Episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 01 | 20080721 | 20090817 (R3) | Novelist and journalist Terence Blacker discusses the guitar. | |
| 01 | 02 | 20080723 | 20090819 (R3) | Poet Ruth Padel recalls her role as a viola player, which won out over piano playing. | |
| 01 | 03 | 20080724 | 20090820 (R3) | Jonathan Coe recalls his piano playing days, which led to forming a band. | |
| 02 | 01 | Patrick Gale | 20091012 | 20100726 (R3) | Music might feature in the work of many writers, but do many writers play an instrument? Quite a few do, and this essay series charts five writers with musical 'careers'. Here is a bit of autobiography, telling listeners how they started out, their inspirations, their memorable performances and how playing relates to their lives as writers. And they are keen to demonstrate their musical talents, which you can hear at the end of each essay! Novelist Patrick Gale begins the series with his recollections of taking up the cello. It was better than playing sports at school and now he's commissioned someone to make him his own instrument. Novelist Patrick Gale recalls how he got to grips with the cello as a schoolboy. |
| 02 | 02 | Al Kennedy | 20091013 | Novelist AL Kennedy describes the result of finding a neglected banjo in a shop in Glasgow | |
| 02 | 03 | Louise Doughty | 20091014 | 20100727 (R3) | Music might feature in the work of many writers, but do many writers play an instrument? Quite a few do, and this essay series charts five writers with musical 'careers'. Here is a bit of autobiography, telling listeners how they started out, their inspirations, their memorable performances and how playing relates to their lives as writers. And they are keen to demonstrate their musical talents, which you can hear at the end of each essay! Novelist and journalist Louise Doughty has taken up the piano later in life, in fact only last year. So how will learning to play now be different from learning as a child? Louise Doughty on how playing the piano later in life presented new challenges. |
| 02 | 04 | Jasper Rees | 20091015 | 20100728 (R3) | Music might feature in the work of many writers, but do many writers play an instrument? Quite a few do, and this essay series charts five writers with musical 'careers'. Here is a bit of autobiography, telling listeners how they started out, their inspirations, their memorable performances and how playing relates to their lives as writers. And they are keen to demonstrate their musical talents, which you can hear at the end of each essay! Journalist Jasper Rees set himself the challenge of re-learning to play the French Horn in one year. And after that year he was going to play in front of an audience - at the Royal Festival Hall. Jasper Rees on re-learning the French horn and playing live at the Royal Festival Hall. |
| 02 | 05 LAST | Niall Ferguson | 20091016 | 20100730 (R3) | Music might feature in the work of many writers, but do many writers play an instrument? Quite a few do, and this essay series charts five writers with musical 'careers'. Here is a bit of autobiography, telling listeners how they started out, their inspirations, their memorable performances and how playing relates to their lives as writers. And they are keen to demonstrate their musical talents, which you can hear at the end of each essay! The historian Niall Ferguson confesses that he stole a double bass to later join a local jazz quartet, who were beguiled by Charles Mingus. Historian Niall Ferguson recalls his days as the double-bass player in a jazz quartet. |