The Lark Ascending


01:55 am - 02:25 am, Monday, July 13 on BBC Four (9)

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About this Broadcast

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Diana Rigg explores the enduring popularity of composer Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, which was written in 1914 as Europe approached the First World War. The programme culminates in a performance by 15-year-old violinist Julia Hwang and pianist Charles Matthews at Shirehampton Public Hall, Bristol, where the piece was premiered in December 1920. Featuring contributions by actor Peter Sallis, performer Tasmin Little, and critic and friend of the composer, Michael Kennedy


HD subtitles 16x9
Classical Music/Ballet/Dance

Cast & Crew

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Diana Rigg (Presenter)
Tasmin Little (Contributor)
Peter Sallis (Contributor)
Michael Kennedy (Contributor)
Julia Hwang (Performer)
Charles Matthews (Performer)
Maggie Mathews (Producer)
Jenny Walmsley (Producer)
Roger Farrant (Executive producer)

More Information

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Did You Know..

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Diana Rigg (Presenter)
Born: July 20, 1938 in Doncaster
Best Known For: Being a 1960s icon.
Early-life: Born Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg on July 20, 1938, in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, but spent her early years in India. At the age of eight she was sent back to England to attend boarding school in Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire. She later transferred to Fulneck School in West Yorkshire where she developed her love of acting, inspiring her to audition for a place at RADA in 1955; she made her professional stage debut the same year.
Career: In 1959, Rigg signed a five-year contract with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her move to TV came in 1965 when she was offered the role of Emma Peel in The Avengers, but the demand for interviews and photographs proved too much, forcing her to quit in 1967. She went on to star in various movies, including On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Julius Caesar and The Great Muppet Caper, but by the 1980s her screen success was fading. However, she returned to form in 1989 in the award-winning miniseries Mother Love, and has appeared continually on stage, film and TV ever since. In 2013, she made a memorable Doctor Who villain alongside Matt Smith and her real-life daughter Rachael Stirling, and has a regular role in the acclaimed Game of Thrones.
Quote: 'You go your own way - you think, ‘That's what I want to do, it gives me pleasure' - the rest of the world can swing on by.'
Trivia: She was made a Dame in 1994.
Tasmin Little (Contributor)
Peter Sallis (Contributor)
Born: February 01, 1921 in Twickenham, Middlesex
Best Known For: Playing Clegg in Last of the Summer Wine and providing the voice of Wallace in Wallace & Gromit.
Early-life: Peter Sallis was born on February 1, 1921, in Twickenham, Middlesex. His first job was as a bank clerk and he held no desire to be an actor until he became an RAF instructor during the Second World War. One of his pupils, Peter Bridge, asked him to play the leading part in Noel Coward's Hay Fever at the YMCA. Peter never looked back and eventually maked his TV debut in a 1947 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Career: Roles in films such as Doctor in Love, The Mouse on the Moon, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Charlie Bubbles followed. BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine made him a household name. He featured in all 295 episodes as Norman Clegg between 1973 and 2010. He also played his character's father in short-lived prequel First of the Summer Wine. He was also the voice of Wallace of Wallace & Gromit fame in the acclaimed A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and A Matter of Loaf and Death. He was awarded an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list for services to drama. He died on June 2, 2017 at the age of 96.
Quote: 'I don't eat it, because of the cholesterol effect. I've never eaten much in the way of cheese ever. However, I don't mind pretending that I like it.'
Trivia: When Sallis was first asked by Nick Park to voice Wallace for a student film, he donatated his £50 fee to charity.
Michael Kennedy (Contributor)
Julia Hwang (Performer)
Charles Matthews (Performer)
Maggie Mathews (Producer)
Jenny Walmsley (Producer)
Roger Farrant (Executive producer)