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Donald Macleod investigates Tom’s early death and asks if it was really as accidental as it was reported.

English composer, Thomas Linley The Younger, was destined to become one of the brightest musical stars of eighteenth century. No less a person than Mozart, who was also a personal friend, hailed him as a ‘true genius’. Even so, Linley’s life was troubled. He and his siblings were ruthlessly driven by their ambitious father. He saw his beloved sister become fodder for the celebrity-hungry gossip mongers of the British press and must have wondered if he might be next. He was forced to navigate a dangerous atmosphere of prurience and moral suspicion about the private lives of ‘theatre people’ like himself. A cloud of mystery hovers over Tom’s shocking and early death at the age of just 22. Donald Macleod is joined by Linley’s biographer, Tony Scotland, to shine a light on this charming and often enigmatic composer, alongside music by Tom and his circle.

Today, Donald reviews some of the unanswered questions that linger over the circumstances of Tom’s untimely demise – and Tony Scotland reveals the new evidence he’s discovered about what really happened.

J.C. Bach: Master Linley's Hornpipe
Gerald Gifford, harpsichord

Linley the Younger: A Lyric Ode on the Fairies, Aerial Beings and Witches of Shakespeare (Overture)
The Parley of Instruments Baroque Orchestra, Paul Nicholson

Linley the Younger: Daughter of Heav'n, fair art thou! 'Darthula'
Julia Gooding, soprano
The Parley of Instruments Baroque Orchestra, directed by Paul Nicholson

William Linley: Down in the gleamy vale
Invocation, directed by Timothy Roberts

Linley the Younger, Music for The Tempest (excerpts)
Julia Gooding, soprano
The Parley of Instruments Baroque Orchestra, directed by Paul Nicholson

Produced by Chris Taylor for Â鶹Éç Audio Wales & West