today’s radio

COMPOSER OF THE WEEK

12 NOON, RADIO 3 ★★★

All this week, Donald Macleod has been telling the story of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s life; today, he comes to the controversial matter of the Russian composer’s death. Tchaikovsky was recorded as having died from cholera, possibly from drinking unboiled water. There are theories that his death was a form of suicide, as accounts of his homosexuality were circulating through Russian society. Macleod considers some of the stories about Tchaikovsky’s death, then plays some of the great composer’s enduring music.

FRIDAY NIGHT IS MUSIC NIGHT

8PM, RADIO 2 ★★★

This concert from Symphony Hall in Birmingham includes premiere performances of newly arranged orchestral suites based on music from Evita, Sunset Boulevard and The Phantom Of The Opera.

The whole concert will be devoted to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music and, during the interval, Ben Thompson will feature archive interviews with Lloyd Webber himself.

THE FULL WORKS CONCERT

8PM, CLASSIC FM ★★★

Franz Schubert wrote the music for Ave Maria as part of his setting of Walter Scott’s The Lady Of The Lake, which made a reference to the Catholic prayer. Now, the music has become the setting for the prayer itself. Many a singer has recorded the song, but in tonight’s selection of recordings of some of Schubert’s work, we hear Luciano Pavarotti, at the top of his game, giving the definitive version of this heartfelt sung prayer.

THE VERB

10.15PM, RADIO 3 ★★★★

In this strange, ghostly edition of the poetry and literature show, we hear about ghosts as literary influences – and about imaginary nets, abandoned on the sea bed, once used for ‘ghost-fishing’. SJ

Andrew Lloyd Webber (8pm, R2)