Our Classical Century

Presented by Suzy Klein and Sir Lenny Henry, this first programme captures the profound influence of the First World War on our classical music - how it affected a generation of musicians and composers and how the music they created became a crucial part of the nation's sense of identity. From the martial might of Mars in Gustav Holst's The Planets to the pastoral beauty of Vaughan Williams' much loved The Lark Ascending, this film tells the story of the music which brought together the United Kingdom. Suzy Klein and Sir Lenny Henry reveal the phenomenal popularity of the musical extravaganza Hiawatha by the now relatively unknown Coleridge-Taylor, and examine the enduring impact of the American Jazz-Age with Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Suzy and Lenny also look at how Hubert Parry's wartime composition to William Blake's poem Jerusalem became the anthem of the Suffragette movement and at how the opening of Glyndebourne saw the start of a new chapter for opera in Britain.

In episode two (1936-53), we explore the legacy of World War Two in defining a new artistic vision for Britain with the BBC’s World Affairs Editor, John Simpson CBE

From the films Brief Encounter and Bridge on the River Kwai, to the glamorous classical stars Jacqueline du Pré and Daniel Barenboim, this is the story of how classical music thrived in post-war Britain and found vast popular audiences. Suzy Klein and broadcaster and music lover Joan Bakewell explore a new world of musical collaborations with classical music – from Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar, Rick Wakeman and David Bowie, and Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic. Elizabeth II’s coronation was a remarkable showcase for British classical music. It was watched by millions on their new TV sets. Suzy explores how the BBC transformed the Last Night of the Proms into a live TV extravaganza under the baton of the dynamic ‘Flash Harry’, Malcolm Sargent. Joan Bakewell meets Sylvia Darley, his private secretary for 20 years, who reveals the ‘love affair’ between Sir Malcolm and the promenaders. TV was one medium that had grasped the potential of classical music – now film did too. David Lean had already co-opted Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto to unforgettable effect in Brief Encounter. Suzy reveals how Lean commissioned the piece which brought Oscar glory for Best Score to British composer Malcom Arnold in 1958, for Lean’s cinematic tour de force Bridge on the River Kwai. Arnold – an eclectic, dynamic and prolific composer - produced a powerful score for this film about prisoners in a Japanese camp building a bridge for the Burma Railway. Composer Neil Brand reflects on Arnold’s ability to conjure the pain and hardship of wartime imprisonment and forced labour. As the Sixties began, a piece deeply inspired by the wartime experience - The War Requiem - helped seal the reputation of composer Benjamin Britten. It was written for Coventry, a city devastated by WW2 bombing. An experiment in the healing power of music, it was a controversial choice for the reopening of Coventry Cathedral, as Britten was

Singer and actress, Alexandra Burke, joins Suzy in episode four (1980’s-present day) to bring the story up to the present day, looking at the ways in which the classical industry reinvented itself with a new breed of crossover artists to attract a new audience.