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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: Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714-1788)

Composer of the Week: Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714-1788): Episode 1: The Belligerent Flautist

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Factual: Life Stories

Factual: History

Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714-1788)

Episode 1

Episode 1: The Belligerent Flautist

The Belligerent Flautist

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714-1788), The Belligerent Flautist

Donald Macleod on CPE Bach's work as a harpsichordist at the court of Frederick the Great.

Donald Macleod tells the story of CPE Bach's career as harpsichordist at the court of Frederick the Great.

The Belligerent Flautist

Imagine being JS Bach's son, growing up in a gigantic shadow with a great weight of expectation on your shoulders, and trying to earn a living as a composer. These days, almost inevitably, the career of Carl Philipp Emmanuel, Johann Sebastian's second son - and those of the other Bach children - are almost entirely obscured by the reputation of their father. But CPE Bach is the man of whom Mozart said, "he is the father, we are the children. Those of us who know anything at all learned it from him".

This week, Donald Macleod discovers that there's more to CPE Bach than his famous name. In Monday's programme, CPE finds a job at the court of the famously belligerent Frederick the Great of Prussia. When Frederick wasn't busy annexing parts of Europe, he liked nothing better than to play the flute, so an important part of CPE Bach's duties was to provide pieces for the king to perform, and to accompany him when he did. Music in the programme includes the Concerto for Flute in D minor, and an organ sonata written for Frederick's equally musical sister, Anna Amalia.

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 music of CPE Bach

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of CPE Bach, and discovers that there is more to him than his famous name

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Composer of the Week

Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714-1788)

Episode 1: The Belligerent Flautist

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