Henry hits the right note for music doc

Our Classical Century BBC4, 9pm

SIR Lenny Henry might not seem the obvious choice to present a history of classical music, but his infectious curiosity will surely help make the subject accessible. Henry says he has always liked classical music, and used to have a beatbox in his van blaring out Mahler and Mozart. He is learning to play the piano, and is suitably awestruck by the notion of being in the same room as the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Radio 3’s Suzy Klein joins him in the first of an occasional series which sets out to be a conversation about music rather than a definitive guide. They start by considering the influence of the First World War on composers, including such works as Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending and Holst’s The Planets suite.