N.Busch

Speaker 10:00

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young and this is a download from the Desert Island Discs archive. This edition may be slightly different from what was actually broadcast, but it's the only version we have. It comes from the British Library's radio collection. It was archived without the music, so although the Castaways choices are introduced, they're not part of this recording. Full details can be found on the Castaways page on the Desert Island Discs website.

Speaker 10:26

The programme was originally broadcast in nineteen eighty two.

Speaker 10:30

And the presenter was Roy Plumley.

Presenter0:33

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is celebrating its fiftieth birthday, and cast away on our desert island this week are four members of that great orchestra. In no particular batting order, they're Nicholas Bush, principal horn,

Presenter0:47

John Kuchme, violinist and solo pianist.

Presenter0:50

Martin Parray prince will float.

Presenter0:53

and Marty Wilson, a very well known violinist.

Presenter0:57

Right. Two records each. Is that understood and and agreed? Yes, yes. Now, Nicholas Bush, y you've seen the list of all eight records. You know what your companions have chosen. Do you think you could each bear to listen to the records of the of the other three, or would you have to take it in turns to carry the record player out of earshot of the others?

Presenter1:18

Well, that is a difficult question, I must say.

Presenter1:22

I think I might be able to listen to the last part of the B minor mass because I've only played in the first part. You know, the horn only comes in the quonium, which is about 45 minutes from the beginning. And then there's an interval and the horn player goes. I see. So I've never heard the second bit of it. So I might be able to listen to that. Right. You've now given away one of the records that's going to be chosen so the prize is gone.

Speaker 11:29

Go ahead.

Speaker 21:30

And you can

Speaker 11:30

Yeah.

Presenter1:46

Nicholas, you were brought up with music. Of course, your your father was a composer.

Presenter1:49

Yes, he he was um a composer, although he died when I was five years old. But my mother was um Very insistent that I take up a musical instrument, and she started me on the piano. No, I have a sister. Mm-hmm. And um

Presenter2:05

uh of the age of seven, which I hated, and um I wanted to uh learn the trumpet, which she hated, and she said that um she wouldn't pay for trumpet lessons, but she would pay for horn lessons.

Presenter2:19

And uh that's how I got onto the French horn. Was it always music that interested you? You had no other ambitions? I actually wanted to go into farming. Did you?

Presenter2:30

Yes. Was that why you took up the horn, Little Boy Blue, come blow up your horns in the meadows?

Speaker 12:33

Mike goes in the middle.

Presenter2:36

It could be, but uh I was all set to go to agricultural college. But uh I think because I was very lazy at uh academic studies at school.

Presenter2:45

I uh went to music because I felt it would be easier.

Speaker 22:49

Mm-hmm.

Presenter2:50

I think uh it's been proved wrong over the years. Well nobody's ever said that the horn is a is an easy instrument. It's rather tricky, isn't it? I mean the wrong temperature and all sorts of things can go wrong. Well I think everything's wrong with it, yes. It's it's a very difficult instrument to play. How long have you been with the London Philharmonic?

Speaker 13:03

How long?

Presenter3:06

Well, I joined in seventy three, in January 1973. And before that? And before that I was for nine years in the Philharmonia, or the new Philharmonia as it was then, and I I joined that in'sixty three' when it was the old Philharmonia.

Presenter3:21

And um before that, if you really want to go back, I was in the BBC console orchestra. And what's the first of your miserable allowance of just two discs?

Presenter3:30

Well, it was very difficult to uh

Presenter3:33

Choose just two discs. I found great difficulty in thinking what I would need, but I decided that as I had companions, I would need to hear a different sort of human voice other than theirs. And so I thought one of the most pleasant human voices I could think of was Lucia Popps. And it so happens that one of my favourite pieces is the Four Last Songs, and we have just recorded this with her just recently. And so I've chosen one of the songs from that record. Which one? Spring.

Presenter4:10

Lucia Pop singing Fruling Spring, one of Richard Strauss's four last songs. Now, John Coochmey, or Kooch as everyone in the orchestra calls you, you're a Canadian.

Speaker 14:22

Your

Presenter4:23

Well, I was born in Winnipeg, Canada, of Ukrainian parentage.

Presenter4:29

Very musical. They didn't actually play anything. My father played the guitar and sang in Ukrainian choirs, but they were most musical and they encouraged me very much. Now you studied both violin and piano? Always. I was originally a pianist. But you play both instruments, indeed. When did you come to Britain?

Speaker 14:45

All of Efficient.

Presenter4:48

Nineteen thirty one.

Presenter4:51

When did you join the London Philharmonic? Well, I started playing in the first fiddle section in 1938.

Presenter4:57

So you've been with the orchestra all these years. You're the man to tell us something of it of its history. Was the orchestra an instant success, do you know, when it was first formed? Oh, yes. I think it was a fabulous success. The first concert was

Presenter5:12

Out of this world, they say. The very first piece they played was Carnival Romaine with Beecham. Beecham, of course, formed the orchestra, didn't he? Yes, he did.

Speaker 15:18

Yep.

Presenter5:20

And he was still running it when you joined it. Oh, yes, indeed. Let's have a Beecham story, cause everybody's got a Beecham story. I remember before the war, during a rehearsal, there was a

Speaker 15:25

'Cause everybody's got a YouTube story.

Presenter5:31

A very fine orchestral violinist.

Presenter5:35

But he was very nervous type of person, you know. He would fidget and in those days people could smoke the universe and he would fidget and shake a bit. And Beecham noticed him and he said, You're over there, what is your name?

Presenter5:47

And he said, Henry Paul, sir.

Presenter5:49

So I'll beat you instructors.

Presenter5:51

The artist said.

Presenter5:53

How singular

Presenter5:54

Now in the early days I I believe the LPO was also the Royal Opera House Orchestra.

Speaker 16:04

Boys.

Presenter6:07

Now, there were two disastrous events in 1939, the war, of course. Yes. And Sir Thomas was ordered to take a year's rest abroad for health reasons. Was there a a serious risk that the orchestra would have to be shut down? Oh, yes. But we got together. Mind you, I went to the REF band and I was there for a short while and I was discharged, honourably, came back straight to the orchestra. But they just carried on. Tom Russell took over as manager. He's a very gifted writer and so on. And we went on working for practically nothing, but just went on and on and on and established ourselves. There was a sort of cooperative institution, wasn't there? His spirit was marvellous.

Speaker 26:30

Hmm.

Speaker 16:42

Yeah.

Speaker 16:46

Instituted with that one.

Presenter6:49

Was there a lot of work about during the war for the orchestra? There was a heck of a lot of work with us, because when once we got going, my goodness, we've done as many as

Presenter6:59

Forty, fifteen, sixteen concerts a a week. And of course transport was awful. Terrible. We'd travel around all over the place, find our own hotels, work away like mad. But the spirit and the orchestra played so marvelously well too. During the bombing? During the bombing. During everything, yes. Do you remember any particularly rough times, either from bombing or from broken down transport or any of those other things? Well, I remember spending a few nights sleeping in a hole.

Speaker 17:24

Require a mountain.

Presenter7:27

No hotel. You were sleeping on the floor.

Speaker 17:30

I'm hoping.

Presenter7:31

We never sort of complained either. Well, Coach, let's have the first of the two record that you've chosen.

Presenter7:37

Well, I've chosen the Greek sonata played by Chrysler and Rachmaninov.

Presenter7:43

Since I love both violin and piano so much, those two giants mean so much to me,'cause Chrysler always went to your heart.

Presenter7:52

He made you feel all sorts of different feelings, as it were. Make you feel like crying or joyful.

Presenter7:59

I don't know what he did. He just I heard him as a child. I was thrilled.

Presenter8:04

And always enjoyed him that much. Did you ever hear him in person? Oh, yes, I heard him as a child first in Winnipeg, because my parents always saw that I heard the celebrity concerts. Then I heard him in London. Then the last time I heard him was either nineteen thirty eight or thirty nine playing with this orchestra.

Presenter8:23

The uh Brahms and Tchaikovsky. And you were playing with him? Yes. That must have been a great show. And then I heard Rachman of

Speaker 18:27

Bridge and

Presenter8:31

At Queen's Hall.

Presenter8:32

So how could I have a better record than those two playing together? It's fabulous.

Presenter8:43

The opening of Grieg's third sonata for violin and piano in C minor, played by Chrysler and Ragmaninoff.

Presenter8:50

Now a third member of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, flautist Martin Parry. What part of the country do you come from?

Speaker 28:56

I come from Kent.

Presenter8:56

I can't.

Speaker 28:57

Musical family? No, quite the opposite really. I think the family loved music. But I really got into music. Um I used to sing in the local village choir. Then the family moved to Canterbury and it was the idea of a choir mistress there that I should try for the um Canterbury Cathedral choir. Which I did and I was very lucky to be accepted there.

Presenter9:17

Do you remember your very first public performance a uh as a musician of any type?

Speaker 29:21

Um well, I do actually. I shall never forget that. I think I'd been playing the flute for about a year. I must have been about nine, I suppose. And the Cathedral Choir School had to do a concert for the Archbishop of Canterbury and various um dignitaries of Canterbury. I was so terrified and had sweat pouring all down my face, I could hardly hold the flute up there.

Speaker 29:41

But um presumably we managed somehow.

Presenter9:43

What was your first job as a professional?

Speaker 29:45

Yeah.

Speaker 29:46

My very first actual job was um with the Deuticott Opera Company, which was um a bit of a come down because I'd been studying in Paris just before then and um expected to come back and join the LPO.

Presenter9:57

Yeah.

Presenter10:01

Uh

Speaker 210:01

So you would turn

Presenter10:01

Starting around. We are turning round for a

Speaker 210:03

Yeah.

Presenter10:03

Well, some people stayed with that orchestra for many, many years.

Speaker 210:09

Yes, the conductor at the time, Isidore Godfrey, I remember, yes. I think that was his first and only job. Really? I think he was there for about forty-five years, yeah.

Presenter10:15

Really?

Presenter10:17

doing those same few operas night after night.

Speaker 210:19

Night after night. And he treated it every night as if it was the first night at Byrita somewhere.

Presenter10:26

Or

Speaker 210:26

Yeah.

Presenter10:26

Pink.

Speaker 210:26

Yep.

Presenter10:26

Let's go.

Speaker 210:27

Yeah.

Presenter10:27

Every time. Now, one thinks of the flute as a as a silver instrument, but yours is gold.

Speaker 210:33

Yes, it is, actually.

Presenter10:34

Not solid gold, I presume.

Speaker 210:35

Oh yes. Yeah. Solid, is it? Yes, yes. Where did you get it? I bought it in in America. Mm-hmm. I like the sound of the gold flute.

Presenter10:37

Solid, is it?

Presenter10:43

You mean a gold flute sounds different?

Speaker 210:45

Yes, it does sound different. Yes. Maybe because it costs more, I don't know.

Presenter10:52

Well, let's have your first record. What's that to be?

Speaker 210:54

Well my first record will remind me of all all the hours spent practising and every flute student will know the name of Marcel Moise and in fact will have spent hours and hours practising rather boring studies and exercises by him. But in fact I had the great privilege of playing for Marcel Moyes at a master class in Switzerland. He is without doubt the greatest musician I have ever come across. He is somebody who could make the simplest, most mundane musical phrase have the the greatest meaning. And I would like to hear him play the um Branderberg Fifth Concerto with Adolf Busch and Rudolf Serkin.

Presenter11:36

Part of the slow movement of Bach's fifth Brandenburg Concerto, played by the Bush Chamber Orchestra. Now the fourth member of the LPO, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mari Wilson, it it's a great pleasure to welcome you ashore on the island, Marie. A very familiar figure in Broadcasting House. You've been playing the violin and London orchestras for a long time now. We won't say exactly how long.

Speaker 111:50

Can you

N.Busch11:58

Your father

Presenter11:59

Your father was a musician, of course.

N.Busch12:01

My father became a musician. He he was a minor until he was about eighteen years old. This is back in a very long, long time ago.

N.Busch12:10

And um

N.Busch12:11

He always wanted to be a violinist.

N.Busch12:14

And he managed to get jobs in the North and come to London. And then he made his mind up when I was born that I was going to be a violinist. So since I was four years old, I've played the violin.

Presenter12:25

and you took a scholarship to the Royal College of Music.

N.Busch12:27

You were not

Presenter12:27

You were an orchestral player in your teens, weren't you?

N.Busch12:30

Yes, I went into the Queen's Halloween strip, mister Henry Wood, when I was seventeen.

Presenter12:34

Yes.

N.Busch12:35

And um then into the B B C Orchestra at its formation in nineteen thirty.

Presenter12:40

So the B B C Symphony Orchestra is just two years older than the London Philharmonic.

N.Busch12:45

Yes, I suppose it is, yes.

Presenter12:47

How many years did you stay with the B B C Central?

N.Busch12:48

So it seemed a sort of a cycle of fifteen years everywhere. Fifteen years of BBC, and then in 44 I left the BBC and resumed playing solos and concertos, had a quartet, which I'd had before, and um my teaching at the Royal College. And then I um

N.Busch13:09

I was asked to go into the Philharmonia Orchestra, as it was then called, in 19

N.Busch13:16

And again I was there for fifteen years.

N.Busch13:20

And then in nineteen sixty three this orchestra, Lamana Philharmonic, did me quite an honour. They invited me to come into the the LPO.

N.Busch13:29

There's the first lady member other than the harp, there's always usually a harp, you know, lady harpist.

Speaker 113:34

Yeah.

N.Busch13:35

And I

N.Busch13:36

I thought this was rather an honour.

N.Busch13:39

Um and I also thought it was very brave of them.

N.Busch13:42

To ask me, and then because just after I came into this orchestra, I became.

N.Busch13:48

sixty years of age and that's quite late to start a a new orchestra and I've been here nearly twenty years now.

Presenter13:54

Bravo, Marionette. Hope you'll be with them for a long time to come.

Presenter13:59

Now back in in in the days of the B B C Symphony Orchestra, you were of course leader for several years.

N.Busch14:04

Well, I sat with Paul Beard, but before Paul Beard came

Presenter14:04

Uh

N.Busch14:08

Um, I used to lead sometimes when Cashrell wasn't there and I did lead three seasons of promenade concerts, yes. During that time.

Presenter14:18

Uh, with the B B C, did you play in those celebrated Toscanini concerts?

N.Busch14:18

With the B

N.Busch14:21

Yes, yes, I did.

Presenter14:23

How do you remember him?

N.Busch14:24

extraordinary little man. He was practically blind. He could hardly see the score. He used to hold it in front of his face. And as we would call a beat, it wasn't really a beat, but it was just something in the man himself. He had this extraordinary

N.Busch14:37

Dynamic

N.Busch14:38

Four set

Presenter14:39

Yeah.

N.Busch14:40

and we did many great records with him.

Presenter14:43

Then you played with them again later on.

N.Busch14:45

Then when I was in the Philharmonia, Walter Legg, who was the um founder and who ran the Philharmonia Orchestra,

N.Busch14:52

He asked him to come over. I think he was eighty five at that time, and he came over and did four Brahms symphonies with us then.

Presenter15:00

Hmm.

N.Busch15:01

You say, old then?

Presenter15:04

Well, let's have your first record of that miserable two.

N.Busch15:09

Well, it was so difficult to think of what to choose because one loves so much music, I mean every kind of music, you see.

N.Busch15:17

But ever since I was a very small child I can never live without Bach, and I felt perhaps one of the big works.

N.Busch15:26

I'd like to take the B minor mass.

Presenter15:29

Can't have it all, I'm afraid, just one record from it.

N.Busch15:30

I'm afraid that one record from it. So I thought there's a wonderful bit there, Encarnatus, and I'd like that, I think. Which recording? Well, the one with Clampere, the new Philharmonia.

Presenter15:38

Which recording

Presenter15:45

It incarnatus est from Bach's Mass in B minor, a performance conducted by Klamperer. Now we've got to our second time round. Everyone's going to choose their second disc. Nicholas Bush, we've heard how in the early part of the war, in order to survive, the LPO became a co-operative. You are, in fact, currently chairman of that co-operative. Elected by your fellow players, I presume. Well, I'm elected as a director of the orchestra, and the board of directors elect me as chairman.

Speaker 116:08

Cool.

Presenter16:17

Must mean a lot of extra work. Do you get any perks?

Presenter16:21

Well, not really, no. It it is quite a bit of extra work, yes. Do you and your committee decide which concerts you should play, which towns you visit, which soloists you engage?

Presenter16:34

Yes, we decide um everything really. We we have uh total control over the artistic policy and conductors and everything to do with the orchestra.

Speaker 216:44

Yeah.

Presenter16:44

Normally what happens is that we decide what conductors we'd like to have and we do our utmost to get those conductors. It's all by democratic decision. Isn't it sometimes a long way round if there has to be consultation the whole time? Well the the the democratic part of it is the fact that all the members of the orchestra shareholders in the company. Yes. And they elect the directors. The actors have board meetings about every two weeks and we we sort of oversee what happens. And we have a professional office staff who carry out the day-to-day

Presenter17:14

A running of the orchestra. Who's your present principal conductor?

Presenter17:18

Well, Sir George Shulte is the present principal conductor, and he runs through next season.

Presenter17:24

And then he retires from that position and class tension takes over in the 83, 84 season. Who decides on the works to be played? Is that also a cooperative thing between the conductor and the orchestral committee? Well, the conductor have their favourite pieces and we we decide with the conductor what they want to do and also in conjunction with what perhaps the recording companies would like to record with that particular conductor. Yes, recording is a very important part of the work, isn't it? Oh yes, yes. Is there a sort of repertoire committee to decide which work should be rehearsed and added to the repertoire?

Speaker 117:51

But it could work, isn't it?

Presenter17:58

Yes, we have a have a programme committee, which is three of the directors, the uh managing director and the concerts manager. And of course you do film jobs as well as ordinary commercial recording. Yes, I mean the orchestra can do anything.

Presenter18:11

We can play anything from rock music to uh classical music. And you do um rock records occasionally, backings? Well, yes. Uh we we we did the uh original soundtrack of uh Jesus Christ Superstar, all that sort of thing. We we've done disco records. Uh you name it, we can play it. Well that's fine.

Speaker 118:14

And who don't

Presenter18:33

Is the competition between the orchestras pretty cutthroat? I mean, suppose I represented an organization which wanted to give a a big concert. Would it be to my advantage to telephone round all the big London orchestras and get a quote from each?

Presenter18:48

Well yes, I suppose it could be. Obviously if you want uh the best quality you'd have to come to us. Yes, I I I assume that. You know, uh I think the fees of players in the orchestras are generally fairly similar. So there wouldn't be a lot in it in the orchestra. No, I wouldn't have thought so. It would would depend on who was a conductor.

N.Busch18:55

But

Speaker 118:55

Uh

Speaker 219:03

Yeah.

Presenter19:07

That is the big criteria, because the most famous conductors are the most expensive.

Presenter19:13

What's your second record, Nick? Well, I'm going to um depart from uh the classical side of music because uh I like all sorts of music and uh one of the uh artists I particularly think is really great in the rock side or pop side or whatever you like to call it is David Bowie and I feel I must have some of his things. He he's such a talented man.

Presenter19:40

Bass Oddity by David Bowie.

Presenter19:43

Now, Kutch, you've been violinist with the orchestra for all these years. You've also appeared as a solo pianist with the orchestra.

Speaker 119:48

Yeah.

Presenter19:49

Yes, I feel I was most fortunate to have that opportunity, and I thank Sir Adam Bolt for that. Mhm. He heard that I was a pianist, asked me to play for him, and I did.

Presenter20:01

Then I had to play for the orchestra, and I played the whole of Beethoven G major, including the cadenzas.

Presenter20:07

And believe it or not, I had not one concert date, but about three. So I had a taste of what it's like to be a concert pianist. What does it feel like? Was it a relief after your hours of glory to get back to your dascour? It was a great pleasure and relief, but uh

Speaker 120:20

Yeah, that's good.

Presenter20:25

It was very nerve-wracking for me because I'm not continuously playing the piano, you see.

Speaker 220:29

Uh

Presenter20:29

But I felt so happy that I had that opportunity.

Presenter20:33

Because I love playing in the orchestra. You're playing with

Presenter20:37

It's a family. And I know what a terrible life it must be to be a concert pianist. I admire them. I don't envy them. Well, you've been with this family for what, forty four years now?

Speaker 120:46

For you being

Presenter20:49

Well, yes, on and off. I left the orchestra for two or three years, not because I left him, but I went back to Canada once and REF for six months and so on. But I've more or less I've been with him since nineteen thirty eight. You joined as as a a first violin.

Speaker 121:01

Yeah.

Presenter21:04

Then you elected to play a second violin. That's right. Last eight years I've been playing in the second films. I couldn't be happier.

Presenter21:10

At my age I'm very happy to play second fiddle, and what a pleasure, because it is important too.

Presenter21:16

You told us of the crisis the orchestra went through when war broke out. Have there been any other crises?

Presenter21:22

Oh, I suppose there have been, but I can't think of any. I mean, there have been sort of ups and downs that one gets in an orchestra, but it's sort of uh ironed itself out affably. Everything was fine. Yes. Where is the orchestra based? I mean, the B B C has its made avail studio.

Speaker 121:33

Yeah.

Presenter21:39

The London Symphony Orchestra is now latched on to the barbican. Where do you rehearse? Where do you order?

Speaker 121:43

Where do you go?

Presenter21:46

But n with not only us, it's the LSO and other orchestras, but it's more or less our rehearsal home. Where is that? That's uh where is it, Nick? Well, it's just off the Borough High Street, Trinity Church Square.

Speaker 121:55

Tight.

Presenter21:59

Who has the next record? Uh, coach, John Coachme, you have another record. What's your second?

Presenter22:05

Well, I chose the Brahms Symphony number one, with Sir Agin conducting.

Presenter22:10

And there's no doubt in my mind Sir Adrian has always been one of the greatest interpreters of Brahms of all times.

Presenter22:18

So what a happy think to of a record which I took part in conducted by Sir Agent. With, of course, the LPO. LPO, London Vermont Corkstrah. Isn't that marvellous?

Presenter22:31

Part of the last movement of the Brahms' first symphony, the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Belt.

Presenter22:39

Martin Perry, what are your hobbies outside music?

Speaker 222:41

My big passion, far from music, is flying. Is it? I'm halfway there at the moment. Unfortunately the the LPA doesn't give you enough free time, um especially any paid free time. For the Nick here might be able to do something about that. So I'm fighting a losing battle there, but I'm I'm struggling.

Presenter22:44

Yeah.

Presenter22:55

Sorry.

Presenter22:59

On the desert island I think we'll put you in charge of the escaping committee. You might be able to design a glider to take you to another island.

Speaker 223:05

Well, if you could provide all the bits and pieces, I'd do my best at uh

Speaker 223:09

Flying off.

Presenter23:09

How are you going to allocate tasks on the island? Who does the cooking among you four? Any volunteers?

Speaker 223:15

Uh

Speaker 223:16

I wouldn't mind doing the cooking. I think somebody else would have to catch the fish though, because someone would do it.

Presenter23:19

Right, who's the fisherman? Uh

Speaker 223:21

I'd like to be the fisherman. Yeah.

Presenter23:22

Could. No, perhaps not. I've got a lot of things. Have you done any? Yes. Oh, well, that's all right, then. Can we have a dishwasher there?

Presenter23:32

Well, I thought you might volunteer for that, Nick. Do you think between you you could make a go of it? What do you think, Mari? Could you?

N.Busch23:38

Well, I could do a little plain cooking. I like cooking joints and ordinary things. And I don't mind washing up. It's a thing I rather like doing.

Presenter23:45

Um

N.Busch23:46

So

Presenter23:46

Who's gonna do the building, who's gonna make the hud?

Speaker 223:49

I think Nick Nick will do that, as he's the the strong man here.

Presenter23:49

Nothing.

Presenter23:53

Well, I suppose I I do do a bit of do it yourself, or round the home. Maybe I could knock something up. Anyone of you done any sailing?

Presenter24:02

Yes, well I have, yes, I have.

Speaker 124:02

Yeah.

Speaker 124:03

You have

Presenter24:05

Would you try to escape? Do you know anything about navigation? From this lot, yes, I think I'm sure.

Speaker 224:08

You learned.

Speaker 224:10

Uh Uh

Presenter24:12

You wouldn't take your friends?

Speaker 224:12

You would

Presenter24:16

Well, I'd try it out first to see if the boat worked. Yes, and if it did, you wouldn't come back. Right, let's have another record, and it's Martin's turn.

Speaker 224:27

Well I'd have something to remind me of orchestral playing. I think one of the greatest composers for the orchestra is Mahler, and I'd like to have the adagietto from the Fifth Symphony. This is a particularly good movement for the woodwind, but in fact it's scored entirely for strings and harp. So when we come to this particular moment in the evening we can sit back and enjoy our colleagues working.

Presenter24:55

The beginning of the Adagiette, the fourth movement, of Mahler's Fifth Symphony, the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Tenstedtt.

Presenter25:03

L Marie Wilson, during the years you must have gone on a lot of tours. Did you go to China with the orchestra some years ago?

N.Busch25:10

Yes, we were the first talkers to do going to China, weren't we?

Presenter25:14

Yes. What did you enjoy most about it?

N.Busch25:16

Oh, I enjoyed it all. It was wonderful. They're wonderful people, weren't they?

Presenter25:20

Yeah.

N.Busch25:20

Yeah. They were so

N.Busch25:22

Oh, they were so anxious to hear us and in the mornings when we had rehearsals there used to be an audience as big as the concerts at night because they couldn't house them all day and um They they just absolutely wrapped you with their attention, they were wonderful. And when we went into the streets, when we went round by with cars and things, they used to stand about four deep to see us and and they clapped us all, didn't they, as we went past. And then I loved the lovely little children, beautiful children, lovely rosy cheeked children.

Speaker 125:46

Yeah.

Presenter25:46

Bye, as we went.

Presenter25:52

And did they show you the great wall?

N.Busch25:54

Oh yes, we went on the wall on a Sunday morning. I remember that very much. It's pretty steep walking.

Presenter25:55

The son

N.Busch25:59

Do you remember Ida Handel? She was playing the concerto and she had her high boots on. She was trying to get along. Yes. And the hat box. Yes, it was lovely.

Presenter26:01

Yeah.

Presenter26:04

Big hat.

Presenter26:08

Kutch, that wasn't the orchestra's first visit to the Far East, was it? No, no. We went to places like Hong Kong, Philippines, etcetera. I believe it was the first British orchestra to tour Russia, is that true? Yes, that's the first time.

Speaker 126:21

Yes, that's the only thing.

Presenter26:23

Was it nineteen fifty six? Mhm, I think, something like that, yeah.

Presenter26:27

Murray, in addition to the long hours of rehearsals and concerts, you have a a lot of extra travelling time to put in. You live down near the Sussex coast.

N.Busch26:35

Yes, I do. I I live in uh Lewis, near Sussex, where the guy I'm born opera works. In the summer time, which is very good for me, but in the winter it's very hard travelling. We have to go go up early in the morning, come up

Presenter26:42

In the summertime.

N.Busch26:51

Um about midnight very often.

N.Busch26:53

So there's quite a lot of travelling, but I don't mind. I do most of my sleeping in the trains. I enjoy s I enjoy train traveling.

Presenter26:58

Joyce, George Range. The orchestra plays at Glindbourn every year. Yes. That must be a great pleasure.

N.Busch27:02

Yeah.

N.Busch27:04

I think it's our is it our nineteenth season? Nineteen sixty four we started.

Presenter27:07

Yeah.

Speaker 227:09

Yes, so Yeah.

Presenter27:09

Yes, we've done everything.

Speaker 227:09

We've done over over a thousand performances there, haven't we?

N.Busch27:11

Have we

Presenter27:12

Yeah. Performance is reclinable.

Speaker 227:13

Yeah.

Presenter27:14

Koch, the orchestra is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. How did they celebrate the actual day?

Presenter27:22

Well, uh celebrated by a drink first and then hearing the same program as they first did when it was formed. And the very first piece they played with Beecham was Carnival Romain.

Presenter27:36

And by Joe Yes, Berlios. And by Jove, Beecham could do that. It's like fire.

Speaker 127:37

Bare night.

Presenter27:41

He loved French music, didn't he? Absolute magic. Now we've got one more record to hear out of this Commonal Eight.

Presenter27:49

And that's Murray Wilson's second disc. What is it, Murray?

N.Busch27:52

Well, it's a piece by Faure.

N.Busch27:55

It's called Pavan, and I've always thought it was such a beautiful piece. It's very short.

N.Busch28:01

And it's with orchestra with voices. And I always feel I liked to hear that when I was dying. But I'd like to take that with me. I do love it very much.

Presenter28:17

An excerpt from Forrest Parvan, Daniel Baremboim, conducting the Paris Orchestra.

Presenter28:24

Now, on the island are a Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare for communal use, but you may each choose one other book and one luxury, one object of no practical use. Marie, what would you choose?

N.Busch28:38

I think I'd like a very good cookbook. I'm very fond of food and um

Presenter28:42

Yes, I think I'll cons

N.Busch28:43

We could all share in that copy.

Presenter28:45

Your companions would appreciate it.

N.Busch28:46

Yeah.

N.Busch28:48

Well this sounds awfully ridiculous but I will take my violin because in this life we never have any time to do any practice and not since I was very young have I done any what I call real practice. So I should go with my fiddle. I don't need any music because it's all in my head and I shall practise every day far away as possible from then and I might become quite a fine player again in my own right.

Presenter29:03

Yeah.

Presenter29:07

After

Speaker 229:07

And huh?

Speaker 229:12

Martin.

Speaker 229:13

I would like to take that marvellous book by Hugh Johnson, The World Atlas of Wine.

Speaker 229:18

And by luxury, I think well to go with that a what better than um a nice varied selection of wine. Could that be arranged?

Presenter29:25

Could that be arranged? Very sensible choice. You w we'll arrange that, yes. John, coach me. Well, believe it or not, I would like to have all the Dickens books, but I don't suppose I

Presenter29:35

That's not allowed. We'll allow you to do that.

Speaker 129:37

So I'll take

Presenter29:41

Christmas Carol. I would be very happy to have that book. That's a short book. You can choose another Dickens book to bind with it. Which will you have?

Presenter29:48

Pickwick papers. Right. And one luxury to take with you. Well, again, I'm going to ask you for something you won't believe. I'd like to have.

Presenter29:57

Lauren Hardy film called The Chump at Oxford. Oh, yes. Now that's so marvelous. I th they could be very happy looking and having that film.

N.Busch30:00

Oh yeah.

Presenter30:05

We'll arrange a videotape for you. Thank you very much. And Nicholas Bush, one book.

Presenter30:10

Well, years ago I read

Presenter30:13

Hector Belles' autobiography. And I thought that was absolutely fantastic. He was an absolute madman. Yes, a marvellous book. A marvelous book. Quite a great book. And I've never had a chance to read it since, so I think I'd have to take that as the book. Yes. For the luxury item, I'm a little bit upset because Martin Parry is taking all the wine. So as long as I can share in his wine, because that's really what I wanted to take, endless supply of wine, I would like an endless supply of razors and shaving soap. All right.

Speaker 130:43

That's right.

Presenter30:45

You're going to be a very tidy castaway. And thank you very much, all four of you, for letting us hear your two desert island discs each. Happy 50th birthday celebrations and long live the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Thank you very much, thank you.

Speaker 230:59

Thank you very much.

Presenter31:00

Goodbye, everyone.

Speaker 231:01

Yeah.

N.Busch31:01

Yeah.

Speaker 231:02

Yeah.