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Jamie Parker

Jamie Parker talks to Michael Berkeley about his starring roles in The History Boys and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and reveals his passion for clarinet and piano music.

Jamie Parker shot to fame as one of Alan Bennett’s original History Boys – he was the one who played the piano. In this week’s Private Passions he tells Michael Berkeley about the vital role music plays in his life.

A decade after The History Boys Jamie took the title role in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the marathon West End and Broadway show which won nine Olivier Awards, including Best Actor for Jamie. In between, he has sung in Sondheim, Gilbert and Sullivan and the Sinatra tribute Prom, and appeared in films such as 1917 and Valkyrie. And he has starred at Shakespeare’s Globe – memorably as the recorder-playing Prince Hal.

Jamie shares with Michael his lifelong passion for the clarinet – he chooses Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto, which he has played himself, as well as music by Gershwin and by Louis Armstrong with inspiring clarinet parts.

Two of Jamie’s favourite pieces of music come from films he loved as a child – Henry Mancini’s score for Blake Edwards’ The Great Race and the music for Watership Down by the neglected composer Angela Morley. Jamie shares her remarkable story: born a man, she transitioned in 1972 and was a largely self-taught musician. She wrote extensively for film, television and radio, including the theme tune for Hancock’s Half Hour, and she won three Emmys and was twice nominated for an Oscar.

And Jamie reveals how, in his long quest to play it, he instilled an enduring love of Rhapsody in Blue in his childhood dog.

Producer: Jane Greenwood
A Loftus Media production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3

Available now

35 minutes

Last on

Sun 24 Jan 2021 12:00

Music Played

  • Orlando Gibbons

    The Silver Swan

    Performer: Jamie Parker.
  • Orlando Gibbons

    The Silver Swan

    Choir: The Hilliard Ensemble. Conductor: Paul Hillier.
  • George Gershwin

    Rhapsody in Blue

    Performer: Peter Donohoe. Orchestra: London Sinfonietta. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
  • Henry Mancini

    Pie in the Face Polka

  • Gerald Finzi

    Clarinet Concerto (2nd mvt: Adagio)

    Performer: Robert Plane. Orchestra: Royal Northern Sinfonia. Conductor: Howard Griffiths.
  • Arthur Sullivan

    Dance a cachucha, fandango, bolero (The Gondoliers)

    Choir: D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus. Orchestra: New Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Isidore Godfrey.
  • Angela Morley

    Fiver's Vision (Watership Down)

    Conductor: Marcus Dods.
  • Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars

    Sweet Georgia Brown

Broadcast

  • Sun 24 Jan 2021 12:00

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