Talking to my dentist, as one does, we discover a mutual enthusiasm for Radio Three’s Composer of the Week (Monday to Friday) and especially its presenter, Donald Macleod.
Talking to my dentist, as one does, we discover a mutual enthusiasm for Radio Three’s Composer of the Week (Monday to Friday) and especially its presenter, Donald Macleod. How does he do it? we both exclaimed. Each and every week he comes up with five hours of elegant, informative, entertaining script, interspersed with carefully chosen nuggets of music from major and minor figures in the classical world. It’s like listening to an audio encyclopaedia. But Macleod doesn’t just give us a catalogue of facts, figures, fugues and fanfares; he fills in the background, making sense of why the music is still important to us.
Take this week, for example, devoted to Pachelbel, mostly known and often reviled for that ubiquitous Canon in D (think Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People or the adverts for Ambrosia and British Gas).
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in