麻豆约拍

The seismic events of 1914-1918 changed everything. As the fighting took hold pitting nation against nation, some of the warring countries, in parallel, were pioneering the technology that would usher in the audio-visual age.

A hundred years on, as broadcasting moves into a digital world, a different technological revolution is at the heart of 麻豆约拍 radio鈥檚 marking of the Centenary of World War One.

Radio excels at exploring big ideas 鈥� but it is also wonderful at capturing powerful emotions. Over the next four years, you will be able to bringing fresh perspectives on this war.

Our ambition is to work in almost real time, tracking the chronology of the war over four years, weaving together factual programmes, drama and music.

Radio 4 has kicked off with Christopher Clark setting the scene in the European capitals that were soon to become enemies in .

The chronology is picked up by Margaret MacMillan in . For the following six weeks she will use only contemporaneous records to chart the rapid twists and turns that led from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand to the outbreak of war.

Twelve leading cartoonists of today have been commissioned by 听to reflect on Margaret鈥檚 series in their own unique, visual way 鈥� we鈥檒l be posting these online for you to enjoy.

As we move to mark the outbreak of war on 4 August, our specially commissioned original drama , will broadcast in 580 episodes between now and 2018.

Created by award-winning writer Katie Hims, 麻豆约拍 Front is one of our biggest ever commissions. It will chronicle life at home for 鈥渢he 41 million who did not fight but whose hearts were pinned on those who did鈥�, as editor 听describes it.

From October, the story moves to the frontline with the launch of , a narrative of the war itself, told in a series of plays prominently featuring a Signals Section, Lahore Division, Indian Army 鈥� something that has never been done before.

These two complementary, fictional accounts will allow some of the leading radio dramatists of today to explore the experience of a generation caught up in tumultuous world events 100 years ago.

Then there are the real voices of those who served but are no longer with us.

You can hear them in their own words later this year, as the sound archives of the 麻豆约拍 and Imperial War Museums are combined for the first time in 听introduced by Dan Snow. It鈥檚 a new oral history crafted from their testimony, and will be available online, in perpetuity for us all.

Culture and music will be an inspiration on radio as we explore how artists, musicians and writers reacted to the disaster that befell their countries.

Look out for 听on Radio 3 - as Chris Clark and Margaret MacMillan dissect the politics on Radio 4 - Radio 3 programmes will explore the artistic and intellectual ferment of the great cities at the time. Soldier and composer Ivor Gurney has a special place and Alan Shypton will chart how the origins of jazz go back to the First World War.

Music from this turbulent period will also be reflected in the 听this summer and a Vienna Philharmonic鈥檚 special concert in Sarajevo on 听will be carried live by .

By contrast, popular song will be found on Radio 2 with the return later in the year of the acclaimed Ballads series, specially commissioned to mark the centenary.

And the 听will be presenting events as they happened at the front line, in a weekly news format which will follow the first six months of the fighting.

Meanwhile 麻豆约拍 Radio 1鈥檚 documentary strand, , will broadcast three special programmes in August. Presented by Greg James, the documentaries will explore the parallels between the experiences of those who fought for their country between 1914-18 and the present day.

On the 听and on Radio 4, programmes will delve into new research on the experience of those who fought from the sub-continent and from around the globe.

This Centenary has inspired the . As part of that, our work with scholars, museums and communities and with radio programme makers, writers and artists will, I hope, create a unique and enduring collection of stories in sound that can be heard for many years to come.

Jane Ellison is Radio 4 Commissioning Editor.

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• Find out more about 麻豆约拍 progammes marking the centenary of World War One on the .

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