...AND THE BEST RADIO
SUNDAY WORDS AND MUSIC RADIO 3, 5.30PM
The French emperor Napoleon, who died 200 years ago this week, inspired many a writer and composer (he attended 163 operas): Tchaikovsky penned the 1812 Overture and Prokofiev adapted War And Peace. Also included here is a more modern take: Abba, who also conquered Europe, with Waterloo in 1974. Writings include Orwell’s Animal Farm and Napoleon’s Last Island by Thomas Keneally.
SEB COE: A DAY WITHOUT JAZZ IS LIKE A DAY WITHOUT RUNNING, RADIO 2, 9PM
Radio 2’s strand of programmes to replace the Cheltenham Jazz Festival includes this, in which the former athlete and MP, a jazz fan since the age of 12, digs into his collection and provides a soundtrack to his life (he even listened to jazz on his headphones before winning a gold medal at the Moscow Olympics). Expect Brubeck – his first disc – Basie, Armstrong, Hawkins and Holiday.
MONDAY COMPOSER OF THE WEEK: AARON COPLAND RADIO 3, 12PM, MON-FRI
American composer Aaron Copland is this week’s choice and, in particular, the 1940s, during which he composed such key works as Appalachian Spring and Fanfare For The Common Man, earning a Pulitzer Prize and an Oscar. Duncan MacLeod looks at his experiences during the war and after, plus relationships with Viktor Kraft and Leonard Bernstein.
TUESDAY ARCHIVE ON 4: COMMUTERVILLE RADIO 4 EXTRA, 11AM AND 9PM
Matthew Sweet looks at the history of journeying to the workplace (the term ‘commuter’ was coined 175 years ago for inbound New York travellers who could ‘commute’ a single ticket to a regular pass) and imagines a future of driverless cars, monorails and high-speed transport. But will commuting to work (below) become a thing of the past as a result of the pandemic?
WEDNESDAY JAMIE MACDONALD: LIFE ON THE BLINK RADIO 4, 11PM
Glaswegian Jamie MacDonald was in his teens when he started to lose his sight, and this four-part series of stand-up to a virtual audience reveals how he channelled denial into acceptance through humour and became a comedian, writer and voiceover artist. Of the show, MacDonald says: ‘The only time I’ve been this excited and terrified was when my mate let me drive his car!’
THURSDAY KEN BRUCE RADIO 2, 9.30AM
The Radio 2 House Music session is by Rag’n’Bone Man (the stage name is inspired by Steptoe And Son), who is releasing Life By Misadventure – the follow-up to his 2017 album Human – on Friday. The threetime Brit award-winner will perform tracks from both albums, including single All You Ever Wanted, from his home studio. See review p71
FRIDAY DRAMA: TALAWA STORIES RADIO 4, 2.15PM
Don Warrington (Rising Damp) and Sharon D. Clarke, winner of three Olivier awards in the past seven years, star in this three-part production by Talawa, the UK’s leading black theatre company. In Sian Davila’s Running With Lions, a British-Caribbean family deals with the death of a loved one.