The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Review
Stephen Kelly On My Wavelength
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Abba’s momentous win at Eurovision with Waterloo. The BBC are saying thank you for the music with an array of radio documentaries, including Archive on 4: Abba: Inside the Music (Radio 4, 8pm) and, for the night owls, two episodes of Eras: Abba (Radio 2, midnight & 12.30am), which charts the group’s rise. In the fascinating Music Matters (Radio 3, 1.03pm), meanwhile, Richard Morrison investigates the state of classical music in the UK, with a specific focus on the pieces played at the King’s Coronation.
Sunday continues the theme. In new series Music Map (Radio 3, 1.30pm), Sara Mohr-Pietsch reassesses famous classical works in the context of their history and legacy, beginning with Debussy’s Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune. While The Global Jigsaw (World Service, 11.30am) sees Krassi Twigg examine the alliance of countries cultivated by Iran against the US and Israel.
It has been 10 years since an avalanche killed 16 sherpa guides on Mount Everest. In The Everest Obsession (Mon-Fri, Radio 4, 1.45pm), mountaineer Rebecca Stephens marks the tragedy by evocatively exploring why people risk their lives to climb the world’s tallest mountain. It is a feat that requires “heart and mind”, according to Stephens, who became the first British woman to reach the summit in 1993. Yet for every story of conquest, there are many more of exploitation and death.
Paralympian swimmer Ellie Simmonds argues for the importance of public swimming pools in Tuesday’s In the Studio (World Service, 1.30pm), which also looks at what it takes to design and build one. It finishes just in time for Radio 4’s Master Mason at 2.15pm, a wry historical comedy about a bumbling stonemason who is commanded to build a new cathedral.
The second week of Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat (Wednesday, Radio 4, 9.30am), a series themed around our changing relationship with instant messaging, hones in on how political WhatsApp groups have helped to bring down three Conservative prime ministers in a row. The app has become an essential tool in government (especially during Covid-19) but there are concerns that it could also prove a security risk.
Thursday’s sobering two-part edition of The Documentary (World Service, 9.30am) focuses on the children who were separated from their families during El Salvador’s long brutal civil war. In this first episode, former
Central America correspondent Mike Lanchin follows the dramatic stories of two women who were adopted during the war as children. Now adults, they have returned to retrace their roots.
Fittingly, Friday’s CrowdScience (World Service, 8.30pm) explores the simple question of why there is still so much war in the world. Is it in our DNA to fight? Are we more violent now than we were in the past? Experts in fields such as psychology and warfare weigh in with their thoughts, which include looking to primates for answers. Elsewhere, Notes from Italy with Freddie De Tommaso (Classic FM, 9pm) follows the acclaimed tenor as he celebrates Italy’s historic Verona Arena, the open-air Roman amphitheatre built in 30 AD. It still plays host to performances of pop and opera. Tommaso reminisces about feeling the weight of the arena’s history as he sang
E lucevan le stelle, from Puccini’s opera Tosca, under the stars.