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Something Understood

Religion & Ethics

Ethical and religious discussion that examines some of the larger questions of life

Ethical and religious discussion that examines some of the larger questions of life, taking a spiritual theme and exploring it through music, prose and poetry

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Something Understood: Longing for Home

Longing for Home

06/12/2015

BBC Radio 4 - Something Understood, Longing for Home

The pianist Lucy Parham reflects on the yearning of the exile.

Starting from the experiences of Sergei Rachmaninov, the pianist Lucy Parham reflects on the yearning of those in exile.

The pianist Lucy Parham reflects on the yearning of those in exile.

"Losing my country, I lost also myself." The words of Russian emigre composer Sergei Rachmaninov. Far from home, he "left behind the very desire to compose". As a pianist herself, Lucy Parham has always been drawn to the music of Rachmaninov, widely revered as 'the pianist's pianist'.

Starting from the great composer's experience, Lucy considers the nature of exile. The words of other exiles and an interview with Nicholas Stadlen about South Africans exiled during apartheid are woven into a sequence of Rachmaninov's music.

Sir Nicholas Stadlen is a former High Court judge. He is a Visiting Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford where he is working on a book about the defendants and lawyers who took part in the Rivonia Trial at which Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison. He is also working on a documentary film on the same topic.

Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.

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