Composer of the Week

• Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

  Donald Macleod explores the early years in Benjamin Britten's creative storyBenjamin Britten was one of the most influential British composers of the 20th century, with celebrated works such as 'Peter Grimes', 'Friday Afternoons' or 'A Simple Symphony'. Music infused his very first moments in life and he started to develop his musical instincts from a very early age. Many of his future masterpieces can be traced back to the inspiration of his youth. This week, Donald Macleod explores these crucial early years in Britten's creative story, from his birth under the star of St Cecilia to his departure for America at 25 years old.Music featured:Hymn to St Cecilia, Op 27 Four Sea Interludes, Op 33a (from 'Peter Grimes') A Charm of Lullabies, Op 41 (arr for voice and orchestra by Colin Matthews) Five Waltzes Beware! Three Early Songs (No 1, 'Beware') On This Island, Op 11 (No 3, 'Seascape') Psalm 150, Op 67 Quatre chansons françaises Suite for harp in C major, Op 83 A Hymn to the Virgin A Walden Trio: Christmas Song of the Women The Birds Twelve Variations on a Theme, for piano Three Divertimenti for String Quartet (2nd mvt) Sinfonietta, Op 1 (1st mvt) Phantasy, Op 2, for oboe, violin, viola and violoncello (1st & 2nd mvt) Holiday Diary, Op 5 A Boy Was Born, Op 3 (Variation I, 'Lullay, Jesu') Simple Symphony, Op 4 Mont Juic (co-composed with Lennox Berkeley) (4th mvt) Friday Afternoons (excerpts) Suite for Violin and Piano, Op 6 (3rd & 4th mvts) Train Sequence, from 'The King's Stamp' Percussion Sequence, from 'Night Mail' (text by W.H. Auden) Love Music, from 'Love from a Stranger' Russian Funeral Soirées musicales, Op 9 Lullaby for a retired colonel' A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op 64 (excerpt) Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op 10 The Company of Heaven ( Part 3, No 7, ‘A Thousand, Thousand Gleaming Fires’) Piano Concerto, Op 13 (1st mvt) Les Illuminations, Op 18 (on poems by Arthur Rimbaud)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Julien Rosa for BBC Audio Wales & WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027tjp And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

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• Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864)

  Curtain-up on the life of 19th-century opera star Giacomo Meyerbeer, with Donald MacleodWith smash hits including 'Robert le diable', 'Les Huguenots' and 'Le Prophète', Giacomo Meyerbeer was one of the most performed composers on the 19th-century stages: (re)discover the celebrated King of Grand Opera, in his own quasi-operatic life of sparkling successes, plot twists and travelling adventures, but also of prejudice and hardship.Music Featured:Robert le diable (excerpts) Le pardon de Ploërmel, Act I, "Ce tintement que l’on entend" L’Africaine, Act IV, No 15 Entr’acte, Entrée de la Reine, Marche indienne Der Fischer und das Milchmädchen (excerpts) Der Admiral Overture Gott und die Natur (No 7, "Es geht aus seinem Strahlentor") arr D. Salvi for voice, strings & piano Das Brandenburger Tor (Einleitung) Jephtas Gelübde Overture (arr D. Salvi for piano and strings) Il nascere e il fiorire d’una rosa Le Prophète, Act I (No 1a: Prélude et chœur pastoral. "La brise est muette") Gli amori di Teolinda (IV. Allegro moderato) Romilda e Costanza Overture Emma di Resburgo, Act I, Scene 1: "Sulla rupe triste, sola...Ah questo bacio" Il crociato in Egitto (excerpts) Margherita d’Anjou, Act II, "Che bell’alba!" A une jeune mère An Mozart Struensee, Act II: Entr’acte, Der Ball Les Huguenots (excerpts) Fantasie for clarinet & string quartet Ein Feldlager in Schlesien (excerpts) Psalm 91 Le Prophète (excerpts) Pater Noster L’Étoile du Nord, Act III, Scène 8. "Quel trouble affreux" (Danilowitz)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Julien Rosa for BBC Audio Wales & WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027bqw And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

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• Voices of Terezin

  Composer of the Week marks 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz with a series commemorating some of the musical voices that were silenced by the atrocities of the Second World War. This week, Donald Macleod focuses on the penultimate destination of these musicians, the Nazi concentration camp at Terezin, and the incredible story of creative resistance in the face of unthinkable adversity and persecution which unfolded there.Music Featured: Gideon Klein: Bachuri Le’an Tisa (my Boy, Where are you going?) Lullaby String Quartet, Op 2 (iii. Adagio) Divertimento for Winds (iii. Adagio and iv. Allegro) Folk Songs for Male Chorus: 'Už mně koně vyvádějí' (They have untethered my horses) Piano Sonata String TrioViktor Ullmann: Sha shtil Piano Sonata No 7 (1st mvt, Allegro) 6 Lieder, Op 17 (No 1, Am Himmelfahrt; No 5, Wie ist die Nacht) Piano Concerto, Op 25 (1st & 2nd mvt) String Quartet No 3, Op 46 Der Kaiser von Atlantis (excerpts)Hans Krása: Brundibár Suite (7th mvt) Tanec for String Trio Kammermusik for Harpsichord and 7 Instruments Theme and Variations for String Quartet Three Songs to texts of Arthur Rimbaud Brundibár, Act IIPavel Haas: Pripoved (Narrative) Quartet Op 2 “From the Monkey Mountains” (2nd mvt, Coach, Coachman and Horse) Overture for Radio, Op 11 Šarlatán Suite, Op 14 (excerpt) Study for Strings Four Songs on Chinese PoetryIlse Weber: Kleines Wiegenlied Karel Švenk: Rozloučení (from play The Last Cyclist) Karel Švenk: Pod destnikem (Under an umbrella); Vesechno jde! (Terezin Hymn) Ilse Weber: Ich wandre durch Theresienstadt; Wiegala František Domažlický: Song without Words František Domažlicky: Suite Danza Karel Berman: Piano Suite: Reminiscences (excerpts)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales & WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Voices of Terezin https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002756y And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

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  1:19:43
• Imogen Holst (1907-1984)

  Donald Macleod delves into the life and music of Imogen Holst Imogen Holst was a significant part of the British classical music scene during the twentieth century. Daughter of Gustav Holst, Imogen was raised in an artistic environment, and her early aspirations were to be a dancer. However, after studying at the Royal College of Music, Imogen Holst went on to be prominent as a composer, conductor, writer on music, teacher, administrator and artistic director. She also worked as an amanuensis to Benjamin Britten. Throughout this exceptionally busy career, including establishing the Purcell Singers, Imogen Holst continued to compose and wrote many works from choral pieces and folksong arrangements, to concertos and string quartets. Her considerable output as a composer is only just beginning to be appreciated.Music Featured: Agnus Dei (Mass in A minor) Allegro assai Theme and Variations String Quartet “Phantasy” Persephone Come Under My Plaidie from Two Scottish Airs Gigue from Suite for Viola On Westhall Hill Sonata for Violin and Cello Prelude and Dance Three Psalms A shower among the birch trees from Six Pieces from Finland Crab-fish from Four Somerset Folk Songs Mill Field Suite for Strings String Quartet No 1 Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow Weathers arr. Arthur Keegan Suite for Viola (Cinquepace) As I sat under a Holly Tree A Hymne to Christ Variations on “Loth to Depart” The fall of the leaf Festival Anthem “How Manifold are Thy Works” Timothy’s Trot What Man is He? Leiston Suite Hallo my fancy, whither wilt thou go? String Quintet Mass in A minor (excerpt)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC Audio Wales & WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Imogen Holst (1907-1984) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0026wsv And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

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  1:08:27
• Michel Legrand (1932-2019)

  Donald Macleod delves into the life and music of Michel Legrand Michel Legrand is best known for creating the soundtracks for over 200 films, including The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Thomas Crown Affair and The Go-Between. But he had an insatiable creative spirit that led him into the world of theatre, ballet, opera and more.Donald is joined by theatre director and composer Jeremy Sams, who recalls collaborating with Legrand on the Broadway musical Amour - and avoiding going to restaurants with him.Music Featured: Les Moulins de Mon Coeur Summer Me, Winter Me Vian: Luna Rossa - Blushing Moon (arr. Legrand) Capua: O Sole Mio (arr. Legrand) Serrapi: Sentir De La Alhambra (arr. Legrand) Falla: Le Danse Du Feu (arr. Legrand) Rodor/Scotto: Sous les ponts de Paris (arr. Legrand) Battaille/Schertzinger: Paris je t’aime d’amour (arr. Legrand) Piaf/Louiguy: La vie en rose (arr. Legrand) Porter: I Love Paris (arr. Legrand) Durand: Mademoiselle de Paris (arr. Legrand) Bernheim: Paris (arr. Legrand) Kosma: Les feuilles mortes (arr. Legrand) Lafarge: La Seine (arr. Legrand) F. Waller: The Jitterbug Waltz (arr. Legrand) Reinhart: Nuages (arr. Legrand) Count Basie: Blue and Sentimental (arr. Legrand) Sampson/Goodman: Stompin' at the Savoy (arr. Legrand) Thelonious Monk: ‘Round Midnight (arr. Legrand) Ellington: Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (arr. Legrand) Beiderbecke: In A Mist (arr. Legrand) Dans le magasin de parapluies Chez Dubourg, le joailier Devant le garage Chanson de Lola Blues Chez le Bougnat You Must Believe in Spring Windmills of Your Mind His Eyes, Her Eyes How do you keep the music playing? Watch what happens What are you doing with the rest of your life? The Go Between (Main Title) The Summer Knows The Hands of Time Overture from The Three Musketeers Songs from Yentl Nobody Knows After the Rain Amore (excepts) Once Upon a SummertimeMichel & Melissa at Work Now and Then Concerto pour violoncelle I Will Wait For YouPresented by Donald Macleod Produced by Alice Mckee for BBC Audio Wales & WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Michel Legrand (1932-2019) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0026kjgAnd you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

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