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Composer
124 episodes
Chosen over the decades
123
Total castaways
1980s
Peak decade
7
Decades seen
Castaways who chose this
Neil Simon on his brother predicting at age 15 he’d be America’s best comedy writer
Patricia Hodge on seeing Where the Rainbow Ends at age ten
How hearing the Turangalîla symphony in a lift convinced Harrison Birtwistle to become a composer
John Schlesinger on his father's question about the Jewish character in Sunday Bloody Sunday
Ralf Dahrendorf on being called a social democrat in the Hitler Youth
How Fred Zinnemann's violin playing made his baby brother cry and his dog howl
Richard Rogers on being beaten at boarding school for failing to remember lines
Michael Tilson Thomas on being told to put his suit on and conduct mid-concert
How a novice master warned Trevor Huddleston he would miss children
Peter Donohoe on putting his hands under his armpits in a 70mph car crash
How a photograph of Roald Dahl's nieces convinced Patricia Neal to marry him
Victoria Wood on writing a song after being rejected for a part in Loot
How writing the first letter of each word cured Richard Condon's stutter
Jacques Cousteau on breaking thirty windows while testing a movie myth
Julia McKenzie on her first job as an understudy after only seeing the show three times
J K Galbraith on interrogating Nazi leaders like Goering and Speer
Jack Higgins on his first job as a messenger boy in the Leeds cleansing department
How a freeze in the 800 metres forced Sebastian Coe to refocus for the 1500 final