Leoš Janáček — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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desert is.land

“And if you could take only one…” — a semantic wireless tuned to the Desert Island Discs archive.

The listing

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Broadcasting since 1942
Long wave 198 kHz
An unofficial archive companion
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Not affiliated with the BBC · Built for the love of the long wave · Made by Daniel Hails

Leoš Janáček — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

Find a castaway Most requested Browse the archive About Report a fault

Composer

Leoš Janáček

23 episodes

Chosen over the decades

23

Total castaways

1990s

Peak decade

6

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Andrew Davis
Anthony Minghella
Berthold Goldschmidt
Charles Causley
Charles Mackerras
David Pountney
Earl of Harewood
Jeremy Isaacs
Jill Balcon
John Drummond
John Gunter
Josephine Barstow
Klaus Tennstedt
Lord Goodman
Quentin Blake
Rabbi Hugo Gryn
Richard Armstrong
Robert Powell
Simon Rattle
Sir George Christie
Sir Nicholas Goodison

Simon Rattle
Simon Rattle on his year at Oxford without listening to music
Castaway · 13 January 2008Kirsty Young
Jill Balcon
Jill Balcon on discovering her husband's affairs through his biography
Castaway · 14 October 2007Kirsty Young
Quentin Blake

desert is.land

“And if you could take only one…” — a semantic wireless tuned to the Desert Island Discs archive.

The listing

Find a castaway
Most requested
Browse the archive
About

Transmission

Broadcasting since 1942
Long wave 198 kHz
An unofficial archive companion
Report a fault

Not affiliated with the BBC · Built for the love of the long wave · Made by Daniel Hails

Quentin Blake on drawing with a waverly nib

Castaway · 1 October 2006Kirsty Young

06°24′S 069°37′W

David Pountney

David Pountney on hearing Fidelio from a barn crossbeam at age five

Castaway · 22 February 1998Sue Lawley

Anthony Minghella

04°45′S 119°55′W

Anthony Minghella

Anthony Minghella on sending actors home from Italy

Castaway · 9 November 1997Sue Lawley

Berthold Goldschmidt

12°35′S 065°21′W

Berthold Goldschmidt

Berthold Goldschmidt on being summoned by the Gestapo

Castaway · 13 November 1994Sue Lawley

Sir George Christie

23°21′S 076°00′W

Sir George Christie

George Christie on his son asking to see a hostess's opera house

Castaway · 16 October 1994Sue Lawley

Rabbi Hugo Gryn

01°40′S 058°44′W

Rabbi Hugo Gryn

Hugo Gryn on the night terrorists butchered his grandfather's livestock

Castaway · 10 July 1994Sue Lawley

14°04′S 015°38′W

John Drummond

John Drummond on the ten years of misery under Hugh Weldon

Castaway · 26 June 1994Sue Lawley

Klaus Tennstedt

04°57′S 097°44′W

Klaus Tennstedt

How Klaus Tennstedt conducted his first opera without any prior experience

Castaway · 22 September 1991Sue Lawley

17°04′S 090°11′W

Lord Goodman

Goodman on his only taste of absolute power in the army

Castaway · 6 January 1991Sue Lawley

05°55′S 055°35′W

Jeremy Isaacs

How bumping his head on the ceiling made Jeremy Isaacs dizzy with opera

Castaway · 26 June 1988Michael Parkinson

Sir Nicholas Goodison

06°51′S 119°35′W

Sir Nicholas Goodison

Nicholas Goodison on buying a cheap barometer that led to writing the standard reference book

Castaway · 1 March 1987Michael Parkinson

11°43′S 163°45′W

Andrew Davis

How a last-minute Janacek performance launched Andrew Davis's career

Castaway · 7 September 1986Michael Parkinson

12°04′S 142°46′W

John Gunter

John Gunter on designing a show for his mother that never happened

Castaway · 23 July 1983Roy Plomley

Richard Armstrong

19°17′S 121°57′W

Richard Armstrong

Richard Armstrong on how the Barber of Seville put him off opera

Castaway · 3 April 1982Roy Plomley

Earl of Harewood

20°56′S 022°29′W

Earl of Harewood

Earl of Harewood on worrying his royal bargaining power as a POW was a bluff

Castaway · 26 December 1981Roy Plomley

Charles Causley

13°52′S 010°57′W

Charles Causley

How Charles Causley wrote poetry in his head while serving in the Navy

Castaway · 1 December 1979Roy Plomley

Josephine Barstow

20°45′S 055°19′W

Josephine Barstow

Josephine Barstow on the morning she decided to become an opera singer

Castaway · 13 October 1979Roy Plomley

08°34′S 144°14′W

Robert Powell

Robert Powell on keeping his eyes open without blinking

Castaway · 6 January 1979Roy Plomley

12°40′S 092°56′W

Simon Rattle

Simon Rattle on the terrifying moment before his first rehearsal with an orchestra

Castaway · 5 August 1978Roy Plomley

Earl of Harewood

00°42′S 167°04′W

Earl of Harewood

Earl of Harewood on reading Grove's musical dictionary up to the letter S as a POW

Castaway · 25 December 1965Roy Plomley

Charles Mackerras

20°32′S 178°16′W

Charles Mackerras

Charles Mackerras on why he'd be an utterly ghastly castaway

Castaway · 24 August 1959Roy Plomley