Programme Information

Claudia Winkleman speaks to guests from the world of the arts. In tonight's show, as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London prepares to stage the first major exhibition exploring The Aesthetic Movement, BBC newsreader Jane Hill looks at how its practitioners sought to escape the ugliness and materialism of the Victorian era by creating a new kind of art and beauty.

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

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Tonight's concert opens with the world première of a brand-new symphony by Finnish composer Kalevi Aho. His previous symphonies have drawn inspiration from insects, Chinese folklore and the Finnish forests.

Following this, German cellist Alban Gerhardt performs Tchaikovsky's Variations On A Rococo Theme – the nearest the composer ever got to a cello concerto.

The concert ends with a cruel sultan, a beautiful princess and a thousand and one nights of pleasure, as Rimsky-Korsakov paints the story of Scheherazade in sumptuous orchestral Technicolor.

Alban Gerhardt plays the cello and the BBC Philharmonic is conducted by Juanja Mena.

Presenter/Catherine Bott, Producer/Brian Jackson

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Ian McMillan introduces BBC Radio 3's celebration of words.

This week, Ben Okri reads a new piece specially commissioned by The Verb. In addition, Mark Crick explains the craft of literary pastiche.

Presenter/Ian McMillan, Producers/Erin Riley and Dymphna Flynn

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Alan Dein follows the lives of two brothers who are both going through a major change in their lives. Alex is searching for a fresh start away from London gangs. His adopted brother, JJ, is poised for success on the London stage.

After the woman he knew as Mum died, JJ was taken in by the parents of his best friend, Alex. But Alex has fallen in with the wrong crowd and been excluded from school. So he is preparing to move to the Philippines to live with his grandmother – even though it means leaving his best friend behind.

Presenter/Alan Dein, Producer/Simon Elmes for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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In The Artiness Of Naughtiness, broadcast on April Fool's Day, Toby Amies discovers how tricksters have turned the poking of fun into an art form.

There are pranksters who have been determined to show people their folly all year round and most have philosophical, political and artistic reason to do so.

Toby investigates the reasoning behind pranking and explores why people will risk consequences as serious as prison to make a point or get a laugh. Sometimes, the motivation behind a prank is not always only a good laugh at someone else's expense. It can be a very serious business.

Presenter/Toby Amies, Producer/Rob Alexander for Pier Productions Limited

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Alfred Russell Wallace was a great travel writer, geographer and naturalist. He was a friend and contemporary of Darwin and was, David Attenborough says, one of the true greats.

It was the great travel books written in the 19th century by Alfred Russell Wallace that inspired David Attenborough to achieve great things in the realm of natural history. But Attenborough reveals that Wallace was more than just a great travel writer; he had meticulous observation and recording skills and his power of analysis was very much akin to that of Darwin, his great contemporary.

Presenter/David Attenborough, Producer/Julian Hector for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

Colin Murray and guests preview the weekend's sporting fixtures in Kicking Off With Colin Murray, including a round-up of Friday's sports news.

Presenter/Colin Murray, Producer/Mike Carr

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Rugby League

Friday 1 April

7.55-9.45pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Uninterrupted commentary comes from Leeds versus Wigan in the Super League, live, from Headingley.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity