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Press rewind on a century of the ѿý with an epic eight-hour soundscape: seismic events, cultural landmarks, unforgettable voices and ѿý history intertwined with classical music.

Radio 3 invites listeners to press rewind on a century of the ѿý with an epic, eight-hour soundscape. Seismic events, cultural landmarks, unforgettable voices and ѿý history, all woven together with the greatest classical music of the age. Radio 3’s Soundscape of a Century is a sonic celebration, not a year-by-year chronology or a complete history, but an evocative soundtrack of the era, its music and culture, as heard on the ѿý.

For more information about what you’re hearing, visit bbc.co.uk/soundscapeofacentury

The ѿý started its first daily radio service in 1922. We hear its iconic first words on air, plus audio from the corporation’s ground-breaking early transatlantic broadcasts. The Roaring Twenties are soon in full swing, with music at their heart. We hear music by Walton, Ravel, Gershwin and Janáček, intertwined with the words of James Joyce and King George V. Soon the century begins to take a darker turn with the general strike and the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

Archive:
1922 First ѿý transmission “2LO calling”
1926 Second Transatlantic broadcast
1924 James Joyce reads from Ulysses
1923 Lord Gainford (Chairman of the ѿý) reads the news "broadcasting has come to stay"
1924 King George V opens the Empire Exhibition
1924 The Pips First Heard
1926 ѿý Radio announcements during the General Strike
1924 'Danger!' first play written for radio
1929 Newsreel describing the Wall St Crash
1927 Henry Wood describes first season of the Proms

35 minutes

Last on

Sun 30 Oct 2022 11:00

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Music Played

  • George Gershwin

    Rhapsody in Blue

    Performer: Al Gallodoro. Performer: Lincoln Mayorga. Ensemble: Harmonie Ensemble New York. Conductor: Steven Richman.
    • Gershwin by Grofe: Harmonie Ensemble, New York.
    • Harmonia Mundi.
    • 11.
  • Jean Sibelius

    Symphony No 7 in C major, Op 105 (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: ѿý Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: John Storgårds.
    • Sibelius: Complete Symphonies/Three Late Fragments.
    • CHANDOS.
    • 11.
  • Bohuslav Martinů

    Charleston (Kitchen review - suire)

    Orchestra: Holst-Sinfonietta. Conductor: Klaus Simon.
    • Martinu: La Revue de Cuisine.
    • Naxos.
    • 18.
  • William Walton

    Facade - Polka

    Narrator: Edith Sitwell. Ensemble: English Opera Group.
    • Decca.
  • Maurice Ravel

    Piano Concerto in G major (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Martha Argerich. Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Claudio Abbado.
    • Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major: Argerich, Berliner Phil, Abbado.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 6.
  • Bessie Smith

    Dixie Flyer Blues

    Performer: Bessie Smith.
    • JSP Records.
  • Leos Janáček

    Sokol Fanfare (Sinfonietta)

    Orchestra: Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: David Zinman.
    • Great Orchestral Showpieces, Vol.1.
    • Philips.
    • 1.
  • Gustav Holst

    A Moorside Suite (Nocturne)

    Performer: Grimethorpe Colliery Band. Conductor: Garry Cutt.
    • Chandos.
  • Béla Bartók

    Dance Suite (2nd mvt)

    Conductor: Georg Solti. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra.
    • Decca.
  • Alban Berg

    Wozzeck, Op. 7, Act III: Interlude. Adagio

    Orchestra: Houston Symphony. Conductor: Hans Graf.
    • Berg: Wozzeck, Op. 7 (Live).
    • Naxos.
    • 205.
  • Gabriel Fauré

    Piano Trio in D minor, Op 120

    Ensemble: The Florestan Trio.
    • HYPERION.

Broadcast

  • Sun 30 Oct 2022 11:00