Radio 3's Soundscape of a Century

Original version

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

BBC Radio 3

Radio 3

Music: Classical

Press rewind on a century of the BBC with an epic 8-hour soundscape of archive and music.

Radio 3 invites listeners to press rewind on a century of the BBC, with an epic, eight-hour soundscape. Visit bbc.co.uk/soundscapeofacentury for the stories behind the music.

Radio 3 invites listeners to press rewind on a century of the BBC with an epic, eight-hour soundscape. Seismic events, cultural landmarks, unforgettable voices and BBC history, all woven together with the greatest classical music of the age. Radio 3's Soundscape of a Century is a sonic celebration, rather than an exhaustive timeline - an eclectic, joyful attempt to capture the spirit of the century, its music and culture, as heard on the BBC. For more information about the stories behind the music, visit bbc.co.uk/soundscapeofacentury.

Radio 3's Soundscape of a Century: 1930s

1930s

BBC Radio 3 - Radio 3's Soundscape of a Century, 1930s

Relive 100 years of the BBC: a soundscape of classical music and sounds from the archive.

Press rewind on a century of the BBC with an epic eight-hour soundscape: seismic events, cultural landmarks, unforgettable voices and BBC history intertwined with classical music.

The 1930s dawn and the BBC continues to launch new ideas, including the forerunner of the World Service and a newfangled invention, television. Meanwhile, some of the greatest composers of the 20th century are creating masterpieces: we hear music by Vaughan Williams, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Hindemith. The BBC reports as one king dies, another abdicates and a third is crowned. Hitler’s Berlin Olympics are dominated by the success of American athlete Jesse Owens as Europe moves inexorably towards war.

For more information about what you’re hearing, visit bbc.co.uk/soundscapeofacentury

Archive:
1938 Opening tour of BBC Broadcasting House
1932 Start of Empire (World) Service
1932 King George V makes Empire Service Christmas speech
1932 Prohibition raid on Al Capone
1936 TS Eliot reads Murder in the Cathedral 
1932 HG Wells lecture ‘Modern Conditions’
1936 Adolf Hitler opens the Berlin Olympics
1936 Footage of Jesse Owens winning gold at Berlin Olympics
1936 Opening night of BBC Television
1936 Newsreel announcement of death of George V
1936 Edward VIII broadcasts on BBC to abdicate throne
1938 Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds
1937 Thomas Woodrooffe commentary on The Coronation Review of the Fleet
1937 BBC news speaks to women who watched the Coronation 
1939 Despatch by Richard Dimbleby on refugees from Spanish Civil War
1939 News report of failed assassination of Hitler
1939 Neville Chamberlain addresses nation on BBC to declare war
1939 An evacuee speaks to BBC

Radio 3’s Soundscape of a Century is a sonic celebration, not a year-by-year chronology or a complete history, but an evocative soundtrack of the era, its music and culture, as heard on the BBC.

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.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Radio 3's Soundscape of a Century

1930s

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 3

About BBC Radio 3