The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.

Radio-Lists Home Now on BBC 4 Contact

RADIO-LISTS: BBC FOUR
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/



SATURDAY 07 APRIL 2012

SAT 19:00 Still Ringing After All These Years: A Short History of Bells (b018ct1c)
The sound of bells ringing is deeply rooted in British culture. Bells provide the grand soundtrack to our historic moments, call out for our celebrations and toll sadly in empathy with our grief. No important event seems complete without their colourful ringing.

But how did bells become so rooted in our culture and entwined with our national identity?

Richard Taylor travels the country to unravel the 1,500 years of history that have made bells such a key British sound. He meets the people who work with bells and those who understand their significance in our past and present. The story he tells is an extraordinary one.

Richard explores the magical qualities of bells and how they came to be synonymous with Christian worship. He discovers how they diversified to impact on every aspect of medieval life - and how some of the practices which originated then still hold sway in our modern lives. He gets to the bottom of what bell ringing is and how this 'sport' came to represent the sound of England, and he reveals how bells embodied the hopes of the nation in her darkest hours.

We have heard the sound of bells so many times that we can take them for granted - it is time to prick up our ears and listen to their incredible story.


SAT 20:00 Monty Don's Italian Gardens (b010y067)
The Veneto, Lucca and The Lakes

Monty Don concludes his garden tour of Italy in the wealthy north where, in the Veneto and Lucca, extravagant pleasure gardens were created for flirtation and fun.

Further north in the Lakes, Monty meets up with the garden society, the Grandi Giardini Italiani, to peer over the fence at luxurious creations of the rich and famous.

The journey ends on Lake Maggiore to see the most theatrical horticultural gem of Italy.


SAT 21:00 Inspector Montalbano (b01fqlql)
The Scent of the Night

Investor Emanuele Gargano has disappeared with the savings entrusted to him by the people of Montelusa. Montalbano's investigation brings him into contact with some of Gargano's staff - his obsessively loyal secretary Mariastella Cosentino and the provocative Michela Manganaro. Meanwhile, Augello is getting cold feet about the prospect of his wedding.

In Italian with English subtitles.


SAT 22:50 The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse (b00x9b7w)
The extraordinary story of comedian Bob Monkhouse's life and career, told through the vast private archive of films, TV shows, letters and memorabilia that he left behind.


SAT 00:20 The Art of Tommy Cooper (b007hzl2)
Tommy Cooper was a national comedy institution whose catchphrases still remain in the language today. This bumbling giant with outsized feet and hands, whose mere entrance on stage had audiences erupting with uncontrollable laughter, was born in Caerphilly in 1921, where a statue is now erected in his honour - unveiled by Sir Anthony Hopkins.

This programme looks at the life and art of the man in the fez, whose clumsy, fumbling stage magic tricks hid a real talent as a magician. His private life was complicated and often difficult, but as far as his audiences were concerned, he was first and foremost a clown whose confusion with the mechanisms of everyday life made for hilarious viewing.


SAT 00:50 The Sky at Night (b08tg3zt)
Warp Factor 55

Have you ever dreamed of travelling through space? Sir Patrick Moore takes us on an epic journey to the ends of our known universe, stopping en-route to take in the view. The team engage the warp drive and celebrate 55 years of The Sky at Night - at the speed of light.


SAT 01:20 Destination Titan (b0109ccd)
It's a voyage of exploration like no other - to Titan, Saturn's largest moon and thought to resemble our own early Earth. For a small team of British scientists this would be the culmination of a lifetime's endeavour - the flight alone, some two billion miles, would take a full seven years.

This is the story of the space probe they built, the sacrifices they made and their hopes for the landing. Would their ambitions survive the descent into the unknown on Titan's surface?


SAT 02:20 Still Ringing After All These Years: A Short History of Bells (b018ct1c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 03:20 Monty Don's Italian Gardens (b010y067)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



SUNDAY 08 APRIL 2012

SUN 19:00 Ray Mears Goes Walkabout (b00bvqvb)
Desert

Ray Mears is in desert survival mode as he follows in the footsteps of an unsung hero of Australian exploration, John McDouall Stuart, to find out how he became the first European to succeed in crossing this continent from south to north and back again. Ray shows how to wring water from these barren lands and how travelling light is the key to success on such an epic journey.


SUN 20:00 Ray Mears Goes Walkabout (b00byd8v)
The Bushtucker Man

Ray Mears makes a journey across Queensland with bushtucker man Les Hiddins. They both share a love of the wilderness and have learnt much of what they know from indigenous people. Each of them has already left his mark on the world of bushcraft and now they get to work together for the first time.


SUN 21:00 Strictly Ballroom (b00749zg)
Offbeat satire in which a young ballroom dancing sensation causes uproar among the traditionalist Australian Dance Federation when he tries out some radical new steps.

His new routine horrifies all but the ugly duckling of his dance class who's just waiting to blossom. When she persuades him to partner her, he discovers a true soulmate who dares to be daring on the dance floor.


SUN 22:30 Passion in Port Talbot (b011wjxs)
It Has Begun

At Easter 2011, actor Michael Sheen (Twilight, Frost/Nixon) returned to his hometown of Port Talbot to direct and star in a modern, secular retelling of the Passion of Christ. This film captures the highlights of three days of drama played out in the streets, beach and shopping centre of the South Wales industrial town.

The play includes suicide bombers, mass public protest and ghostly visions, and features a guest appearance from Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers. It climaxes with a terrifying scene of public execution in front of an audience of 12,000 people on a roundabout at the seafront. Described in the leading national newspaper as 'one of the oustanding theatrical events of the decade', the play featured over 1,000 members of the community.


SUN 23:30 Angelic Voices: The Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral (b01f6tb8)
Child choristers have been singing at Salisbury for 900 years. This film - an observational portrait, history and musical immersion in one of Britain's most distinctive and beloved cultural traditions - follows Salisbury Cathedral's choristers over Easter and through the summer term of 2011.

Salisbury Cathedral's separate boy and girl choirs each contain 16 of the most musically gifted eight- to 13-year-olds in the country. Their role, now as always, is to sing some of the most sublime music ever written in one of Britain's most beautiful buildings. Indeed there are many who believe the chorister's pure, clear, treble voice is the finest instrument in all music.

The film spends four months with the choristers as they go about their day-to-day lives, discovering their own history and singing some of the most loved music from a sacred canon spanning six centuries from medieval plainsong to the present day. Under the direction of indefatigable choir master David Halls, they rehearse and perform works by Sheppard, Byrd, Purcell, Handel, Mozart, Stanford, Parry, Alcock and Rutter.

Lining up in his black cloak, ten-year-old Alex says he feels like Harry Potter while Freddie, 12, admits, 'Other children think we are weird and actually we are not.' Yet few children perhaps have the poise or conviction of Susanna, 10, who explains, 'Singing for choristers is part of them. If you said to me "You're not allowed to sing anymore", it would be just like me telling you that you can't see your child anymore.' It is doubtful that Salisbury's early choristers, often so hungry they were forced to beg for bread, thought so fondly of their work. But when plainsong turned to polyphony the choristers' plight was transformed - with the top cathedrals in the late middle ages known to pay Premiership-style transfer fees for the most musically gifted boys, some of whom were even kidnapped by rival cathedrals.

Today's top trebles at Salisbury are seen competing for one of the most famed solos in a chorister's repertoire. Will Finnbar, Freddie or Noah be picked for Stanford's Mag in G?


SUN 01:00 Queen - Days of Our Lives (b011pwd9)
Episode 1

In 1971, four university students got together to form a band. Since then, that certain band called Queen has released 26 albums and sold over 300 million records worldwide. The popularity of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon is stronger than ever. Their story is a remarkable one, a narrative that covers early struggles, huge obstacles, success, arguments, breakups, triumph, tragedy and an enduring legacy - all against a backdrop of brilliant music and stunning live performances from every corner of the globe.

In this film, for the first time, it is the band that tells their story. Guiding us through an extensive archive full of hitherto unseen footage, the documentary reveals how four strong-minded individuals, all capable of writing massive hit songs, worked together so successfully for four decades. Queen never did anything by halves - meaning their highs were massive, but their lows catastrophic. It is a compelling story told with intelligence, wit, plenty of humour and painful honesty.


SUN 02:00 Queen - Days of Our Lives (b011r4gs)
Episode 2

The story of British rock band Queen, formed in 1971. The second half of this documentary sees Queen at the peak of their powers. With the ultimate showman in Freddie Mercury and a string of rock anthems to their name, Queen smashed attendance records with a series of stadium shows across South America.

But the band quickly learned that if reaching the top is tough, staying there is the biggest challenge of all. With a loss of focus in the studio, the decline in popularity in North America, increasing internal tension and a desire to pursue solo projects, it seemed as if the band had had its day. Then came the performance from Mercury at Live Aid and their record breaking Magic tour in 1986. Queen were back amongst the very best. They were rejuvenated and once again had the world at their feet, but then tragedy struck and threatened to tear the band apart.

Featuring musical performances, previously unseen and rare footage, and intimate interviews.


SUN 03:05 Queen: The Legendary 1975 Concert (b00p4hgm)
On Christmas Eve 1975, Queen crowned a glorious year with a special concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The show on the final night of their triumphant UK tour was broadcast live on BBC TV and radio, and has become a legendary event in Queen's history.

Featuring stunning renditions of early hits Keep Yourself Alive, Liar and Now I'm Here alongside Brian May's epic guitar showcase Brighton Rock, a rip-roaring version of the then new Bohemian Rhapsody and the crowd-pleasing Rock 'n' Roll Medley, this hour-long concert shows Queen at an early peak and poised to conquer the world.



MONDAY 09 APRIL 2012

MON 19:00 Clarissa and the King's Cookbook (b00b6vl6)
We Brits love our cookbooks - every year we buy millions of them and treat our celebrity chefs like royalty. But where did it all begin? Self-confessed medieval foodie Clarissa Dickson Wright tracks down Britain's oldest known cookbook, The Forme of Cury. This 700-year-old scroll was written during the reign of King Richard II from recipes created by the king's master chefs. How this ancient manuscript influenced the way people eat today? On her culinary journey through medieval history she reawakens recipes that have lain dormant for centuries and discovers dishes that are still prepared now.


MON 19:30 The Story of Maths (b00f7zsk)
To Infinity and Beyond

Marcus du Sautoy concludes his investigation into the history of mathematics with a look at some of the great unsolved problems that confronted mathematicians in the 20th century.

After exploring Georg Cantor's work on infinity and Henri Poincare's work on chaos theory, he looks at how mathematics was itself thrown into chaos by the discoveries of Kurt Godel, who showed that the unknowable is an integral part of maths, and Paul Cohen, who established that there were several different sorts of mathematics in which conflicting answers to the same question were possible.

He concludes his journey by considering the great unsolved problems of mathematics today, including the Riemann Hypothesis, a conjecture about the distribution of prime numbers. A million-dollar prize and a place in the history books await anyone who can prove Riemann's theorem.


MON 20:30 Petworth House: The Big Spring Clean (b010p5z3)
Natural Beauty

Andrew Graham-Dixon discovers an ingenious approach to caring for crumbling wood carvings, tackles Turner with a vacuum cleaner, sets sail across an 18th-century water feature and meets a world authority on the science of dust.


MON 21:00 How It Works (b01fq06h)
Plastic

Professor Mark Miodownik tells the story of plastics - created in the lab, they have brought luxury to the masses and shaped the modern age. He recounts tales of the mavericks responsible for some of plastic's most outrageous failures and heady successes, from the explosive attempts to make a replacement for ivory billiard balls to the ultimately ubiquitous Bakelite.

Investigating at atomic level, Mark discovers the extraordinary properties that have allowed plastics to dominate our world and reveals how the next generation of plastics will take its inspiration from nature, creating man-made materials which behave as though they are alive and which could help rebuild the human body.


MON 22:00 Destination Titan (b0109ccd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 01:20 on Saturday]


MON 23:00 Sex and Sensibility: The Allure of Art Nouveau (b01fd4z2)
Vienna

In a story that combines scandal and revolution, cultural correspondent Stephen Smith explores how Vienna's artists rebelled against the establishment in the late 19th century and brought their own highly sexed version of art nouveau to the banks of the Danube.

Looking at the eye-watering work of Gustav Klimt, Smith discovers that Viennese 'Jugenstil' was more than just a decorative delight but saw artists struggle to bring social meaning to the new style. Revealing the design genius of Josef Hoffman, the graphic work of Koloman Moser and the emergence of the enfant terrible Egon Schiele, Smith unpacks the stories behind a style that burned brightly but briefly at the fin de siecle.


MON 00:00 Dinosaurs, Myths and Monsters (b014lsgb)
From dinosaurs to mammoths, when our ancient ancestors encountered the fossil bones of extinct prehistoric creatures, what did they think they were? Just like us, ancient peoples were fascinated by the giant bones they found in the ground.

In an epic story that takes us from Ancient Greece to the American Wild West, historian Tom Holland goes on a journey of discovery to explore the fascinating ways in which our ancestors sought to explain the remains of dinosaurs and other giant prehistoric creatures, and how bones and fossils have shaped and affected human culture.

In Classical Greece, petrified bones were exhibited in temples as the remains of a long-lost race of colossal heroes. Chinese tales of dragons may well have had their origins in the great fossil beds of the Gobi desert. In the Middle Ages, Christians believed that mysterious bones found in rock were the remains of giants drowned in Noah's Flood.

But far from always being wrong, Tom learns that ancient explanations and myths about large fossilsed bones often contained remarkable paleontological insights long before modern science explained the truth about dinosaurs. Tom encounters a medieval sculpture that is the first known reconstruction of a monster from a fossil, and learns about the Native Americans stories, told for generations, which contained clues that led bone hunters to some of the greatest dinosaur finds of the nineteenth century.

This documentary is an alternative history of dinosaurs - the neglected story of how mythic imagination and scientific inquiry have met over millennia to give meaning to the dry bones of prehistory. Today, as our interest in dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures continues unabated, it turns out we are not so far away from the awe and curiosity of our ancient ancestors.


MON 01:00 The Story of Maths (b00f7zsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 02:00 Petworth House: The Big Spring Clean (b010p5z3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 02:30 How It Works (b01fq06h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 03:30 Destination Titan (b0109ccd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 01:20 on Saturday]



TUESDAY 10 APRIL 2012

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b01fq08t)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00qbngz)
Series 1

Bugle to Mevagissey

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, he travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.

His journey takes him along the Brunel's Great Western Railway from Swindon to Penzance. This time, Michael visits the largest clay mine in the world near St Austell, goes pilchard fishing in Mevagissey and finds out how the estate of Heligan shaped British gardens.


TUE 20:00 Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How to Really Win at War (b019jsls)
Staying Alive

Military historian Saul David explores how wars are really fought - in the backroom of military planning. He begins by looking at how to keep an army fed and housed.


TUE 21:00 World War Two: 1941 and the Man of Steel (b011wh1g)
Marking the 70th anniversary of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, historian Professor David Reynolds reassesses Stalin's role in the life and death struggle between Germany and Russia in World War Two, which, he argues, was ultimately more critical for British survival than 'Our Finest Hour' in the Battle of Britain itself.

The name Stalin means 'man of steel', but Reynolds's penetrating account reveals how the reality of Stalin's war in 1941 did not live up to that name. Travelling to Russian battlefield locations, he charts how Russia was almost annihilated within a few months as Stalin lurched from crisis to crisis, coming close to a nervous breakdown.

Reynolds shows how Stalin learnt to compromise in order to win, listening to his generals and downplaying communist ideology to appeal instead to the Russian people's nationalist fighting spirit. He also squares up to the terrible moral dilemma at the heart of World War Two. Using original telegrams and official documents, he looks afresh at Winston Churchill's controversial visit to Moscow in 1942 and re-examines how Britain and America were drawn into alliance with Stalin, a dictator almost as murderous as the Nazi enemy.


TUE 22:30 Decisive Weapons (b0077dqn)
Series 1

T34: The Queen of Tanks

The story of the Soviet T34 tank, the manufacture of which heralded the largest industrial migration in history. In 1941, the Soviets faced almost certain defeat by the Germans, until the arrival of the Red Army's ultra-secret new tank, the T-34. In the hands of those who built and then drove it, this was the tank that led the fightback, all the way to Hitler's bunker in 1945.


TUE 23:00 Ray Mears Goes Walkabout (b00bvqvb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


TUE 00:00 Ray Mears Goes Walkabout (b00byd8v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Sunday]


TUE 01:00 Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How to Really Win at War (b019jsls)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 02:00 World War Two: 1941 and the Man of Steel (b011wh1g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


TUE 03:30 Decisive Weapons (b0077dqn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]



WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2012

WED 19:00 World News Today (b01fq28s)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Tales from the National Parks (b016psp6)
The Peak District

The national parks are Britain's most treasured landscapes, but they are increasingly becoming battlefields. They were designated 60 years ago as places for everyone, but is that still the case? In this series, the award-winning film-maker Richard Macer spent a year amid conflicts in three different parks, on a journey to discover who they are really for.

In each park the stories are very different, but there is something that unites them all - fiercely divided communities who are prepared to fight in order to preserve their right to enjoy the countryside. For each film Macer has secured access to the National Park Authority - an organisation which looks after the landscapes and decides upon planning matters. In all these stories the park authorities have a key role to play in trying to find amicable solutions to the problems which confront them.

A war is breaking out in the charming villages of the Peak District, with walkers, horseriders and residents angry at 4x4 drivers and trailbikers motoring up and down the green lanes for pleasure. So an 80-year-old retired primary school teacher decides to launch a campaign to get the motorists banned from a lane in her village of Great Longstone. Over the next few months the campaign snowballs, and more and more villages decide they've had enough of the off-roaders on their lanes.

Macer filmed for over a year in the Peak District and was granted exclusive access to the inner workings of how the park is run. Will the Peak District Park Authority bow down to public pressure or will it side with the off-roaders?


WED 20:30 Venice 24/7 (b01fq2l6)
The Grand Finale

The city comes together to celebrate a 500-year-old religious festival... with a rave. The waterways and canal banks are packed as Venetians eat, drink and get merry. There are drunken party-goers at risk of falling in the water, an unconscious patient that paramedics struggle to reach, argumentative revellers, and a giant firework display to end the series with a bang.


WED 21:00 Beautiful Minds (b01fq4yh)
Series 2

Professor Jenny Clack

For palaeontologist Professor Jenny Clack, who solved one of the greatest mysteries in the history of life on Earth, success was far from inevitable. She recounts how she had to overcome a series of setbacks before she found and described the fossil Acanthostega, a 365 million-year-old creature that offered dramatic new evidence of how fish made the transition onto land.


WED 22:00 Episodes (b00yc5bq)
Series 1

Episode 4

Sean and Beverly Lincoln are a happily married English couple, who are also the creators of a hit British TV show. Their life seems complete. That is until a hugely powerful and charismatic US network president persuades them to move to Los Angeles to recreate their show for American television.

Sean and Beverly have to retrieve Matt from a seedy bar in the outskirts of LA so that the paparazzo waiting outside won't see him driving home drunk. What follows is an all-night road trip which takes the trio from a run-in with the paparazzo, to Matt's ex-wife's house and finally to his sons' bedroom where Matt is forced to confront the mess he's made of his life.

The transformative evening even manages to bring Beverly and Matt closer together. The question is: for how long?


WED 22:30 The Great Outdoors (b00t6z51)
Episode 1

Comedy which follows the hikes, heartaches, friendships and rivalries of a misfit rambling club. Club organiser Bob begins a titanic battle of wills with the newest member, Christine, for the heart and soul of his treasured walking group.

Bob's teenage daughter Hazel is mortified at the arrival of geeky Victor from her school and married businesswoman Sophie is looking for a way out from her freeloading husband Joe.


WED 23:00 Britain Goes Camping (b00t5hcl)
Featuring the evocative memories and unseen archive of generations of enthusiasts, a documentary which tells the intriguing story of how sleeping under canvas evolved from a leisure activity for a handful of adventurous Edwardian gents to the quintessentially British family pastime that it is today.


WED 00:00 Venice 24/7 (b01fq2l6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


WED 00:30 Inspector Montalbano (b01fqlql)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Saturday]


WED 02:20 Episodes (b00yc5bq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


WED 02:50 The Great Outdoors (b00t6z51)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]


WED 03:20 Beautiful Minds (b01fq4yh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 12 APRIL 2012

THU 19:00 World News Today (b01fq480)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b01g9c38)
31/03/77

David Hamilton looks at the weekly pop chart from 1977 and introduces Blue, Billy Ocean, David Dundas, Lyndsey De Paul & Mike Moran, Berni Flint, Stylistics, Bonnie Tyler, Abba, Mike Nesmith and a Legs & Co dance sequence.


THU 20:00 Horizon (b01cywtq)
2011-2012

The Truth about Exercise

Like many, Michael Mosley wants to get fitter and healthier but can't face hours on the treadmill or trips to the gym. Help may be at hand.

Michael uncovers the surprising new research which suggests many of us could benefit from just three minutes of high intensity exercise a week.

He discovers the hidden power of simple activities like walking and fidgeting, and finds out why some of us don't respond to exercise at all.

Using himself as a guinea pig, Michael uncovers the revealing new research about exercise that has the power to make us all live longer and healthier lives.


THU 21:00 Leotards and Vests: The Great British Workout (b01g6g2k)
Bench presses, barbells, rowing machines and electric shock mittens - just some of the tortures revealed by Mark Benton in this funny look at the British way of keeping fit.


THU 22:00 How It Works (b01fq06h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


THU 23:00 Upgrade Me (b00n1hwj)
Poet and gadget lover Simon Armitage explores people's obsession with upgrading to the latest technological gadgetry.

Upgrade culture drives millions to purchase the latest phones, flatscreen TVs, laptops and MP3 players. But is it design, functionality, fashion or friends that makes people covet the upgrade, and how far does the choice of gadgets define identity? Simon journeys across Britain and to South Korea in search of answers.


THU 00:00 Top of the Pops (b01g9c38)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 00:30 Horizon (b01cywtq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 01:30 World War Two: 1941 and the Man of Steel (b011wh1g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


THU 03:00 Leotards and Vests: The Great British Workout (b01g6g2k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 13 APRIL 2012

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b01fq54v)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 BBC Young Musician (p00n5j4b)
2012

Keyboard Final

Clemency Burton-Hill presents highlights of the BBC Young Musician 2012 keyboard category final from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. With behind-the-scenes access, it features all the news, profiles of the category finalists and extensive highlights from their performances.

The five young pianists - 15-year-old Martin Bartlett, 18-year-old Victor Lim, 15-year-old Adam Boeker, 16-year-old Dominic Degavino and 15-year-old Yuanfan Yang - give some remarkable performances, with a diverse repertoire that includes works by Dutilleux, Chopin, Scarlatti and even a competitor's self-penned composition.

Each of them are determined to impress the judges to win the category, which will gain them that all-important place in the semi-final and a shot at the BBC Young Musician 2012 title.


FRI 21:00 Sweet Home Alabama: The Southern Rock Saga (b01f1bt0)
An epic 1970s tale about a group of rebel rock bands who rose up from one of the most unpopular, marginalised parts of the USA - the Deep South - and conquered the world.

The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and others that followed did this entirely on their own terms, blending the music of the region - blues, country, rock and roll - with a gung-ho attitude that set the South, and then America, on fire.

Their diverse styles, from juke joint boogie and country-rock honks to cosmic blues blasts, had a huge cultural and political impact, even helping to elect Jimmy Carter as president in 1976.

Their extraordinary adventure is brought to life through vivid period archive and contributions from the survivors of those crazy times, including Gregg Allman, REM's Mike Mills, Doug Gray, Al Kooper, Bonnie Bramlett, Charlie Daniels and other key figures in the movement.

Turn on, tune in, get jukin'...


FRI 22:00 Southern Rock at the BBC (b01f1bwb)
Classic clips - from the Old Grey Whistle Test, In Concert and even Wogan - of Southern rock boogie in excelsis from the bands who poured out of the Deep South in the 70s. Includes performances from The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Delaney & Bonnie with Eric Clapton, Dickey Betts from The Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, Black Oak Arkansas, The Charlie Daniels Band, Gregg Allman with then-wife Cher, Edgar Winter and, of course, Lynyrd Skynyrd.


FRI 23:00 The Old Grey Whistle Test (b01g827h)
Lynyrd Skynyrd in Concert

Bob Harris presents a 1975 Lynyrd Skynyrd concert from BBC TV Theatre, Shepherd's Bush, featuring Double Trouble, I Ain't The One, Call Me the Breeze, Same Old Blues, Every Mother's Son, Sweet Home Alabama and Freebird.


FRI 23:45 The Old Grey Whistle Test (b01g827k)
Macon Whoopee

Bob Harris goes to Macon, Georgia, in search of the Capricorn Picnic, a 1976 open-air party thrown by the head of Capricorn. It features many Southern rock bands and performers, including Wet Willie, Marshall Tucker Band, Dickey Betts, Bonnie Bramlett and Stillwater.


FRI 00:45 Sweet Home Alabama: The Southern Rock Saga (b01f1bt0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 01:50 Southern Rock at the BBC (b01f1bwb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 02:50 BBC Young Musician (p00n5j4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]




LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

Angelic Voices: The Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral 23:30 SUN (b01f6tb8)

BBC Young Musician 19:30 FRI (p00n5j4b)

BBC Young Musician 02:50 FRI (p00n5j4b)

Beautiful Minds 21:00 WED (b01fq4yh)

Beautiful Minds 03:20 WED (b01fq4yh)

Britain Goes Camping 23:00 WED (b00t5hcl)

Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How to Really Win at War 20:00 TUE (b019jsls)

Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How to Really Win at War 01:00 TUE (b019jsls)

Clarissa and the King's Cookbook 19:00 MON (b00b6vl6)

Decisive Weapons 22:30 TUE (b0077dqn)

Decisive Weapons 03:30 TUE (b0077dqn)

Destination Titan 01:20 SAT (b0109ccd)

Destination Titan 22:00 MON (b0109ccd)

Destination Titan 03:30 MON (b0109ccd)

Dinosaurs, Myths and Monsters 00:00 MON (b014lsgb)

Episodes 22:00 WED (b00yc5bq)

Episodes 02:20 WED (b00yc5bq)

Great British Railway Journeys 19:30 TUE (b00qbngz)

Horizon 20:00 THU (b01cywtq)

Horizon 00:30 THU (b01cywtq)

How It Works 21:00 MON (b01fq06h)

How It Works 02:30 MON (b01fq06h)

How It Works 22:00 THU (b01fq06h)

Inspector Montalbano 21:00 SAT (b01fqlql)

Inspector Montalbano 00:30 WED (b01fqlql)

Leotards and Vests: The Great British Workout 21:00 THU (b01g6g2k)

Leotards and Vests: The Great British Workout 03:00 THU (b01g6g2k)

Monty Don's Italian Gardens 20:00 SAT (b010y067)

Monty Don's Italian Gardens 03:20 SAT (b010y067)

Passion in Port Talbot 22:30 SUN (b011wjxs)

Petworth House: The Big Spring Clean 20:30 MON (b010p5z3)

Petworth House: The Big Spring Clean 02:00 MON (b010p5z3)

Queen - Days of Our Lives 01:00 SUN (b011pwd9)

Queen - Days of Our Lives 02:00 SUN (b011r4gs)

Queen: The Legendary 1975 Concert 03:05 SUN (b00p4hgm)

Ray Mears Goes Walkabout 19:00 SUN (b00bvqvb)

Ray Mears Goes Walkabout 20:00 SUN (b00byd8v)

Ray Mears Goes Walkabout 23:00 TUE (b00bvqvb)

Ray Mears Goes Walkabout 00:00 TUE (b00byd8v)

Sex and Sensibility: The Allure of Art Nouveau 23:00 MON (b01fd4z2)

Southern Rock at the BBC 22:00 FRI (b01f1bwb)

Southern Rock at the BBC 01:50 FRI (b01f1bwb)

Still Ringing After All These Years: A Short History of Bells 19:00 SAT (b018ct1c)

Still Ringing After All These Years: A Short History of Bells 02:20 SAT (b018ct1c)

Strictly Ballroom 21:00 SUN (b00749zg)

Sweet Home Alabama: The Southern Rock Saga 21:00 FRI (b01f1bt0)

Sweet Home Alabama: The Southern Rock Saga 00:45 FRI (b01f1bt0)

Tales from the National Parks 19:30 WED (b016psp6)

The Art of Tommy Cooper 00:20 SAT (b007hzl2)

The Great Outdoors 22:30 WED (b00t6z51)

The Great Outdoors 02:50 WED (b00t6z51)

The Old Grey Whistle Test 23:00 FRI (b01g827h)

The Old Grey Whistle Test 23:45 FRI (b01g827k)

The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse 22:50 SAT (b00x9b7w)

The Sky at Night 00:50 SAT (b08tg3zt)

The Story of Maths 19:30 MON (b00f7zsk)

The Story of Maths 01:00 MON (b00f7zsk)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b01g9c38)

Top of the Pops 00:00 THU (b01g9c38)

Upgrade Me 23:00 THU (b00n1hwj)

Venice 24/7 20:30 WED (b01fq2l6)

Venice 24/7 00:00 WED (b01fq2l6)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b01fq08t)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b01fq28s)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b01fq480)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b01fq54v)

World War Two: 1941 and the Man of Steel 21:00 TUE (b011wh1g)

World War Two: 1941 and the Man of Steel 02:00 TUE (b011wh1g)

World War Two: 1941 and the Man of Steel 01:30 THU (b011wh1g)