Episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 01 | Promise And Unfoldment | 20080303 | John Woolrich (b.1954) John Woolrich talks to Donald Macleod about what drew him towards composing, the way in which his works form a dialogue with the music of the past, and his love of the shadowy world of the viola. 1/5. Promise and Unfoldment Monody with Minor Seconds (A Book of Studies - Set 1 for Wind Quintet) New London Chamber Ensemble Selection from Pianobooks (1, 4, 5 and 6) Ian Munro (piano) Sestina Schubert Ensemble Viola Concerto Lars Anders Tomter (viola) BBC Symphony Orchestra Martyn Brabbins (conductor). John Woolrich talks about what drew him to composing and his love for the viola. |
| 2008 | 02 | Memory Awake | 20080304 | John Woolrich (b.1954) 2/5. Memory Awake Donald Macleod discusses with the composer his works 'haunted' by Bach and Monteverdi. Christ lay in the bonds of death; A Shadowed Lesson Schubert Ensemble Ulysses Awakes Jane Atkins (viola) Orchestra of St John's John Lubbock (conductor) A Presence of Departed Acts The Ghost in the Machine BBC Symphony Orchestra Martyn Brabbins (conductor). |
| 2008 | 03 | The Move South | 20080305 | John Woolrich (1954-) 3/5. The Move South John Woolrich talks to Donald Macleod about having worked closely with performing groups and his intention to concentrate on his own composing at his new base in the south of France. Book of Studies Set 2 for Wind Quintet No 3 New London Chamber Ensemble A Farewell Jane Atkins (viola) Catherine Edwards (piano) Mark van de Wiel (clarinet) Four Flowers Nigel Robinson (tenor) Richard Sisson (piano) The Death of King Renaud Brodsky Quartet Going a Journey Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Oliver Knussen (conductor). John Woolrich talks about his having worked with performing groups. |
| 2008 | 04 | Machines Implacable And Fragile | 20080306 | John Woolrich (b.1954) 4/5. Machines Implacable and Fragile John Woolrich talks to Donald Macleod about his fascination with ticking and whirring things, and his oboe concerto, in which the crowd (or orchestra) takes up an armory of dustbins, scaffolding bars, car wheel hubs, and sawn-off oxygen cylinders to force the soloist into retreat. Through the dark leaves Eileen Hulse, Adele Eikenes (sopranos) Christine Cairns (mezzo-soprano) The Orchestra of St John's John Lubbock (conductor) Dartington Doubles Composers Ensemble The Barber's Timepiece BBC Symphony Orchestra Martyn Brabbins (conductor) Nicholas Daniel (oboe) John Woolrich tells about his fondness for ticking things, as heard in his oboe concerto. |
| 2008 | 05 LAST | Inventions Tiny And Mammoth | 20080307 | John Woolrich (b.1954) 5/5. Inventions Tiny and Mammoth Donald Macleod talks to John Woolrich about the shift in his work from literary stimuli to visual, including the surreal sculptures of Jean Tinguely and a painting by Max Ernst, the inspiration for one of his most recent works, The Elephant from Celebes. Clockwork Chorale New London Chamber Ensemble Adagissimo Schubert Ensemble It Is Midnight Dr Schweitzer Orchestra of St John's Smith Square John Lubbock (conductor) BBC National Orchestra of Wales Luke Dollman (conductor). John Woolrich talks about the shift in his work from literary stimuli to visual. |