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Preparation

Preparation: 'Failure to prepare is preparing to fail,' said Benjamin Franklin. He is one of many eminent figures who lay great store by this idea. Mark Tully considers its wisdom.

For the boy scouts and Cicero, for Benjamin Franklin and Confucius, preparation has been a key to success. Some, however, feel that too much preparation is the gateway to procrastination - that it is dangerous to be over-prepared.

Mark Tully considers both these views - the wisdom of preparing and the value of spontaneity - with the help of writers as diverse as Napoleon Bonaparte, Effie Waller Smith and Louis MacNeice. There is music too from Mozart, Paul Termos and Charlie Parker.

The readers are David Holt, Adjoa Andoh and Francis Cadder.

Written and presented by Mark Tully
Produced by Frank Stirling.

30 minutes

Last on

Sun 24 Sep 2017 23:30

Music Played

  • Paul Temos

    Groundwork

    Performer: George Wiegel, Doelenensemble.
    • Concerto / String Quartet I / Expres (S) / Groundwork / Concerto.
    • Composers Voice.
  • Leonard Cohen

    Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye

    Performer: Leonard Cohen.
    • Leonard Cohen Greatest Hits.
    • Columbia.
    • cd32644.
  • W A Mozart

    Don Giovanni, Act II. Scene XVI: Questo è il fin di chi fa mal, e de' perfidi la morte alla vita è sempre ugual"

    Performer: Academy of St Martin In The Fields, Sir Neville Marriner.
    • Mozart: Don Giovanni.
    • Decca.
    • 455-500-2.
  • Michael Kiwanuka

    I'm Getting Ready

    Performer: Michael Kiwanuka.
    • 91Èȱ¬ Again.
    • Polydor.
    • 2785405.
  • Sergey Prokofiev

    Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, "Classical": II. Larghetto

    Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker.
    • Sergiu Celibidache In Berlin: The Early Years, 1945-1948, Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv.
    • Music and Arts Programs of America.

Readings

Title: NoahÌý

Author: Roy DaniellsÌý

Found in Chequered Shade : Poems by Roy Daniells.Ìý

Published by: McClelland & Stewart

Ìý

Title: The Art of WarÌý

Author: Jay LuvaasÌý

Published by Simon & Schuster

Ìý

Title: Living Meaningfully, Dying JoyfullyÌý

Author: Geshe Kelsang GyatsoÌý

Published by Tharpa

Ìý

Title: Prayer Before BirthÌý

Author: Louis MacNeiceÌý

Published by Faber & Faber

Ìý

Title: PreparationÌý

Author: Effie Waller SmithÌý

Found in 'Collected Works' published by Oxford University Press, USA

Ìý

Title: Just In CaseÌý

Author: Charlotte MitchellÌý

Published by Souvenir Press

Broadcasts

  • Sun 24 Sep 2017 06:05
  • Sun 24 Sep 2017 23:30