Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For Wright's reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1979, and the presenter was Roy Plumlee. On our desert island this week is the celebrated pianist Murr Limpany,

who has recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of her first public performance.

Limpity is a most attractive name.

Where does it originate?

It's my mother's maiden name, but in the old spelling.

I was actually born Johnston,

Mora Johnston, and though on my birth certificate was put Mary Johnston,

I was called Murra from birth.

It's a diminutive of Mary in Russian. And then when I was 12

and I was about to give my first concert, Basil Cameron said to mommy what's her name and

she said Moira Johnston he said, well he said Mora's lovely but Johnston doesn't go with it and it does it won't look good on the posters and so he said mommy what's your name and she said limp said, L-I-M-P-E-N-Y.

And he said, well, that's a bit better.

And she said, then what about the old spelling?

L-Y-M-P-A-N-Y. And he said, said that's beautiful and that's how I became

limpony within a few seconds and remained it all my life. Was your mother a

musical lady? She was very musical. She played the piano and she also played the cello and she

said that she got her love of music and her understanding when she was in Russia.

She went to Russia before she was married.

And like you, she was a very good linguist.

She was a very good linguist.

...