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 1982, and the presenter was Roy Plumley. Our cast away this week is the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Christopher Leaver.

Lord Mayor, could you endure loneliness for a long time?

For a long time, perhaps not, but I would welcome it for a period and I think it would not be too difficult.

What would you be happiest to have left behind?

The telephone, without a doubt.

And you have just a little music, eight records.

Music is an interest of yours, isn't it?

Indeed, yes.

In fact, you are an executant. I once learned the piano and played the organ in chapel at school, but I don't play now.

How did you set about choosing just eight discs?

Well, I'm sure that most people who appear on this program would say what a murderous task it is.

They all do.

But I did set about it by writing down over Christmas a number of records that I would love to take and quite

extraordinarily they added up to 108 and so I did it by a process of elimination.

What's the first survivor?

The first survivor is the Grand Fantasy on Polish airs by Chopin

for piano and orchestra, and particularly I wanted it played by Weisenberg. The The The The The Chopin's grand fantasy on Polish airs, opus 13, played by Alexis Weisenberg with the Paris Conservato Orchestra.

Sir Christopher, are you a Londoner by Burke?

Yes, I am.

Yes, I was born in London and then evacuated during the war to the United States.

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