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Witness History

The last ever Olympic art competition

Witness History

BBC

Personal Journals, Society & Culture, History

4.51.6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2024

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

From 1912 until 1948, you could win medals in art at the Olympic Games, in categories such as architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture.

At the London Games in 1948, Canadian composer John Weinzweig won a silver medal for his composition, Divertimento for Flute and Strings.

Rachel Naylor speaks to his son, Daniel Weinzweig.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: John Weinzeig. Credit: Frank Lennon / Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I'm Rory Stewart and I want to talk about ignorance. I will die without having read everything that was written in classical Latin.

0:11.6

Because ignorance isn't simply the opposite of

0:14.0

knowledge. It's part of what it means to be human. Just about every game I can

0:19.4

think of involves ignorance. There's no adventure without ignorance. There's no there's no narrative.

0:25.0

The long history of ignorance from Confucius to Kianon

0:29.0

with me Rory Stewart,

0:31.0

listen on BBC Sounds.

0:33.0

You're listening to the Witness History Podcast with me, Rachel Naylor, from the BBC World Service.

0:42.0

I'm taking you back to a time when you could... with me Rachel Naylor from the BBC World Service.

0:43.1

I'm taking you back to a time when you could win an Olympic medal, not just in sport, but in art.

0:48.7

Until 1948, medals were awarded in architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture.

0:54.8

I've been speaking to the son of an Olympic composer.

0:57.8

It's 1948 and we're in Toronto in Canada.

1:04.0

Unbeknown to the composer John Wineswig, a piece of his music,

1:08.0

Divertimento for flute and strings,

1:10.0

has been submitted by the Canadian Music Council to the Olympic Committee.

1:14.1

He didn't even know he was in the running for a medal

1:16.6

until he got a call saying he'd won the silver

1:19.4

in the Instrumental and Chamber category.

1:21.4

He was pleased.

1:23.0

My father didn't express a lot of exuberance.

1:25.9

He didn't jump up and down or do cartwheels.

...

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