Writing Music

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Barbara Trapido On Stravinsky

20181213

20181211 (R3)

Annie Proulx wrote, in The Shipping News: 'You know, one of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music'. In this series of Radio 3's The Essay authors meditate on a piece of music that has formed the back-drop to their craft. In five intimate radio essays they explore how pieces inspire creativity through mood, narrative or structure, inviting us to step into the music - and the author's - inner world.

Best-selling novelist Barbara Trapido was so inspired by Stravinsky's re-composed' Pulcinella ballet, it sparked not one book, but two. In this short radio essay she explores how in the ballet - as in her writing - nothing is as it seems.

Producer, Miranda Hinkley.

Executive Producer, Peggy Sutton.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 3.

For Barbara Trapido, nothing is as it seems in Stravinsky's ballet, Pulcinella.

Hannah Beckerman On Brahms

20181213

Journalist and author Hannah Beckerman's relationship with Brahms' Second Piano Concerto goes back a long way. In this short radio essay she reveals how its fourth movement is a masterclass in storytelling.

Producer, Miranda Hinkley.

Executive Producer, Peggy Sutton.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 3.

For Hannah Beckerman, Brahms's Second Piano Concerto is a masterclass in storytelling.

Hermione Hoby On Steve Reich

20181210

Annie Proulx wrote, in The Shipping News: 'You know, one of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music'. In this series of Radio 3's The Essay authors meditate on a piece of music that has formed the backdrop to their craft. In five intimate radio essays they explore how pieces inspire creativity through mood, narrative or structure, inviting us to step into the music - and the author's - inner world.

New York based author and journalist Hermione Hoby has listened to Steve Reich's Music For 18 Musicians almost every day for the last seven years. In this short radio essay she reveals how this classic piece of minimalism helps her write.

Producer, Miranda Hinkley.

Executive Producer, Peggy Sutton.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 3.

Author Hermione Hoby reveals how Steve Reich's Music For 18 Musicians helps her write.

Minoo Dinshaw On Mendelssohn

20181212

Biographer Minoo Dinshaw is drawn to Mendelssohn's Scottish' Third Symphony. Tuning in to its emotional landscape and atmosphere, he questions the piece's - and his own - identity.

Producer, Miranda Hinkley.

Executive Producer, Peggy Sutton.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 3.

Minoo Dinshaw questions identity by tuning in to Mendelssohn's 'Scottish' Third Symphony.

Preti Taneja On Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

20181214

Earlier this year, Preti Taneja's first novel We That Are Young, a re-imagining of King Lear set in contemporary India, won the Desmond Elliot prize. In this emotional radio essay she mediates on the awe-inspiring power of a Sufi devotional song by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Yaad-E-Nabi Ka Gulshan Mekha.

Producer, Miranda Hinkley.

Executive Producer, Peggy Sutton.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 3.

Author Preti Taneja mediates on a Sufi devotional song by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Episodes

Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
Barbara Trapido On Stravinsky	20181213	20181211 (R3)	Annie Proulx wrote, in The Shipping News: 'You know, one of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music'. In this series of Radio 3's The Essay authors meditate on a piece of music that has formed the back-drop to their craft. In five intimate radio essays they explore how pieces inspire creativity through mood, narrative or structure, inviting us to step into the music - and the author's - inner world. Best-selling novelist Barbara Trapido was so inspired by Stravinsky's re-composed' Pulcinella ballet, it sparked not one book, but two. In this short radio essay she explores how in the ballet - as in her writing - nothing is as it seems. Producer, Miranda Hinkley. Executive Producer, Peggy Sutton. A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 3. For Barbara Trapido, nothing is as it seems in Stravinsky's ballet, Pulcinella.
Hannah Beckerman On Brahms	20181213		Annie Proulx wrote, in The Shipping News: 'You know, one of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music'. In this series of Radio 3's The Essay authors meditate on a piece of music that has formed the back-drop to their craft. In five intimate radio essays they explore how pieces inspire creativity through mood, narrative or structure, inviting us to step into the music - and the author's - inner world. Journalist and author Hannah Beckerman's relationship with Brahms' Second Piano Concerto goes back a long way. In this short radio essay she reveals how its fourth movement is a masterclass in storytelling. Producer, Miranda Hinkley. Executive Producer, Peggy Sutton. A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 3. For Hannah Beckerman, Brahms's Second Piano Concerto is a masterclass in storytelling.
Hermione Hoby On Steve Reich	20181210		Annie Proulx wrote, in The Shipping News: 'You know, one of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music'. In this series of Radio 3's The Essay authors meditate on a piece of music that has formed the backdrop to their craft. In five intimate radio essays they explore how pieces inspire creativity through mood, narrative or structure, inviting us to step into the music - and the author's - inner world. New York based author and journalist Hermione Hoby has listened to Steve Reich's Music For 18 Musicians almost every day for the last seven years. In this short radio essay she reveals how this classic piece of minimalism helps her write. Producer, Miranda Hinkley. Executive Producer, Peggy Sutton. A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 3. Author Hermione Hoby reveals how Steve Reich's Music For 18 Musicians helps her write.
Minoo Dinshaw On Mendelssohn	20181212		Annie Proulx wrote, in The Shipping News: 'You know, one of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music'. In this series of Radio 3's The Essay authors meditate on a piece of music that has formed the back-drop to their craft. In five intimate radio essays they explore how pieces inspire creativity through mood, narrative or structure, inviting us to step into the music - and the author's - inner world. Biographer Minoo Dinshaw is drawn to Mendelssohn's Scottish' Third Symphony. Tuning in to its emotional landscape and atmosphere, he questions the piece's - and his own - identity. Producer, Miranda Hinkley. Executive Producer, Peggy Sutton. A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 3. Minoo Dinshaw questions identity by tuning in to Mendelssohn's 'Scottish' Third Symphony.
Preti Taneja On Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan	20181214		Annie Proulx wrote, in The Shipping News: 'You know, one of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music'. In this series of Radio 3's The Essay authors meditate on a piece of music that has formed the back-drop to their craft. In five intimate radio essays they explore how pieces inspire creativity through mood, narrative or structure, inviting us to step into the music - and the author's - inner world. Earlier this year, Preti Taneja's first novel We That Are Young, a re-imagining of King Lear set in contemporary India, won the Desmond Elliot prize. In this emotional radio essay she mediates on the awe-inspiring power of a Sufi devotional song by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Yaad-E-Nabi Ka Gulshan Mekha. Producer, Miranda Hinkley. Executive Producer, Peggy Sutton. A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 3. Author Preti Taneja mediates on a Sufi devotional song by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.