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Episode details

Radio 3,28 Dec 2025,59 mins

Daphne Oram: Nature and machine are one

20th Century Radicals

Available for 16 days

Kate Molleson and Gillian Moore introduce BBC Radio 3's series exploring the pivotal 'modern' musical works of the 20th century, the groundbreaking composers who created them, and the radical cultural and artistic movements which gave rise to them. This week, Kate explores the visionary music of Daphne Oram, electronic composer and co-founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, leading to a full listen to her 1972 work Bird of Parallax. En route, we’ll visit the Brussels World Fair of 1958, consider the merging of nature and machine, and explore how Oram and other composers sought to intertwine sound and vision. Produced by Sam Phillips A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3 To listen on most smart speakers just say, “ask BBC Sounds to play 20th Century Radicals”

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Tracklist

  1. Track
    Artist
  2. 1.
    Bird of Parallax
    Bird of Parallax
    Daphne Oram
  3. 2.
    Popcorn
    Popcorn
    Hot Butter
  4. 3.
    Beauty and the Beast, Pt. 2
    Beauty and the Beast, Pt. 2
    Daphne Oram