

Desert Island Discs
BBC Radio 4
Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 13, 1994 • 39min
Berthold Goldschmidt
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the composer and conductor Berthold Goldschmidt. Born in Hamburg 91 years ago, he enjoyed a brilliant early career working with many famous musicians in Germany and Russia. But he'll be telling Sue Lawley how, as a Jew, he was forced to flee the Nazis and take refuge in Britain. Sadly, the musical establishment of his adopted homeland found his music old-fashioned and neglected him until the 1980s, when his music started to be rediscovered and widely appreciated.Now experiencing a highly-successful revival all over Europe and America, as well as having his work recorded and performed at the Proms, he is greatly enjoying his new-found recognition.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Goldberg Varations BWV 988 - No 26 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann
Luxury: Vanity case including metal mirror and shaving kit

Nov 6, 1994 • 38min
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Reverend Desmond Tutu. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his childhood and his first realisations that black children were treated very differently from their white counterparts, as well as his initial work as a teacher, which he gave up when he realised he was expected merely to train his black pupils for a life of service. He'll also be talking about the new freedom and responsibilities of South Africa following the election of Nelson Mandela earlier this year, and describing his optimism for its success. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: We Are The World by U.S.A. For Africa
Book: Parting The Waters by Branch Taylor
Luxury: Ice-cream maker (especially for rum and raisin flavour)

Oct 30, 1994 • 38min
Kathleen Hale
The castaway this week in Desert Island Discs is the writer and illustrator Kathleen Hale. Mainly renowned for that hero of children's literature - Orlando, the Marmalade Cat - and now 96 years old, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the excitement and glamour of her bohemian girlhood after the First World War. As secretary to the painter Augustus John, she lived a turbulent but fascinating life at the heart of artistic London.Marriage and motherhood introduced stability into her life, but boredom with the children's books then on offer led her to create Orlando - the cat who went on to star in 18 beautifully-illustrated and charmingly-written books - considered by many to be the epitome of good children's literature.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: La Sardana De Les Monges by La Principal De Perelada
Book: A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust
Luxury: A gilabra (cloak of gold)

Oct 23, 1994 • 37min
Lynda La Plante
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Lynda La Plante - the creator of much-admired television series like Prime Suspect, Widows and Civvies. Also the author of five novels, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how she made the transition from acting in repertory for six years, as well as Brian Rix's Whitehall farces, to becoming one of television's most prolific and successful writers.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Nessun Dorma from Turandot by Giacomo Puccini
Book: Fairy Stories by Honore de Balzac
Luxury: Mouth organ

Oct 16, 1994 • 34min
Sir George Christie
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the Chairman of Glyndebourne, Sir George Christie. As Master of one of Europe's most distinguished opera houses, famous as a mainstay of the English social scene, as well as a centre of creativity and innovation, he has recently overseen its complete rebuilding. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the place in which he has spent his whole life and how he faces the prospect of retirement.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Idomeneo: Zeffiretti Lushinghieri by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
Luxury: Radio 4's The Archers - all the recordings from the beginning

Oct 9, 1994 • 37min
Jeanette Winterson
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the writer Jeanette Winterson. Her first book Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit was based on her Lancashire childhood where she grew up as the adopted daughter of evangelical parents. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her upbringing - in which her parents saw her as a child they could dedicate to God, about how she left home at 15 after falling in love with another woman and about how she finally managed to get herself into Oxford.Her first book won the Whitbread Prize and has been followed by more books and more prizes, all of which have attracted criticism and acclaim in equal measures.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Di, Cor Mio from Act 1 of Alcina by George Frideric Handel
Book: Four Quartets by T S Eliot
Luxury: A case of Krug champagne

Oct 2, 1994 • 38min
Professor James Fenton
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the poet and writer James Fenton. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his early life as a boy chorister, the death of his mother when he was just 10 and about his experiences as a foreign correspondent. It was in this capacity that he travelled with the Viet Cong when they captured Saigon, and fled from the Khmer Rouge when they entered Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a political and literary journalist and as a theatre critic. He'll be ruminating on the joys of his present incarnation as Professor of Poetry at Oxford University.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Requiem Dies Irae by Giuseppe Verdi
Book: Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
Luxury: Snorkel, mask and harpoon

Sep 25, 1994 • 38min
Mary Stott
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a journalist and feminist. Mary Stott became Women's Editor of the Guardian newspaper in 1957 and under her editorship, the women's pages were transformed. Her commissioning of many distinguished writers as well as her encouragement to her readers themselves to write first-hand accounts of their experiences led to the foundation of many important women's organisations. Now 87, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her enduring support of feminist issues, her memories of the suffragette movement and her love of singing.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: St John's Passion Rest Calm, Oh Body Pure And Holy by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: The Act of Creation by Arthur Koestler
Luxury: Watercolours for painting

Sep 18, 1994 • 38min
John Tavener
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the composer John Tavener. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the varied inspirations for his music and about how he regards the work of composition as an act of prayer. His music has won the admiration of both serious musicians and the general public - last year his work for cello and strings, The Protecting Veil, held the number one place in the classical charts for several months. Now nearly 50, his was a precocious talent - one of his earliest works was recorded successfully when he was only 24, thanks to the support of the Beatles.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Akathist of Thanksgiving by John Tavener
Book: Apophthegmata Patrum (early writing of Egyptian fathers)
Luxury: Upright piano

Sep 11, 1994 • 36min
Joanna Trollope
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the novelist Joanna Trollope. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how she made the move from writing historical romances to contemporary novels like The Rector's Wife, A Village Affair and A Spanish Lover, which have turned her into one of the country's most successful writers. She'll also be describing how she dislikes her books being described as 'aga-sagas' and discussing how much the events of her characters' lives mirror her own experiences.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Mass In C Minor - Laudamus Te by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: The Oxford Book of English Verse by Helen Gardiner
Luxury: A bed and white Egyptian sheets


