The week beginning 28 January 2013

Monday 28 January: Best of Composer of the Week 2012

(4) TAONGA PŪORO Amelia Nurse presents a programme on traditional Maori instruments and their context within contemporary composition (RNZ)

Wednesday 30 January: The Massey Lectures

The CBC Massey Lectures celebrated fifty years in 2011 with bestselling author, essayist, cultural observer, and famed New Yorker contributor Adam Gopnik.

His subject is winter - the season, the space, the cycle. Gopnik takes us on an intimate tour of the artists, poets, composers, writers, explorers, scientists, and thinkers, who helped shape a new and modern idea of winter. A stunningly beautiful meditation buoyed by Gopnik's trademark gentle wit, Winter is at once an enchanting homage to an idea of a season and a captivating journey through the modern imagination.

Winter - five windows on the season

(5) (CBC)

See the CBC website for this programme

Thursday 31 January: Song of America

This 13-part series presented by Thomas Hampson examines connections between poetry, music, history and culture from the perspective of classic American song

(5) War Cries

Throughout history, America has gone to war with bravado and with anguish. Songs have helped to shape those emotions and to express them, whether inspiring courage or lamenting losses (WFMT)

See the Song of America website for this programme.

Friday 1 February: 2012 Gramophone Awards

Best Concerto Recording

BERG: Violin Concerto, To the Memory of an Angel; BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto in D Op 61 - Isabelle Faust (vln), Mozart Orch/Claudio Abbado (Harmonia Mundi HMC 90 2105)