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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Donald Macleod

‘The human stories behind the music we love’: Radio 3’s Composer of the Week turns 80

Radio 3 Beethoven Donald MacLeod John Williams United States Hildegard Clara Schumann Handel John Adams Ned Rorem
Composers of the week, clockwise from top left: John Williams, Hildegard of Bingen, Ethel Smyth, Beethoven, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Clara Schumann, Ned Rorem and Carla Bley
Composers of the week, clockwise from top left: John Williams, Hildegard of Bingen, Ethel Smyth, Beethoven, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Clara Schumann, Ned Rorem and Carla Bley Composite: Getty Images/Alamy/Shutterstock

What do the following musicians have in common?

Skalkottas, Beach, Rubbra, JC, WF and JF Bach? The answer, of course, is that they’ve all been Radio 3 Composers of the Week. Alongside Mozart (106 times), JS Bach (99 times), and Handel and Haydn (88 times each).

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