PICK OF TODAY’S RADIO

THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT, 8PM, CLASSIC FM

ISAAC ALBENIZ wrote his gorgeous, sun-drenched work Seville for the piano. Strangely, Spain’s greatest composer never wrote a single piece of music for the guitar. He’d set himself the task of writing ‘Spanish music with a universal accent’, while totally ignoring his country’s national instrument. When he heard his music played on the guitar, he happily admitted how wrong he had been. Tonight, John Suchet includes a recording of Seville by the virtuoso guitarist John Williams, proving that the guitar is just perfect for anything by Albeniz.

■ WE ALWAYS do this. A big national celebration is afoot, such as the Olympics or a royal occasion, then a rumble of grumble goes up and down the land. It’s ‘the wrong time’, ‘nobody wants it’, ‘costs too much’, ‘etc. Then, for reasons that are a mystery, the mood changes — and out comes the bunting and up go the flags. Kirsty Wark gets together key players in the 1977 Silver Jubilee (pictured) for THE REUNION (RADIO 4, 9AM), to recall what a joyful triumph it all was.