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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Composer of the Week: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Episode 5: The Manfred Problem

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Episode 5

Episode 5: The Manfred Problem

The Manfred Problem

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), The Manfred Problem

Donald Macleod re-evaluates Tchaikovsky's controversial Manfred Symphony of 1885.

Donald Macleod re-evaluates Tchaikovsky's controversial Manfred Symphony of 1885, presenting a rare complete performance by the Russian National Orchestra under Mikhail Pletnev.

Donald Macleod ends his week exploring Tchaikovsky's 'lost decade' with the black sheep of his orchestral oeuvre - a symphony that's not really a symphony; a work that the great conductor Leonard Bernstein called 'junk' and refused to perform; and yet one that contains some of the most beautiful and lyrical moments in his entire output.

At first, the composer adored his programmatic "Manfred Symphony" of 1885. Inspired by Lord Byron's poem, the process of writing the piece took him several anguished months - and yet, just a few months after he'd basked in satisfaction at its premiere, Tchaikovsky was to reject it forever. "Abominable", he said. "I loathe it deeply".

Since then, the work's been a pariah - included almost apologetically on box sets of complete Tchaikovsky symphonies. Time for a re-evaluation; Donald Macleod presents a rare complete performance by the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod investigates a little-known 'lost decade' in Tchaikovsky's life

Donald Macleod investigates a little-known 'lost decade' in Tchaikovsky's life - a period the composer spent aimlessly wandering around Europe writing songs, chamber works and religious choral music

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Episode 5: The Manfred Problem

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