Programme Information

Saturday 5 July 2008

BBC RADIO 2 Saturday 5 July 2008

Dermot O'Leary's special guest this week is American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Beck, whose tenth album, Modern Guilt, which is released this month, is produced by Danger Mouse.

Beck's current world tour, culminating in a massive homecoming gig at the Hollywood Bowl, stops off at Hyde Park on Monday.

Dermot also has two newer bands in session – Seattle five-piece Fleet Foxes and LA indie rockers Sea Wolf.

Presenter/Dermot O'Leary, Producer/Ben Walker

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Radio 2's Definitive History Of UK Dance Music concludes with Underground, Overground – 1994 to the present day.

Zoe Ball picks up the story in 1993, a point when dance music has reached a critical mass but is evolving in the face of new legislation and growing commercialism.

The 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, which defined music as including "sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats", empowered the police to stop anyone they believed was on the way to a rave.

As ravers became clubbers and moved back indoors to licensed venues dance music became big business. A roster of superstar DJs and clubs dominated and the Ministry Of Sound empire expanded to include a record label, radio station and electronic goods – there was even talk of an airline.

Presenter/Zoe Ball, Producer/Simon Poole

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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BBC RADIO 3 Saturday 5 July 2008

A tyrannical megalomaniac, a womaniser, a musician of singular talent and vision who turned the Berlin Philharmonic into a sleek and sophisticated machine; the figure of Herbert von Karajan is nothing if not controversial.

To mark the centenary of his birth, Radio 3 is exploring aspects of Karajan's life and work over the next fortnight, beginning with CD Review in which Andrew McGregor and his guest, critic Peter Quantrill, discuss his legacy on disc.

Karajan's career as a recording artist spanned more than five decades. He was among the first to take advantage of new technology in a relentless quest to achieve "the perfect recording". He pioneered the use of stereo, tape editing and the dramatic presentation of opera in the studio and was an early advocate of digital and video technologies.

With a bewildering array of re-makes and re-mastered recordings of his core repertoire, listeners' suggestions and opinions will be incorporated in the programme as CD Review considers where to start in building a collection of recordings by a man who became almost the face of classical music for half a century.

Presenter/Andrew McGregor, Producer/Andrew Kurowski

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Controversial Austrian
conductor Herbert von Karajan

Radio 3 continues its exploration of the life and work of Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan.

More than a decade after his death, opinion is sharply divided. To his many admirers, Karajan was the most recognisable figure in post-war classical music, the great interpreter of the core symphonic and operatic repertoire from Beethoven onwards. To his record producers, he was their golden goose, the man who sold millions of records. To the orchestral players who worked under him, he was god almighty, a charismatic conductor of immense power and influence. But to his detractors, he was vain, arrogant and manipulative, a man who used his power to malign ends, and who glossed over his youthful membership of the Nazi party.

James Jolly tries to get under the skin of this controversial musician, to discover the sound Karajan produced, his rehearsal methods, his magnetic personality, the image he projected through the media, and how the Second World War affected his early career. James speaks to orchestral players, including former members of the Berlin Philharmonic; the conductor Mariss Jansons, who studied with him; Karajan's biographer Richard Osborne; music critic Mike Ashman; and Peter Alward, former head of Karajan's record label EMI.

The programme features excerpts from some of Karajan's most famous recordings with the three greatest orchestras with which he worked – the Philharmonia, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic.

Presenter/James Jolly, Producer/Richard Denison

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Julian Joseph talks to jazz composer and arranger Maria Schneider on the eve of her appearance at London's Barbican Centre with her award-winning New York Big Band.

Minnesota-born Schneider's distinguished recording career includes her debut album, Evanescence, which was nominated for two 1995 Grammy awards and her most recent, Sky Blue, released in 2007, which was named jazz album of the year in New York's Village Voice critics' poll.

Julian also introduces music from the European Broadcasting Union Jazz Orchestra with musical director Niels Klein at the helm.

Presenter/Julian Joseph, Producer/Keith Loxam

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Opera On 3 – Le Nozze Di Figaro Saturday 5 July 6.30-10.30pm BBC RADIO 3

Live from the Royal Opera House, Suzy Klein presents a revival of David McVicar's critically acclaimed production of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro.

It's Figaro's wedding day, and his master, Count Almaviva, is determined to reinstate his feudal right to bed Figaro's finacee Susanna.

The Marriage Of Figaro has the lot – politics, comedy, pathos, wonderful characterisation and some of Mozart's finest music.

There are contributions from the cast and Mozart specialists, and Suzy is joined in the box by conductor and Mozart expert Jane Glover to guide listeners through his masterpiece.

Sir Charles Mackerras conducts a glittering cast which includes Ildebrando D'Arcangelo as Figaro, Aleksandra Kursak as Susanna, Peter Mattei and Barbara Frittoli as the Count and Countess and Ann Murray as Marcellina.

Presenter/Suzy Klein, Producer/Ellie Mant

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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BBC RADIO 4 Saturday 5 July 2008

Comedian Lenny Henry
questions the value of method
acting this week

Lenny Henry questions the value of method acting in the second of his series in which he calls into question iconic people or things that are usually taken for granted.

Sceptical to the bone, Lenny asks true believers and acolytes to explain the object of their veneration and to try and convince him that his scepticism is misplaced.

In this programme, Hollywood legend Ellen Burstyn leads a masterclass, featuring Lenny, on how to "do the Method".

Presenter/Lenny Henry, Producer/Patrick Gregory

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Drawing on the BBC and other news archive and the music of the time, Radio 4's six-month-long recreation of 1968 in sound continues. Sir John Tusa retraces the year's political, cultural and social events as they happened.

This week Rod Laver beats Tony Roche to win Wimbledon and The Bank of England announces a large international loan to stave off financial problems. As 150,000 people face starvation, ten tons of supplies are airlifted into Biafra, while anti-racialist marchers clash with Enoch Powell supporters in Whitehall; meanwhile, in Hyde Park 5,000 protest to "Legalise Pot".

Guitarist and vocalist Eric Clapton announces the break up of Cream because of a "loss in direction", while singer Frankie Vaughan becomes an unlikely mediator between violent Glasgow youth gangs.

This series is part of Radio 4's 1968 – Myth Or Reality? season, marking the 40th anniversary of a remarkable year which saw extraordinary upheavals worldwide.

A weekly omnibus edition is broadcast on Sunday evenings.

Presenter/Sir John Tusa,
Producers/Barney Rowntree and Joby Waldman

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Twenty years on from the Piper Alpha disaster, Mark Stephen explores the lasting impact of the tragedy on the people it touched and on the way the offshore oil industry operates.

On the evening of 6 July 1988, the Piper Alpha oil platform was rocked by a series of explosions. It claimed the lives of 167 men and cast a shadow over the oil industry. Archive Hour recalls that dreadful night and the tangled events that followed – from the first reports that Piper Alpha was "ablaze from sea level to the top of the platform", to the horror of the following morning, the confusion as attempts were made to piece together what happened, the lengthy public inquiry and subsequent legal proceedings, and the shock, sorrow and anger at the sudden loss of life which leave feelings still raw today.

Mark Stephen draws on the BBC archive and Aberdeen University's oral history collection Lives In The Oil Industry, in which Piper Alpha features as a defining moment. He hears the accounts of the first reporters on the scene, of emergency service workers, friends and relatives, and the memories of survivors, including the late Bob Ballantyne, who became an unofficial spokesman for the survivors of the disaster.

Drama On 3 – Piper Alpha on Radio 3 on Sunday gives a real-time dramatisation of the night's tragic events.

Presenter/Mark Stephen, Producer/Monise Durrani

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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BBC RADIO 5 LIVE Saturday 5 July 2008

Former Blue Peter presenter Gethin Jones begins his new summer radio show on BBC Radio 5 Live.

The popular Welshman will delve into the great summer of sport, music and culture, reflecting his own interests. These are wide ranging – Gethin captained his university rugby union team, represented Lancashire and had trials with Sale RFC. He has Grade 8 Violin, is a qualified pilot, came third on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, has flown with the Red Arrows, fought as a Samurai warrior in Japan and was the first civilian to complete a 30 mile "yomp" with the Royal Marine Commandos.

Presenter/Gethin Jones, Producer/Keith Bunker

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

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5 Live Sport Saturday 5 July 12.00-7.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE Press Pack

Clare Balding and Russell Fuller are at Wimbledon for the women's singles final. Live commentary from Jonathan Overend and Clare Balding, with expert comment from Michael Stich and Annabel Croft, begins at 2pm.

An afternoon of top sporting action includes, at 1pm, live coverage of the qualifying session for tomorrow's British Grand Prix at Silverstone with David Croft.

As well as all the latest sports news there's a look ahead to the Grand Prix, news from the Tour de France and a preview of the men's singles final at Wimbledon.

Presenters/Clare Balding and Russell Fuller,
Producers/Louise Sutton and Steve Houghton

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

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Formula 1 commentating legend Murray Walker takes listeners' calls ahead of tomorrow's British Grand Prix. Those wishing to contribute can phone 0500 909 693 [free from BT landlines, mobile costs will vary], text 85058 [network rates] or email 606@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter/Murray Walker, Producer/Campbell Davison Media

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

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BBC 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA Saturday 5 July 2008

Formula 1 Saturday 5 July 10.00-11.00am BBC 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

David Croft and Maurice Hamilton present uninterrupted commentary on the third practice session for the British Grand Prix live from Silverstone

Producer/Jason Swales

BBC 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

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Cricket Saturday 5 July 11.45am-8.00pm BBC 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Cricket fans can hear uninterrupted commentary of Essex v Yorkshire in the second semi final of the Friends Provident Trophy, live from Chelmsford.

Producer/Jennifer McAllister

BBC 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

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BBC 6 MUSIC Saturday 5 July 2008

Xpress 2 make their return to the 6 Mix with a brand new headline mix from Ashley Beadle to mark the release of their Greatest Hits collection.

This programme was originally scheduled for June 14.

Presenter/Iyare, Producer/Rowan Collinson

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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