Private Passions - Martin Jarvis

Michael Berkeley's guest this week is the actor Martin Jarvis, who made his first TV appearance in 1965 as a giant butterfly in 'Doctor Who', and went on two years later to achieve worldwide fame as Jon Forsyte in the BBC's landmark adaptation of Galsworthy's 'The Forsyte Saga'. Since then he has appeared in other period dramas, including the title role in the BBC's 1968 serialisation of 'Nicholas Nickleby', and Uriah Heep in the 1974 BBC version of 'David Copperfield', as well as making guest appearances in a range of TV programmes from 'Doctor Who' to 'Inspector Morse', 'Murder She Wrote', 'The Bill' and 'EastEnders'. He is particularly well known for his many radio dramas, readings and audio books, both comic and serious, and has acted in many stage productions in London and abroad. His personal musical passions begin with the radiant end of Stravinsky's 'Firebird', and continue with Schubert's 'Die Forelle', sung by Janet Baker, followed by Andras Schiff and members of the Hagen Quartet playing the fourth movement of the 'Trout' Quintet, which Schubert based on the melody of his own song. Next comes the famous Toreador Song from Act II of Bizet's 'Carmen', and the slow movement of Mozart's last piano concerto, beautifully played by Clifford Curzon with the English Chamber Orchestra under Benjamin Britten. A light interlude follows with 'Painting the Clouds with Sunshine' by Ambrose and his Orchestra, before we hear Otto Klemperer conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra in part of the finale of Beethoven's Symphony No.7 in A. Finally. Martin Jarvis has chosen Lucy Parham playing Liszt's piano arrangement of Schumann's song 'Widmung', one of a set written for his wife Clara on their marriage in 1840.