Her love of colour is pretty apparent - anyone who's seen Camila talking about her work on TV cannot have failed to notice her amazing dress sense – but only during the interview did I learn that the children she works with often source the fabrics used to make her amazing outfits, from all sorts of places including skips! They rush back to Camila bearing their gifts, knowing that she can incorporate this treasure (with the help of a seamstress) into one of her stunningly vibrant kaftans; I've seen one close-up now and can attest that they're created with incredible attention to detail, beautifully pleated and draped.

I was delighted when Camila referred to her love of felt-tipped pens, wondering if she was alone in her obsession. No! The other felt-tip obsessive is me (especially pink and mint green), a shared interest that made us both laugh. Camila is the sort of person who brings joy into a room. I apologised for possibly infecting her with my cold, but she wouldn't hear any of it. She was simply happy to sit, listen to music, and talk openly about her life, and all of its challenges.

I tried to understand how she maintains her calm and happy outlook as I felt fascinated, admiring and even a little envious of it, but that seems to be a mystery even to Camila herself. One thing that's for sure, great music helps, and that's something that I think we can all tap into.

And if you’d like to catch up with the complete interviews you can do so via the Essential Classics podcast

 

When guests arrive in the yellow studio, my first question after greeting them is usually along the lines of “Have you travelled far?” Author Douglas Kennedy wins the prize for having travelled the furthest (he flew in from America), but my latest guest arrived in a state of advanced fatigue, despite having come just a few yards from a nearby studio in Broadcasting House. He’s John Humphrys, and he had a darn good excuse to be tired after getting up at 3.30am to do his regular stint presenting Radio 4’s Today programme. John came straight round to meet me at 9am, and I felt a flicker of anxiety as to whether his patience might be at a low ebb – would I be the next victim of the “Rottweiler of Radio 4”? I needn’t have worried. John made my job very easy by regaling me with interesting and amusing stories about his love of music – the pride he feels for his cellist son Christopher, his wonder and awe at the music of Beethoven, and his willingness to expand his musical boundaries. He did admit to having a mental block with atonal music, and as he described his frustration I was able to empathise by considering my own bewilderment with John’s area of expertise: politics! He also opened up about his deeply emotional response to classical music (we learn which piece of music was the first to make him cry), which might make people see him in a more balanced light – not just a great professional but a rounded human being.

Karg-Elert…Eisler…Reger…not names we encounter very often here on Essential Classics. But Radio 3’s focus on the music of World War 1 has given us opportunities to cast our net wider and pull in some hidden gems across the World War I season. Finding pieces like Reger’s Hebbel Requiem is partly thanks to our studio guest last week  – Dr Kate Kennedy of Cambridge University, who explained the background to this piece, putting her finger on its underlying message, that sometimes grief should be sustained, not assuaged. Kate Kennedy also found us a rather touching song, popular with soldiers on the Western Front – There’s a long long trail awinding, sung on a recording from 1917 by John McCormack. An amazing window on that period of time! Kate was a wonderful guest last week, sharing many colourful anecdotes with us. If you missed any of our interviews, I urge you to click on the listen again link! We also have a podcast of highlights from last week that you can access here

 

And…if there’s one other link you must click on, let it be one that Radio 3 producer Janet Tuppen shared with me recently (Janet has been coordinating this whole season of Music in the Great War)…it leads to a film of composer George Butterworth Morris dancing. Having introduced Butterworth’s music many times, I’ve never felt so closely acquainted with him as I do now, and sensed the utter tragedy of his death.

 

Lots of food for thought and music to be cherished, in this special fortnight on Essential Classics.

 

What a pleasure it was, to interview Marina Lewycka: a lively voice, a self-effacing manner and great sense of humour…and a very interesting way of listening to music. Marina listens like a writer, with an ear for drama, pace and structure: “Why did he choose to do that there?” is a question she often asks, and she told me how she’s picked up ideas from listening to music in that way. I learnt from Marina, too: she reminded me that Prokofiev was a Ukrainian composer, and introduced me to his Symphonic Song, which highlighted a different, more sombre aspect of his personality than we often encounter. I was also intrigued to hear a recording by a singer with Ukrainian roots, Kvitka Cisik (often known as Kasey) who sadly died in 1998 aged just 44. She was an artist with a beautifully fresh and unaffected soprano voice, perfect for the Ukrainian folk song which Marina requested…I’d certainly like to hear more of her work. And last but not least, I was delighted to encounter Marina’s own novels: I started with the second one, Two Caravans, on the recommendation of my producer Sarah Devonald, who’s also a fan. The book creates a truthful, sometimes harrowing, yet ultimately optimistic portrait of the current job market, especially as it affects immigrants; but more than that, it’s a love story, and one with some incredibly colourful characters. I loved Rock, who hails from Barnsley, and who makes many references to his mentor, a certain Jimmy Binbag whom we never actually meet. Is it the percussive, rhythmic quality of that name that makes it so authentic that I could believe I went to school with him?! Marina Lewycka is definitely a writer with a musical ear. Hope you enjoy our interviews.

 

When I glanced at Chris Beardshaw's musical choices for the week, I knew we were in for some interesting interviews. On the first day we had Vaughan Williams' Tallis Fantasia - music that's deeply rooted in tradition, just like Chris's own work in landscape and horticulture. The Rachmaninov Vespers, too, have a timeless quality. I bore this in mind when hunting for my Personal Shopper choice for the Friday programme: can't tell you what I chose, but the details will be up on the EC homepage from Friday (the words soulful, deep, and atmospheric were in my mind as I made my selection!) Chris impressed me with the amount of knowledge at his fingertips. I brought my copy of his book, 100 plants that nearly changed the world, into the studio, and he elaborated enthusiastically on many of the entries long after we stopped recording. His story about why witches are believed to gad about on broomsticks held us (me, producer Dominic, and studio manager James) enthralled...it's to do with hallucinogenic herbs bound together with goose fat and smeared onto the broomstick...sending the owner of the broom on a weird trip where they are convinced they've been flying. I highly recommend the book, in fact I was almost in a position to offer free copies, as the book warehouse sent me a hundred of them by mistake. I returned them and kept just one, which Chris kindly signed with the message "Happy gardening!" So that's my motto this week - I'm even being more tolerant towards Basil's infernal digging and frog-catching habits. Hope you enjoy our interviews...and maybe a bit of outdoor listening too, if you can take your radio into the garden. As Chris reveals in our Friday interview, your plants will thank you for it!

 

 

This week on Essential Classics, Rob’s guest has been drummer extraordinaire, Stewart Copeland. As a producer on this programme I’m fortunate to meet many fascinating people from all walks of life, but as a (somewhat lapsed) percussionist, getting Stewart on the show was a particular thrill. Ask any drummer and they’d agree that Stewart is one of the very greatest there has ever been. Period. Just watch this clip from the heyday of The Police. As someone commented under the clip “Perhaps the most inventive drummer in history. I could just listen to the drums and still be entertained.”

 

As it happened, we couldn’t manage to find a time to interview Stewart in London, so it was recorded via ISDN in a studio in his hometown of Los Angeles. Given the 8 hour time difference, we were initially concerned that even with a late shift here in London, asking a rock god to start an interview by 9am might be a tall order. However we needn’t have worried as a fully caffeinated and very charismatic Stewart appeared on the line at 8.30 sharp and recorded a fantastic set of interviews with Rob.

 

A multi-faceted musician, Stewart has spent the past 30 years since The Police split up working as a composer across a very wide range of genres including opera, film and TV. One of the many topics of discussion was the upcoming world premiere of his new percussion concerto on May 23^rd in Liverpool. There’s a nice interview in the Liverpool Echo in which Stewart tells all.

 

If you missed any of the interviews from Essential Classics this week the complete set are available here until Monday. They really are a great listen and Stewart was refreshingly upfront with some of his opinions – try this clip and you’ll see what I mean. If you are pressed for time we have also created our regular guest interview podcast which contains highlights from across the week.

 

Finally, I thought I’d compile a few video clips that I hope prove interesting:

 

-        Want to know what rock stars private studios look like? – Stewart’s looks like this

-        An interview with Jools Holland from his time in The Police. One for drummers in particular.

-        Amazing drum solo from 2012 when Stewart appeared on The David Letterman show

-        More outrageous drumming skills with bassist Stanley Clarke

 

 If you have any comments please do leave them below, or you can get in touch via email or Twitter:

 

Email: essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk 

 

Twitter: #essentialclassics 
 

• BBC Radio 3 
• Essential Classics 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twitter, podcasts, Facebook, blogs, iplayer, Soundcloud…. it can all seem a bit much can’t it? It is true that in this digital age there are many demands for our attention, but when these tools are used in a focused way, they can undoubtedly offer lots of benefits. With this in mind we’ve recently added another feature into the digital mix too - Essential Choices on BBC Playlister So what’s this all about and why should you give it any attention?

 

Firstly, if you aren’t familiar with BBC Playlister, there is a very comprehensive page here that explains all. In a nutshell however, BBC Playlister allows you to keep track of the music you enjoy listening to on the BBC. It also allows programmes on the BBC to create handcrafted playlists of music for people to follow. And this is what we have done with our Essential Choices playlist.

 

As you may know, at 11am from Tuesday to Friday, Rob and Sarah choose an ‘Essential Choice’. These pieces are often themed in some way, for instance this week Rob has chosen four romantic piano concertos. If you miss them live then of course you can always catch up via the iplayer, but only for a limited time. However, via Playlister you can now listen to these pieces at any time you want. It’s pretty straightforward, and the only thing you need to do is to make sure you have a Spotify account. It’s completely free and very quick to register. Once you’ve done that, you just ‘follow’ the Essential Choices playlist and each week you will be notified as we add new works to the playlist. You can then listen back at your leisure, days, weeks or even months after broadcast. What’s to lose?!

 

If you have any comments please do leave them below, or you can get in touch via email or Twitter:

 

Email: essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk 

 

Twitter: #essentialclassics 
 

• BBC Radio 3 
• Essential Classics 

 

 

Like Marmite, 5 Live presenter Richard Bacon polarizes opinion. Many listeners love him; some seem to loathe him – with a passion. I confess to being a fan. I started tuning in to his 5 Live show when he took over from the legendary Simon Mayo in 2010, and I was quickly hooked by his warmth, his wit, his honesty, his irreverence and his dogged, almost childlike determination to submit even the most hallowed pre-conceptions to thorough and penetrating scrutiny. I also liked the range of his enthusiasms – from politics, economics, art and science at one end of the spectrum to entertainment-world trivia at the other. But one area of endeavour I had always assumed to be beyond even his wide-ranging field of interests was classical music; my impression was that where music was concerned, he was basically a bit of a pophead. So I was intrigued when I heard Richard on his show last November telling The Choir presenter Gareth Malone, ‘I want to learn about classical music’. After getting the thumbs-up from colleagues, I tweeted “@richardpbacon u say you're starting to explore classical music – come be a guest on @BBCRadio3's #essentialclassics and take it further ... ” – to which quick as a flash – well, an hour-and-a-half later – he replied, “defo. Love to”.

 

So that was step one. Step two, however, was problematic; most of our guests have a long association with – and often considerable knowledge of – classical music, and they make their own repertoire choices. As a self-confessed classical newbie, Richard wasn’t really in a position to do this. The solution was to throw it open to Radio 3 and Richard’s 5 Live listeners, and ask them to recommend pieces for him to cut his classical teeth on. Suggestions flooded in, from the rather predictable: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons; to the relatively abstruse: Webern’s String Trio – both remarkable works, but wrong for our purposes. Eventually we whittled several hundred pieces down to just ten, ranging from Tallis to Berio. I assembled them into a Spotify playlist, sent Richard the link and kept my fingers crossed that he’d actually do the listening in advance of the pre-record, which was scheduled for the 7^th of February. In the event, I needn’t have worried; nature intervened, in the form of his new daughter Ivy, who thoughtlessly scuppered our session by insisting on being born that very day!

 

We rescheduled for the following month with a slightly longer booking than I had previously planned, to allow time to play everything in full during the session – a luxury we don’t usually have. This would allow Richard plenty of opportunity, if he wished, to talk to presenter Sarah Walker about the music as it was playing. The day came and Richard arrived at Broadcasting House just after 9am, fresh from baby duties and looking, not surprisingly, as though he might quite possibly have had less than a full night’s sleep. When we started recording, it quickly became evident that he had indeed done all the listening. Interestingly, I had completely misjudged what would appeal to him; because he’s a funky sorta guy I had imagined he would respond most strongly to two of the later-20^th-century works – Berio’s Sinfonia (3^rd mvt) and an obscure but charming minimalist string-quartet movement called Harold in Islington, by Michael Thomas, leader of the Brodsky Quartet (recommended by listener David Mossley). In fact, Richard’s favourites were Mozart’s Gran Partita (Adagio), Beethoven’s 7^th Symphony (Scherzo and Trio), Chopin’s E flat major Nocturne, op.55 no.2 and Ravel’s G major Piano Concerto – pretty good judgement for a beginner!

 

What also struck me was the fact that he applied the same questioning intellect to the music he was encountering – in almost all cases for the first time – as he does in his own interviewing. So through the week you’ll hear him question Sarah (as ever, a wonderfully supportive interlocutor) on a variety of topics, from the notion of humour in music and the emotional effect of Mozart’s scoring for a predominantly wind band (as opposed to an ensemble with strings), to the disparate nature of the three movements of the Ravel concerto. He also talks frankly, amusingly and often self-deprecatingly about the joys and pitfalls of parenthood; his moving series of conversations with terminal-cancer sufferer Steve Evans; his historic encounter with Alan Partridge; and his approach to the art of the interview (“Wing it!”).

 

Here’s how he summarized the experience:

 

“What’s been terrific, looking back over the whole week, is that the listeners have suggested a fabulous range of stuff. So some of the music has been quite challenging. It would have been easier to say, well here’s a person who’s not really into classical music, so let’s just give him lots of famous of pieces and lots of gentle pieces and he’ll quite enjoy it. But actually what they did was they covered a difficult range, I think, and there was stuff in there that I did like and that I didn’t like, and there was stuff  in there that I only liked when I heard it for the second or third time … So as an introduction I don’t think it could have been better.”

 

It’s a compelling listen – every day from 28^th April to 2^nd May between 10.30 and 11am on BBC Radio 3.

 

 

We’ve a packed week on Essential Classics, with Sir Neville Marriner celebrating his 90^th birthday, a gorgeous CD of Fritz Kreisler violin favourites played by Classical Brit winner Jack Liebeck, and gardening expert Christine Walkden talking about horticulture and music. And the start of a brand new series of Georgian Pleasures at 11 o’clock…

 

It’s been hard to know where to start (or end) with choosing music from Sir Neville’s massive discography so Rob and I have decided to showcase not only his work with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, but also recordings with many other orchestras he’s been associated with over his long career. Over the week we’ve Britten from Minnesota, Tchaikovsky from Stuttgart and Haydn from Dresden – the wonderful ‘Nelson’ mass featuring soloists including soprano Margaret Marshall and bass Robert Holl (that’s on Tuesday – Marriner’s birthday). Plus of course a selection of the classic recordings Sir Neville made with the ASMF, such as Dvorak’s Serenade for strings (Monday), a favourite recording for Rob of Elgar’s In the South (Tuesday), Bach’s first Orchestral Suite and a Handel Concerto Grosso (Wednesday) and Bartok’s Divertimento (Thursday).  Rob’s prodigious memory for all things recorded has as usual prompted all sorts of wonderful stuff – he’s been present at some of Marriner’s recording sessions over the years and no doubt we’ll be hearing about those experiences.

 

And at 11 every morning there’s a chance to relax as a new series of Georgian Pleasures begins – fifteen takes on the art of the 18^th century. Majesty, Music and Mischief are the watchwords, as Suzy Klein has short conversations with conductor and harpsichordist Christian Curnyn, followed by associated musical gems: a selection of pieces by composers who lived and worked in Georgian England. I’m sure these pop-up features will prove just as entertaining and instructive as the wonderful Sound of Cinema ones were a few months ago.

 

BBC Radio 3

Essential Classics 

Rob Cowan

 

 

 

Jascha Heifetz - just the name is enough to evoke the fondest memories, but more than that I have an instant recall of the sort of tonal perfection, pure yet burningly expressive, that no other violinist even approaches. No wonder that the day after the 19-year-old Heifetz’s London debut, George Bernard Shaw wrote him a now legendary letter. “If you provoke a jealous God by playing with such super­human perfection,” Shaw warned, “you will die young. I earnestly advise you to play something badly every night before going to bed, instead of saying your prayers. No mortal should presume to play so faultlessly.” And mention the Heifetz-Piatigorsky Concerts, inaugurated in the 1960s in collaboration with the great Russian-American cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and the subject of this week's 'Artist of the Week' slot on Essential Classics, and my sense of anticipation becomes positively palpable. Take Brahms's Op.111 String Quintet, which in the hands of Heifetz and friends takes off like a rocket while holding fast to your heart strings. Yes the pressure hurts, but you're glad that it does. Or Dvorák's Piano Quintet with violist Joseph de Pasquale, the musical equivalent of  a dance festival on a hot summer's day: such energy, and such intensity. Beethoven's Piano Trio Op. 70 No. 2 burns equally bright, the finale in particular so joyful that you feel that the players - and Heifetz in particular - are about to jump out of their skins. Brahms's Double Concerto is a true meting of musical soul mates, as warm a blend of string tones as you're ever likely to hear and just in case you think that this team is only up for applying the pressure, there's the fragile beauty of their Bach Inventions, just three of them, but still unforgettable. This will be a vintage week of Essential Classics and make no mistake, great music, great playing and a chance to sample a style of performance that's lost to us forever. I look forward to your reactions.

 

·          Rob Cowan

·          Essential Classics

·          BBC Radio 3

 

It feels strange being back in the yellow studio after a week spent in the pop up studio at South Bank Centre – quiet, and a bit enclosed. I'm missing having the listeners around me. I bet Rob feels the same. The bit I enjoyed most was doing the brainteaser - if the listeners knew the answer they would laugh out loud; if they were stuck, I'd hear groans and sighs. Brainteaser legend Herbie Goldberg was there - I was thrilled to meet this fount of musical knowledge (and a very modest person, too!)*

 

Meeting Uta...

 

 

A new week has started now and I have a new guest - Uta Frith, the developmental psychologist. We actually met up a few weeks ago, and the first thing Uta did was command me to eat. I'd just been on air for three hours, and with her empathetic skills, she detected that I was running low on fuel! She sat patiently while I ate a sandwich. This is typical of her compassion and awareness of the feelings of others. She has done so much great work to raise awareness of autism and dyslexia and it was a privilege to talk to her - hope our interviews are as enjoyable to listen to as they were to record! And if you missed the fascinating documentary on autism that Uta featured in last night (Horizon: Living with Autism, BBC2, 9pm 1^st April), remember you can still watch it on iPlayer.

 

* yes, he got the answer to the Only Connect challenge right: "chickens".

 

·          Radio 3 at Southbank Centre

·          Essential Classics

·          Sarah Walker

 

 

 

Having had a great time at London’s Southbank Centre last week, I was delighted to be back again on a fresh, Monday morning, to take some snaps of my colleagues in the Essential Classics team. You see, lovely though it is at Old Broadcasting House, we don’t get much in the way of natural light when we’re buried in the depths of the building. Quite often I’ll come out at Portland Place feeling rather vampirish, as the sun’s incandescent rays blind my eyes, and I feverishly search for relief in the form of some shade. For the past two weeks however, our glass, pop-up studio has afforded natural light aplenty, together with a beautiful, panoramic view of the River Thames. As far as workspaces go, it surely can’t get much better than this.

  

  

But it’s not just about the great views. We’ve all enjoyed meeting Radio 3 listeners throughout the past two weeks. Sarah’s been greeting people from all over the country, who had come in especially to see her and to hear the newly-restored organ in the Royal Festival Hall. It’s been great to hear your comments and to reveal exactly what goes on during a broadcast of Essential Classics.

 

I’ve put up a small gallery of pictures, so if you couldn’t make it in person, I hope this gives some idea of what it was like. As you’ll see, the age-range of our listeners is very wide indeed (and some of them aren’t even human…), and what on earth is Rob Cowan wearing on head...?

 

 

·          Radio 3 at Southbank Centre

·          Essential Classics

·          Sarah Walker

This week Essential Classics, and most of Radio 3, has upped sticks from W1 and decamped to SE1 on London's Southbank.  It's all part of Radio 3's two-week residency to help celebrate the refurbishment of the organ at the Royal Festival Hall. The BBC's technical wizards have performed minor miracles in building a complete transmission studio within the confines of a specially prepared glass box in the cafe of the RFH. And if this sounds a little like some kind of modern art installation, I can tell you that from the inside it does indeed feel a bit that way. Being a stone's throw from the Tate Modern (sorry, Tate Modern), I'm a little concerned that Damian Hirst might suddenly turn up with a few gallons of formaldehyde. 

 

 

In fact it's been a real pleasure to be broadcasting from such a key London location, and whilst the studios at Broadcasting House are quite comfortable, I think it's fair to say they can't quite compete with the views we've been enjoying across the River Thames every morning. It's also been fantastic to be able to mingle freely with everyone who has popped along to see what it's really like behind the scenes at Radio 3. You might be surprised to find that Rob doesn't actually wear black tie when behind the microphone. Or that he enjoys conducting along to the music. If you'd like to see what we get up to for yourselves, and to meet Rob or Sarah, then please come along and say hello if you are in the area. We'd be very pleased to meet you.

We've also taken plenty of snaps this week that you might enjoy having a look at. We've posted a gallery that you can find here.

 

Radio 3 at Southbank Centre

 

The first thing I noticed about my guest Douglas Kennedy was how energetic and fresh he seemed...could it be true that he had just flown in from America? Here is a person who really knows how to travel, I thought, and he clearly has it down to a fine art. Douglas told me he had slept soundly during his flight: that's the secret, and I admired him for managing to drop off in those slightly surreal circumstances (being surrounded by other people, all wrapped in light acrylic blankets, 35,000 feet up in the air, etc.). He tackled the interview with great relish - so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the music, so happy to share his experiences of life. He seemed delighted that I'd enjoyed his novel, Five Days, about a brief and life-changing affair. Relationships seem to lie at the heart of his work, and he often writes from the woman's point of view - completely convincingly. We talked about that, and about his desire to create books that are "popular serious novels" or "serious popular novels" - both sides being equally important. And he was very candid about how he's dealt with various ups and downs in both life and work. I left the studio wondering if Douglas Kennedy's novels could ultimately take the place of self-help books...they're certainly not short of solace and sound advice for the troubled heart.

 

Douglas has commented on his Essential Classic interview with Sarah on his Facebook page. You can read his thoughts at:

https://www.facebook.com/bbcradio3#!/DouglasKennedyBooks

In the week beginning Monday 10th February, my guest will be TV and radio presenter Richard Bacon. It was great to be invited onto Richard's afternoon show on Radio 5 Live earlier this week, to help drum up some more ideas for pieces for Richard.

He's just getting into classical music after being gently prodded in that direction by a former guest of his, the super-motivating Gareth Malone. So along with my producer Chris Barstow I ventured over to one of the science-fiction-worthy little studios in New Broadcasting House (just a temporary home for Richard, who's normally based in Salford) and sat right next to him rather cosily at the high-tech desk. Chris & I had chosen a bit of Stravinsky's Petrushka as a classical taster for Richard, and he seemed quite bowled over by its energy. We chatted about ballet music in general: I suspect that its physicality and emotional directness makes it a good way into classical music.

My other top tip was to encourage Richard to use his imagination to consider what sort of visual images music might suggest. It's just one way to get the ear to focus. Anyway, I'm delighted that Richard's listeners - as well as our own here on Essential Classics - have sent in lots of ideas of pieces that might pique his curiosity and welcome him into the world of classical music. I'm really looking forward to meeting up with him again next week. Hope you can tune in and hear our interviews, starting on Monday the 10th of February.

If you’d like to listen to my conversation with Richard, you can find it here