Jan Younghusband, BBC Music’s head of TV commissioning, has announced a series of autumn classical music television commissions across BBC Four.
Highlights include a documentary on tenor Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor for the Ages, by filmmaker John Bridcut, as a part of BBC Opera Season. There’s also a retrospective to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of cellist Jacqueline du Pré.
Younghusband commented: “It seemed a good time to pause and reflect on Jacqueline’s career, her unique contribution to the world, and the loss we still feel in the music world now that she is not with us anymore.”
Alongside these new announcements for BBC Four, Younghusband has commissioned a two-part documentary on BBC Two, Lucy Worsley’s Nights At The Opera, in collaboration with the V&A’s forthcoming autumn exhibition. The series will see the presenter travel to six different cities across Europe to explore how opera has a key role in the history of these cities.
The autumn opera season, on which the BBC is also working with the Royal Opera House, features new films, documentaries, performances and special projects across BBC Two, BBC Four, Radio 3 and BBC Arts Digital.
Younghusband said of the commissions: “Putting the artists centre stage, giving incredible access and celebrating the excellence of their craft, is my mission at BBC Music. BBC Four is the biggest commissioner of original classical music television programming and we have something for everyone to love, from cutting edge opera performance straight to your living room, to portraits of artistic excellence.”
By Zoë MacLellan
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