TELEVISION PREVIEW
V RADIO
Sunday opening
Even Sunday afternoon, that sleepiest 3
time of the week, has come in for something of a shake up at Radio Scotland. llothing so dramatic, to be sure, as the unceremonious dumping of Oueen Street Gardens or Art Sutter, has befallen the Sunday afternoon
concert, but, if you tune in at 2.30pm - i 1 public service spirit, these
performances are intended to
encourage a Wigmore Hall-type
‘ tradition of concert-going in Scotland.
grip your armchair tightly - you might hear live improvisation.
‘It used to be really rather boring,’ says producer Ann McKay, who was appointed to the programme this autumn, ‘everything was pre-recorded and fairly predictable. We liked the idea of chamber music on Sunday afternoons, but we are now using the slot as a platform for young artists. They perform work usually of their own choosing in front of a studio audience, and are broadcast live, which creates a real buzz.’ llew also is Geoff Baskerville, one of Radio Scotland’s most interesting presenters, who provides longer, more anecdotal introductions to both music and performers, and chats with the musicians between pieces. This format is unique to Radio Scotland, according to Ann McKay. is that because musicians don’t much like having their concentration interrupted? ‘Some of them are quite nervous it’s true - much more so about talking live than about playing. We
don’t force them to speak. if it’s a contemporary composer, then we
might get him or her instead.
Basically, the idea is to demystify
F things a bit’ - to make it less crusty? I - ‘exactly’.
Apart from making more exciting programmes for listeners, in true BBC
For fairness’s sake they are held
alternately in Glasgow and Edinburgh,
and they are absolutely free. Highlights of the Spring season include the aforementioned improvisation by Scottish pianist Steven Osborne on 13 February - he
. will also play Chopin’s Sonata No 3 in B minor and a selection of Ravel’s
Miroirs; a rare chance to hear ancient sackbutts and comets in a programme of Rennaissance and Baroque music; and the British radio debut of the rising Viennese piano star and Schubert specialist Ingeborg Baldaszti. (Catherine Fellows)
Tickets can be obtained in advance from Margaret Beaton, c/o Room 209, BBC Broadcasting House, Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow G12 BDG (enclose an S.A.E.), 041 330 2716, or on the day from BBC Main Reception in Glasgow or Edinburgh.
- V HIGHLIGHTS
Marina Warner tackles Monsters in the 1994 Reith Lectures
I The Reith lectures (Radio 3) Sat 29 Jan. 9.50—10.20pm. A second chance to hear Marina Warner‘s first lecture of a series of six entitled ‘Managing Monsters'. In this one. ‘Monstrous Mothers: Women over the Top‘. she links the current paranoia about single mothers with ancient myths about the dangers of uncontrollably fertile women. A combination of subject matter like that and a speaker of Warner's erudition and originality is not to be missed. Highly recommended. The second lecture. ‘Boys Will be Boys: the Making ofthe Male‘ can be heard on Radio 4 on Wed 2 Feb. 8.45pm. and again on Radio 3. Sat 5 Feb. 9.50pm.
I The War of the End of the World (Radio 4) Sun 30 Jan. 2.30—3.30pm (First of four parts). 1t may seetn extraordinary that a world class novelist should have very nearly become President of Peru. but that is as nothing compared to the wonder of Mario Vargas 1.losa starring in an
' adaptation of his own fantastical novel on
Radio 4. We hold our breath.
I Radio Eddie ITtI (Radio ()ne) Sun 30
Jan. l—2pm. The Edinburgh l-‘estival veteran is apparently TV shy. ‘Best Live Stand-Up‘ at the British Comedy Awards
notwithstanding. Hence. perhaps. this
one-off radio slot. in which lizard will be choosing his favourite tunes and generally entertaining the nation.
I Itchy Feet (Radio 4) Sun 30 Jan. 11.45attt-12.l5pm. The first part of a travel series with a difference: Socrates said that everything is to be fotmd in your own backyard if you're wearing the right glasses. and this one is as likely to look at stationary spiritual journeys as it is to
explore music in the Andes or baths in
Turkey. This is one of those radio concepts that promises to be fascinating. but could be far too ambitions for half an hour.
I A Different Rhythm (Radio 3) Mon 31 Jan. 4.25—4.55pm. ‘Popular music‘ Radio 3 style: this edition of the series looking at the influence of black musicians on their British counterparts and gets to grips with reggae. It's hard to believe that wonderful. pervasive. pulsing sound didn't arrive here until the 70s. let alone that Tony Blackburn had a lot to do with airing it — but these are just the kind of revelations that this programme is full of.
I Youth for Hell (Radio 3) Thurs 3 Feb. 7.25~9.05pm. No. not another gloomy documentary on social collapse: this is a live performance of Mahler's Eighth Symphony. which w as inspired by the final scene of (ioethe's [5111151. 11 heralds the start of two weeks spotted with concerts on a theme of i-aust. with work by Berlioz. (iounod. Schumann and Schnittke amongst others.
We clear the VHS decks with a round-up of the video releases heading for the shops this fortnight.
Rental
I Dangerous Desire ( 18) Straight-to-video. do not pass go for this frankly ludicrous tale of a bloke who is injected with cat hormones by his reckless geneticist girlfriend. He naturally develops feline attributes. including lion- like savagery. and the randiness of an alley cat. The tension (the what?) is regularly undermined by a stream of pussy puns. and the hero is predictably called Tom. Miaow. (20:20 Vision)
I Death Wish V: The Face Of Death 1 18) The title is prestnnably a reference to Charles Bronson‘s visage. featuring more lines than your TV screen. Routine vigilante nonsense of a nasty sort. without any redeeming element of style. ((iuild)
I Passenger 57 ( 15) No- holds-barrcd two- ditnensional action stuff iii the [)11' Hard mould here. Wesley Snipes is the anti-terrorist expert who just happens to be on board when a hijacker takes over ajet. Unlikely but exciting with it.
I In The Soup 1 15) Alexander Rockwell's semi-autobiographical recollections of his time as a struggling young director are the starting point for a witty and thoughtful comedy. Steve Buscemi (of Rt'Xt’I’l'Ufl‘ Dogs and Miller 3‘ C'ros‘xirtg fame) plays the penniless film wannabe who finds himself involved with a small- titne crook (Seymour Cassell) who wants to finance his movie. Look out for a catneo appearance from Jim Jarmusch as a sleazy film producer. (Tartan)
I Crimes Of Passion: Victim Of love 1 15) (Odyssey)
I Death In Small Doses (15) (Odyssey)
I Fatal Deception: Mrs lee Harvey Oswald 115) (Warner)
I Dangerous Touch 1 18 ) (Polygratn)
I Woman Of Desire 1 is) (Medusa)
I Good Cop Bad Cop 1 IX) (Medusa)
I Desperate Justice 1 15) (Odyssey)
I The War For Baby Jessica (PG) (Odyssey)
Sell-through
I Closely Observed Trains ( 15) You want Czech new-wave artiness'.’ You got it. with Jiri Menzel’s Oscar-winning tragi-comic tale of the pubescent fixations of a rural railway guard during the war. whose sexual urges are of more pressing concern than the German occupation. (Connoisseur £15.99)
I The Shop On The High Street ( 15) Another Czech film set during the war. it manages to elicit ironic comedy frotn the grim subject of Aryan ‘ethnic cleansing‘. (Connoisseur £15.99)
I A Blonde In Love 1 15) An early film from Milos Porntan. it's the simple tale of a young factory worker‘s search for a piano player with whom she has fallen in love after a one-night stand. (Connoisseur £15.99)
I Daisies ( l5) Vera Chytilova's avant-garde satire is a kind of Mittel- Europe expressionist 'l'ltt'lmu Am/ [.()lll.\'(’ following the adventures of two wayward women causing havoc with their stilettos (shoes rather than switch-blades). (Connoisseur £15.99)
I The Story Of Oiu Ju (15) [hang Yimou‘s simple tale of a peasant woman‘s struggle for justice after her husband is assaulted by a village chief. manages to combine humour. compassion and some pointed comments on Chinese bureaucracy. (Electric £15.99)
72 The List 28 January-10 February 1994
I The Baby Of Macon (18) Critics were of the consensus that Greenaway had finally gone too far with this lushly-shot intricate dramatisation of a play performed in the mid |7th century. The performance is a religious story of a beautiful child born in a town suffering frotn barrenness. Gradually the demarcation lines between perfonnance and reality
blur. resulting in the
‘ actors becoming identified with their roles and
treated accordingly. A mass rape scene caused most of the critical outrage. and it does (X‘casionally appear that the director is revelling in
the outrages he is
depicting. (Electric £15.99)
I Picnic At Hanging Rock (PG) (Electric £15.99)
I The Tune (PG) (Tartan £15.99)
I Diary Of A Lost Girl (15) (Tartan £15.99)
I The Voyage ( 15 ) (Tartan £15.99)
I L’Accompagnatrice (15) (Tartan £15.99)
I Gangsters (PC) A documentary looking at the life and crimes of Al Capone. (Columbia Tristar)
I Public Enemies 1 15) The stories of mobster John Dillinger and murderer The Black Panther. (Columbia Tristar)
I Multiple Murderers
( 15) More ghoulish stuff about the Yorkshire Ripper and the Boston Strangler. (Columbia Tristar)
I Great Robberies 1P0 ) Oh. cotne on this is getting silly. (Columbia Tristar)
I Don’t look flow 1 IX) (Warner £10.99)
I Cat And Mouse 1 15) (Warner £10.99)
I The Wicker Man 1 18) (Warner £10.99)
I Cold Sweat 1 15) (Warner £10.99)
I The Rebel/T he Punch And Judy Man (U ) (Warner £ 12.99)
I The Green Man/Will Any Gentleman? (PG) (Warner £12.99)
I White Sands 1 15) (Warner £10.99)
I Bronco Billy (PG) (Warner £6.99)
I Baby Boom 1P0) (Warner £6.99)
I Graffiti Bridge 115)
1 Warner £6.99)
I Mannequin (PG)
(Warner £6.99)
I Citizen Cohn 115) (Warner £10.99)
f I Power Play (15)
(Warner £10.99)
3 ISinglesHS)
5 Relationship neuroses
1
among the Seattle set. with an excellent grunge soundtrack. (Warner £10.99)
I White Men Can’t Jump
‘ (15)(?-‘ox£10.99)
I Juice 1 15) (Fox £12.99)