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John Sutherland

Michael Berkeley's guest is scholar and critic John Sutherland. His musical choices include pieces by Vaughan Williams, Britten and Mahler.

The scholar and critic John Sutherland talks to Michael Berkeley about his passions for film, music, and Victorian literature.

An unsuccessful career at school and a backbreaking job laying railway tracks were an unlikely start in life for the future Lord Northcliffe Professor Emeritus of Modern English Literature at University College London.

John Sutherland is hugely respected for his academic work on Victorian literature, but his infectious passion for books has led him to write for a popular audience too - he is a regular contributor to the Guardian and other papers, and his many books include Can Jane Eyre Be Happy?, How to Read a Novel, and most recently an entertaining quiz book: How Good is Your Grammar?

He talks to Michael about his difficult childhood, the later devastating effects of alcoholism, and the books and music that he's loved throughout his life - including Vaughan Williams, Britten and Mahler.

Producer: Jane Greenwood
A Loftus Production for ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3.

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37 minutes

Last on

Sun 12 Jun 2016 12:00
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3

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Clip

Music Played

  • Camille Saint‐SaΓ«ns

    The Swan (Carnival of the Animals)

    Performer: Yo‐Yo Ma.

  • Ralph Vaughan Williams

    Sinfonia Antartica (Opening)

    Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Adrian Boult. Singer: Norma Burrowes.

  • Benjamin Britten

    Peter Grimes (Act 3: Grimes!)

    Orchestra: City of London Sinfonia. Conductor: Richard Hickox. Singer: Philip Langridge. Choir: London Symphony Chorus.

  • Edward Harper

    Fanny Robin (Epilogue)

    Performer: Roderick Horn. Orchestra: Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

  • Richard Strauss

    Also Sprach Zarathustra (excerpt)

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Andris Nelsons.

  • Trad.

    The Lass of Aughrim

    Performer: Frank Patterson.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat major (2nd mvt: Adagio)

    Performer: Natasha Spender. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Basil Cameron.

Broadcast

  • Sun 12 Jun 2016 12:00
    ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3

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