Programme Information

BBC Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball

Zoe Ball sits in for Dermot O'Leary, with a Saturday Session from Jon Fratelli.

Jon Fratelli is a Scottish singer-songwriter who first rose to fame with The Fratellis, the band he formed in 2005. Their debut album included chart hit Chelsea Dagger and was followed by headlining tours around the world. After a second Fratellis album, Jon threw himself into his Codeine Velvet Club musical project, and has now recorded solo album Psycho Jukebox, due to be released later this year.

Presenter/Zoe Ball, Producer/Ben Walker for Ora et Labora Ltd

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Nicholas Hytner, Artistic Director of the National Theatre, investigates five years in Thirties New Deal America when music and the arts flourished.

In the current economic climate, many British cultural organisations are looking to America in search of ideas for fundraising. It's generally accepted that America is a shining example of private and philanthropic sponsorship of the arts. But it was not always the case – there was one brief period which saw a substantial increase in government subsidy, when President Franklin D Roosevelt initiated centralised arts funding from scratch.

Nicholas Hytner explores how in 1935, at the height of the Great Depression in America, the Federal Music Project was born. Russian-born classical violinist Nicolai Sokoloff became Head of Music and wanted the public to be exposed to "cultivated music". Funding ended in 1939 due to the war effort and the political direction of some of the theatre projects, which caused unease within government.

Much of the music produced in this federal experiment has been lost but 12 discs of government radio broadcasts were discovered at the New York Public Library during the course of making this programme.

Presenter/Nicholas Hytner, Producer/Judith Kampfner

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Lucie Skeaping presents a programme about the rather shadowy life and music of 16th-century French composer Dominique Phinot, with recordings made by the BBC Singers, conducted by David Hill.

Very little is actually known about Phinot – not even when he was born. There is evidence that Phinot spent some time in northern Italy during the mid 1540s. He made several settings of French poetry – witty, and occasionally salacious, chansons. But most of Phinot's surviving works are for the church and served to be the inspiration for future generations of composers such as Palestrina and Lassus.

Sources suggest that Phinot was executed in Lyon in around 1556, for homosexual practices – which means his punishment may have been to be beheaded and burned. Was this the horrible fate that befell Dominique Phinot? And could this explain why he has been "out-of-mind" for so long?

Presenter/Lucie Skeaping, Producer/Les Pratt

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Opera On 3 – Live From The Met

Saturday 26 March

5.00-8.00pm BBC RADIO 3

Tchaikovsky's The Queen Of Spades comes live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York and stars Finnish soprano Karita Mattila.

Tchaikovsky's opera tells the tragic tale of young officer Hermann's obsession with gambling. An old Countess knows the secret of the winning cards but she dies. Returning as an apparition, she offers Hermann the secret if he will marry her granddaughter, Lisa. Hermann wagers everything he has, and though the first two cards he chooses are winners, the third, instead of being the winning ace, is the queen of spades. In desperation, Hermann stabs himself and pleads for Lisa's forgiveness.

Lisa is sung by soprano Karita Mattila, Paulina is sung by mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, The Countess is sung by mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick, Hermann is sung by tenor Vladimir Galouzine, Tomsky is sung by baritone Alexej Markov and Yeletsky is sung by baritone Peter Mattei.

The Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera is conducted by Andris Nelsons.

Presenter/Margaret Juntwait, Producer/Anthony Sellors

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

This week, Paul Gambaccini re-lives the night of one of the greatest blues albums of all time, BB King's 1964 classic Live At The Regal, recorded in Chicago's famous South Side Theatre.

Paul listens to memories of that never-to-be-forgotten night from BB King himself and from the sole surviving member of his band, Duke Jethro. Jethro's usual instrument, the Hammond B3 Organ, was in the repair shop so he had to play, for the first time in his life, on a piano. Yet his tinkling riffs are one of the album's major charms.

Paul also hears from the album's producer, Johnny Pate, DJ Pervis Spann and from Arthur Gathings – who was in the audience that night.

Presenter/Paul Gambaccini, Producer/Marya Burgess for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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In Simon Passmore's fast-paced psychological thriller, a city banker is found dead in an opulent apartment.

At the funeral, his former girlfriend, Helen, is unexpectedly questioned about when she last saw him. Did he mention computer files or give her anything as a keepsake? Helen's suspicions mount as she retraces his last movements. However, her discoveries put her in the firing line.

The cast stars Claire Foy as Helen, Blake Ritson as David and Charlie Cox as Mark.

Producer/Sasha Yevtushenko for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Radio historian Sean Street discovers artistic and historic treasure at the British Library's Sound Conservation Centre, proving that sound objects can be as important as great books and paintings.

The British Library has invested millions in the centre and has appointed its first ever Curator of Radio. Audio is being accorded the conservation effort usually devoted to manuscripts and old masters. All this, Sean argues in this programme, reflects a fundamental change in attitude to sound itself.

In a massive undertaking, sound archives are being saved, restored, digitised, catalogued and opened to all. Sean observes all this and talks to curators, technicians and users.

Throughout the programme, listeners hear amazing recordings from the library's walls of sound that, until this change in thinking about sound, few knew about, and even fewer could listen to. These recordings are now finding their rightful place in the documentary heritage of the nation.

Presenter/Sean Street, Producer/Julian May for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

5 Live Formula 1 – 2011: Australian GP Third Practice

Saturday 26 March

2.55-4.05am BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Commentary on the third practice session for the Australian Grand Prix comes live from Melbourne.

Presenter/David Croft, Producer/Jason Swales for USP

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

5 Live Sport

Saturday 26 March

12.00noon-6.06pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

From 12noon, there is build-up to the Euro 2012 qualifier between Wales and England in Cardiff plus news from the quarter-finals of the Cricket World Cup and qualifying news from the Australian Grand Prix.

At 3pm, there is live commentary on the Euro 2012 football qualifier between Wales and England at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

From 5pm, Sports Report has reports, results and reaction from today's big sporting stories including Wales versus England in the Euro 2012 qualifier and news from the Cricket World Cup and Australian Grand Prix qualifying. There is also live commentary on the 157th Varsity Boat Race with the teams from Oxford and Cambridge Universities battling it out on a four-mile stretch of the River Thames, in front of an estimated 250,000 spectators.

Producer/Mike Carr

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

5 Live Formula 1 – 2011: Australian GP Qualifying

Saturday 26 March

5.55-7.05am BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Listeners can enjoy uninterrupted commentary on the qualifying session for the Australian Grand Prix.

Producer/Jason Swales for USP

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

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World Cup Cricket

Saturday 26 March

8.45am-5.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Uninterrupted commentary comes from the quarter final at the Cricket World Cup, live, from Colombo.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

Dave Pearce presents three decades of "floor-fillers" from across the dance-floor spectrum.

This week, there are classic tunes from the worlds of disco, techno, rap and rave, another profile of a key label in dance-music history and upfront new anthems from Fedde Le Grand, X-Press 2 and Herve.

Presenter/Dave Pearce, Producer/Rowan Collinson

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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In this 10-part documentary, Simon Mayo looks back at the life and times of John Lennon, from his birth, through his school and college days to The Beatles.

Presenter/Simon Mayo, Producer/Frank Wilson

BBC 6 Music Publicity