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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: Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

Composer of the Week: Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Episode 3: Elgar and the Gramophone Company

Elgar and the Gramophone Company

Episode 3

Episode 3: Elgar and the Gramophone Company

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Edward Elgar (1857-1934), Elgar and the Gramophone Company

Donald Macleod on how Elgar was moved by the war dead arriving at Charing Cross station.

Donald Macleod and Terry Charman explore how Elgar was moved by scenes of First World War dead arriving at Charing Cross station.

By the end of the Great War, Sir Edward Elgar couldn't compose any music to celebrate peace, disillusioned as he was by the whole period, which Donald Macleod explores in conversation with Terry Charman from the Imperial War Museum.

The Great War dragged on, and by 1916 the government was forced to introduce compulsory national service. Elgar found himself touring the North of England and Scotland, with morale-raising concerts and music including To Women from The Spirit of England. But Elgar was unwell even before the war started, and war events combined with his exhausting work were dragging him down. His wife Alice refused to let Elgar accept the offer of a conducting tour of Russia, due to his ill health. He still managed though to keep working on a theme or two of his, such as his incomplete Piano Concerto, and a jingoistic work Fight for Right.

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 Elgar during the First World War

Donald Macleod and Terry Charman from the Imperial War Museum explore the life and music of Elgar during the First World War, tracing how events affected him

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Composer of the Week

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

Episode 3: Elgar and the Gramophone Company

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