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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: Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)

Composer of the Week: Darius Milhaud (1892-1974): Episode 1

Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)

Episode 1

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Darius Milhaud (1892-1974), Episode 1

Donald Macleod presents works reflecting Milhaud's relationship with Provence's landscape.

Donald Macleod presents works reflecting Milhaud's relationship with the Provencale landscape and his Jewish roots, including his Suite Provencale and a song from Poemes juifs.

Donald Macleod explores the globetrotting world of the 20th century French composer Darius Milhaud. A member of the influential group, Les Six, these days Milhaud's rather unfairly known through just a handful of works. In fact, as this week of his music demonstrates, he was a prolific composer who wrote in every imaginable style for every conceivable combination of instruments. At the time of his death, aged 81, in 1974, his catalogue contained over 440 works. 

One of the more fascinating aspects of Milhaud is how the veritable cocktail of musical genres he engaged with mirror his experiences in life. His Provençale childhood gave him a love of the landscape of Southern France and a pride in his ancient Jewish ancestry. A lifelong attachment to literature which began with the symbolist poets of his youth also found musical expression. A great admiration for the music of Debussy and a strong dislike of Wagner, juxtaposes with his interests in the avant garde movement and jazz clubs of 1920s Paris. A sojourn in Brazil during the first world war introduced the rhythms of Latin America, while a later spell in America encouraged a series of symphonies and chamber works. 

We begin the week with works that reflect this relationship with the Provençale landscape and his religious roots, including a song from his Poèmes juifs collection, settings of eight anonymous Jewish poems, a movement from his first string quartet, which he dedicated to the Aix-en-Provence born painter Cézanne, and his colourful tapestry of the sunlit colours of the region, Suite Provençale.

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 explores the life and work of prolific French composer Darius Milhaud

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of French composer Darius Milhaud. Once a member of the influential group Les Six, he was prolific, but known for a handful of works

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Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)

Episode 1

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