Today’s radio

AND THE ACADEMY AWARD GOES TO…

11AM, RADIO 4 HHHH

There’s a touch of genius in the way that the stage show Chicago was adapted for the screen. In the film, characters move out of their real lives – through song and dance – and into a world of showbiz fantasy. A superb cast threw themselves into the film, with Catherine Zeta-jones and Renee Zellweger delivering high-octane, high-kicking performances. In the first of his new series on Oscarwinning films, Paul Gambaccini explains why this dark comedy was such a dazzling success.

COMPOSER OF THE WEEK

12 NOON, RADIO 3 HHH

All this week, Donald Macleod has been telling the life story of the

Hit movie Chicago (11am, Radio 4) English composer Samuel Wesley. Samuel was born to a God-fearing family of musicians and poets, and was a contemporary of Mozart. His musical reputation was high, but his life was scandalous and his moods volatile. In this final programme, we hear some of the theories about Wesley’s health and why his work is not better-known.

FRIDAY NIGHT IS MUSIC NIGHT

8PM, RADIO 2 HHH

The soprano Lesley Garrett is joined by the BBC Concert Orchestra for this Snape Prom from Snape Maltings in Suffolk. She’ll be giving us a selection of music including Moon River, Fields Of Gold and the lyrical and lovely Songs Of The Auvergne.

ALL FAIR IN WAR

9PM, RADIO 4 HHH

‘All warfare is based on deception,’ wrote the Chinese general, military strategist, writer and philosopher Sun Tzu in his ancient classic The Art Of War. The historian Ben Macintyre, whose books include Double Cross and Operation Mincemeat, looks at Old Testament battles and modern warfare, which prove just how right Sun Tzu was. SJ