Petroc Trelawny visits the seaside in a quest to find one of Britain's finest Wurlitzer organs.
As Harrison Birtwistle's opera Punch and Judy opens on two London stages in the coming weeks, the programme asks how Mr Punch has infiltrated the world of classical music.
Plus a look at whether music can shape the politics of the artist.
In this programme
Punch and Judy
Harrison Birtwistle's opera, Punch and Judy, premiered at Aldeburgh in 1968. In coming weeks, the work has two stagings in London at the Royal Opera House and at the Young Vic, in a new partnership with English National Opera. The Punch and Judy story originated with the Italian Commedia dell'arte. Petroc Trelawny talks with Daniel Kramer, the Director of the Young Vic production, and Stephen Pruslin, librettist for Birtwistle's opera, to find out where the inspiration for the work came from. And, a visit to the South Coast for a live Punch and Judy show with Prof. Glyn Edwards who explains its inherent musicality.
ROH production of Punch and Judy at the Linbury Studio. March 17th-20th.
ENO & Young Vic co-production of Punch and Judy. April 19th-27th 2008.
Andy Hamilton
Jamaican tenor saxophonist Andy Hamilton celebrates his 90th birthday this month. In 1949, Hamilton arrived in the Midlands and worked by day in a factory, playing jazz at night. He dedicated himself to teaching jazz to generations of young people in Birmingham, uniting the different communities through music. He tells Petroc his remarkable story, from playing on iconic film star Errol Flynn's yacht in Jamaica to confronting the racial abuse of mid-Twentieth Century Birmingham, to the music-making of the last twenty years.
Andy Hamilton's 90th Birthday Concert takes place at the Town Hall, Birmingham on 26th March and an exhibition "Andy Hamilton is 90" runs until 31st March in the Birmingham's Symphony Hall, Level 4.
Music and Politics![James Macmillan, courtesy of Eric Richmond/ArenaPAL]()
Scottish composer James MacMillan resents being branded a liberal. He can't understand why just because he's a composer, it's not acceptable for him to have a conservative moral viewpoint. In an essay written and read by MacMillan himself, he explains his thinking. Petroc is joined by composer Steve Martland and Daily Telegraph journalist Simon Heffer to discuss the complex relationship between music and politics.
Steve Martland is Ivan Hewett's special guest in a portrait of Dutch composer Louis Andriessen on BBC Radio 3's Hear and Now, Saturday 29th March 2008.
Cinema Organ
The mighty Wurlitzer organ housed in Worthing's Assembly Hall is one of the finest in Europe and has been lovingly restored, enlarged and preserved by Jim Buckland. However, Jim's dedication to the cinema organ is not for the cliche of the instrument rising up from the floor, but for its incredible musical qualities. He explains its amazing history to Petroc and is joined by organist Richard Hills to demonstrate the versatility of this unique instrument.
You can hear Phil Kelsall from Blackpool's Tower Ballroom perform in concert on the Worthing Wurlitzer on 16th March.
Click here to see a slide show of photos from Petroc's trip to Worthing
