Thea Musgrave

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2018

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Composer Thea Musgrave celebrated her 90th birthday this year, an event marked by celebrations and concerts around the world, including the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival. She has published more than 150 compositions, including major orchestral works and numerous operas, and continues to write every day. Thea was born in Edinburgh in May 1928, and still has sharp memories of hearing news of the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. She learned the piano as a child, but had ambitions to become a doctor. She began medical studies at the University of Edinburgh, but after struggling with the sciences, she switched to the music department, which happened to be in an adjacent building. In the early 1950s, she spent four years studying composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris before moving to London and establishing herself as a prominent member of British musical life. In 1970 she became Guest Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1971 she married the American opera conductor Peter Mark, and she has lived in the United States since 1972. She was awarded a CBE in 2002, and earlier this year she was presented with The Queen's Medal for Music. Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the BBC.
0:02.0	Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Desert Island Disks podcast.
0:06.0	Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take with them if they were cast away to a desert island.
0:14.0	And for right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast. I hope you enjoy listening.
0:30.0	My cast away this week is Thea Musgrave, one of the most successful and well-respected composers of contemporary classical music in the world.
0:50.0	Her extraordinary career has spanned seven decades and shows no signs of slowing down.
0:56.0	2018, her 90th birthday year has been a cause for celebration and tributes throughout the classical world and beyond.
1:04.0	There was a prom in her honour and she received the Queen's Medal for Music.
1:08.0	Despite being a US resident since 1972, the landscapes and history of her home country have recurred in her work throughout her life.
1:17.0	From Turner's paintings of the British countryside to the Loch Ness Monster and the life of Mary Queen of Scots.
1:24.0	The rich drama of her creative output belies a pragmatic attitude and a rise sense of humour.
1:31.0	Asked about her achievements in the traditionally male-dominated field of composition she famously replied,
1:37.0	Yes, I am a woman and I am a composer, but rarely at the same time. Thea Musgrave welcomed to desert island discs.
1:45.0	Thank you very much.
1:47.0	So it's a landmark year, your 90th birthday and it's been the cause for many celebrations.
1:52.0	You've crossed the Atlantic four times so far this year, is that right?
1:56.0	Well, if you double it, you know it's there and back. So we've done four and a half.
2:01.0	Okay, so we've got one, we've got half to get back to America.
2:05.0	How much does the reality of performed music differ from what you've written on a page as a composer?
2:11.0	Well, if it's different, you want to know why.
2:14.0	And sometimes it's your fault because you've written things that are just not possible.
2:20.0	And sometimes it's their fault. So if it's really important, you talk to the performers and sort it out.
	...

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