Adrian Johnston on Becoming Jane

As we celebrate 250 years since Jane Austen's birth, Antonia Quirke speaks to composers who've scored original music for Austen adaptations about their musical choices and also about the music Austen enjoyed. For the first episode of the series, composer Adrian Johnston tells Antonia about how he delved through Jane Austen's own music books when he was composing the score for the 2007 biopic Becoming Jane. Adrian tells Antonia about his impressions of Austen's musical albums, about the composers she enjoyed and the variety of songs and pieces in her repertoire. He explains why it was important to him to stay true to the music and songs that Austen would have been familiar with. Antonia and Adrian discuss how Austen's piano playing features at crucial moments in the film - he shares guide tracks he made for the film's lead Anne Hathaway - and together they discuss the film's melodic echoes and Austen's own musical memory.

With short extracts from:
Adrian Johnston, Paul Englishby, Gabrielle Lester, Marcia Crayford, Bond Street Airs, Becoming Jane, Sony Classical
Adrian Johnston, Paul Englishby, Marcia Crayford, Gabrielle Lester, A Letter, Becoming Jane, Sony Classical
Adrian Johnston, Paul Englishby, Marcia Crayford, Gabrielle Lester, Rose Garden, Becoming Jane, Sony Classical

Presented by Antonia Quirke
Produced by Camellia Sinclair
Mixed by Ilse Lademann