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Sir Frank Kermode

Sue Lawley's castaway is literary critic Sir Frank Kermode.

The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is the literary critic, Sir Frank Kermode. One of the most influential teachers of his age, he is credited with bringing the new literary theory of Structuralism to this country. Something, as he admits to Sue Lawley, he now profoundly regrets. He traces his life, "lived like tumbleweed in the wind", from a short-sighted, studious boy growing up on the Isle of Man to King Edward Professor of English Literature at Cambridge University.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Cantata BWV 106 The Actus Tragicus by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
Luxury: Samuel Palmer's painting Moonlit Landscape

Available now

40 minutes

Last on

Fri 12 Sep 1997 09:05
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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Music Played

  • George Frideric Handel

    L'allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato

    Choir: English Baroque Soloists Soloist: Michael Ginn

    • Handel: 'Allegro, Ll Penseroso Ed Il Moderato'.
    • Erato.

  • Franz Schubert

    Impromptu in A flat major, D935 No. 2

    Soloist: Clifford Curzon

    • Schubert: Sonato In B Flat Major, Impromptu In Ab.
    • Decca.

  • Joseph Haydn

    Adam and Eve Duet (from The Creation)

    Orchestra: Vienna Symphonic Orchestra Soloist: Robert Holl Soloist: Edita Gruberova

    • Die Schopfung/The Creation.
    • Teldec.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Soave sia il vento (from Cosi fan tutte)

    Soloist: Lella Cuberli Soloist: John Tomlinson Conductor: Bartoli

    • Erato.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Che soave zeffiretto (from The Marriage of Figaro)

    Soloist: Barbara Bonney Soloist: Charlotte Margiono

    • Le Nozze Di Figaro.
    • Teldec.

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Johann Sebastian Bach

      Cantata No. 106: Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit

      Soloist: Teresa Stich-Randall

      • Cantatas.
      • Vanguard Classics.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

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

    Soloist: Alfred Brendel

    • Piano Sonatas Op. 109, 110, 111.
    • Philips Digital Classics.

  • Richard Strauss

    Ich kenn' Ihn schon recht wohl (from Der Rosenkavalier)

    Soloist: Elisabeth Schumann Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic Conductor: Bruno Walter

    • Der Rosenkavalier.
    • EMI Classics.

  • Book Choice

    • The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Edward Gibbon

  • Luxury Choice

    • Samuel Palmer's painting Moonlit Landscape

Credits

Presenter Sue Lawley
Interviewed Guest Sir Frank Kermode

Broadcasts

  • Sun 7 Sep 1997 12:15
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
  • Fri 12 Sep 1997 09:05
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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