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Long Life

With music from Arvo P盲rt, Elliott Carter, Holst and Richard Strauss and writing by authors including Diana Athill, Elaine Feinstein, Lewis Carroll, Roger McGough and WB Yeats.

Writings by Jan Morris, the world traveller who died in 2020 aged 94, begin and end this programme which explores the idea of longevity in humans and extraordinary lifespans in the natural world, such as whales, ocean quahogs and the redwood trees depicted in Richard Powers鈥 prize-winning novel 'The Overstory'. There are extracts from writers including Virginia Woolf and Tove Jansson and from George Bernard Shaw鈥檚 play 'Back to Methuselah' 鈥 whom the Bible claims lived to 969.

Music ranges from Arvo P盲rt鈥檚 'Sarah Was Ninety Years Old' based on Abraham鈥檚 wife in the Book of Genesis, to an 'Elegy' by Elliott Carter who lived to be 103, and music performed by Danish jazz violinist Svend Asmussen who lived to 100, British harpist Sidonie Goossens who lived until she was 105, and the pianist Menahem Pressler who died at the age of 99.

Our readers are Eileen O'Brien and Timothy West and the programme is repeated in tribute to Timothy West, who died aged 90, in November 2024.

Producers: Jenny Pitt and Lorna Newman

READINGS:
Jan Morris: In My Mind's Eye (A Thought Diary)
John Agard: Twilight Manoeuvring
Ruth Fainlight: Ageing
Joseph Edwards Carpenter: The King of the Southern Sea
Jonas Jonasson: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared
Tove Jansson: The Summer Book
Lewis Carroll: You Are Old, Father William
Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon (Musings of a Geriatric Starlet)
Matt Haig: How to Stop Time
Virginia Woolf: Orlando: A Biography
WB Yeats: Sailing to Byzantium
Steven N Austad: Methuselah's Zoo
Roger McGough: The Oldest Tree on Earth: The Curse of Methuselah (poem six)
George Bernard Shaw: Back to Methuselah
Diana Athill: Alive, Alive Oh! (And Other Things That Matter)
Richard Powers: The Overstory
Elaine Feinstein: Long Life
James Hilton: Lost Horizon

20 days left to listen

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Mon 30 Dec 2024 18:15

Music Played

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

  • 00:03

    Gustav Holst

    Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age (The Planets)

    Orchestra: New Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: Adrian Boult.
  • 00:08

    Giuseppe Verdi

    When you are old and full of tears (Macbeth)

    Singer: Thomas Allen. Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: David Parry.
  • 00:12

    Gioachino Rossini

    Enough of Memories, Let's Dance (Sins of Old Age)

    Performer: Frederic Chiu.
  • 00:16

    Alan Hovhaness

    And God created great whales, Op.229

    Orchestra: Seattle Symphony. Conductor: Gerard Schwarz.
  • 00:19

    Peter Warlock

    The Old Codger (4 Codpieces)

    Performer: John Bradbury. Performer: Richard Brown. Performer: Aly Zuntz.
  • 00:22

    Bill Withers

    Grandma's Hands

  • 00:25

    Anton铆n Dvo艡谩k

    Twilight Way (Poetic Tone Pictures, Op.85)

    Performer: Leif Ove Andsnes.
  • 00:28

    Aldous Hardiing

    Designer

  • 00:32

    Michael Nyman

    To Music (No Time in Eternity)

    Singer: Iestyn Davies. Ensemble: Fretwork.
  • 00:35

    David Motion

    Pavanne (Orlando - Soundtrack)

    Composer: Sally Potter. Orchestra: Studio Orchestra.
  • 00:39

    Frank Bridge

    When you are old

    Performer: Benjamin Britten. Singer: Peter Pears.
  • 00:42

    Arvo P盲rt

    Sarah Was Ninety Years Old

    Singer: Sarah Leonard. Singer: Rogers Covey鈥怌rump.
  • 00:46

    Elliott Carter

    Elegy

    Performer: Richard O'Neill. Performer: Anna Polonsky.
  • 00:52

    John Lewis

    If I were Eve

  • 00:56

    Claude Debussy

    Reverie

    Performer: Menahem Pressler.
  • 01:00

    Bernard van Dieren

    Estemporale no.2

    Performer: Sidonie Goossens.
  • 01:03

    Richard Strauss

    'Im Abendrot' from Four last songs

    Performer: Jessye Norman. Orchestra: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Conductor: Kurt Masur.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 21 May 2023 17:30
  • Mon 30 Dec 2024 18:15

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