who is regarded as "the father of the symphony". Throughout 2009, all 104 of his ground-breaking symphonies will be broadcast in numerical order, at the rate of two a week, each Wednesday and Friday.

Sarah Walker and James Jolly introduce the symphonies in Classical Collection, and the range of performances covers the historically informed (Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Franz Bruggen); complete symphonic cycles (Adam Fischer, Antal Dorati); archive gems (Wilhelm Furtwangler, Bruno Walter); the historically important (Derek Solomons, Leslie Jones); and the well-loved (Colin Davis, Thomas Beecham). Some of the symphonies will be performed live in Classical Collection by the BBC Orchestras.

Symphony No. 1, which kicks the cycle off today, was written in the late 1750s for the private court orchestra of Count von Morzin. It combines the vivid and playful music of Italian comic opera with a seriousness of intent and emotional weight that was new to orchestral writing at this time. It is performed by the Philharmonica Hungarica under Antal Dorati, in their pioneering early-Seventies complete recording of the symphonies, still recognised today as a landmark event in the recording catalogue.

The complete symphony cycle is a major part of BBC Radio 3's year-long Haydn celebrations to commemorate the 200th year of his death. Haydn is one of BBC Radio 3's Composers Of The Year for 2009 and his life and work will be celebrated extensively across the network.

Producer/Alex Anderson, Presenter/Sarah Walker

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Donald Macleod concludes his exploration of French composer Hector Berlioz through conversations with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, recorded at the celebrated conductor's Dorset farm.

Today's offering is devoted to what many consider to be the summit of Berlioz's achievement – his gargantuan opera Les Troyens. Fans of Les Troyens must be thankful for the influence of Dr Berlioz, who gave his son a love for the tales of towering passion, gods and goddesses, heroes and villains in Virgil's Aeneid.

The programme features three extracts from this four-hour epic. Two of them focus on the opera's key couples, Cassandra and Chorebus and Dido and Aeneas – all of them ultimately doomed, except for Aeneas, who eventually sails off into the sunset for his date with destiny – the founding of Rome.

The third extract is the famous Trojan March from the end of Act I. Sir John's recording is the only one to feature the original saxhorns demanded by the score, and he relates how he tracked down a complete set in the private collection of a retired Parisian railway worker – whose apartment near the Gare du Nord was hung from floor to ceiling with historic brass instruments. The sound they make is quite extraordinary.

Presenter/Donald Macleod, Producer/Chris Barstow

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Anton Lesser concludes his reading of John Milton's Paradise Lost, in the final part of a series that has marked the 400th anniversary of the writer's birth.

In Book Twelve, the Archangel Michael continues the story from the Ark, concluding his account with Christ's Resurrection; and eventually leads the pair out of Paradise.

Reader/Anton Lesser, Producer/Nicolas Soames

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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BBC Radio 3 presents performances by more of its current crop of New Generation Artists, including the Belcea String Quartet, Paul Lewis, Janine Jansen and Alice Coote.

In the last of 10 early-evening programmes over the Christmas period, there is an opportunity for listeners to hear studio and live concert performances by some of the scheme's current members, including Israeli pianist Shai Wosner with a selection of Debussy Préludes; British soprano Elizabeth Watts in Schubert; jazz-trumpeter Tom Arthurs with his trio; and the Aronowitz Ensemble in Brahms's Second String Sextet.

Producer/Lindsay Kemp

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Murray Perahia and Bernard Haitink have a musical rapport that has provided countless celebrated performances. Listeners have another chance to hear the pair who were reunited at this year's BBC Proms, which saw Perahia return to the festival for the first time in 20 years – in one of Mozart's greatest piano concertos, No. 24 in C minor.

It is followed by Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony. Whilst writing it, Shostakovich was denounced in an article entitled "Muddle Instead Of Music". He continued composing in private, though this work had to wait 25 years – beyond the death of Stalin – before it was first heard, in 1961.

Presenter/Petroc Trelawny, Producer/Kevin Bee

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Joan Bakewell concludes her exploration of the areas of belief with artists, thinkers, scientists and other public figures and tonight speaks to the Cambridge University chaplain and Muslim convert, Tim Winter.

Tim believes everyone has an instinctual need for a belief in God and made his own journey towards Islam, via the Unitarian church. Ultimately, he was attracted to a combination of Islam's theological simplicity and its intellectual and creative heritage. Also known as Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad, Tim brings Western academic methods to his studies of Islam and its history. He is strongly critical of Wahhabism and of the kinds of Islamic interpretation and fundamentalism which underlie extremism and justifications of violence. He is a participant in inter-faith dialogue at high levels and recently returned from the Vatican in an attempt to improve Muslim-Catholic relations.

Tim explores the moral sense of the sacred, instilled in him by his mother, his search for a connection with his creator and what it means to be a Muslim convert in Britain today.

Presenter/Joan Bakewell, Producer/Karen Maurice

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Lopa Kothari presents a mix of music from around the globe, in this edition of World On 3, and Lokkhi Terra perform in the studio with the combined sonic forces of a Fender Rhodes keyboard, Latin American percussion, Indian tabla and Bangladeshi-inspired vocals.

Lokkhi Terra is the latest music project of Bangladeshi-born Kishon Khan. Combining Bangladeshi folkloric music traditions with Cuban rumba, Nigerian Afrobeat and a hint of jazz, Lokkhi Terra's resultant sound spans spiritual melodies, soulful lyrics and dance rhythms. The ensemble ranges from an eight to 14-piece orchestra.

The band has achieved critical success, performing in venues such as London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, Ronnie Scott's and Momo's, as well as performing on the BBC's Asia Today and featuring on Channel 4's film, Last Thakur.

Bandleader Kishon Khan trained as a classical pianist, having won the coveted Isma Govett trophy aged 11, and has worked with a wide array of prestigious artists, whilst lead vocalist Sohini Alam's repertoire sits across folk, patriotic, modern and traditional Bengali songs, with a specialisation in Nazrul Sangeet.

Presenter/Lopa Kothari, Producer/James Parkin

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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BBC RADIO 4 Friday 2 January 2009

John Jungclaussen, Die Zeit's correspondent in the UK, investigates why so many Germans love all things British.

British heritage, tradition and monarchy inspire many Germans to indulge in "the British way of life"; and Barbour jackets and custard-coloured corduroys are de rigueur in the shires of the Black Forest.

Scottish country dancing is a hoot in downtown Frankfurt and, in Hamburg, they have an annual British Weekend when thousands gather on a polo field for a garden fete ending with a candlelit "Last Night Of The Proms". There is also a Celtic rock band in Düsseldorf, who perform "in Scottish" with a backline of pipes and drums.

Trafalgar Day, meanwhile, is annually commemorated by an eccentric German in his garden shed with representatives of Her Majesty's Royal Navy in attendance.

Whilst Shakespeare is the most-performed playwright in Germany, Scotland's Rosamunde Pilcher is the most-adapted novelist on German television, and John investigates this curious unrequited post-war infatuation.

Producer/Roger Elsgood

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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The Castle is a comedy set in medieval England and is written by Kim Fuller, whose credits includes Spitting Image, Red Dwarf, Rory Bremner, Lenny Henry and Spiceworld The Movie.

Brave knight Sir William De Warenne's dungeon renovation falls foul of the Health and Safety inspectors; young Lady Anne falls in love with the new handyman and wayward wizard, Merlin; and Lord of the castle Sir John hires the latest top-of-the-range horse – even though he can't work out what to do with the built-in "ashtrays".

The cast features Steven Kynman, Ingrid Oliver, Jonathan Kydd and Lewis MacLeod.

Producer/David Tyler

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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This week's Friday Play, The Forgotten, is written by Anne Devlin. Alarming lapses of memory lead to the loss of protagonist Bee's house and career, and she has to return home to her aging mother and family.

Her mother, brother, and niece, Thea, try to rally round to help Bee and to understand what she is going through, but not even a frustrated, angry and confused Bee is sure what is happening.

While in the park one day, Bee meets a rather odd creature, known only as The Forgotten. A mysterious being, he declares to Bee that he is all the things she has forgotten, the memories and experiences she tries to piece together.

While on a journey through her disparate memories, listeners travel into Bee's increasingly isolated and solitary world to explore where the mind might go when enslaved by a dementia that will not let it function meaningfully, and to discover what secret it is that Bee has "forgotten".

Producer/Heather Larmour

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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BBC RADIO 5 LIVE Friday 2 January 2009

Mark Pougatch brings listeners all the day's sports news and looks ahead to the weekend's FA Cup, sponsored by E.on, third-round ties.

Presenter/Mark Pougatch, Producer/Steve Rudge

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

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BBC 6 MUSIC Friday 2 January 2009

Bruce Dickinson welcomes Australian classic rockers Airbourne to his Rock Show this evening.

Originating from Warrnambool, Victoria, Airbourne was founded by brothers Joel and Ryan O'Keeffe, whose efforts at following in the footsteps of idols AC/DC earned them frequent complaints from their neighbours and visits from the police.

Following a great performance at Download Festival in the summer and the massive reaction to their debut album, Runnin Wild, Bruce invites the guys to come in to the studio again – this time letting them take over the show for an hour and select their favourite tracks to play.

As well as picking some of the tracks that inspired them, the guys also talk about their recent gigs in the UK and explain how they're coping with the English winter.

Presenter/Bruce Dickinson, Producer/Ian Callaghan

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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BBC WORLD SERVICE Friday 2 January 2009

BBC Disability Affairs correspondent Peter White tells the tale of Louis Braille, the founder of Braille, and the story behind his invention, in the light of new technology for the blind – which now threatens to make it redundant.

The story of Braille goes back to Napoleon, who demanded a system of writing for his soldiers to enable them to communicate silently and at night. The system was complicated and it only took off when Louis Braille invented the Braille cell, a code of six dots for each letter that the human finger could touch at the same time, and move rapidly on. Louis had gone blind at the age of 3, but had been allowed to continue attending a normal school – where he started to develop a system of writing by pinpricks on the page.

Today, Braille has been adapted into almost every known language. It's used on bank notes in Canada and Mexico and in published parliament acts in India. But is this direct, versatile and easy-to-learn system under threat today? Among Britain's population of two million visually impaired, it's estimated that only about 20,000 people use Braille. Voice recognition systems, texts and other new technologies mean that the younger generation are abandoning this system of writing. Peter asks whether technology can ever completely replace this very successful tool for communication.

Presenter/Peter White, Producer/Anna Horsbrugh-Porter

BBC World Service Publicity

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