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Soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn with stories beneath the music

Soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn opens up a colourful selection of music from the inside, from the gentle pathos of a Beethoven piano sonata to the pithy humour of a Bernstein quartet.

Opera singer and song recitalist Elizabeth Llewellyn discovers a wide range of voices, from the perfection of Petula Clark’s folk style in the soundtrack to Finian’s Rainbow, to the never ending flexibility of Wynton Marsalis on the trumpet, and the unexpected beauty of a choir that breathes as one…

Elizabeth also explains why the lute-like guitar accompaniment and ground bass of a Joan Armatrading song makes it sound like baroque music, and plays a piece by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor with rhythmic twists and turns that keep her gripped.

Plus, a track Elizabeth danced to as a child that now has new meaning for her.

A series in which each week a musician explores a selection of music - from the inside.

A Tandem Production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3

1 hour, 56 minutes

Music Played

  • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

    Dawn (African Romances, Op. 17 No. 4)

    Performer: Simon Lepper. Singer: Elizabeth Llewellyn.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622 (II. Adagio)

    Performer: Martin Fröst. Orchestra: Royal Northern Sinfonia.
  • Burton Lane

    Look to the Rainbow (Finian's Rainbow)

    Lyricist: Yip Harburg. Singer: Petula Clark. Singer: Don Francks. Singer: Fred Astaire. Orchestra: MGM Studio Orchestra.
  • Frédéric Chopin

    Mazurka No. 13 in A minor, Op. 17 No. 4

    Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy.
  • Harry Belafonte & The Islanders

    When the Yankees Are Gone

  • Ralph Vaughan Williams

    Symphony No. 1, 'A Sea Symphony' (IV. The Explorers)

    Lyricist: Walt Whitman. Singer: Elizabeth Llewellyn. Singer: Marcus Farnsworth. Orchestra: ´óÏó´«Ã½ Symphony Orchestra. Choir: ´óÏó´«Ã½ Symphony Chorus. Conductor: Martyn Brabbins.
  • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

    Clarinet Quintet in F sharp minor (III. Scherzo)

    Performer: Anthony McGill. Ensemble: Catalyst Quartet.
  • Joan Armatrading

    Love And Affection

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595 (III. Allegro)

    Performer: Mitsuko Uchida. Orchestra: The Cleveland Orchestra.
  • Leonard Bernstein

    Life is Happiness Indeed (Candide)

    Singer: Della Jones. Singer: Jerry Hadley. Singer: June Anderson. Singer: Kurt Ollmann. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Leonard Bernstein.
  • Giuseppe Verdi

    Simon Boccanegra (Act 1, Prelude)

    Orchestra: Orchestra of La Scala, Milan. Conductor: Claudio Abbado.
  • Richard Strauss

    Violin Sonata in E flat major, Op. 18 (III. Andante - Allegro)

    Performer: Tasmin Little. Performer: Piers Lane.
  • Alessandro Scarlatti

    Si suoni la tromba (7 Arie con Tromba Sola)

    Performer: Wynton Marsalis. Singer: Kathleen Battle. Orchestra: Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Conductor: John Nelson.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90 (1st movement)

    Performer: Jörg Demus.
  • Frederick Loewe

    Brigadoon (Opening Chorus)

    Librettist: Alan Jay Lerner. Orchestra: MGM Studio Orchestra. Choir: MGM Studio Chorus.
  • Franz Schubert

    String Quintet in C, D. 956 (II. Adagio)

    Performer: Mstislav Rostropovich. Ensemble: Emerson String Quartet.
  • Marc Cohn & band

    Walking in Memphis

Broadcasts

  • Sat 19 Feb 2022 13:00
  • Sat 9 Dec 2023 13:00

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