 | | BBC RADIO 2 Monday 15 December 2008 | |
Jools HollandEp 12/13
Monday 15 December
10.30-11.30pm BBC RADIO 2 | | | | |
Archie Brown and Mick Talbot, from recently re-formed band The Bureau, join Jools Holland to play tracks from their new album, ...And Another Thing, along with a version of their classic Eighties song, Only For Sheep. Jools and his Rhythm Section also play tracks from the presenter's eclectic record collection. Demo Corner returns and Jools showcases early recordings by some of the world's finest singers. Presenter/Jools Holland, Producer/Sarah Gaston BBC Radio 2 Publicity | | BBC RADIO 3 Monday 15 December 2008 | |
Breakfast – Bach Dances At 8am
Monday 15 December
7.00-10.00am BBC RADIO 3 | | | | |
For the 31 days of December, BBC Radio 3's Breakfast is playing an invigorating dance by JS Bach at 8am each morning. Contrary to the view that Bach is all about dry counterpoint and austere fugues, his works are jumping with bourées, allemandes and gigues – which listeners discover as they get the chance to sample a courante with their coffee, a minuet with their muesli or even a forlane over fried eggs. This morning, Sara Mohr-Pietsch introduces the Gloria from Bach's Mass in B Minor, performed by John Eliot Gardiner and his Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists. Last December, Breakfast featured all of the Preludes and Fugues of JS Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier in The 48 At 8. This mini-series proved very popular with listeners, many of whom emailed the show to say that Bach is the perfect composer for Breakfast – a man for all seasons, a ray of sunshine on those chilly winter mornings when many people struggle to get out of bed and start their day. Presenter/Sara Mohr-Pietsch, Producer/Clive Portbury BBC Radio 3 Publicity Composer Of The Week –
The Neapolitan Golden AgeEp 1/5
Monday 15 to Friday 19 December
12.00-1.00pm BBC RADIO 3 | | | |  |
Naples ruled the musical world in the 18th century. This week, Donald Macleod presents a series of five snapshots from this remarkable period of music-making, exploring the lives of the composers whose revolutionary pieces left the rest of Europe behind. Forget Naples' modern image of anarchic alleyways, protection rackets and refuse crises; this was a city of such power and cultural richness that it put even Venice in the shade. "The capital of the world's music," was writer Charles de Brosses's informed evaluation. It was a society with an astounding social make-up: 119 princes, 156 dukes, 173 marchesi, 42 counts, 445 barons, 12,000 ecclesiastics and 400 churches. But it was also a city of great social division, with 30,000 beggars and 8,000 prostitutes on its streets. In music, Naples built on its already established reputation to become a world beater. Its conservatoires churned out talent and its composers were the focus of talent scouts from as far away as London and St Petersburg, where Catherine the Great was quick to secure the services of Neapolitans to run her musical court. Donald starts the city's story in 1725, when one might imagine the death of Neapolitan musical giant Alessandro Scarlatti would mark the beginning of a decline. That was, however, far from the case, as a generation of bright young things realised that this was their big chance for glory. There is music from Leonardo Vinci (the other Vinci, famed for his mastery of the comic intermezzo with its typical blend of bumbling doctors and mistaken identities) and Francesco Durante, whose somewhat sober compositions, Donald explains, were not matched by his troubled love life. Presenter/Donald Macleod, Producer/Michael Surcombe BBC Radio 3 Publicity Performance On 3 – BBC Symphony Orchestra
Monday 15 December
7.00-9.15pm BBC RADIO 3 |
The BBC Symphony Orchestra recently cleared a week of its schedule to explore and celebrate the music of Turkey. It staged a week-long programme of performances and free events, led by members of the orchestra and visiting Turkish musicians, which offered audiences of all ages the opportunity to discover more about this country's rich cultural heritage. Tonight's concert is the climax of that week and includes works by the grand old man of Turkish music, Ahmed Adnan Saygun (who is to his country what Jean Sibelius is to Finland), his contemporary Ulvi Cemal Erkin and a new work by Michael Ellison for symphony orchestra, Turkish ensemble and solo cello, along with music by Mozart. By virtue of its geographical position, Turkey lies at the axis of the cultures of the East, West, Middle East, Mediterranean and Islam. Anatolia is one of the world's oldest human habitats – hosts of civilisations have called it home – and it enjoys a unique cultural richness, thanks to its thousands of years of history. The BBC Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Pascal Rophé and joined by Gemma Rosefield on cello and the Ali Tüfekçi Ensemble. Presenter/Suzy Klein, Producer/tbc BBC Radio 3 Publicity Jazz On 3 – John Butcher At The Huddersfield
Contemporary Music Festival
Monday 15 December
11.15pm-1.00am BBC RADIO 3 | |
Jez Nelson presents the world première of British saxophonist John Butcher's Composition For Eight Musicians. The project, commissioned by the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, features both acoustic and electronic instrumentalists including: Clare Cooper on harp and guzheng; Chris Burn on piano; dieb13 at the turntables; John Edwards and Adam Linson on double bass and electronics; Gino Robair on percussion and energised surfaces; and Thomas Lehn on analogue synthesiser. Butcher was born in Brighton and has lived in London since the late Seventies. He began playing the saxophone while studying physics at university. Since leaving academia to focus completely on music, he has developed his own style that embraces free improvisation and electronics, often distorting his sound until it is unrecognisable in the traditional sense. Presenter/Jez Nelson, Producer/Chris Ackerley BBC Radio 3 Publicity | | BBC RADIO 4 Monday 15 December 2008 | |
Book Of The Week – Nella Last's Peace:
The Post-War Diaries Of Housewife 49 Ep 1/5
Monday 15 to Friday 19 December
9.45-10.00am BBC RADIO 4 | | |
 Imelda Staunton reads a
touching account of life in post-
war Britain Imelda Staunton reads the post-war diaries of "Housewife 49", Nella Last's frank and touching account of the difficulties of adapting to life in post-war Britain. The diaries begin with the Japanese surrender in 1945. By this time, Nella is in her early fifties, living with her husband, Will, in a comfortable, modern semi in Barrow. Her writings reveal what ordinary people felt during those years of privation, hope and the rebuilding of Britain, providing an account of the period that shaped the society we live in today. Imelda Staunton has starred in films including Shakespeare In Love, Peter's Friends and the Oscar-nominated Vera Drake. She has also worked extensively for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, while her television credits include the BBC's Fingersmith and Cranford. Presenter/Imelda Staunton, Producer/Emma Harding BBC Radio 4 Publicity Woman's Hour Drama –
A Small-Town MurderEp 1/5
Monday 15 to Friday 19 December
10.45-11.00am BBC RADIO 4 | | | | |
This week's Woman's Hour Drama stories, a crime series by Scott Cherry, feature Jackie Hart, a 35-year-old family liaison officer with the police, who solves cases by winning the trust of those caught up in the nightmare of serious crime and murder. Jackie is a serving policewoman, not a social worker, and is part of an active team of investigating CID officers. But because she's the liaison officer, she's closer to the people involved in the crimes, closer to the raw emotions and able to investigate in a way her colleagues can't: combining empathy and intuition with the keen observation of a good detective. Producer/Clive Brill BBC Radio 4 Publicity Afternoon Play – Wodehouse In Hollywood
Monday 15 December
2.15-3.00pm BBC RADIO 4 | |
 PG Wodehouse has a difficult
time as an Englishman in
Hollywood In 1929, Hollywood studios MGM shipped PG Wodehouse out west, thrust $104,000 into his hand – and got nothing in return. In this comic play, Tim McInnerny stars as Wodehouse, the shy and reclusive Englishman struggling to do an honest day's work in Tinsel Town. Wodehouse finds the film industry threatened by new demands and peopled by illiterate studio heads, wannabe starlets, child stars and imprisoned writers who see spiders running up the walls. After many frustrating months of work on projects that are never produced, he gives a scathing interview to the Los Angeles Times in which he complains that he has been paid $104,000 for "just loafing about". Hollywood is scandalised but Wodehouse gets his revenge by writing his Hollywood short stories and two novels, Laughing Gas and Old Reliable. Tim McInnerny has played Hamlet on stage and had a stint as Dr Frank 'n' Furter in The Rocky Horror Show. His recent radio work has included The Odyssey and Oliver Twist. But for many, he'll always be remembered for his portrayal of Lord Percy and Captain Darling in the much-loved Blackadder series. See also the Afternoon Play on Tuesday 16 December. Producer/Stefan Escreet BBC Radio 4 Publicity Taper-TimeEp 1/5
Monday 15 to Friday 19 December
3.30-3.45pm BBC RADIO 4 | | | | |
BBC Radio 4 features five short stories in which the dusk is a motivating factor or influential backdrop. The week begins with Victoria Hislop's One Cretan Evening, read by Barbara Flynn, in which a man takes a taxi from Athens to a lonely village and heads towards a deserted house as daylight disappears. In A Question Of Light, written by Justin Cartwright and read by Tim Pigott-Smith, the narrator must return to his roots. After many years in sun-kissed Australia, he journeys back to the island of Grinda, a place full of mysterious pagan rituals aimed at protecting its inhabitants against the dark. The Concert, written by Romesh Gunesekera and read by Jim Norton, sees the General hold a concert to appease the locals. But as the day wears thin, a last-minute hitch forces him to act in a way that is most out of character. In Kirsty Gunn's Foxes, read by Liz Sutherland, a woman making her way home through the dark finds her doubts about the future are strangely illuminated. The week ends with The Very Last Leave by Adam Thorpe, read by David Horovitch. An old woman sits in a remote part of Lincolnshire in all weathers and paints the dusk. Maybe the pictures themselves will reveal why she does this... Producer/Duncan Minshull BBC Radio 4 Publicity Blind Man Seeks WorkEp 1/5
Monday 15 to Friday 19 December
3.45-4.00pm BBC RADIO 4 | | | | |
 Peter White (pictured with
David Gower) tries a variety of
jobs Peter White explores some of the jobs he was told he'd never be able to do because of his blindness. In the first programme, Peter is joined by TV vet Emma Milne and together they explore how much of her job could be done without sight, making full use of the other senses. Emma takes Peter to an equine centre, where he meets one of her colleagues who is about to rasp the overgrown teeth of a horse. Peter attempts to discover whether the job could be done using the sense of touch alone and is astounded when he puts his hand inside the horse's mouth. There is also an unmissable moment when Peter gives a cow a rectal examination and feels the foot of an unborn calf. But what the cow does next is a rather less pleasant surprise... In subsequent programmes, Peter turns his hand to being a cricketer, rock star, pilot and spy. Presenter/Peter White, Producer/Cheryl Gabriel BBC Radio 4 Publicity The Unbelievable Truth Christmas Special
Monday 15 December
6.30-7.00pm BBC RADIO 4 | | | | |
David Mitchell hosts a Christmas Special of the general knowledge-based comedy panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they are able to smuggle past their opponents. Each panellist has to deliver a lecture on a festive topic which must be entirely untrue – except for five unlikely facts. The job of their opponents is to challenge them if they think they've detected an item of truth. Presenter/David Mitchell, Producer/Jon Naismith BBC Radio 4 Publicity Science FrictionEp 1/3
Monday 15 December
9.00-9.30pm BBC RADIO 4 | | | | |
 Sue Nelson chairs a lively
debate on GM crops Sue Nelson chairs a lively debate about whether genetically modified crops are the answer to feeding a hungry world or whether better farming practices will rule out the need for them. On average, a person dies from hunger or malnutrition in the world every five seconds. With an expanding world population and an increase in the incidence of droughts, floods and storms, the outlook is potentially worse. Some believe the only answer to these problems lies in a controversial technology: genetically modified (GM) crops. The debate raises questions about the safety and security of GM foods, as well as the positive and negative aspects of cultivating them. Presenter/Sue Nelson, Producer/Fiona Roberts BBC Radio 4 Publicity Book At Bedtime – A Christmas CarolEp 1/10
Monday 15 to Boxing Day Friday 26 December
10.45-11.00pm BBC RADIO 4 | |
 David Jason tells Scrooge's
story Much-loved actor David Jason ensures listeners have a lovely-jubbly Yuletide as he reads Charles Dickens's Christmas classic ghost story over the festive season. Ebeneezer Scrooge is perhaps the meanest, unfriendliest and coldest businessman in London. He is also exceedingly rich, yet he treats his bookkeeper, Bob Cratchit, poorly and pays him a pittance. Then, one night, he is visited by the ghost of his late partner, Jacob Marley. In life, Marley was Scrooge's equal in coldness and frugality, but in death his ghost has been condemned to roam the world, seeking to do the good he failed to do in life and lamenting his past conduct. He has come to Scrooge to try to save him from a similar fate. Marley tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three ghosts: the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future. What they show him leads to an astonishing transformation in the man... Reader/David Jason, Producer/Chris Wallis BBC Radio 4 Publicity | | BBC RADIO 5 LIVE Monday 15 December 2008 | |
5 Live Sport
Monday 15 December
7.00-10.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE | | | | |
Mark Saggers presents all the day's sports news, including reports from the final day of the First Test between India and England in Ahmedabad. In The Monday Night Club, from 8pm, Mark is joined by guests including Rod Liddle to discuss all the latest football news. Presenter/Mark Saggers, Producer/tbc BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity | | BBC 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA Monday 15 December 2008 | |
Test Match Special
Monday 15 December
3.50-11.30am BBC 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA | | | |  |
The Test Match Special commentary team brings listeners uninterrupted commentary on the final day of the First Test between India and England, live from Ahmedabad. Producer/Jen McAllister BBC 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity | | BBC 6 MUSIC Monday 15 December 2008 | |
6 Music Plays It Again – My Top 10: LemmyEp 1/2
Monday 15 to Tuesday 16 December
12.00-12.30am BBC 6 MUSIC | |
Lemmy of Motörhead chooses his favourite pieces of music and talks to Andy Peebles about his life and work, in a two-parter first broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1984. Presenter/Andy Peebles, Repeat Producer/Frank Wilson BBC 6 Music Publicity | | BBC ASIAN NETWORK Monday 15 December 2008 | |
As BBC Asian Network pays its first visit of the week to Silver Street, Zenab is unhappy that Vinnie has recruited Shazia as stage manager. She accuses Shazia of using a community event to enhance her public profile as an MP – and says that it's about time she knew what the local gossips are saying about her. Meanwhile, Mary has an idea for how Bill can take his mind off Fatima's accident and move on. Bill can't believe what she is suggesting and asks Mary if she really thinks life is that simple. Zenab is played by Sudha Buchar, Vinnie by Saikat Ahamed, Shazia by Shobu Kapoor, Mary by Carole Nimmons and Bill by Robin Bowerman. BBC Asian Network Publicity | | BBC WORLD SERVICE Monday 15 December 2008 | |
1968 – The Year That Changed The WorldEp 3/4
Monday 15 December
9.05-9.30am BBC WORLD SERVICE | |
Sir John Tusa continues to explore what made 1968 such an important year, using archive and music from the time. Although the dramatic events of 1968 took place more than a generation ago, they seem incredibly immediate and relevant to the world today. In this programme, Sir John looks at the issues of race and nationalism. It was in 1968 that Martin Luther King was shot dead in Memphis, resulting in his non-violent tactics being called into question. In Nigeria, meanwhile, a brutal civil war in Biafra resulted in the death, starvation and displacement of millions. Finally, in Britain, Conservative MP Enoch Powell divided the nation with his inflammatory "Rivers of Blood" speech. Presenter/John Tusa, Producer/Robert Abel BBC World Service Publicity | 
