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Michael Berkeley's guest is the writer and professor of political theory at LSE, Lea Ypi.

Lea Ypi, a professor of political theory at the London School of Economics, grew up in Albania under communism, when it was the last Stalinist outpost in Europe.

She was 10 years old when the Berlin Wall fell, and a year later she saw the collapse of communism in Albania. Statues of Stalin and Enver Hoxha, the country’s leader for 40 years, were toppled. Democratic elections followed - but so did civil unrest.

Lea wrote about these turbulent years in her book Free, which won prizes and widespread acclaim: 'essential - just as much for Britons as Albanians' according to one critic.

She has delved further into her family history, looking into the past of her grandmother, in her book Indignity.

Lea's musical choices include Beethoven, Wagner, Dizdari and Bach.

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53 minutes

Last on

Sun 16 Nov 202512:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Limoz Dizdari

    The Words of the Candle

    Performer: Alda Dizdari. Performer: Camilla Pay. Music Arranger: Alda Dizdari.
    • The Words of the Candle.
    • Mellos Records.
    • 9.

  • Δημήτρης Σέμσης

    To Kanarini

    Composer: Roza Eskenazi. Singer: Roza Eskenazi.
    • Kanarini Mou Glyko (Recordings: 1930-1947).
    • Vintage Music gr.
    • 1.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony No 3 in E flat major, Op 55, 'Eroica' (2nd mvt)

    Orchestra: Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.
    • Beethoven Symphonies: Live from the Edinburgh Festival.
    • Hyperion.
    • 2.

  • Richard Wagner

    The Ride of the Valkyries (Die Walküre)

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Claudio Abbado.
    • The Berlin Album: Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 5.

  • Arcangelo Corelli

    Violin Sonata in D minor, Op 5 No 12, 'La Folia'

    Performer: Elizabeth Wallfisch. Performer: Richard Tunnicliffe. Performer: Paul Nicholson. Ensemble: Locatelli Trio.
    • Corelli: Violin Sonatas: The Locatelli Trio.
    • Hyperion.
    • 23.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Herr, unser Herrscher (St John Passion)

    Choir: RIAS Chamber Choir. Choir: Staats‐ und Domchor Berlin. Ensemble: Academy for Ancient Music Berlin. Conductor: René Jacobs.
    • Bach: St John Passion, BWV 245 (Johannes-Passion).
    • Harmonia Mundi.
    • 1.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Se vuol ballare (The Marriage of Figaro)

    Singer: Thomas Allen. Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Riccardo Muti.
    • Riccardo Muti Conducts Mozart.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 39.

  • Hanns Eisler

    Solidaritätslied

    Performer: Thomas Larcher. Lyricist: Bertolt Brecht. Singer: Matthias Goerne.
    • Hanns Eisler: Ernste Gesänge: Lieder with piano.
    • harmonia mundi.
    • 28.

Broadcast

  • Sun 16 Nov 202512:00
    BBC Radio 3

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