Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A singer, scientist and pharmaceutical entrepreneur who built his own business and sang in all of London's major concert halls.
On the island
Eight records
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64: II. Andante
Yehudi Menuhin, Orchestre des Concerts Colonne, Georges Enescu
Yehudi Menuhin came into my life in the thirties when we lived in Amsterdam. ... And here was this genius of a young boy, Yehudi Menuhin, with the name Yehudi, meaning Jew in Hebrew, going round the world playing his magic violin and we were all so proud and we were all thinking, well, in spite of everything that's being said about us, just look, here is someone who plays like an angel and there was great pride we all had and I think it'd be nice to be reminded of all this.
My first sounds perhaps were the Hebrew and Yiddish which which I heard in the house and in synagogue. And perhaps we could illustrate this with a Yiddish song called Lachaim to your health.
Sea Pictures, Op. 37: IV. Where Corals Lie
Janet Baker, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
The next recording I'd like to hear brings back memories of my years in Manchester. ... I also at the time became very, very fond of English music, particularly Elgar, and I would love to hear Janet Baker sing one of the Elgar Sea Pictures.
Ralph Kohn, English Chamber Orchestra, Anthony Halstead
Well, the next record, if you can bear it, is one which I recorded as a result of my s starting to study singing in Rome. If you sang, the first thing in Italy which they would teach you would be the Belcanto style of singing.
Beniamino Gigli, Orchestra of La Scala Milan, Franco Ghione
I spent a fantastic afternoon at Gilli's home in Rome. ... And of course it's very relevant to Rome because all three acts take place in Rome.
Coffee Cantata, BWV 211: Hat man nicht mit seinen Kindern
Ralph Kohn, English Chamber Orchestra, Ian Watson
Bach isn't only cantatas, church cantatas and m B minor mass, St. John's and St. Matthew's Christmas oratorio, but there is a lighter side to Bach too, the Bach of some of the cantatas, and I thought perhaps we might listen to a little bit of the coffee cantata with an aria called Hatman nicht mit seinen kindan.
Richard Tauber, Mischa Spoliansky
I was extremely fortunate in really always working with ... the best, absolutely the best. And I'd like to to listen to someone I also regard as the best, uh, Lichardaubo.
Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248: SinfoniaFavourite
English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner
Well, my last record, perhaps for that, we're coming back to my great love of Bach, and perhaps we could hear a little of the part of the sinfonia from the Christmas oratorio. Now, that brings back certain memories.
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:07Do you wish that you'd had the courage of your passion for music and actually followed that rather as seriously as you have the science?
I think we've got to go back to my early childhood, which uh was a a rather difficult one. ... We were refugees, uh went to Holland first. ... left Holland during the war to come to England. So it seemed to me that if I were to have a profession which looked fairly secure, that at long last I could perhaps settle down and do that, rather than go for a life in music with all the problems that that might involve. Yes, I think the security aspect was very important. I didn't want to take too many risks and I decided to play it safe
Presenter asks
5:52Your father had decided that you should up and off [from Leipzig in 1933]. That was quite far sighted of him, really, wasn't it?
Absolutely. He felt the atmosphere was just bad and he could see that things were going to go from bad to worse.
Presenter asks
7:00How much did the family leave behind [when leaving Germany]? I mean, it was a huge sacrifice when your father took that decision.
We actually were able in thirty three to take our furniture with us. And I I do remember that when we went to Amsterdam, we were able to live in under very reasonable circumstances. Whether there were restrictions on taking money out or so, I really wouldn't know because I was ... What about four years old? So I I wouldn't uh remember that at all.
The keepsakes
The book
The Complete Works of Bach (Gustav Mahler's annotated copy)
Johann Sebastian Bach
I think I'll have a bit of time on the island
The luxury
I'm hoping that if you allow me this particular magic flute, that when I play it I might sort of conjure up my Papagena in the form of my wife.
Presenter asks
9:05You only got out [of Amsterdam] in the nick of time, didn't you? You were twelve years old. You must remember it quite clearly.
We actually left Amsterdam on the day itself when Amsterdam was occupied by the Germans, fourteenth of may, nineteen forty. We were desperate to leave, and that was the occasion when we literally left the house. ... Close the door. ... were unable to take anything with us and went to Eymouden, which is the harbour of Amsterdam, about thirty miles away, and managed to get on a boat which left in the evening of the fourteenth of May.
Presenter asks
30:30Can you explain why it is that quite often people who came here with nothing have gone on to achieve preeminence in their field?
I I think perhaps um ... If you come as we did, um, as refugees with nothing, you have the urge to succeed. ... I think we've always got we refugees you know, we've always got the feeling, well, uh, you know, maybe uh although life has been difficult at times yet ... one has been successful
“I think we've got to go back to my early childhood, which uh was a a rather difficult one. I was born in Germany. We uh had the um problem uh there with the rise of Hitler uh to power and consequently we had to leave Germany. We were refugees, uh went to Holland first.”
“We actually left Amsterdam on the day itself when Amsterdam was occupied by the Germans, fourteenth of may, nineteen forty. We were desperate to leave, and that was the occasion when we literally left the house.”
“beyond belief uh in yourself, I think you must have a great passion, a great love for something. And I th I really do believe that whatever I do in life I do with great passion and great conviction and energy and enthusiasm, even if I don't succeed. But I look at something, and if I'm going to do it, then I will put everything into it. That is an obsession which I still have.”
“If you come as we did, um, as refugees with nothing, you have the urge to succeed.”