Desert Island Discs (6) – The Book

The Encyclopædia Britannica is the oldest English-language encyclopaedia still in print. Most people dip into it. On my desert island, I shall have the luxury of reading it from cover to cover.

Desert Island Discs (5) – Bruckner and Nilsson

Without a doubt the most beautiful symphony ever penned is Anton Bruckner’s Seventh. It takes its rightful place alongside the composer’s other great works, in the same way that Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait (1658) is one of the best among his other masterpieces.

Desert Island Discs (4) – Brahms and Mahler

Johannes Brahms composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, in 1858. It was first performed the following year in Hanover, Germany, when Brahms was just 25 years old.

Desert Island Discs (3) – Rossini and Wagner

Gioachino Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Little Solemn Mass) was written in 1863. The composer prefaced the work with the following words – somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

Desert Island Discs (2) – Beethoven and Schubert

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106, known as the “Hammerklavier”, is widely considered to be one of the most important works of the piano repertoire.

Desert Island Discs (1) – Holiday listening

Recently, the uninhabited island of Taransay in the Outer Hebrides came up for sale complete with ancient ruins, spectacular white beaches, otters and seals. Unable to come up with the £2.2 million needed to buy it, I wondered how I might have passed my time in between sweeping sand off the front-porch.