Programme Information

Culled from his record collection of 250,000 titles, Desmond Carrington plays a broad mixture of music from the 20th century, and a little from the 21st, in his weekly Friday night show.

This week Desmond takes the theme of the Thirties – a decade of dance bands and escapism.

Presenter/Desmond Carrington, Producer/Dave Aylott for Foldback Media

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Actress Miranda Raison joins Claudia Winkleman for this week's Arts Show. Miranda – star of BBC One's hit drama Spooks, in which she plays Jo Portman – is currently playing the role of Anne Boleyn at The Globe Theatre in London.

Presenter/Claudia Winkleman, Producer/Jessica Rickson for the BBC

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

BBC PROMS 2010
Performance On 3 – Prom 9

Friday 23 July

7.30-9.45pm BBC RADIO 3

• www.bbc.co.uk/proms
• Press pack

Petroc Trelawny introduces more coverage of the BBC Proms, live from London's Royal Albert Hall.

Vasily Sinaisky, the BBC Philharmonic's chief guest conductor, is a champion of both Russian and English repertoire, and this Prom draws these two passions together. The evening opens with the first Proms performance of Parry's Symphonic Fantasia, and closes with Tchaikovsky's swansong, his Pathétique Symphony.

At the centre of the BBC Philharmonic's first appearance this season is Scriabin's Piano Concerto, with Argentinean soloist Nelson Goerner, whose performances of the great Romantic concertos are much admired. A relatively early work, the influence of Chopin on Scriabin's music can be clearly detected here.

This Prom will be repeated on Tuesday 27 July at 2pm.

Presenter/Petroc Trelawny, Producer/Mike George

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Sofia Tolstoy, the wife of Count Leo Tolstoy, kept a diary for most of her life. It offers a fascinating chronicle of her marriage to the great Russian writer, and a vivid account of the trials and tribulations of her daily life.

The selected extract focuses on the summer of 1897, when Sofia and Leo are approaching their 35th wedding anniversary. Turbulence characterises their relationship, and while there are moments of passion and tenderness, tensions are also apparent.

Leo is a demanding and difficult man, and it is Sofia who ensures her husband's needs are met. She also manages the estate where they live, and her responsibilities as mother to nine children place further demands on her time. However, amid the demands of daily life, she finds solace in the beautiful landscape around her, swimming in the nearby river and, more contentiously, her friendship with the composer, Taneyev.

Producer/Elizabeth Allard

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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WOMAD 2010
World On 3 – Live At Womad 2010

Friday 23 July

11.15pm-1.00am BBC RADIO 3

British band Chumbawamba

Andrew McGregor, Lopa Kothari and Lucy Duran present a weekend of broadcasts from the leading festival of world music, Womad, live from Charlton Park in Wiltshire.

Tonight listeners can hear: Congolese award-winners Staff Benda Bilili and roots reggae veteran Horace Andy on the Open Air Stage; Chinagrass ensemble Hanggai from inner Mongolia in the Siam Tent; plus English folk radicals Chumbawamba and Caribbean dance band Ska Cubano on BBC Radio 3's own stage in the Arboretum. There are also interviews and truck sessions, kicking off a weekend of live broadcasting from Womad 2010.

This year BBC Radio 3 marks 10 years at Womad, and the Radio 3 Stage continues the tradition of hosting a unique mix of new and emerging artists.

Presenters/Lucy Duran, Lopa Kothari and Andrew McGregor, Producer/Roger Short

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Ten years ago, an American Army officer hid some items in a bucket and plotted their location using a Global Positioning System (GPS) for others to find. GPS is now a global phenomenon, and Ian Peacock tracks the rising popularity of geocaching, a technological treasure hunt.

There are now more than a million caches in the world; some travel while others are stationery – there's even one at the bottom of the Antarctic. It's a multi-billion dollar industry that has billions hooked.

Ian begins his quest as a "muggler" – a non-geocacher – so it's with some scepticism that he begins his first hunt for a cache. His geocaching mentors, "The Bloringers", explain to him that it's really more about the journey than the actual prize, and it's not long before Ian begins to get hooked.

As well as embarking on a travel bug race with his producer, Ian meets the internet millionaire who gave up work to pursue geocaching as his full-time hobby and holds the British record for number of caches found; he treks up a mountain with a couple hot on the tail of the record holder; and he speaks to an autistic student who explains why geocaching is so appealing to him.

Ian also sets his very own BBC Radio 4 audio-cache where he hopes that those who find it will leave a short recording about their experience of hunting for it.

However, anti-terrorist squads and environmentalists are less keen on geocaching. The furtive nature of urban geocaching, necessary to avoid vandalism to caches, can arouse suspicion, and people often adopt disguises to go unnoticed.

Ian discovers that geocaching seems to be an unstoppable force.

Presenter/Ian Peacock, Producer/Sarah Langan for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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David Adams is half-way through a five-year contract as principal conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra when things start to go wrong. A row with the brass section leads to a dressing down by the board. Suddenly David is experiencing a deep crisis of confidence. David wonders how this has happened and whether he will be able to recover his self-belief sufficiently to return to the podium and win the orchestra back.

Improvised drama The Orchestra is based on real-life interviews with orchestral players, conductors and managers about the working life of an orchestra to be as accurate and true to the orchestral experience as possible. The cast stars Colin Metters, head of conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, which helps provide real insight into this very particular world.

Philip Franks plays David Adams, principal conductor; with Christine Kavanagh as Kate Adams, conductor's wife; Julian Rhind-Tutt as Patrick Hardy, leader of the orchestra; Hayley Doherty as Marie Cherrington, principal horn; George Irving as Sean Jackson, second trumpet; Colin Metters as Harry Bennet, conductor's advisor; Rumon Gamba as Marc Altschuler, guest conductor; and Joshua Oates as Leon Adams, conductor's son.

Actuality of rehearsal is provided by the BBC Philharmonic, with conductor Rumon Gamba. The Orchestra is devised, directed and produced by Rosie Boulton.

Producer/Rosie Boulton for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

George Riley presents all the day's sports news and the Weekend Preview Show, including 5 Live Formula One with David Croft looking ahead to this weekend's German Grand Prix.

Presenter/George Riley, Producer/Danny Garlick

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Cricket

Friday 23 July

10.00am-6.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Uninterrupted commentary on the third day of the second Test between Pakistan and Australia comes live from Headingley with the Test Match Special commentary team.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

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Rugby League

Friday 23 July

7.55-9.45pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Uninterrupted commentary on Hull FC versus Wigan Warriors comes live from the Kingston Communications Stadium in the Super League.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

Noreen Khan's show comes from a surprise location in Manchester ahead of the Mela weekend. Noreen is covering everything about Manchester life; its traditions, its football and its cultural iconic areas from Coronation Street to Wilmslow Road.

Asian Network's A Summer Of Melas tour is at the Manchester Mela on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 July.

BBC Asian Network Publicity