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The Emperor's New Clothes

Jane Austen, Dickens, Aldous Huxley and Jenny Joseph bring us ball gowns, wedding dresses, purple, and creases with music from Prokofiev, Strauss, Anoushka Shankar and PJ Harvey.

Jane Austen’s Catherine in Northanger Abbey wonders what she should wear to the ball, while Dickens’ Miss Havisham still wears her wedding clothes years after she was ditched. Aldous Huxley considers the folds in his trousers, and Diogenes folds his cloak in two for summer. Jenny Joseph threatens to wear purple when she is old, and the Emperor parades without any clothes at all. And in London Fashion Week we celebrate the wild and wonderful life and work of the late Vivienne Westwood. There’s music from Prokofiev’s Cinderella, Richard Strauss’ Salome, Anoushka Shankar, PJ Harvey and JS Bach. Our readers are Julia Winwood and Jonathan Keeble.

Producer in Salford: Nick Holmes

29 days left to listen

1 hour, 29 minutes

Last on

Yesterday 18:00

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:00

    Sergey Prokofiev

    Cinderella (Act I excerpts)

    Conductor: Michail Jurowski. Orchestra: WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne.
  • 00:06

    A Hawk and a Hacksaw

    Bury me in the clothes I was married in

    • You Have Already Gone to the Other World.
    • LM Duplication.
    • 11.
  • 00:08

    Johann Sebastian Bach

    Violin Sonata no.2 in A minor (Andante)

    Performer: Sigiswald Kuijken.
  • 00:15

    Dinah Shore

    Buttons and Bows

    • 16 Most Requested Songs of the 1940s.
    • Columbia.
    • 3.
  • 00:17

    Arthur Bliss

    The Lady of Shalott

    Orchestra: ѿý Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Martin Yates.
  • 00:21

    Anoushka Shankar

    Naked

    • Rise.
    • EMI.
    • 4.
  • 00:25

    David Bowie

    Fashion

    • Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps).
    • EMI.
    • 5.
  • 00:30

    Richard Strauss

    Dance of the Seven Veils (Salome)

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Andris Nelsons.
  • 00:39

    Erik Satie

    Les Valses distinguees du precieux degoute no.2; Son binocle

    Performer: Alan Marks.
    • Collected Items from a Silent Dream (A Very Special Encounter with the Piano Mus.
    • Decca.
    • 8.
  • 00:41

    Emilie‐Claire Barlow

    These boots were made for walkin'

    • The Beat Goes On.
    • Empress Music Group.
    • 7.
  • 00:45

    Giacomo Puccini

    Vecchia Zimarra, Senti (La Boheme)

    Performer: Annette Bryn Parri. Singer: Bryn Terfel.
  • 00:50

    Ottorino Respighi

    The Adoration of the Magi (Three Botticelli Pictures)

    Orchestra: City of London Sinfonia. Conductor: Richard Hickox.
  • 01:01

    Cole Porter

    Silk Stockings

    Singer: Don Ameche.
  • 01:04

    PJ Harvey

    Dress

    • Dry.
    • Too Pure.
    • 3.
  • 01:06

    William Walton

    The Forest of Arden (As You Like It)

    Orchestra: English Serenata. Conductor: Guy Woolfenden.
  • 01:07

    Ruggero Leoncavallo

    Vesta la Giubba! (I Pagliacci)

    Singer: James McCracken. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome. Conductor: Lamberto Gardelli.
  • 01:12

    Gogol Bordello

    Start Wearing Purple

    • Gypsy Punks (Underworld Strike).
    • SideOneDummy Records.
    • 9.
  • 01:14

    Amy Beach

    Romance Op.23

    Performer: Sterling Elliott. Performer: Richard Uttley.
  • 01:21

    Vincent d’Indy

    Lied Op. 19

    Performer: Sterling Elliott. Performer: Richard Uttley.

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