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Philippa Perry

Psychotherapist and author Philippa Perry talks to Michael Berkeley about the power of music to shape our emotions and tell the stories of our lives.

Psychotherapist and author Philippa Perry talks to Michael Berkeley about the power of music to shape our emotions and tell the stories of our lives.

Philippa left school at 15 and did all sorts of jobs, including a stint in McDonalds before training as a psychotherapist and becoming a best-selling author, agony-aunt and broadcaster. Her graphic novel about the process of psychotherapy, 'Couch Fiction', was published in 2010, and since then she’s written 'How to Stay Sane' and 'The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read – and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did'.

Philippa talks to Michael Berkeley about her thirty-year marriage to the artist Grayson Perry, and how a song from La traviata broke through her father’s dementia; she emphasises the importance of learning new things throughout our lives, choosing music by Shostakovich that surprised and delighted her at this year’s Proms.

We hear music played by the violinist Min-Jim Kym; a supremely joyful moment from Beethoven; and Philippa is moved to tears hearing a piece of Chopin that her aunt played when she was a child.

A Loftus production for 大象传媒 Radio 3
Producer: Jane Greenwood

Available now

24 minutes

Last on

Sun 21 Jun 2020 12:00

Music Played

  • Frédéric Chopin

    Nocturne in F sharp major, Op.15 no.2

    Performer: Brigitte Engerer.
  • Milton Ager

    Hard-hearted Hannah the Vamp of Savannah

    Performer: Dorothy Provine.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Violin Concerto in D major (2nd mvt: Adagio)

    Performer: Min Kym. Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: Andrew Davis.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony No.9 in D minor, Op.125 (Choral) (4th mvt: Finale)

    Orchestra: 水戸室内管弦楽団. Conductor: Seiji Ozawa.
  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Symphony No.5 in D minor (4th mvt: Finale)

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Mstislav Rostropovich.
  • Giuseppe Verdi

    La Traviata (Act 1, excerpt)

    Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Carlo Rizzi. Singer: Rolando Villazón. Singer: Anna Netrebko. Choir: Vienna State Opera Choir.
  • Rufus Wainwright

    Oh What a World

    Performer: Rufus Wainwright.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 3 Nov 2019 12:00
  • Sun 21 Jun 2020 12:00

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