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ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra Celebrating 60

Ken Bruce salutes the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra on their 60th anniversary. The archive concert from 2007 features the music of Jerry Herman.

Friday Night is Music Night - Ken Bruce salutes the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra on their 60th anniversary. Tonight's archive concert from 2007 features the music of Jerry Herman with West End star John Barrowman.

Hailed by Sir Arthur Bliss as "a worthy instrument, ready at hand to present a brilliant new era of 'entertainment' music'" the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra are very much today a jewel in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2's crown. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra made its first broadcast on 11th September 1952 on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ General Overseas Service with a repeat broadcast on the domestic service three days later. But the story starts 20 years before when the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ brought together a bunch of players under the title the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Theatre Orchestra - their main role was to provide incidental music to radio plays - under their principal conductor Leslie Woodgate.

When not required in the drama studios, the orchestra gave light music and opera concerts. In 1949 the orchestra was renamed the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Opera Orchestra with Stanford Robinson as conductor. Its brief was to be an "opera cum second symphony orchestra.an orchestra capable to putting over the finest light music to great effect". Three years later the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ decided the time was right for a light music orchestra and the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra was born.

Today, the 60 musicians who make up the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra broadcast weekly in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2's Friday Night Is Music Night. They are equally at home playing Bach and Beethoven as accompanying Dame Shirley Bassey. In this 11-part series, Ken Bruce trawls the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra archives for some classic performances from their first 60 years.

A feast for light music fans - each week the series will broadcast a show from the orchestra archives. The series will feature archive performances from the likes of light music legends Sidney Torch; Vilem Tausky; Robert Farnon; Eric Coates; Willi Boskovsky; Stanley Black; and Ron Goodwin. Plus concert performances from Matt Monro and Dudley Moore as well as more recent collaborations with Michael Michael Bublé; Lionel Richie and Peter Gabriel.

1 hour, 57 minutes

Music Played

  • Rae Woodland

    Glamorous Night

    ( Novello & Hassall)

    • Columbia.
  • Petula Clark

    With One Look

    (Lloyd Webber)

    • Polydor.
  • Sir Willard White

    Some Enchanted Evening

    (Rogers & Hammerstein)

    • Sony Classical.
  • Sir Willard White

    If I Were A Rich Man

    (Bock/Harnick)

    • Sony Classical.
  • ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra CB Donald Pippin

    High Adventure

    (Williams)

    • ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.
  • ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra CB Donald Pippin

    Jerry Herman Overture

    (Herman)

    • ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.
  • Capital Voices/ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra

    Tap Your Troubles Away

    (Herman) (Arr Phil Lang/Michael Gibson)

  • Debbie Gravitte

    Wherever He Ain't

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • Clarke Peters

    Song On The Sand.

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • Maria Friedman

    Before The Parade Passes by

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Capital Voices/Don Pippin)

  • John Barrowman

    It Only Takes A Moment

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Capital Voices/Don Pippin)

  • Maria Friedman & Clarke Peters

    The Best Christmas of All (From Mrs Santa Claus)

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • Clarke Peters

    Movies were Movies

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • Jon Barrowman & Capital Voices

    Put On Your Sunday Clothes

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • John Barrowman

    I Won't Send Roses

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • Maria Friedman

    Hello Dolly

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Capital Voices /Don Pippin)

  • ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra CB Donald Pippin

    Overture Milk and Honey

    (Herman) (Arr Hershy Kay)

  • Maria Friedman/Debbie Gravitte

    Bosom Buddies

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • Debbie Gravitte

    It's Today

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • Clarke Peters - Look Over There

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • Maria Friedman

    Time Heals Everything

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • Capital Voices/ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra cb Pippin

    Mame

    (Herman) (Arr Phil Lang/Donald Pippin)

  • Debbie Gravitte

    If He Walked Into My Life

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • John Barrowman

    I Am What I Am

    (Herman) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Don Pippin)

  • Company/Capital Voices/ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra cb Pippin

    The Best Of Times

    (Herman) (Arr Jim Tyler/Donald Pippin)

  • Company/Capital Voices/ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra cb Pippin

    We Need A Little Christmas

    (Herman)

  • ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra CB Donald Pippin

    High Adventure

    (Williams)

    • ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.

Broadcast

  • Fri 9 Mar 2012 20:00