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The Emperor's New Clothes

Jane Austen, Dickens, Aldous Huxley and Jenny Joseph bring us ball gowns, wedding dresses, purple, and creases with music from Prokofiev, Strauss, Anoushka Shankar and PJ Harvey.

Jane Austen鈥檚 Catherine in Northanger Abbey wonders what she should wear to the ball, while Dickens鈥檚 Miss Havisham still wears her wedding clothes years after she was ditched. Aldous Huxley considers the folds in his trousers, and Diogenes folds his cloak in two for summer. Jenny Joseph threatens to wear purple when she is old, and the Emperor parades without any clothes at all. And in London Fashion Week we celebrate the wild and wonderful life and work of the late Vivienne Westwood. There鈥檚 music from Prokofiev鈥檚 Cinderella, Richard Strauss鈥檚 Salome, Anoushka Shankar, PJ Harvey and JS Bach. Our readers are Julia Winwood and Jonathan Keeble.

Producer in Salford: Nick Holmes

You might be interested in a discussion on Free Thinking about a poetry exhibition inspired by fashion at the National Poetry Library at London's Southbank Centre. Shahidha Bari discusses the display of writing by Gwendolyn Brooks, Stevie Smith, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath and Audre Lorde with the exhibition organisers Sarah Parker and Gesa Werner.

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Sun 19 Feb 2023 17:30
大象传媒 Radio 3

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Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • Jane Austen

    Northanger Abbey. Read by Julia Winwood

  • Charles Dickens

    Great Expectations. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:06

    A Hawk and a Hacksaw

    Bury Me in the Clothes I was Married In

    Performer: A Hawk and a Hacksaw.
    • LM Dupli-cation 鈥� LM 5.
    • 11.
  • 00:09

    JS Bach

    Sonata No. 2 for violin solo in A minor, BWV 1003 - Andante

    Performer: Sigiswald Kuijken.
    • Deutsche Harmonia Mundi GD77043.
    • 15.

  • Anne Carson

    Father's Old Blue Cardigan. Read by Julia Winwood

  • Gertrude Stein

    Tender Buttons (A Long Dress). Read by Julia Winwood

  • 00:15

    Jay Livingston

    Buttons and Bows

    Performer: Dinah Shore.
    • Memoir Records 669910292952.
    • 16.
  • 00:17

    Arthur Bliss

    The Lady of Shalott

    Orchestra: 大象传媒 Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Martin Yates.
    • Dutton CDLX7387.
    • 1.

  • Alfred Lord Tennyson

    The Lady of Shalott. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:21

    Anoushka Shankar

    Naked

    Performer: Anoushka Shankar.
    • Angel Records.
    • 4.

  • Martin Jenkins

    Diogenes the Cynic. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • Kahlil Gibran

    On Clothes. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:25

    David Bowie

    Fashion

    Performer: Joey Negro. Performer: The Sunburst Band.
    • Z Records 鈥� ZEDDCD013.
    • 5.

  • Hadley Freeman

    Vivienne Westwood, Read by Julia Winwood

  • Veronica Horwell

    Vivienne Westwood.Read by Julia Winwood

  • Billy Collins

    Taking off Emily Dickinson's Clothes. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:30

    Richard Strauss

    Salome: Dance of the Seven Veils

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Composer: Andris Nelsons.
    • Orfeo C803091A.
    • 23.

  • Katherine Mansfield

    A New Hymn. Read by Julia Winwood

  • 00:39

    Erik Satie

    Les Valses distinguees du precieux degoute no.2; Son binocle

    Performer: Alan Marks.
    • Decca 425208-2.
    • 8.
  • 00:41

    Lee Hazlewood

    These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

    Performer: Emilie鈥怌laire Barlow.
    • Empress Music Group EMG445.
    • 7.

  • Benjamin Zephaniah

    Vegan Steven's Vegan Clothes. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:45

    Bryn Terfel (bass baritone), Annette Bryn Parri (piano)

    La Boh猫 me; Act 4; Vecchia Zimarra, Senti

    • SAIN SCD 9099.
    • 13.

  • Hans Christian Andersen

    The Emperor's New Clothes . Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 00:51

    Ottorino Respighi

    Three Botticelli Pictures: The Adoration of the Magi

    Orchestra: City of London Sinfonia. Conductor: Richard Hickox.
    • Collins Classics 13492COL.
    • 5.

  • Aldous Huxley

    The Doors of Perception. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • L. M. Montgomery

    Anne of Green Gables. Read by Julia Winwood

  • 01:01

    Cole Porter

    Silk Stockings

    Singer: Don Ameche. Ensemble: Silk Stockings Orchestra. Conductor: Herbert Greene.
    • Masterworks Broadway G010003103140V.
    • 12.

  • Robert Herrick

    Upon Julia's Clothes. Read by Jonathan Keeble

  • 01:04

    PJ Harvey

    Dress (demo)

    Performer: PJ Harvey.
    • UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) 00602508901997.
    • 3.
  • 01:06

    William Walton

    As You Like It: The Forest of Arden

    Ensemble: English Serenata. Conductor: Guy Woolfenden.
    • Meridian Records 191018140649.
    • 23.

  • William Shakespeare

    As You Like It, Act I Scene III. Read by Julia Winwood

  • Jenny Joseph

    Warning. Read by Julia Winwood

  • 01:12

    Gogol Bordello

    Start Wearing Purple

    Performer: Gogol Bordello.
    • SideOneDummy Records AWD397095.
    • 9.

Broadcast

  • Sun 19 Feb 2023 17:30
    大象传媒 Radio 3

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