Plants' solutions to life's challenges are as ingenious and manipulative as any animal's.
Innovative time-lapse photography opens up a parallel world where plants act like fly-paper, or spring-loaded traps, to catch insects. Vines develop suckers and claws to haul themselves into the rainforest canopy. Every peculiar shape proves to have a clever purpose. The dragon's blood tree is like an upturned umbrella to capture mist and shade its roots. The seed of a Bornean tree has wings so aerodynamic they inspired the design of early gliders. The barrel-shaped desert rose is full of water. The heliconia plant even enslaves a humming bird and turns it into an addict for its nectar.
Professor Brian Cox visits some of the most stunning locations on earth to describe how the laws of nature have carved natural wonders across the solar system.
In this first episode Brian explores the powerhouse of them all, the sun. In India he witnesses a total solar eclipse - when the link to the light and heat that sustains us is cut off for a few precious minutes.
But heat and light are not the only power of the sun over the solar system. In Norway, Brian watches the battle between the sun's wind and earth, as the night sky glows with the northern lights.
Beyond earth, the solar wind continues, creating dazzling aurora on other planets. Brian makes contact with Voyager, a probe that has been travelling since its launch 30 years ago. Now 14 billion kilometres away, Voyager has just detected the solar wind is beginning to peter out. But even here we haven't reached the end of the sun's rule.
Brian explains how its greatest power, gravity, reaches out for hundreds of billions of kilometres, where the lightest gravitational touch encircles our solar system in a mysterious cloud of comets.
A motorbike racer is found dead and a girl is attacked by a dangerous dog. Clues to both crimes lead Wallander and the Ystad police to the local motorbike club, but are more powerful forces at play, and how far will they go to achieve their goals?
Drama based on events in the life of ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn. At the beginning of the 1960s, Fonteyn faces retirement from her career as a prima ballerina and a crisis in her marriage to Panamanian 'politician' Tito de Arias. When the much younger Rudolf Nureyev arrives on the scene, he transforms Margot's professional and personal life in a partnership celebrated around the world. But when Tito is shot and paralysed, the dancer faces an agonising choice about her future.
Four of the country's best young woodwind players battle it out in front of an audience and a distinguished panel of judges for a place in the final at the Wales Millennium Centre.
A guitarist, a harpist, a cellist and a violinist battle it out in front of an audience and a distinguished panel of judges for a place in the final at the Wales Millennium Centre.
The Great American Songbook is the heart and soul of America and Johnny Mercer is at the heart of the Great American Songbook. Produced by Clint Eastwood and directed by Bruce Ricker, this documentary tells the story of one of America's greatest songwriters and examines the enduring legacy of his songs.
SUNDAY 11 APRIL 2010
SUN 19:00 Legends (b00pv1l3)
Neil Sedaka: That's When the Music Takes Me
Documentary telling the story of songwriter and performer Neil Sedaka, the man behind some of the biggest smash hits in history, including Oh Carol, Is This the Way to Amarillo, Solitaire, Breaking up is Hard to Do, and Love Will Keep Us Together.
Sedaka was destined for life as a classical pianist when he was seduced by the raw sounds of rock 'n' roll. In the early sixties he recorded a string of teenage anthems such as Calendar Girl, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen and Breaking up is Hard to Do.
The arrival of the Beatles on the musical landscape signalled the end of Sedaka's singing career and he turned to writing songs for other artists such as the Monkees, Tom Jones and Tony Christie. But a move to England in the early 1970s was the launch pad for a remarkable comeback. He recorded with British band 10cc in Stockport before returning to the top of the American charts with Laughter in the Rain and Bad Blood.
In 2009, at the age of 70, Sedaka still has a huge following. He toured the UK to packed houses and released a new album, The Music of My Life. Singers Tony Christie and Connie Francis, musicians Graham Gouldman of 10cc and Jay Siegel of the Tokens, and Brill Building songwriting colleagues Don Kirshner and Carol Bayer Sager are among those paying tribute to the 'king of doobie-dos'.
SUN 20:00 Beautiful Minds (b00ry9jq)
Series 1
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Who are the modern men and women who will be remembered for the brilliance of their minds? What are their legacies and what can their extraordinary discoveries tell us about the nature of science and the nature of truth?
In the first of a three-part series, Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell describes how she discovered pulsars, the by-products of supernova explosions which make all life in the universe possible. She describes the moments of despair and jubilation as the discovery unfolded and her excitement as pulsars took the scientific world by storm.
Profoundly reflective about the nature of scientific discovery, she shares her thoughts on the connections between religion and science and describes how she see science as a search for understanding rather than a quest for truth.
SUN 21:00 ... Sings the Great American Songbook (b00rs3w4)
Presenting the best and most eclectic performances on the BBC from the world's best-known artists performing their interpretations of classic tracks from The Great American Songbook.
In chronological order, this programme takes us through a myriad of BBC studio performances, from Dame Shirley Bassey in 1966 performing The Lady is A Tramp, to Bryan Ferry in 1974 on Twiggy's BBC primetime show performing Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, to Captain Sensible on Top of the Pops in 1982 with his number one hit version of Happy Talk, through to Kirsty MacColl singing Miss Otis Regrets in 1994 to Jamie Cullum with his version of I Get a Kick Out Of You on Parkinson in 2004 and bang up to date with Brit winner Florence from Florence and the Machine performing My Baby Just Cares for Me with Jools Holland on his Annual Hootenanny at the end of 2009.
The Great American Songbook can best be described as the music and popular songs of the famous and prolific American composers of the 1920s and onwards. Composers such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Hoagy Carmichael to name but a few... songwriters who wrote the tunes of Broadway theatre and Hollywood musicals that earned enduring popularity before the dawning of rock 'n' roll.
These famous songwriters have penned songs which have entered the general consciousness and which are now best described as standards - tunes which every musician and singer aspires to include in their repertoire.
SUN 22:00 BBC Four Sessions (b00ry9mr)
The Great American Songbook
Highlights of a unique gathering of eclectic artists at Air Studios in London to celebrate the songs and composers of the Great American Songbook.
Paolo Nutini sings the classic composition Nature Boy, popularised by Nat King Cole, and has fun with the songs of Louis Prima. Melody Gardot enigmatically explores the songbooks of Cole Porter and Harold Arlen, while Claire Martin swings it and performs classic songs by Rodgers and Hart, and Irving Berlin.
Sharleen Spiteri presents her accomplished interpretation of the Billie Holiday classic God Bless the Child and Gwyneth Herbert reinterprets the Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn classic Love Me or Leave Me with loops and beats. Jose James delivers a smooth and swinging version of Just Squeeze Me, a song made popular by Duke Ellington, while Krystle Warren performs a bluesy version of Cole Porter's risque Love for Sale and a string-laden performance of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.
The session is a celebration of the music and popular songs of the famous and prolific American composers of the 1920s and onwards. Composers such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Rodgers and Hammerstein and Hoagy Carmichael, to name but a few - composers who wrote the tunes of Broadway theatre and Hollywood musicals that earned enduring popularity before the dawning of rock 'n' roll.
These songwriters have penned songs that have entered the general consciousness and which are now best described as standards - tunes which every musician and singer aspires to include in their repertoire, such as Over the Rainbow, Cheek to Cheek, Love for Sale, Love Me or Leave Me, Get Out of Town and The Lady Is a Tramp.
SUN 23:00 Mad Men (b00rxbkb)
Series 3
The Grown-Ups
As America mourns for the assassinated President Kennedy, Betty faces up to the disintegration of her marriage to Don. Pete discovers he has lost out to Cosgrove, and Roger prepares for his daughter's wedding.
SUN 23:45 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00dzzv2)
Part I
Concentrating on the 1970s (1969 to 1981 to be exact) and ransacking a host of BBC shows from The Old Grey Whistle Test to Sight & Sound, this compilation is designed to release the air guitarist in everyone, combining great electric guitarists like Carlos Santana, Mark Knopfler, The Edge and Peter Green with acoustic masters like John Martyn, Pentangle and Paco Pena.
SUN 00:45 BBC Young Musician (b00b9yyx)
2008
Brass
Four of the UK's most talented brass players battle it out in front of an audience and a distinguished panel of judges for a place in the final at the Wales Millennium Centre. The finalists include a twelve-year-old trombone player who is the youngest musician remaining in the competition.
SUN 01:45 BBC Four Sessions (b00ry9mr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
SUN 02:45 Mad Men (b00rxbkb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 today]
SUN 03:35 Beautiful Minds (b00ry9jq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
MONDAY 12 APRIL 2010
MON 19:00 World News Today (b00s01jy)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
MON 19:30 The Genius of Omar Khayyam (b00rs21m)
Filmed in part across Iran during the run up to the 2009 election and presented by Sadeq Saba.
Born almost 1000 years ago in Persia, Omar Khayyam was an astronomer, mathematician and poet. His contribution to algebra and geometry has sealed his reputation as one the greatest mathematicians of all time; and a lunar crater has been named after him for his advances in astronomy.
Omar Khayyam lived during a medieval golden age of science and learning in the East. He was among a group of pioneering scientists who were influenced by ideas from ancient Greece, India and China. The film reveals how Islam and the advancement of science went hand in hand.
In the West, Khayyam is best known for the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam most famously translated by a Victorian man of letters called Edward Fitzgerald. Published in 1859, the same year as Darwin's On the Origin of Species, the film shows how and why the Rubaiyat became one of the most famous poems in the English language, attracting a who's who of literary admirers including Thomas Hardy, TS Eliot and Arthur Conan Doyle.
A decade after its success in England, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam was published in America where its message of live for the day instantly captured the public imagination. Its popularity spawned all sorts of products including Omar tooth powder, playing cards, and the first illustrated editions of the Rubaiyat. America's favourite poet, Walt Whitman was a fan, and soldiers took miniature copies of the Rubaiyat to the battleground.
Omar Khayyam remains a significant figure in present day Iran, and the film explores why despite his apparent religious scepticism, Khayyam's philosophy continues to resonate with modern Iranians.
MON 20:30 Only Connect (b00s01xk)
Series 3
Gamblers v Strategists
Quiz show presented by Victoria Coren in which knowledge will only take you so far, as patience and lateral thinking are also vital.
In the series final, cunning and tactics combine with logic, recall and tangential inspiration, as three committed Gamblers resist the temptation to take too many risks and the Strategists fight the impulse to err on the side of caution. Whose approach will win out in this battle of the giants?
They'll compete to draw together the connections between elements which at first glance seem utterly random, from Captain Scarlet to Reg Cox to Marty Hopkirk to Arnold J Rimmer.
MON 21:00 Goldsmiths: But Is It Art? (b00s01xm)
Episode 1
Goldsmiths is renowned for producing a generation of well-known contemporary artists, including the likes of Damien Hirst and five other Turner prize winners. But what is behind its unrivalled reputation for producing the art stars of the future?
The first in a two-part documentary follows a group of student artists from Goldsmiths as they struggle to make art and a name for themselves during the run up to their final masters show, where dealers and collectors jostle to sign up the latest art sensation.
The artists are all desperate to make the kind of work that will propel them to centre stage in the art world, but only a chosen few will succeed. The film explores the culture of contemporary art through the ambitions, influences and attitudes of the next generation of young British artists.
MON 22:00 imagine... (b00lp2r2)
Summer 2009
Rufus Wainwright, Prima Donna
Alan Yentob explores the rapid rise of one of modern music's most mercurial talents, Rufus Wainwright.
Wainwright talks candidly about his background, his family of musical luminaries (father Loudon Wainwright III, mother Kate McGarrigle and sister Martha Wainwright), his troubled personal history with drugs and the tensions that have informed his music.
The film also follows his journey into the classical world as he creates his very first opera, Prima Donna.
MON 23:00 The Genius of Omar Khayyam (b00rs21m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
MON 00:00 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00lk48h)
Part II
A celebration of Seventies-era axe-men, acoustic virtuosos and thumping riff merchants, in a compilation of guitar-heavy performances from the BBC TV archives.
Guitar gods including Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Peter Green and Johnny Winter are joined by, among others, flamenco maestro Manitas De Plata, bottleneck bluesman Ry Cooder and straight-up rockers AC/DC and Thin Lizzy.
Everything from Fleetwood Mac's ambient masterpiece Albatross to hits like The Jam's In The City and Free's All Right Now feature along with lesser-known gems like Maid in Heaven by Be Bop Deluxe and Nils Lofgren's Keith Don't Go.
The tracks were recorded in the heyday of BBC shows such as The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top of the Pops and Rock Goes to College.
MON 01:00 BBC Young Musician (b00b9yzy)
2008
Percussion
Four of the UK's most talented percussionists battle it out in front of an audience and a distinguished panel of judges for a place in the final at the Wales Millennium Centre.
MON 02:00 Goldsmiths: But Is It Art? (b00s01xm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
MON 03:00 Only Connect (b00s01xk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
MON 03:30 Goldsmiths: But Is It Art? (b00s01xm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUESDAY 13 APRIL 2010
TUE 19:00 World News Today (b00s023h)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
TUE 19:30 London to Brighton in Four Minutes (b00dttsc)
An undercranked film of a train journey from London to Brighton. The camera is positioned on the front of the train and nothing is in shot except the view forward.
TUE 19:35 Around the World by Zeppelin (b00qpjpr)
In 1929, for the first time in history a Graf Zeppelin circumnavigated the globe. Beneath the enormous airship hung a gondola to accommodate the lucky passengers and crew for the duration of the 21-day voyage, among them the young journalist Lady Grace Drummond-Hay, reporting for the Hearst media empire. Based upon her letters and diaries and told exclusively through archival and newsreel film from the time, this film relives the incredible voyage.
As a crew of forty kept the zeppelin in the air, Lady Grace feasted her eyes on the world's major cities, white alpine peaks, oceans and swamps, and fell in love with a married man. Rare archival footage gives glimpses of day-to-day life in a zeppelin gondola, Grace listening to one of her fellow passengers playing the accordion, the repair of a tear in the cloth shell during the flight, the sleeping cabins and lounge, and the splendid views from the windows. The film offers a fascinating look into the world of the roaring twenties which would soon be gone forever.
TUE 21:00 Small Island (b00pdyh3)
Episode 1
Lives and loves entwine in Andrea Levy's award-winning story of Jamaicans and Londoners involved in the Second World War.
London 1948: Hortense joins Gilbert, her new husband, in England, where he is lodging with Queenie Bligh. The women have both married in unpromising circumstances as love is a luxury neither can afford. As Hortense remembers her life in Jamaica and the profound love she had for Michael and his betrayal of her, Queenie also remembers her night of passion with the same Michael when her husband was away at war. Initially suspicious of each other, will they uncover the secret they share?
TUE 22:30 TV's Black Pioneers (b0074tln)
Documentary highlighting the experiences, trials and tribulations of the first generation of black African-Caribbean actors that worked in UK theatre, film and television during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. They recount their lives in the acting profession through personal testimony which is illustrated by the use of archive film and photography. Contributors include Cy Grant, Joan Hooley, George Harris, Mona Hammond, Rudolph Walker and Jim Pines.
TUE 23:00 A Man from the Sun (b0074nt1)
Groundbreaking docudrama from 1956 exploring the experiences of the then 75,000 West Indians who had newly settled in this country and the disparity they found between the mythical Britain and the real Britain.
TUE 00:00 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00llh2f)
Part III
Compilation of classic archive performances from the guitar gods of the late 60s and 70s. Status Quo appear playing Pictures of Matchstick Men on Top of the Pops in 1968, The Who perform Long Live Rock in the Old Grey Whistle Test studio, Dire Straits play Tunnel of Love and Lynyrd Skynyrd bring a taste of the Deep South with Sweet Home Alabama. The show also features rare performances from George Benson, Leo Kottke, Link Wray and Tom Petty.
TUE 01:00 BBC Young Musician (b00b9z6n)
2008
Keyboard
Four of the UK's most talented pianists battle it out in front of an audience and a distinguished panel of judges for a place in the final at the Wales Millennium Centre.
TUE 02:00 TV's Black Pioneers (b0074tln)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:30 today]
TUE 02:30 Around the World by Zeppelin (b00qpjpr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:35 today]
TUE 03:55 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00llh2f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
00:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 14 APRIL 2010
WED 19:00 World News Today (b00s04qm)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
WED 19:30 What Darwin Didn't Know (b00h6sbt)
Documentary which tells the story of evolution theory since Darwin postulated it in 1859 in 'On the Origin of Species'.
The theory of evolution by natural selection is now scientific orthodoxy, but when it was unveiled it caused a storm of controversy, from fellow scientists as well as religious people. They criticised it for being short on evidence and long on assertion and Darwin, being the honest scientist that he was, agreed with them. He knew that his theory was riddled with 'difficulties', but he entrusted future generations to complete his work and prove the essential truth of his vision, which is what scientists have been doing for the past 150 years.
Evolutionary biologist Professor Armand Marie Leroi charts the scientific endeavour that brought about the triumphant renaissance of Darwin's theory. He argues that, with the new science of evolutionary developmental biology (evo devo), it may be possible to take that theory to a new level - to do more than explain what has evolved in the past, and start to predict what might evolve in the future.
WED 21:00 Beautiful Minds (b00s04qp)
Series 1
James Lovelock
Great minds don't think alike. In fact, offbeat thinking has led to some of the greatest scientific discoveries of our age.
In the second of a three-part series uncovering the minds behind some of the greatest scientific discoveries of our age, James Lovelock explains how his maverick way of thinking led him not only to technical breakthroughs in atmospheric detection systems on Earth and Mars, but also to Gaia - a new way of thinking about the Earth as a holistic, self-regulating system.
He tells of his struggle against the scientific consensus of the day, the ridicule of his peers and his passionate belief that the mainstream scientific establishment stifles intellectual creativity.
WED 22:00 Mad Men (b00s01fs)
Series 3
Shut the Door, Have a Seat
Sterling, Cooper, Draper and Pryce come up with a cunning plan to avoid being sold to McCann. Betty and Don begin to formalise a divorce. Betty kicks Don out of the house and leaves for Reno to commence a six-week residency requirement with Henry Francis. Is this the end?
WED 22:45 Outnumbered (b00rzmqn)
Series 3
Episode 1
The award-winning comedy returns, as Gran takes the Brockman family for a day's sightseeing in London. Karen is unimpressed with modern art, Jake suffers serious trauma when he is unable to text, and one of the family uses a visit to HMS Belfast for a brief re-enactment of the Second World War.
WED 23:15 Flight of the Conchords (b00kgbcx)
Series 2
A Good Opportunity
Since his success managing the Crazy Doggs, Murray is in a big office downtown and doesn't have enough time to devote to the Conchords, so Bret and Jemaine fire him. But when they get a job doing the advertising jingle for Femident toothpaste they realise there were things Murray did behind the scenes.
WED 23:40 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00pjk73)
Part IV
Series featuring legendary guitarists treading the boards and trading licks at the BBC studios.
This edition kicks off with big hits from The Rolling Stones and David Bowie before taking things down a notch with the acoustic picking of Michael Chapman and the Irish mysticism of Horslips.
However, it's not long before the likes of Motorhead, Nazareth and straight-up blues rocker George Thorogood turn the volume right back up to 11. A spot of flamenco from Paco De Lucia and a classic track from Strat master Eric Clapton round off the show.
Filmed in the 1970s for shows including Top of the Pops, Parkinson, Rock Goes to College and the Old Grey Whistle Test, these rocking tracks leave viewers wondering why pianos were ever invented.
WED 00:40 What Darwin Didn't Know (b00h6sbt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 02:10 Beautiful Minds (b00s04qp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WED 03:10 Flight of the Conchords (b00kgbcx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:15 today]
THURSDAY 15 APRIL 2010
THU 19:00 World News Today (b00s058z)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Only Connect (b00s01xk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 on Monday]
THU 20:00 Timeshift (b00rm508)
Series 9
Bread: A Loaf Affair
The aptly-named Tom Baker narrates a tale of aspiration, industrialisation and plain old-fashioned snobbery in a documentary which unwraps the story of the rise of the popular loaf and how it has shaped the way we eat.
Historically, to know the colour of one's bread was to know one's place in life. For centuries, ordinary people ate brown bread that was about as easy on the teeth as a brick. Softer, refined white bread was so expensive to make that it became the preserve of the rich. Affordable white bread was the baker's holy grail - but almost as soon as it became possible to achieve, dietary experts began to trumpet the virtues of brown. Not surprisingly, the British public proved reluctant to give up their white loaves, and even a war couldn't change their eating habits.
THU 21:00 In Search of the Perfect Loaf (b00rm55q)
Documentary which follows award-winning artisan baker Tom Herbert in his search to bake a loaf that will win him first prize at the National Organic Food Awards.
Tom Herbert's family have been baking bread in the Cotswolds for five generations. Tom started baking with his father and grandfather and at 16 began his formal apprenticeship. Fresh out of college, he won Young Baker of the Year and now, at 32, Tom continues to win awards for the family firm, Hobbs House Bakery.
Tom is passionate about handmade bread and critical of what he describes as the 'plastic-wrapped pap' of the mass-produced bread market. However, given that sales of handmade bread only account for 2 per cent of the market, Tom has his work cut out if he is to convert more people to the joys of handmade bread.
Tom's quest to make the perfect loaf takes him to Cornwall to meet archaeologist Jacquie Wood, to learn how our ancestors might have baked bread. At the medieval water mill at Stanway House in Gloucestershire he meets Professor Brian Reuben, a leading authority on the history of bread, and he visits Brackman's Jewish bakery in Salford run by third generation baker, Andrew Adelman. Here, Tom learns how to make the specialist Jewish bread challah and meets the rabbi who, on his daily inspection of the baking methods and ingredients, ensures that they conform to Jewish religious law.
Tom's journey helps him to come up with what he hopes will be a competition-winning loaf for the National Organic Food Awards - a huge two-kilo, white, spelt, sourdough loaf made using his family's 40-year-old sourdough, organic spelt from Somerset, Cornish sea salt and Cotswold water from a local spring. Tom names it 'The Shepherd's Loaf'. But while it's his perfect loaf, will the judges agree?
THU 22:00 Wallander (b00s0tsl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Saturday]
THU 23:25 Beautiful Minds (b00s04qp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:25 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00pjl55)
Part V
Series featuring legendary guitarists treading the boards and trading licks at the BBC studios. Expect riffs, solos and histrionics from the likes of Johnny Thunders of The New York Dolls, Brian May from Queen, Duane Eddy, BB King and Joan Jett, filmed in the 1970s for shows including Top of the Pops and The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Complete line-up:
Alice Cooper - School's Out
New York Dolls - Jet Boy
Peter Green - Heavy Heart
Queen - Killer Queen
Robin Trower - Alethea
Duane Eddy and the Rebelettes - Play Me Like You Play Your Guitar
John Martyn - Discover the Lover
Budgie - Who Do You Want For Your Love
Peter Frampton - Show Me the Way
BB King - When It All Comes Down
Whitesnake - Trouble
Cheap Trick - I Want You to Want Me
Black Sabbath - Never Say Die
The Skids - Into the Valley
Joan Jett - I Love Rock 'n' Roll.
THU 01:25 BBC Young Musician (b00bf2w2)
2008
Grand Final
Grand final from the iconic Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Five exceptionally talented musicians perform with a full concert orchestra in front of an audience and a panel of expert judges, before just one is crowned the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2008.
THU 03:30 Beautiful Minds (b00s04qp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Wednesday]
FRIDAY 16 APRIL 2010
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00s05mg)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 BBC Young Musician (b00s06v3)
2010
Brass
Clemency Burton-Hill introduces BBC Young Musician 2010. Over 300 of the UK's best young musicians entered this year's competition and just 25 were chosen to go through to the five category finals - brass, keyboard, strings, woodwind and percussion.
In the brass final, five young people compete at the BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff for the title of category winner and an all-important place in the competition semi-final. Expect tension, drama and some exceptional performances, with music by Strauss, Schumann and Fasch.
FRI 21:00 The Songs of Nick Drake: Way to Blue (b00s06v5)
Filmed at the Barbican in January 2010 and curated by Joe Boyd, producer and general champion of Nick Drake, 90 minutes of performance highlights from a diverse but renowned cast of modern day troubadours.
Presenting their own interpretations of Drake's songs are Vashti Bunyan, Green Gartside, Lisa Hannigan, Scott Matthews, Teddy Thompson, Krystle Warren, Robyn Hitchcock, Kirsty Almeida and Harper Simon.
A celebration of the songs of Nick Drake, the concert features the original orchestrations of Nick's friend, the late Robert Kirby. It includes a house band anchored by Danny Thompson, the legendary bassist who played on Drake's first two albums.
Highlights include Teddy Thompson's version of the timeless River Man, Lisa Hannigan's haunting and compelling version of Black Eyed Dog, Krystle Warren's bluesy take on Time Has Told Me, Robyn Hitchcock's psychedelic spin on Parasite and Neil MacColl's accomplished rendition of the classic Northern Sky.
During his lifetime Nick Drake found little mainstream success, but since his death at the untimely age of 26 in 1974 he has been revered as one of the most influential and important English songwriters of his era.
FRI 22:30 Nick Drake: A Skin Too Few (b0074ngy)
Nick Drake is one of rock's most tragically romantic figures. There were only 26 years between his birth and his death - a time span that for many would be far too short to develop a talent, or realise an ambition or dream. Nick Drake encaptured time, beauty, loss and wistful desires with precision in subtle songs.
One autumn morning in 1974, his parents were unable to wake their son. Nick Drake died silently and unobtrusively, and to this day it isn't clear whether his death was self-determined or unintentional. The significance of the three albums he left the world was only discovered two decades after his quiet passing. Now his music is more popular than ever and appears in big film productions and television commercials.
The testimonies in A Skin Too Few describe an artist of integrity who symbolises the destructive effect of loneliness.
FRI 23:20 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00plj0l)
Part VI
In this sixth and final show to round out the Guitar Heroes series, axe fans get classic riffs from Pete Townshend as The Who play Won't Get Fooled Again, Rod and Ronnie with The Faces doing Miss Judy's Farm at the old BBC TV Theatre, some weird yodel-rock from Dutch prog rockers Focus, folky acoustic numbers from Davey Graham and Ralph McTell, and some flamboyant fretwork from Americans Nils Lofgren and Ted Nugent.
Filmed in the 1970s for shows including Top of the Pops and The Old Grey Whistle Test, these tracks pay tribute to a golden era in rock and to the last of the 70s Guitar Heroes.
Complete line-up:
The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
The Faces - Miss Judy's Farm
Focus - Hocus Pocus
Man - Day and Night
Chris Spedding - Motor Bikin'
Nils Lofgren - Back It Up
The Cate Brothers - In One Eye and Out the Other
Ralph McTell - Dry Bone Rag
The Runaways - Wasted
The Motors - Dancing the Night Away
Ted Nugent - Free For All
The Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love
Gary Moore - Back on the Streets
Judas Priest - Take on the World
Davey Graham - City and Suburban Blues
ZZ Top - Cheap Sunglasses.
FRI 00:20 The Songs of Nick Drake: Way to Blue (b00s06v5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 01:50 Nick Drake: A Skin Too Few (b0074ngy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:30 today]
FRI 02:40 BBC Young Musician (b00s06v3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
... Sings the Great American Songbook
21:00 SUN (b00rs3w4)
A Man from the Sun
23:00 TUE (b0074nt1)
Arena
01:55 SAT (b00rwxsv)
Around the World by Zeppelin
19:35 TUE (b00qpjpr)
Around the World by Zeppelin
02:30 TUE (b00qpjpr)
BBC Four Sessions
22:00 SUN (b00ry9mr)
BBC Four Sessions
01:45 SUN (b00ry9mr)
BBC Young Musician
23:55 SAT (b00b9yxh)
BBC Young Musician
00:55 SAT (b00b9yyd)
BBC Young Musician
00:45 SUN (b00b9yyx)
BBC Young Musician
01:00 MON (b00b9yzy)
BBC Young Musician
01:00 TUE (b00b9z6n)
BBC Young Musician
01:25 THU (b00bf2w2)
BBC Young Musician
19:30 FRI (b00s06v3)
BBC Young Musician
02:40 FRI (b00s06v3)
Beautiful Minds
20:00 SUN (b00ry9jq)
Beautiful Minds
03:35 SUN (b00ry9jq)
Beautiful Minds
21:00 WED (b00s04qp)
Beautiful Minds
02:10 WED (b00s04qp)
Beautiful Minds
23:25 THU (b00s04qp)
Beautiful Minds
03:30 THU (b00s04qp)
Flight of the Conchords
23:15 WED (b00kgbcx)
Flight of the Conchords
03:10 WED (b00kgbcx)
Goldsmiths: But Is It Art?
21:00 MON (b00s01xm)
Goldsmiths: But Is It Art?
02:00 MON (b00s01xm)
Goldsmiths: But Is It Art?
03:30 MON (b00s01xm)
Guitar Heroes at the BBC
23:45 SUN (b00dzzv2)
Guitar Heroes at the BBC
00:00 MON (b00lk48h)
Guitar Heroes at the BBC
00:00 TUE (b00llh2f)
Guitar Heroes at the BBC
03:55 TUE (b00llh2f)
Guitar Heroes at the BBC
23:40 WED (b00pjk73)
Guitar Heroes at the BBC
00:25 THU (b00pjl55)
Guitar Heroes at the BBC
23:20 FRI (b00plj0l)
In Search of the Perfect Loaf
21:00 THU (b00rm55q)
Legends
19:00 SUN (b00pv1l3)
Life
19:00 SAT (b00p90d6)
London to Brighton in Four Minutes
19:30 TUE (b00dttsc)
Mad Men
23:00 SUN (b00rxbkb)
Mad Men
02:45 SUN (b00rxbkb)
Mad Men
22:00 WED (b00s01fs)
Margot
22:25 SAT (b00p510x)
Margot
03:35 SAT (b00p510x)
Nick Drake: A Skin Too Few
22:30 FRI (b0074ngy)
Nick Drake: A Skin Too Few
01:50 FRI (b0074ngy)
Only Connect
20:30 MON (b00s01xk)
Only Connect
03:00 MON (b00s01xk)
Only Connect
19:30 THU (b00s01xk)
Outnumbered
22:45 WED (b00rzmqn)
Small Island
21:00 TUE (b00pdyh3)
TV's Black Pioneers
22:30 TUE (b0074tln)
TV's Black Pioneers
02:00 TUE (b0074tln)
The Genius of Omar Khayyam
19:30 MON (b00rs21m)
The Genius of Omar Khayyam
23:00 MON (b00rs21m)
The Songs of Nick Drake: Way to Blue
21:00 FRI (b00s06v5)
The Songs of Nick Drake: Way to Blue
00:20 FRI (b00s06v5)
Timeshift
20:00 THU (b00rm508)
Wallander
21:00 SAT (b00s0tsl)
Wallander
22:00 THU (b00s0tsl)
What Darwin Didn't Know
19:30 WED (b00h6sbt)
What Darwin Didn't Know
00:40 WED (b00h6sbt)
Wonders of the Solar System
20:00 SAT (b00rf172)
World News Today
19:00 MON (b00s01jy)
World News Today
19:00 TUE (b00s023h)
World News Today
19:00 WED (b00s04qm)
World News Today
19:00 THU (b00s058z)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b00s05mg)
imagine...
22:00 MON (b00lp2r2)