61-476: Desert Island Discs is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 . It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway " during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordings (usually, but not always, music), a book and a luxury item that they would take if they were to be cast away on a desert island , whilst discussing their life and
122-409: A Sunday. This has reduced the total number of continuity announcers required each day down from four to three. The Greenwich Time Signal , popularly known as "the pips", is broadcast every hour to herald the news bulletin, except at midnight and 18:00, and 22:00 on Sunday, when the chimes of Big Ben are played. There is no Greenwich Time Signal at 15:00 on Saturday or 11:00 and 12:00 on Sunday due to
183-463: A broadcast signal from Radio 4 on 198 longwave to verify the annihilation of organised society in Great Britain. BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a wide variety of speech-related programming, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. Music is broadcast as in documentaries relating to various forms of both popular and classical music, and the long-running music-based Desert Island Discs . Sport
244-543: A castaway on the show. Plomley originally wanted the sounds of "surf breaking on a shore and the cries of sea birds" to open and close each programme. However, Leslie Prowne, the head of popular record programmes at the BBC , was concerned that it lacked definition and insisted that music should also be used. Plomley and the series' producer Frederic Piffard selected " By the Sleepy Lagoon ", composed by Eric Coates (who appeared on
305-584: A close friend of the British Prime Minister and amateur musician Edward Heath ; mutual friends expressed hopes that they might marry, but this did not happen. After the war she became more widely known, performing throughout Europe and in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India. When living in New York, Lympany continued her concert and recording career. Lympany was a Steinway pianist and participated in
366-669: A continuous news service devoted to the Gulf War , Radio 4 News FM , with the main Radio 4 service transferring to long wave. Before this, Radio 4's FM frequencies had occasionally been used for additional news coverage, generally for live coverage of statements and debates in Parliament. By the start of the 1990s, Radio 4 had become available on FM in most of the UK - previously FM coverage had been restricted mainly to England and south Wales. This meant that it
427-405: A lack of female broadcasters. In September 1972, Radio 4 employed the first female continuity announcers—Hylda Bamber and Barbara Edwards. For quite some time, the introduction of female newsreaders led to complaints from listeners; women discussing topics of feminist interest led to similar complaints. In addition, there has been long-running criticism by atheist and humanist groups of Thought for
488-464: A planned switch-off of long wave transmissions by 2025. BBC Radio 4's medium wave frequencies were switched off on 15 April 2024, which previously served as relays in areas with a weak LW signal to provide reception of BBC Radio 4 LW, such as Northern Ireland and south west England. Most were turned off at 12:27 PM BST and broadcast an endless closedown loop informing listeners to retune to other methods of reception. The final transmitter to change into
549-901: A pupil of Clara Schumann and Tobias Matthay . In 1935, she made her London debut at the Wigmore Hall , and in 1938 she came second to Emil Gilels in the Ysaÿe Piano Competition in Brussels . By the Second World War , she was one of the UK's most popular pianists. On 13 April 1940 she gave the British premiere of Khachaturian 's Piano Concerto in D-flat , one of the pieces most closely associated with her. She had been approached when Clifford Curzon pleaded he would not be able to learn it in time. On 25 February 1945, with Adrian Boult , Lympany
610-464: A quote from the Los Angeles Herald & Express: "Since the days of Clara Schumann and Teresa Carreño , there have been few women pianists who could be counted among the great. Last night Moura Lympany gave evidence of possessing qualities which place her high among her historic colleagues." In 1969 Lympany was diagnosed with breast cancer and her left breast was removed. Three months after
671-519: A result of international agreements aimed at avoiding interference (all ITU Region 1 MW/LW broadcast frequencies are divisible by 9). At this point, Radio 4 became available across all of the UK for the first time and the station officially became known as Radio 4 UK, a title that remained until 29 September 1984. For a time during the 1970s Radio 4 carried regional news bulletins Monday to Saturday. These were broadcast twice at breakfast, at lunchtime and at 17:55. There were also programme variations for
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#1732848702273732-484: A year after broadcast as streaming audio from Radio 4's listen again page and via BBC Sounds . A selection of programmes is also available as podcasts or downloadable audio files. Many comedy and drama programmes from the Radio 4 archives are broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra . Due to the capacity limitations of DAB and increasing sport broadcasts on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra , BBC Radio 4 DAB has to reduce its bit rate most evenings, such that after 7 p.m. its DAB output
793-403: Is also not part of the station's output, apart from during news bulletins, although between 1994 and 2023, the station's long wave frequency was used to broadcast ball-by-ball commentaries of most Test cricket matches played by England. Consequently, for around 70 days a year, listeners had to rely on FM broadcasts or DAB for mainstream Radio 4 broadcasts – the number relying solely on long wave
854-516: Is considered by many to be its flagship. There is no comparable British commercial network: Channel 4 abandoned plans to launch its own speech-based digital radio station in October 2008 as part of a £100m cost cutting review. The station is available on FM in most of Great Britain, parts of Ireland and the north of France; LW throughout the UK and in parts of Northern Europe, and the Atlantic north of
915-580: Is the second-most-popular British domestic radio station by total hours, after Radio 2 . It recorded its highest audience, of 11 million listeners, in May 2011, and was "UK Radio Station of the Year" at the 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2023 Radio Academy Awards . It also won a Peabody Award in 2002 for File on 4: Export Controls . Costing £71.4 million (2005/6), it is the BBC's most expensive national radio network and
976-594: Is usually in mono, even though many of its programmes are made in stereo (including its flagship drama "The Archers"), these can be heard in stereo only on FM, Digital TV on Freeview & Freesat (Ch. 704), Sky, Virgin and on line via BBC Sounds. BBC World Service, which uses BBC Radio 4 FM & DAB frequencies between 01:00 and 05:20, is in stereo, but only on Radio 4 FM & DAB and not on its own dedicated DAB channel. BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcasts in mono on DAB, but has always been in stereo on Digital TV (Freeview / Freesat Ch 708), Sky, Virgin and online. Announcers carry out
1037-698: The Azores to about 20 degrees west; DAB ; Digital TV including Freeview , Freesat , Sky and Virgin Media , and on the Internet. Freesat, Sky and Virgin have a separate channel for Radio 4 LW output in mono, in addition to the FM output. The longwave signal is part of the Royal Navy's system of letters of last resort . In the event of a suspected catastrophic attack on Britain, submarine captains, in addition to other checks, check for
1098-569: The BBC . The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting House , London . Since 2019, the station controller has been Mohit Bakaya . He replaced Gwyneth Williams , who had been the station controller since 2010. Broadcasting throughout the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and
1159-658: The BBC National Programme . The letters LO continued to be used internally as a designation in the BBC for technical operations in the London area (for example, the numbering of all recordings made in London contained LO). The code LO was changed to LN in the early 1970s. When the British Broadcasting Company first began transmissions on 14 November 1922 from station 2LO in the Strand , which it had inherited from
1220-522: The Channel Islands on FM , LW and DAB , and on BBC Sounds , it can be received in the eastern counties of Ireland , northern France and Northern Europe . It is available on Freeview , Sky , and Virgin Media . Radio 4 currently reaches over 10 million listeners, making it the UK's second most-popular radio station after BBC Radio 2 . BBC Radio 4 broadcasts news programmes such as Today , The World at One and PM heralded on air by
1281-454: The G minor Concerto of Mendelssohn , the only concerto she had memorised up to that point. It was Cameron who suggested that she adopt a stage name for the concert and a Russian diminutive of the name Mary, Moura, along with an old spelling of her mother's maiden name, Limpenny , were chosen. She went on to study in Vienna with Paul Weingarten , and in London with Mathilde Verne , who had been
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#17328487022731342-598: The Greenwich Time Signal pips or the chimes of Big Ben . The pips are only accurate on FM, and LW; there is a delay on digital radio of three to five seconds and online up to 23 seconds. Radio 4 broadcasts the Shipping Forecast which, in August 2017, was 150 years old. According to RAJAR , the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 9.2 million with a listening share of 11.1% as of December 2023. BBC Radio 4
1403-523: The Marconi Company (one of six commercial companies which created), but technology did not yet exist either for national coverage or joint programming between transmitters . Whilst it was possible to combine large numbers of trunk telephone lines to link transmitters for individual programmes, the process was expensive and not encouraged by the General Post Office as it tied up large parts of
1464-584: The Philharmonia Orchestra was issued on HMV. In 1944 she married Colin Defries , 32 years her senior, but they divorced in 1950. In 1951 she married Bennet Korn, an American television executive, and moved to the United States. Lympany very much wanted to start a family but she had two miscarriages , and a son who died shortly after birth. She and Bennet Korn divorced in 1961. Some years later she became
1525-527: The Study on 4 / Options adult education slot from Radio 4's FM frequencies. Consequently, the full Radio 4 schedule became available on FM for the first time. However, adult educational and Open University programming returned to Radio 4 in 1994 when Radio 5 was closed to make way for the launch of BBC Radio 5 Live and were broadcast until the end of the 1990s on Sunday evenings on longwave only. Between 17 January 1991 and 2 March 1991 FM broadcasts were replaced by
1586-446: The BBC announced that Radio 4 will stop broadcasting opt-outs on long wave with the last opt-outs airing on 31 March 2024. The two displaced programmes, Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament moved to BBC Radio 4 Extra . The daily amount of Shipping Forecasts was reduced to be broadcast 2 times on weekdays and 3 times on weekends. Test Match Special moved to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra on 31 July 2023. These end ahead of
1647-486: The Day , a slot dedicated exclusively to religious discussion during Radio 4's flagship morning news programme. Radio 4 has been criticised for being "too middle class " and of "little interest" to non-white listeners. Moura Lympany Dame Moura Lympany DBE (18 August 1916 – 28 March 2005) was an English concert pianist. She was born as Mary Gertrude Johnstone at Saltash , Cornwall . Her father
1708-470: The Saturday Afternoon drama and the omnibus edition of The Archers respectively. Only pips broadcast on FM and LW are accurate. On digital platforms there is a delay of between three and five seconds, and up to 23 seconds online. Radio 4 programmes cover a wide variety of genre including news and current affairs, history, culture, science, religion, arts, comedy, drama and entertainment. A number of
1769-515: The Steinway Centenary Concert on 19 October 1953 in which ten Steinway pianists played a Polonaise by Chopin . The rehearsal of this piece was recorded and broadcast on Ed Sullivan 's television show, at that time called Toast of the Town . Lympany also gave a recital at Carnegie Hall on 20 November 1957, for which tickets sold for 75c to $ 1.50. The flyer announcing her appearance contains
1830-626: The annual Rasiguères Festival of Music and Wine , near Perpignan , France (for which the Manchester Camerata was resident orchestra), which ran for 10 years and also assisted Prince Louis de Polignac to establish, in 1986, the Festival des Sept Chapelles in Guidel , Brittany . From the mid-1980s she was based in Monaco . Moura - Her Autobiography , written with her cousin, author Margot Strickland ,
1891-555: The case of short pieces, the whole work. At the end of the programme they choose the one piece they regard most highly. Guests are also automatically given the Complete Works of Shakespeare and either the Bible or another appropriate religious or philosophical work. They are then prompted to select a third book to accompany them. Popular choices include Charles Dickens and Jane Austen . Actress Judi Dench , who has macular degeneration ,
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1952-505: The closedown loop was the Plymouth relay on 774 kHz at 4:59 PM BST. These relays stopped broadcasting the closedown loop and fell silent completely by 30 April 2024. An online schedule page lists the running order of programmes. The station broadcasts a mix of live and pre-recorded programmes. Live programming includes breakfast programme Today , magazine programme Woman's Hour , consumer affairs programme You and Yours , and (often)
2013-556: The early 1970s, Alistair MacLean was chosen as a guest, but the head of the European wing of the Ontario Tourist Bureau, who had the same name, was accidentally invited instead. Plomley realised the error while conversing with MacLean shortly before they were set to record the programme. Without any time to find another guest, the interview was completed, but it was never broadcast. In January 1981, Princess Margaret appeared as
2074-429: The early years of the BBC, programmes were broadcast live and were not usually recorded. This, in addition to the BBC's policy of only retaining a limited number of broadcasts, means very few episodes from the first 20 years of the show are known to exist; the earliest episode still in existence was broadcast on 25 April 1951 and features actress Margaret Lockwood . Several extracts were preserved for posterity at
2135-401: The first 60 years was "Ode to Joy", the last movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony . One of the most remarked broadcasts was Elisabeth Schwarzkopf 's 1958 selection of seven of her own recordings. This record was subsequently beaten by British pianist Dame Moura Lympany on her second appearance on the programme on 28 July 1979 when all eight of her selections were of her own recordings. In
2196-420: The following duties from Broadcasting House: Newsreaders read hourly summaries and longer bulletins from New Broadcasting House. In 2012 the BBC announced that it would be reducing its main presentation team from 12 to ten. Other continuity announcers for whom it is not known whether they are freelance or BBC employees, include Joanna Kean, Kelsey Bennett, Arlene Fleming (who also used to read
2257-414: The music selections on the podcast versions are reduced to only playing for around 30 seconds or so (and in rare instances are unavailable, as mentioned in an announcement made by the presenter at the appropriate point of the programme). On 30 March 2011, the BBC placed more than 500 episodes from the show's archive online to listen to via iPlayer. Other episodes have since been added, both new and old. In
2318-682: The music, film, books, arts and culture programme Front Row . Continuity is managed from Broadcasting House with news bulletins, including the hourly summaries and longer programmes such as the Six O'Clock News and Midnight News , and news programmes such as Today , The World at One and PM , which by early 2013 had returned to Broadcasting House after 15 years at BBC Television Centre in White City . The news returning to Broadcasting House has also meant that newsreaders can provide cover for continuity, which regularly occurs at 23:00 each night and 16:00 on
2379-515: The news) and Richard Evans. Criticism voiced by centre-right newspapers in recent years have a perceived left political bias across a range of issues, as well as sycophancy in interviews, particularly on the popular morning news magazine Today as part of a reported perception of a general "malaise" at the BBC. Conversely, the journalist Mehdi Hasan has criticised the station for an overtly " socially and culturally conservative" approach. There has been criticism of Today in particular for
2440-717: The operation she performed Prokofiev 's Piano Concerto No. 4 for the Left Hand at the Royal Festival Hall , London. She later had a second mastectomy but continued working and gained renewed popularity. In 1979, fifty years after making her debut, she performed at the Royal Festival Hall for Charles, Prince of Wales . That year she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In 1981 she established
2501-562: The parts of England not served by BBC Local Radio stations. These included Roundabout East Anglia , a VHF opt-out of the Today programme broadcast from BBC East 's studios in Norwich each weekday from 6.45 a.m. to 8.45 a.m. Roundabout East Anglia came to an end in August 1980, ahead of the launch of BBC Radio Norfolk . All regional news bulletins broadcast from BBC regional news bases around England ended in August 1980, apart from in
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2562-448: The period 1952 to 1988 and feature many notable celebrities of the era including Bing Crosby , Margot Fonteyn and James Stewart . These recordings have been made available for streaming via BBC Sounds , the successor to iPlayer for audio content. In 2023 an additional episode, featuring Veronica Wedgwood , from 10 March 1973, was recovered. BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by
2623-484: The programmes on Radio 4 take the form of a "magazine" show, featuring numerous small contributions over the course of the programme— Woman's Hour , From Our Own Correspondent , You and Yours . The rise of these magazine shows is primarily due to the work of Tony Whitby , controller of Radio 4 from 1970 to 1975. The station hosts a number of long-running programmes, many of which have been broadcast for over 40 years. Most programmes are available for 30 days or over
2684-564: The reasons for their choices. It was devised and originally presented by Roy Plomley . Since 2018, the programme has been presented by Lauren Laverne . More than 3,400 episodes have been recorded, with some guests having appeared more than once and some episodes featuring more than one guest. An example of a guest who falls into both categories is Bob Monkhouse , who appeared with his co-writer Denis Goodwin on 12 December 1955 and in his own right on 20 December 1998. When Desert Island Discs marked its 75th year in 2017, The Guardian called
2745-437: The request of the guests, such as an extract featuring Alfred Hitchcock where he speaks about his films The Pleasure Garden (1925) and Rebecca (1940), gives his view on the changing landscape of the film industry and briefly discusses his then forthcoming film Psycho (1960). In 2022 over 90 recordings, previously thought to be lost, were rediscovered by the audio collector Richard Harrison. These recordings date from
2806-423: The rules; John Cleese was allowed to take Michael Palin with him, on the condition that he was dead and stuffed. Examples of luxuries have included champagne and a piano, the latter of which is one of the most requested luxuries. After Plomley's death in 1985, the programme was presented by Michael Parkinson from 1986 to 1988, then from 1988 to 2006 by Sue Lawley and from 2006 to 2018 by Kirsty Young . Young
2867-403: The show a radio classic. In February 2019, a panel of broadcasting industry experts named it the greatest radio programme of all time. Guests are invited to imagine themselves cast away on a desert island , and choose eight audio recordings (originally gramophone records) to take with them; discussion of their choices permits a review of their life. Excerpts from their choices are played or, in
2928-424: The show in 1951). The tune has been used since the first transmission in 1942. The sound of herring gulls has accompanied the music except for a period of time in 1964 when tropical bird sounds were used. Until late September 2009, Desert Island Discs could not be heard on the BBC's iPlayer service, which allows most programmes to be heard up to a week after transmission. The programme's website stated that this
2989-438: The southwest as until January 1983 there was no BBC Local Radio in the southwest so these news bulletins and its weekday morning regional programme, Morning Sou'West , continued to be broadcast from the BBC studios in Plymouth on VHF and on the Radio 4 medium wave Plymouth relay until 31 December 1982. The launch of Radio 5 on 27 August 1990 saw the removal of Open University , schools programming, children's programmes and
3050-545: The station was transferred to the new British Broadcasting Company which in 1923 took up the nearby Savoy Hill for its broadcasting studios. At midnight on New Year's Eve 1923, the twelve chimes of Big Ben were broadcast for the first time to mark the new year. In 1927 the company became the British Broadcasting Corporation . On 9 March 1930 2LO was replaced by the BBC Regional Programme and
3111-454: The telephone network. The stations that followed the establishment of 2LO in London were therefore autonomously programmed using local talent and facilities. By May 1923, simultaneous broadcasting was technically possible at least between main transmitters and relay stations , the quality was not felt to be high enough to provide a national service or regular simultaneous broadcasts. In 1924, it
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#17328487022733172-714: Was an army officer who had served in World War I and her mother originally taught her the piano. Mary was sent to a convent school in Belgium , where her musical talent was encouraged, and she went on to study at Liège , later winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London . She was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM) in 1948. After auditioning for the conductor Basil Cameron , she made her concert debut with him at Harrogate in 1929, aged twelve, playing
3233-460: Was broadcast on medium wave with a network of VHF FM transmitters being added from 1955. Radio 4 replaced it on 30 September 1967, when the BBC restructured and renamed its domestic radio stations, in response to the challenge of offshore radio . It moved to long wave in November 1978, taking over the 200 kHz frequency (1,500 metres) previously held by Radio 2 - later moved to 198 kHz as
3294-550: Was due to rights issues, as explained in The Sunday Times in 2006. It was announced on 27 September 2009 that an agreement had been reached as a result of which the programme would be available to stream via the iPlayer. The first episode available through the iPlayer was with Barry Manilow . Subsequently, the programme was also made available as a podcast, beginning with the edition broadcast on 29 November 2009, which featured Morrissey . However, due to music clearance issues,
3355-471: Was felt that technical standards had improved enough for London to start to provide the majority of the output, cutting the local stations back to providing items of local interest. Each of these main stations were broadcast at approximately 1 kilowatt (kW): Each of these relay stations were broadcast at approximately 120 watts (W): The BBC Home Service was the predecessor of Radio 4 and broadcast between 1939 and 1967. It had regional variations and
3416-484: Was now a small minority. The cricket broadcasts took precedence over on-the-hour news bulletins, but not the Shipping Forecast , carried since Radio 4's move to long wave in 1978 because long wave can be received clearly at sea. Initially the power was 100 watts on 350 metres (857 kHz ). 2LO was allowed to transmit for seven minutes, after which the "operator" had to listen on the wavelength for three minutes for possible instructions to close down. On 14 November 1922
3477-411: Was permitted to take an audiobook in place of a printed manuscript. Guests also choose one luxury, which must be inanimate and of no use in escaping the island or allowing communication from outside. Roy Plomley enforced these rules strictly. He did, however, grant a special dispensation to Princess Michael of Kent , who chose her pet cat. However, subsequent presenters have allowed more variation on
3538-434: Was possible for the main Radio 4 service to be transferred from LW to FM, and this took place on 16 September 1991 with opt-outs - extra shipping forecasts, Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament , joined in 1994 by Test Match Special . Longwave also occasionally opted out at other times, such as to broadcast special services, the most recent being when Pope Benedict XVI visited Britain in 2010 . On 30 May 2023,
3599-760: Was published by Peter Owen in 1991. In 1992 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). She also received honours from the Belgian and French governments. One of Lympany's last public functions was as a juror for the Ninth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition held in Texas in May/June 1993. Dame Moura Lympany died in Gorbio near Menton , France, in 2005, aged 88. Her archive
3660-739: Was replaced by 6 Music presenter Lauren Laverne , who interviewed Olympic diver Tom Daley for her first show, broadcast on 30 September 2018. Laverne was initially drafted in as an interim presenter while Young was suffering from fibromyalgia ; she was appointed permanently in July 2019 when Young announced her decision not to return. The first castaway was Vic Oliver , and several castaways, including Celia Johnson , Arthur Askey , Trevor Nunn , John Schlesinger , Kenneth Williams , Terry Wogan , Brian Rix , David Attenborough , John Mortimer , Adele Leigh , Delia Smith and Stephen Fry have been cast away more than once. The most requested piece of music over
3721-803: Was the first British musician to perform in Paris after the Liberation. She performed Alan Rawsthorne 's Piano Concerto No 1 and the Khachaturian Piano Concerto with Boult conducting the orchestra of the Conservatoire de Paris. Although around this time she performed the Rawsthorne with Boult several times, including with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London on 12 October 1945, it was not until 1958 that her recording of it with Herbert Menges and
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