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Thursday - Rob Cowan with Jocelyn Bell Burnell

With Rob Cowan. Including Musical challenge; Music in Time: Schubert: Allegro in A minor, D947 'Lebenssturme'; Artist of the Week: Arturo Toscanini, in Wagner's Gotterdammerung.

9am
Rob sets the tone and mood of the day's programme with a range of music to intrigue, surprise and entertain.

9.30am
Take part in our daily musical challenge: identify a piece of music played backwards.

10am
Rob's guest this week is the astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell. Whilst still completing her PhD at Cambridge University Jocelyn made what is considered one of the greatest astronomical discoveries of the twentieth century. She discovered Pulsars, small stars near the end of their life-cycle which emit radio signals, pulses. Uncovering Pulsars has unlocked many doors in the field of astrophysics, validating and enabling many other notable scientists. Jocelyn has since become a role model for young students and female scientists throughout the world, and when she became professor she doubled the number of female Physics professors in the UK. As well as discussing her life and work, Jocelyn has chosen a selection of her favourite classical music.

10.30am
Music in Time: Romantic
Today Rob delves into the Romantic period with a late piano duet by Schubert: the wonderfully dramatic Lebensst眉rme, D.947. It's a work that demonstrates Schubert's development of the piano style, surpassing his early works with its abrupt gestures, symphonic drive and a new, more concentrated energy.

Double Take
Rob explores the nature of performance by highlighting the differences between two interpretations of Brahms' Scherzo in C minor from the 'F.A.E' Sonata, in highly contrasting accounts from violinists Isabelle Faust and Itzhak Perlman.

11am
Rob's Artist of the Week is the Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini. Considered one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was admired for his faithfulness to the score as well as for the incendiary thrust he brought to his interpretations. His career began sooner than perhaps he might have expected. Whilst on tour in South America as an Assistant Chorus Master he was called upon to conduct Verdi's Aida after three other conductors were either booed-off by the audience or rejected by the cast; Toscanini was only 19, but he conducted the whole opera from memory. He went on to be a leading opera conductor, entrusted with the world premieres of Puccini's La Boh猫me and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and he was Principal Conductor at La Scala, Milan twice during his career. He spent much of his working life in America, leading the Metropolitan Opera, the NBC Symphony Orchestra - an orchestra created for him - and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also the first non-German conductor to appear at Bayreuth. This week Rob's chosen his interpretations of Elgar's Enigma Variations, Beethoven's 7th Symphony, Debussy's Iberia, part of Wagner's G枚tterd盲mmerung and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 with Vladimir Horowitz.

Wagner
G枚tterd盲mmerung (excerpt)
Helen Traubel (soprano)
Lauritz Melchior (tenor)
NBC Symphony Orchestra
Arturo Toscanini (conductor).

3 hours

Music Played

  • Camille Saint鈥怱a毛ns

    Allegro appassionato Op.70

    Performer: Romain Descharmes. Orchestra: Malm枚 SymfoniOrkester. Conductor: Marc Soustrot.
    • NAXOS.
  • Joseph Haydn

    'London' Trio No.4

    Performer: Jean鈥怭ierre Rampal. Performer: Issac Stern. Performer: Mstislav Rostropovich.
    • CBS.
  • Johann Friedrich Fasch

    Concerto in D for 2 horns, 2 oboes, bassoon and strings

    Ensemble: Virtuosi Saxoniae.
    • BRILLIANT CLASSICS.
  • ARTIST OF THE WEEK: ARTURO TOSCANINI

    • Giacomo Puccini

      O soave fanciulla (La Boheme)

      Singer: Jan Peerce. Singer: Licia Albanese. Orchestra: NBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Arturo Toscanini.
      • RCA.
  • Simon Holt

    A Book of Colours: 4. Some distant chimes

    Performer: Rolf Hind.
    • NMC.
  • Carlos Verardi

    Viva la gran Re Don Fernando

    Choir: Hesp猫rion XXI. Choir: La Capella Reial de Catalunya. Director: Jordi Savall.
    • ALIA VOX.
  • Arcangelo Corelli

    Overture to Santa Beatrice d'Este in D minor

    Orchestra: La Serenissima. Conductor: Adrian Chandler.
    • AVIE.
  • Benjamin Britten

    Suite Op.6: Waltz - Alla valse, vivace e rubato

    Performer: Tasmin Little. Performer: Piers Lane.
    • CHANDOS CHAN.
  • Jocelyn Bell Burnell's Choice No.1

    • Heitor Villa鈥怢obos

      Choros No.10 finale "Rasga o Coracao"

      Choir: Schola Cantorum de Caracas. Choir: Orfeon Universitario Simon Bolivar. Orchestra: Sim贸n Bol铆var Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Eduardo Mata.
      • DORIAN.
  • Jocelyn Bell Burnell's Choice No.2

    • Johannes Brahms

      Academic Festival Overture Op.80

      Orchestra: Budapest Festival Orchestra. Conductor: Iv谩n Fischer.
      • CHANNEL.
  • Pablo de Sarasate

    Playera (Spanish dances Op.23)

    Ensemble: Brodsky Quartet.
    • Chandos.
  • MUSIC IN TIME: ROMANTIC

    • Franz Schubert

      Duo in A minor D.947 'Lebensst眉rme

      Performer: Anne Queff茅lec. Performer: Imogen Cooper.
      • APEX.
  • DOUBLE TAKE

    • Johannes Brahms

      Scherzo in C minor (F.A.E. Sonata)

      Performer: Isabelle Faust. Performer: Alexander Melnikov.
      • HARMONIA MUNDI.
    • Johannes Brahms

      Scherzo in C minor, FAE Sonata

      Performer: Itzhak Perlman. Performer: Martha Argerich.
      • WARNER CLASSICS.
  • Henry Purcell

    Chacony a 4 in G minor Z.730

    Ensemble: Musica Antiqua K枚ln. Conductor: Reinhard Goebel.
    • Blow/Corelli/Marini/Purcell: Chaconnes: Musica Antiqua Koln/Goebel.
    • Archiv Produktion.
  • ARTIST OF THE WEEK: ARTURO TOSCANINI

    • Richard Wagner

      G枚tterd盲mmerung: Dawn and Duet

      Singer: Helen Traubel. Singer: Lauritz Melchior. Orchestra: NBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Arturo Toscanini.
      • RCA.
  • Fr茅d茅ric Chopin

    Berceuse in D flat major Op.57

    Performer: Sir Stephen Hough.
    • Chopin: Late Masterpieces, Stephen Hough.
    • Hyperion.
    • 13.
  • Benjamin Britten

    Simple Symphony, Op.4

    Orchestra: English Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Benjamin Britten.
    • LONDON.
  • ARTIST OF THE WEEK: ARTURO TOSCANINI

    • Richard Strauss

      Salome: Dance of the Seven Veils

      Orchestra: NBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Arturo Toscanini.
      • RCA.

Musical Challenge: Recording Rewind

The piece of music we heard in reverse was the 'Playful Pizzicato' movement from Benjamin Britten's Simple Symphony, which sounds almost as delightful forwards as it does backwards.

Broadcast

  • Thu 23 Mar 2017 09:00

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