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Garth Greenwell

Michael Berkeley's guest is the American writer Garth Greenwell, who originally trained as an opera singer. His first novel, What Belongs to You, won a British Book Award.

The American writer Garth Greenwell won widespread acclaim for his first novel, What Belongs to You, including the British Book Award for the Debut of the Year in 2016.

This success would have surprised his high-school teachers in Kentucky. As a teenager, he failed English and decided to follow a very different path: he turned to singing and eventually trained as an opera singer.

Studying music led him back to literature – writing poems, novels and working as a teacher in Bulgaria. His most recent novel, Small Rain, focuses on a severe medical emergency which leads to deep meditations on our vulnerability, life and love.

Garth's musical passions include works by Mahler, Britten, Richard Strauss and the 16th century English composer John Taverner.

Presenter Michael Berkeley
Producer Clare Walker

Available now

47 minutes

Last on

Sun 20 Oct 2024 12:00
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3

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Music Played

  • John Taverner

    Mass "The Western Wind"

    Choir: Yale Schola Cantorum. Conductor: Simon Carrington.
    • Sing, Ye Birds, a Joyous Song.
    • Delos.
    • 1.

  • Benjamin Britten

    The Turn of the Screw (Prologue)

    Singer: Peter Pears. Orchestra: English Opera Group. Conductor: Benjamin Britten.
    • Britten: The Turn of the Screw.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 1.

  • Benjamin Britten

    The Journey (The Turn of the Screw)

    Singer: Jennifer Vyvyan. Orchestra: English Opera Group. Conductor: Benjamin Britten.
    • Britten: The Turn of the Screw.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 2.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111 - 2. Arietta.

    Performer: Alfred Brendel.
    • Beethoven: Piano Sonatas No.30 Op.109, No.31 Op.110 & No.32 Op.111.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 9.

  • Richard Strauss

    September (4 Last Songs)

    Singer: Jessye Norman. Orchestra: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Conductor: Kurt Masur.
    • PHILIPS.

  • David T. Little

    What Belongs to You opera: Earthquake

    Ensemble: Alarm Will Sound. Singer: Karim Sulayman.
    • What belongs to you rehearsal recording.
    • 1.

  • Julius Eastman

    The Zurich Concert (Extract)

    • The Zurich Concert.
    • New World Records.
    • 1.

  • Gustav Mahler

    RΓΌckert Lieder: No.4, 'Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen'

    Singer: Kathleen Ferrier. Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Bruno Walter.
    • DECCA.

  • Benjamin Britten

    Canticle I 'My beloved is mine'

    Performer: Graham Johnson. Singer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson.
    • Britten: Canticle 1/Michelangelo sonnets etc: Johnson/Johnson.
    • Hyperion.
    • 8.

Broadcast

  • Sun 20 Oct 2024 12:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3

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