In this programme

1984
George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four continues to have a massive impact on modern culture. Concepts like 'Big Brother' and 'Room 101' have now become a familiar part of our consciousness and the terrifying depiction of a totalitarian state retains its relevance today. The book has already inspired a film and several dramatisations, but its most recent embodiment comes in the form of a new opera composed by Lorin Maazel. Tom talked to the composer and the Canadian director, Robert Lepage, to find out why this story lends itself to the operatic stage.

1984 opens at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden on 3rd May and runs till 19th May. You can hear it on Performance on 3 on BBC Radio 3 on Wednesday 25th May.

BBC Radio 2's new eight part reading of Nineteen Eighty-Four begins on Friday 15th April at 9.15pm


London: A Musical Gazetteer
The sprawling metropolis of London has attracted many of the world's greatest musicians. Everyone from Mozart to Weber, from Berlioz to Webern tried to conquer London's musical scene and the huge economic riches it had to offer. Lewis and Susan Foreman's new book London: A Musical Gazetteer tells the stories that are hidden behind the shopping centres and office blocks of the capital. Tom takes a tour round some of the city's musical secrets which changes the way he sees and hears the streets of central London .

London - A Musical Gazetteer by Lewis and Susan Foreman
Published by Yale University Press ISBO 0 300 10402 2 £15.99. 


Ballet Scores
In the world of a visual art form, where does the composer's aural contribution fit in? This question perhaps explains the reluctance of many composers to write full-length ballet scores, but there are several other problems inherent in this collaborative process. The relationship between composer and choreographer has never been an easy one, and the commissioning of new works is an expensive and risky business. As a revival of Hans Werner Henze and Frederick Ashton's Ondine opens at the Royal Ballet we hear from the conductor Richard Bernas about his take on the current situation. Writer Ismene Brown, the composer John McCabe, and the choreographer Siobhan Davies also give their views.

The Royal Ballet's production of Ondine runs from 19th April to 24th May.
Music by Hans Werner Henze


Ingo Metzmacher
German conductor Ingo Metzmacher has made his name in contemporary music with groups like Ensemble Modern, the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the Hamburg State Opera, where he has been General Music Director since 1997. In the centenary year of the composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Metzmacher has dedicated himself to performing the music of this neglected Twentieth Century composer. Tom met Metzmacher and asked him why Hartmann means so much to him and how this fits with his love for contemporary music.

Maazel
Music for Flute and Orchestra OP11
James Galway
Lorin Maazel
Symphonieorchester de Bayerischen Rundfuncks
BMG
09026 68789 2
Track 12

National Anthem of Germany
New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
Seigi Ozawa
Philips
456 656 2
Tr1

National Anthem of France
New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
Seigi Ozawa
Philips
456 656 2
Tr2

National Anthem of United Kingdom
New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
Seigi Ozawa
Philips
456 656 2
Tr3

National Anthem of USA
New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
Seigi Ozawa
Philips
456 656 2
Tr37

National Anthem of Australia
New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
Seigi Ozawa
Philips
456 656 2
Tr64

Mendelssohn
Capriccio brilliant for Piano and Orchestra in B minor, op22
Andante - Allegro con fuoco
Rudolf Serking
Philadelphia Orchestra
Eugene Ormandy
Sony
SBK 48 166
Tr5

Eric Coates
London Again Suite: Langham Place (Elegie)
Royal Liverpoolk Philharmonic oRchestra
Sir Charles Groves
Arabesque
Z8036
Tr6

Mendlessohn
Leider ohne Worteop38, no2
Murray Perahia
Sony Classical
SK 66511
Tr11

Johann Christian Bach
Concerto in Eflat Op9 no5 (1770) first movement
David Owen Norris
Sonnerie
Avie
AV0014
Tr1

Henze
Undine: IIa - Allegretto - Piu Mosso
London Sinfonietta
Peter Donohoe
Oliver Knussen
Deutche Grammophon
453 467 2
CD 1 Tr 2

Henze
Undine: IIb - Andante
London Sinfonietta
Peter Donohoe
Oliver Knussen
Deutche Grammophon
453 467 2
CD 1 Tr 3

Henze
Undine: crotchet = 152
London Sinfonietta
Peter Donohoe
Oliver Knussen
Deutche Grammophon
453 467 2
CD 1 Tr 20

Tchaikovsky
The Nutcracker op71a (Ballet Suite)
Vales des Fleurs. Tempo di valse
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado
Sony
SK 48 056
Tr12

Volans
Wild Air
No Further Information
Private Disc
T1

Stavinsky
Le Sacre Du Printemps (1947 revised version)
Danse Sacrale (L'elue)
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Simon Rattle
EMI
CDC 7 49363 2
Tr17

Sigur Ros
Untitled
Fat Cat
FatCD22
Tr6

JS Bach
Partita no 1 in B Minor BWV 1002
First Movement
Victoria Mullova
Philips
420 948 2
Tr1

Massenet
Manon - Ballet
Act 1, Scene 1
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Richard Bonynge
Decca 414 585 2
Tr1

Beethoven
Leonore III Overture
Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Daniel Harding
Virgin Classics 7243 5 45364 2 7
Tr 2

Nono
Il canto sospeso
Barbara Bonney
Rudfunkchor Berlin
Dietrich Knothe
Sony Classical SK 53360
T3

Hartmann
Sinfonie nr 1 "Versuch eines Requiems"
Bamberger Symphonkier
Ingo Metzmacher
EMI 7243 5 56911 2 5
CD1 Tr1

Hartmann
Sinfonie Nr6 Last movement
Bamberger Symphonkier
Ingo Metzmacher
EMI 7243 5 56911 2 5
CD2 Tr8