 
                
                        Coming of Age
From Romeo and Juliet to Naoise Dolan and Harry Potter. Also the debut book from comedian Tez Ilyas, a performance by George the Poet and a winner of the Foyle Young Poets prize.
Josh O'Connor and Lydia Wilson with readings inspired by youthful experiences. Fresh from his role as Romeo for the National Theatre – a classic ‘coming of age’ story – The Crown’s Josh O'Connor reads Shakespeare, James Joyce and Harry Potter. Lydia Wilson, star of the thriller Requiem, offers contemporary fiction from Naoise Dolan and Emma Cline, along with Dickens’ bildungsroman David Copperfield, and a poem by Libby Russell, a past winner of the Foyle Young Poets Award run by the Poetry Society. Ted Hughes recites his own translation of Ovid in archive audio and Tez Ilyas reads from his Secret Diary of a British Muslim Aged 13 ¾.
The music includes Stravinsky's adolescent girls dancing the Rite of Spring, a Marian hymn from Palestrina, and Ravel's mythical young lovers, Daphnis et Chloé. Herbie Hancock, Rebecca Clarke and Felix Mendelssohn come of age as composers, while Patrick Doyle's film music shows Prince Hal turn into noble Henry V. The programme closes with Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier: the Marschallin bids farewell to her lost youth, and wishes her lover happiness with his new young bride.
Producer: Hannah Sander
Readings:
Charles Dickens – David Copperfield
Mishnah 5:21
Tez Ilyas – The Secret Diary of a British Muslim Aged 13 ¾
CS Lewis – Prince Caspian
James Joyce – A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Libby Russell – ‘gaff’
Françoise Sagan – Bonjour Tristesse
Socrates (Plato) – ‘The children now love luxury’
Margaret Mead – Coming of Age in Samoa
Evelyn Waugh – Brideshead Revisited
Shakespeare – Romeo and Juliet
Ted Hughes – ‘Echo and Narcissus’
Naoise Dolan – Exciting Times
Thomas Morris – ‘All the Boys’
JK Rowling – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Emma Cline – The Girls
Claude McKay – ‘Adolescence’
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Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
- 
    Charles DickensDavid Copperfield, read by Lydia Wilson ![]() 00:00 00:00Sergey ProkofievCinderella Suite No 1, Op 107 Orchestra: San Francisco Symphony. Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas.- DATSM/00/06/43/02.
- TrB.
 ![]() 00:01 00:01Sergey ProkofievCinderella Suite No 1, Op 107 Orchestra: San Francisco Symphony. Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas.Mishnah 5:21Read by Josh O'Connor ![]() 00:03 00:03Johannes BrahmsVariations on a Theme by Haydn Performer: Martha Argerich. Performer: Nelson Freire.- DG 477 8570.
- Tr1.
 ![]() 00:05 00:05Johannes BrahmsVariations on a Theme by Haydn Performer: Martha Argerich. Performer: Nelson Freire.Tez IlyasThe Secret Diary of a British Muslim Aged 13 3/4, read by Tez Ilyas ![]() 00:07 00:07Giovanni Pierluigi da PalestrinaAve regina coelorum - motet for 8 voices Choir: The Sixteen. Conductor: Harry Christophers.- COR16114.
- Tr10.
 CS LewisPrince Caspian, read by Lydia Wilson ![]() 00:08 00:08Giovanni Pierluigi da PalestrinaAve regina caelorum Conductor: Harry Christophers. Choir: The Sixteen.James JoyceA Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, read by Josh O'Connor ![]() 00:11 00:11David BowieRebel Rebel Performer: David Bowie.- EMI Records Limited, David Bowie: The Singles Collection CD1.
- Tr11.
 Libby Russellgaff, ready by Lydia Wilson ![]() 00:12 00:12David BowieRebel Rebel ![]() 00:14 00:14Herbie HancockCantaloupe Island Performer: Herbie Hancock (piano), Freddy Hubbard (trumpet), Ron Carter (double bass), Tony Williams (drums).- Blue Note CDP724382933120.
- Tr1.
 ![]() 00:15 00:15Herbie HancockCantaloupe Island Francoise SaganBonjour Tristesse, read by Lydia Wilson Plato (Socrates)The children now love luxury, read by Lydia Wilson Margaret MeadComing of Age in Samoa, read by Josh O'Connor ![]() 00:20 00:20Igor StravinskyCercles mystérieux des adolescentes, from The Rite of Spring Orchestra: Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Gustavo Dudamel.- DG 4778775.
- Tr9.
 ![]() 00:21 00:21Igor StravinskyThe Rite of Spring Orchestra: Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Gustavo Dudamel.![]() 00:23 00:23Harry MiddlebrooksSpooky Composer: Mike Shapiro. Lyricist: Buddy Buie. Lyricist: J. R. Cobb. Performer: Dusty Springfield.- Mercury Records Limited.
- Tr24.
 ![]() 00:24 00:24Dusty SpringfieldSpooky Evelyn WaughBrideshead Revisited, read by Josh O'Connor ![]() 00:26 00:26Maurice RavelSunrise from Daphnis et Chloé Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Bernard Haitink.- CSOR901906.
- Tr17.
 ![]() 00:27 00:27Maurice RavelLever du Jour (Daphnis et Chloe) Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Bernard Haitink.William ShakespeareRomeo and Juliet, Act 1 sc. v, read by Josh O'Connor Ovid, translated by Ted HughesEcho and Narcissus, read by Ted Hughes ![]() 00:33 00:33RadioheadDaydreaming Performer: Radiohead.- XL Recordings.
- Tr2.
 ![]() 00:35 00:35RadioheadDaydreaming Naoise DolanExciting Times, read by Lydia Wilson ![]() 00:37 00:37Rebecca ClarkeLullaby on an Ancient Irish Tune Performer: Philip Dukes. Performer: Sophia Rahman.- Naxos 8.557934.
- Tr6.
 ![]() 00:39 00:39Rebecca ClarkeLullaby on an Ancient Irish Tune Performer: Sophia Rahman. Performer: Philip Dukes.![]() 00:40 00:40Felix MendelssohnOverture to A Midsummer Nights Dream Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.- LSO0795.
- Tr1.
 ![]() 00:41 00:41Felix MendelssohnOverture to A Midsummer Nights Dream Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.Thomas MorrisAll the Boys, read by Josh O'Connor ![]() 00:52 00:52George the Poet & Maverick SabreFollow the Leader (acoustic version) (feat. Jorja Smith) - FAMM.
- Tr1.
 ![]() 00:53 00:53George the PoetFollow the Leader JK RowlingHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, read by Josh O'Connor ![]() 00:56 00:56Patrick DoyleSt Crispins Day, from Henry V Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.- EMI7499192.
- Tr10.
 ![]() 00:58 00:58Patrick DoyleSt Crispins Day, from Henry V Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.Emma ClineThe Girls, read by Lydia Wilson ![]() 01:03 01:03Neil YoungOld Man Performer: Neil Young.- Warner Music UK Limited.
- Tr2.
 ![]() 01:04 01:04Neil YoungOld Man Claude McKayAdolescence, read by Josh O'Connor ![]() 01:06 01:06Richard StraussHab' mir's gelobt from Der Rosenkavalier Performer: Diana Damrau. Performer: Adrianne Pieczonka. Performer: Elīna Garanča. Orchestra: Staatskapelle Dresden. Conductor: Fabio Luisi.- DG 4779158, SIDE 16.
- TR9.
 ![]() 01:07 01:07Richard StraussHab' mir's gelobt (Der Rosenkavalier) Singer: Diana Damrau. Singer: Adrianne Pieczonka. Singer: Elīna Garanča. Orchestra: Staatskapelle Dresden. Conductor: Fabio Luisi.Broadcasts- Sun 18 Apr 2021 17:30ѿý Radio 3
- Sun 14 Aug 2022 17:30ѿý Radio 3
 
 
            