 
                
                        ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra Celebrating 60
Ken Bruce salutes the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra on their 60th anniversary - featuring an archive concert celebrating the 30th anniversary of Friday Night is Music Night in 1983.
Celebrating 60 - Ken Bruce salutes the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra on their 60th anniversary. This week's featured archive concert dates from September 1983 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Radio 2's weekly live music show - Friday Night is Music Night.
1953 was a very busy music year in the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½. The previous year saw the formation of the "new" ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra - "an orchestra capable to putting over the finest light music to great effect". The following summer the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ broadcast a series of light music concerts from the Royal Festival Hall - entitled ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ International Festival of Light Music. Then that September a new programme was commissioned specifically to show off the talents of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra. Its brief was "to create a Friday-night show which would help people relax after the week's hard work and put them in the right mood for a happy weekend". It was called Friday Night Is Music Night and 59 years later it remains one of Radio 2's longest running programmes.
The 30th anniversary concert took place on 23rd September 1983 at the Fairfield Hall in Croydon - the orchestra is conducted by Kenneth Alwyn with guests Rosemary Ashe; Cynthia Glover, John Lawrenson, Robert Docker(piano) and the Band of the Grenadier Guards. The presenter is Robin Boyle and the programme includes music from the Legend of the Glass Mountain(Miklos Rozsa); Robert and Elizabeth(Ron Grainer); Oklahoma(Rodgers and Hammerstein) and songs from a what was a new show in 1983 - yet to be staged in London - Follies by Stephen Sondheim.
In this 11-part series, Ken Bruce is trawling 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 Bublé; Lionel Richie and Peter Gabriel.
Last on
Music Played
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    ![]()  ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra CB Kenneth AlwynHigh Adventure (Williams) - ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.
 
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    ![]()  ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert OrchestraFighter Command March (Kenneth Alwyn ) - RCA.
 
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    ![]()  ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert OrchestraTabarinage (Docker) - ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Records.
 
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    ![]()  ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert OrchestraHigh Adventure (Williams) - ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.
 
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    ![]()  The Band of the Grenadier GuardsSemper Fidelis (Sousa) - NA.
 
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    ![]()  ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert OrchestraVergnugungszug (Strauss) - N/A.
 
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    ![]()  Cynthia Glover, John LawrensonSong Of Songs (Moya) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  Cynthia Glover, John LawrensonLegend Of Glass Mountain (Nino Roto) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  Rosemary AsheStage Struck (Previn, Mercer) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  Rosemary AsheWoman And Man (Millar, Grainer) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  The Band of the Grenadier GuardsBavarian Bugle Boy (Simms) 
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    ![]()  Cynthia GloverThe Nightingale and The Rose (Rimsky-Korsakov) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  John LawrensonLadies Have Such Variations (Mozart) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  The Band of the Grenadier GuardsRide Of The Valkyries (Wagner) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert OrchestraGopak (Tchaikovsky) (Conducted by Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  Cynthia GloverIl Bacio (Arditi) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  Cynthia GloverWhen I Grow Too Old to Dream (Hammerstein/Romberg) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  John LawrensonJohn Lawrenson - Sunshine Of Your Smile (Lillian Ray) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  The Band of the Grenadier GuardsRossini's Birthday Party (Henk Van Lijnschooten) 
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    ![]()  Rosemary AsheLosing My Mind (Sondheim) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  Rosemary AsheThe Boy From… (Sondheim/Rogers) (Ft. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra/Kenneth Alwyn) 
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    ![]()  ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra CB: /Kenneth AlwynDreaming (Joyce) (Arr Torch) 
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    ![]()  The Band of the Grenadier GuardsProcession Of The Nobles (Rimsky Korsakov) 
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    ![]()  Cynthia Glover, Rosemary Ashe, John LawrensonOklahoma (Rodgers and Hammerstein) (Ft. The John McCarthy Singers) 
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    ![]()  ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert OrchestraHigh Adventure (Williams) - ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.
 
Broadcast
- Fri 16 Mar 2012 20:00ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2
