麻豆约拍

Mark Tully draws on Russian music and folk stories to ask why the age-old theme of transformation continues to hold such fascination for us.

He begins with a prince forced to marry a frog who, not surprisingly, turns into a beautiful princess before changing once more, this time into a swan which flies off leaving the prince distraught. Of course things work out just fine for the prince in the end, and Mark suggests that one reason we are constantly intrigued by the possibility of transformation is simply that we yearn for a change for the better.

Whether personal, religious or political, the attraction and the dangers of transformation are explored through the music of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Mahler and Marley - as well as readings from Alexander Afanasyev, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Edmund Spenser and Carol Ann Duffy.

True to the archetypal story of transformation, the programme ends happily ever after. But will our presenter will turn into a handsome prince?

Producer: Adam Fowler.
A Unique production for 麻豆约拍 Radio 4.