Stephen Sondheim and Judith Weir
Donald Macleod celebrates the programme’s 80th anniversary with highlights and behind-the-scenes stories from composer interviews. Today, Stephen Sondheim and Judith Weir.
Donald Macleod revisits conversations with musical theatre legend Stephen Sondheim and Master of the King’s Music, Judith Weir.
Composer of the Week is one of the longest-running strands on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, first heard on the airwaves during the Second World War on the 2nd of August 1943. The first to be featured was Mozart – and today, the programme tells the stories of well-known and rediscovered composers across classical music, jazz, contemporary and beyond. Donald Macleod celebrates its 80th anniversary with highlights and behind-the-scenes stories from his encounters with some of our greatest living composers. Across the week, he looks back on ten memorable interviews from his nearly 25 years in the presenter’s chair, showcasing the range of musical styles and personalities he’s encountered.
Today, Stephen Sondheim tells Donald about his early misadventures on Broadway, and Judith Weir gives us an insight into her routine and the role of the composer in the 21st century.
Stephen Sondheim: Pretty Little Picture (from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum)
Stephen Sondheim, piano and vocals
Stephen Sondheim: Pretty Little Picture (from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum)
Zero Mostel (Pseudolus)
Brian Davies (Hero)
Preshy Marker (Philia)
Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim: Everything’s Coming Up Roses (from Gypsy)
Ethel Merman (Rose)
Stephen Sondheim: Free (from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum)
Zero Mostel (Pseudolus)
Brian Davies (Hero)
Stephen Sondheim: There’s Always a Woman (from Anyone Can Whistle)
Madeline Kahn (Cora)
Bernadette Peters (Fay Apple)
American Theatre Orchestra
Paul Gemignani, conductor
Judith Weir: Variations For Judith, No 5
Melvyn Tan, piano
Judith Weir: Vertue for chorus
Gonville and Caius College Choir
Geoffrey Webber, conductor
Judith Weir: Piano Quartet (1st movement)
Schubert Ensemble
Judith Weir: Airs from Another Planet for wind quintet and piano (excerpt)
Lontano
Odaline de la Martinez, conductor
Produced by Amelia Parker for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Audio Wales and West
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Music Played
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Stephen Sondheim
"Pretty Little Picture" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Narrator: Stephen Sondheim. Singer: Zero Mostel. Singer: Brian Davies.- CLASSICS : ps95-29.
- CLASSICS.
- 2.
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Stephen Sondheim
"What More Do I Need?" from Saturday Night
Singer: David Campbell.- NONESUCH : 7559-796092.
- NONESUCH.
- 20.
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Stephen Sondheim
"Free" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Singer: Zero Mostel. Singer: Brian Davies.- ANGEL : ZDM-7647702.
- ANGEL.
- 4.
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Stephen Sondheim
"There's always a woman" from Anyone Can Whistle
Singer: Bernadette Peters. Orchestra: American Theatre Orchestra. Conductor: Paul Gemignani.- COLUMBIA : CK-67224.
- COLUMBIA.
- 25.
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Richard Rodney Bennett
Variations for Judith (excerpt)
Composer: Michael Berkeley. Composer: Diana Burrell. Composer: Anthony Burton. Composer: Peter Maxwell Davies. Composer: Jonathan Dove. Composer: Thea Musgrave. Composer: Tarik O’Regan. Composer: Anthony Payne. Composer: Judith Weir. Composer: Stephen Jones. Performer: Melvyn Tan.- NMC : DL 3009.
- NMC.
- 5.
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Judith Weir
Vertue
Choir: Gonville And Caius Coll. Cambridge Choir. Conductor: Geoffrey Webber.- DELPHIAN : DCD34095.
- DELPHIAN.
- 3.
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Judith Weir
Piano Quartet (1st mvt)
Ensemble: Schubert Ensemble of London.- NMC : d-090.
- NMC.
- 9.
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Judith Weir
Airs from Another Planet, No 1, Strathspey and Reel
Ensemble: Lontano. Conductor: Odaline de la Martinez.- LORELT : lnt-103.
- LORELT.
- 5.
Broadcast
- Mon 31 Jul 2023 12:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3
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