27th October 1924
Ulysses, passage from Aeolus episode, reading by James Joyce on November 27, 1924 in Paris Finnegans Wake, Anna Livia Plurabelle, read by James Joyce, 1924 Chamber Music I – XX XVI, read by …
13th June 1971
This radio play was among the finalists selected for production in the Golden Windmill Radio Drama contest organised by Radio Netherlands together with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the …
25th June 1972
This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviewsPete Myers introduces us to world-famous Danish comedian and musician Victor Borge (1909-2000). We also hear from Nigerian writer Peter …
11th October 1972
This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviews18-year-old Shirley Bassey caused a sensation as the “Tigress from Cardiff Bay” when she first appeared in a London West End …
29th April 1973
This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviewsIngrid Bergman (1915-1982), one of the greatest screen actresses of the 20th century, looks back with Pete Myers on her career but also …
13th October 1973
This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviewsPete Myers introduces us to the great French chanson singer Juliette Gréco (1927-2020). From singing in the streets as a child, she became …
17th November 1976
This programme is part of the series Out of the Blue“Out of the Blue” was a series of broadcasts produced in the mid-1970’s on the sound and development of progressive rock. In the …
1st December 1976
This programme is part of the series Out of the Blue“Out of the Blue” was a series of broadcasts produced in the mid-1970’s on the sound and development of progressive rock. In this …
25th December 1977
The popular Christmas carol “Silent Night” was first performed in the Saint Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria on Christmas Eve 1818. This 1977 radio play reenacts a version of …
8th November 1982
Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was without a doubt the most successful 20th-century children’s book author in the pre-Harry Potter age. In 1982, he was guest of honour at the annual Children’s …
18th April 1983
David Attenborough’s epic film biography of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) presents a sweeping, masterful image of the life of India’s great pioneer of independence and 20th-century …
17th September 1985
Pete Myers remembers his earliest exposure to music, from his childhood in India to the days he accompanied African performers to the Soviet Union. Part 1: Childhood memories of Fred Astaire, …
22nd August 1988
David Swatling indulges his childhood fascinating with Jules Verne. We get some biographical information on the writer and reading from his work. We hear from a French Verne fan and a Dutch actor who …
26th December 1989
The Edison Award, the annual Dutch distinction for achievement in music, is one of the world’s oldest music awards. First presented in 1960, the Edison goes to musicians and performers in many …
13th August 1990
As a young rising star in radio at the BBC, Pete Myers interviewed some of the most memorable people in the entertainment world of his time. He decided in 1972 to keep a record of his impressions of …
31st October 1990
Paul Theroux is one of the world’s most famous and successful travel writers and an award-winning author of fiction. His description of Britain (“The Kingdom by the Sea”) and of …
5th November 1990
David Swatling presents a portrait of British film-maker Derek Jarman (1942-1994). His first film was “Sebastian”, spoken in Latin. Others include “Caravaggio”, “The …
19th March 1991
In this edition of Radio Netherlands’ weekly cultural programme, Images, Pierre Audi, artistic director of the Netherlands Opera, talks about the coming opera season in the Netherlands. …
30th September 1991
This programme is part of the series In So Many WordsWithin the European Community, Greek has the unique distinction of being a language spoken uninterruptedly for four thousand years. It has …
13th November 1991
Riccardo Chailly, was chief conductor of Amsterdam’s prestigious Concertgebouw Orchestra from 1988 to 2004, and in 2017 he was appointed music director of the world’s most famous opera …
10th February 1992
Radio drama is an old and illustrious art. In 1970, Radio Netherlands organised a radio drama competition to attract listeners in America. This play, “So Many Surprises” was one of the …
9th March 1992
Saturday Stage was a short entertainment series introduced by Jonathan Marks in early 1992. In this programme, four British comedians present a show mildly sending up Holland and the European …
13th November 1992
Pierre Audi, artistic director of the Dutch National Opera from 1988 to 2018, explains why he chose to direct one of the world’s first operas by the Italian priest-composer Claudio Monteverdi …
17th October 1993
This special edition of the weekly cultural programme “Mirror Images” focuses on a debate in Amsterdam, entitled Hostages of Stupidity. The discussions dealt with the sense or otherwise …
14th November 1996
Copenhagen currently holds the title of Cultural Capital of Europe, and Denmark’s capital is grabbing this opportunity to put on the biggest cultural event in its history. Throughout the year, …
20th December 1996
In Western Christian culture, the arrival of a millenium, a one-thousand-year milestone measuring the time since the birth of Jesus Christ, is a date of great psychological significance. This …
20th December 1996
From “The Ugly Ducking” to “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, the timeless tales by Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) have been told, read and filmed worldwide. But perhaps …
9th April 1997
Robert Green and Michele Ernsting remember Johannes Brahms on the centenary of his death in 1897. With music, anecdotes and readings. Producers: Robert Green & Michele Ernsting Broadcast: …
8th July 1997
Roughly every five years, a world summit of contemporary art is held in Kassel, Germany. In 1997, “Documenta”, as this 100-day event is called, was held for the tenth time. Documenta X …
29th August 1997
Dheera Sujan remembers Maria Callas, 20 years after her death. What was so special about this great icon of the 20th century? With archive material from Callas herself, with Sigrid Koetse who played …
28th September 1997
Dheera Sujan’s guests are both Irish, both are writers and both had alcoholic fathers. Frank McCourt, at 66, gained international literary stardom with his Pulitzer Prize-winning book …
5th October 1997
Marijke van der Meer takes us on a tour of Berlin’s cultural scene, eight years after the fall of the Wall and a year before Berlin will be the seat of government again. In the 1920’s, …
14th October 1997
In 1997, the famous Edinburgh Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary. In a two-part series, Dheera Sujan went along to sample the goodies on the show. Part one includes interviews with three …
30th October 1997
In this series of highlights from the Radio Netherlands’ archives marking the station’s 50th anniversary, two interviews: one with British-born writer Christopher Isherwood, but we begin …
30th October 1997
In this gem from our archives, arts producer Nevil Gray speaks with fellow Australian, Dame Joan Sutherland (1926-2010), one of the great opera sopranos of the 20th century. In 1982, Nevil caught up …
3rd April 1998
In 1997, a book appeared in German that provided more troubling insights into the dark reputation of the Nazi cult around the composer Richard Wagner. But this time the criticism came from the …
1st August 1998
In 1998, Amsterdam hosted the first Gay Games to be held outside of North America. The Games are open to gay and lesbian participants of all ages and are meant to bring LBGT people together from all …
19th October 1998
David Swatling meets American solo-artist Frank Sheppard who, among other things, performed a one-man Othello, juxtaposing Shakespeare’s tragic Moor with OJ Simpson in Holland. David also talks …
23rd May 1999
In 1999 the German city of Weimar was honoured as the Cultural Capital of Europe. This title is awarded annually to cities with an especially rich cultural heritage. Weimar was not only home to some …
3rd August 1999
In the 18th century, it wasn’t the soprano or the tenor who ruled the operatic stage. It was the castrato. The likes of Farinelli and Gaspare Pacchierotti were huge stars. George Frederick Händel, …
10th August 1999
In the late 19th century, Mary Cassatt was the only American artist invited into the Impressionist circle in Paris. She was a close friend of Edgar Degas, who said of her work: “I am not willing to …
23rd August 1999
Scopitone was a cultural phenomenon of the 1960’s in France and the United States. It combined a jukebox and a film projector, a kind of forerunner of the music video-clip. David Swatling …
28th August 1999
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was the greatest writer of his time and even Napoleon insisted on meeting him when the French conqueror happened to be passing through Germany with the Grande …
1st September 1999
The play “Faust” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe created a sensation when the first part of this drama was published in 1808. Now considered a milestone of world literature, it is the story …
17th September 1999
During the 19th century, a small town in upstate New York quickly grew into America’s most popular resort. With its natural mineral water spas, luxury hotels, horse racing and gambling casinos, …
24th September 1999
A literary journey with man’s best friend from the faithful hound Argus in Homer’s The Odyssey to the Russian space dog, Laika. It was Shakespeare’s Hamlet who said: “every dog will have his day”. So …
1st October 1999
Bertine Krol’s very first edition of Dutch Horizons, a weekly programme on the Netherlands, features three items: Bertine interviews in his workshop Dutch master violin builder Jaap …
21st October 1999
In 1999, the famous Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague hosted one of its most spectacular exhibitions: the self-portraits of one of the greatest painters of all times, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). …
22nd October 1999
Part 1: From Antiquity to the 19th Century In spite of the great riches they have left behind and the immortality that many of them have achieved through their works, writers have long had a …
1st January 2000
The great Irish writer James Joyce (1882-1941) left Ireland with his wife Nora Barnacle in 1904 and spent the following years in Trieste. This Adriatic port city is now in Italy but was part of the …
3rd February 2000
Cyclops and dragons, vampires and mummies – monsters have been there since the days of the first storytellers. There are the monsters of nature, the monsters who are man made, the visible …
11th February 2000
The Virgin Mary set an impossible standard for women brought up under the influence of Western mythology. She incorporated two mutually incompatible states of being – a Virgin AND a Mother. And …
18th February 2000
Eve started it all, and women have never been able to live it down since: seductress, tempter, destroyer of men’s lives. There were the sirens who lured sailors to jump overboard by the beauty of …
25th February 2000
The heroic exploits of Odysseus and Lancelot entertained generations of people hungry for heroes. They are what we secretly long to be. We create heroes so we can have someone to reflect our own …
1st June 2000
Radio Netherlands recorded the programming of Rotterdam’s Poetry International Festival from its inception in 1970. A wide variety of international poets are heard reading their own work, including …
11th June 2000
In this two-part series, David Swatling compares the tulip mania of the 17th century with the latest new economy hype. Producer: David Swatling Broadcast: June 11, 2000…
23rd August 2000
In part one of his Florentine Trilogy, David Swatling profiles the incredible life of Lorenzo de’ Medici (1449-1492), a member of the most prominent Florentine family. Apart from being a poet, …
23rd August 2000
The stealing of art and artifacts is said to be as old as man itself. To find out how prevalent it is today (and historically), David Swatling spoke to the editor of Minerva, the International Review …
28th August 2000
David Swatling meets three crime writers of the post-Agatha Christie era who have made their mark on crime fiction. However, the ladies – P.D. James (1920-2014), Ruth Rendell (1930-20115) and …
28th August 2000
In this programme, David Swatling turns his attention to sex and the masters. While tame to modern eyes, many paintings from the 17th century were full of sexual symbolism. Some paintings of …
29th August 2000
In this documentary, David Swatling visits the Utrecht Early Music Festival and talks to the organisers about why this type of music is becoming increasingly popular. Producer: David Swatling …
30th August 2000
In the second part of his Florentine Trilogy, David Swatling focuses on Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), a Dominican friar who arrived in Florence in the late 15th century. His sermons were said to …
6th September 2000
In the last part of his Florentine Trilogy, David Swatling examines the life of Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), the Florentine statesman and political writer who advocated resorting to morally …
30th September 2000
Jane Murphy visits the Flamenco Festival in Jérez in the flamenco heart of Andalucía, pure heaven for lovers of the dance. She meets some of its stars, including Paco Peña and Angelita Gomez. In the …
13th October 2000
This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meets In this unedited interview for the programme “Talking it Over”, Chris Chambers talks to Hungarian-born photographer Eva …
18th October 2000
David Swatling visits Dutch correspondent Frans van Hasselt (75) who has lived and worked most of his life in Athens. During that period, he developed a great love of Greek music. During a stroll in …
19th October 2000
Almost since the first words were written down, attempts have been made to censor them. But those who try to suppress the word (for religious, political or other reasons) by punishing writers have …
7th November 2000
David Swatling meets author Barry Unsworth (1930-2012), one of the great contemporary masters of historical fiction. He’s written about medieval traveling players, 18th century slave traders …
7th November 2000
David Swatling tells the fascinating life story of Saint Frances of Assisi, with the help of Valerie Martin, author of the book “Salvation: Scenes from the Life of St. Frances”, and …
24th November 2000
The relationship between humans and horses can be traced back as far as the cave drawings of early man. And ever since, artists and writers have tried to capture the beauty and grace of these …
26th December 2000
Hélène Michaud takes a look at what role culture plays in various stages of a country’s development. In Bosnia, the Sarajevo film festival helped create a feeling of solidarity in the besieged …
29th December 2000
For well over a thousand years, the saints have been held up as examples for Catholics around the world. Though the Church sets the standards for sainthood, the choice of saints is often dependent on …
21st March 2001
Indian-born author Salman Rushdie was invited to write the Netherlands’ book-week gift in 2001. The theme was writers between two cultures. The book Rushdie wrote was called …
25th March 2001
Of all the images that artists have had at hand, none have had as much representation as the human body, which has been a source of boundless fascination through the ages—to the artists who try to …
29th May 2001
In this new millennium, Amsterdam, like so many cities around the world, has been facing the challenge of building for an expanding population, a changing economy and new technologies. In these two …
13th September 2001
Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were two of the greatest painters of their age. The nine stormy weeks they spent working together in Arles in the south of France at the end of 1888 marked one of …
10th November 2001
Hindi cinema or Bollywood films are a major source of entertainment for many Indians. But these movies are also a major influence on the millions of South Asians who have settled all over the world. …
2nd December 2001
In the programme, a woman talks about her obsession with “The Sound of Music” and what she’s tried to do about it. It’s produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and …
26th December 2001
To mark the 100th birthday of one of the great sex goddesses of the 20th century, David Swatling presents an impression of the lady, as seen through the eyes of some of her fans. It includes …
1st January 2002
In this edition of “Aural Tapestry”, David Swatling weaves together many threads of stories, legends and personal memories relating to the humble scarecrow. Starting with his …
1st April 2002
Isabella Agneta Elisabeth van Tuyll van Serooskerken (1740-1805) was her full name at birth, an impressive enough name on its own. She came to be known as simply Belle van Zuylen, the future Isabelle …
12th July 2002
When this programme was made at the start of the century, Athens was undergoing a radical face-lift in feverish preparation for Greece’s hosting of the 2004 Olympics. What started out as a …
17th July 2002
Hélène Michaud visits Guédelon in France where a medieval castle is being built with the same tools and techniques as 800 years ago. The workers are volunteers or people without jobs. The point is to …
19th September 2002
Donald Mitchell talks to Russian conductor Valery Gergiev after a performance of Mahler’s 6th symphony with the Rotterdam Philharmonic in September 2002. The live interview took place before a …
1st December 2002
Books can be a comfort, an escape from the demands and unpleasant realities of life. In this programme, the Sound Fountain looks at the very different public and private life of Enid Blyton, the 20th …
12th February 2003
Dheera Sujan reveals the secret she’s kept for half a lifetime – her teenage addiction to romance novels. She talks to the people who create the handsomer than life heroes and write the books one …
4th April 2003
Irish poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh lives in the north of County Donegal on land his family has farmed for generations. Tucked in a beautiful glen under the shadow of Mount Errigal, his house is decked …
28th April 2003
In this programme, David Swatling portrays Jacques Brel, who’s been called a historian of the human heart. The programme visits an exhibition on Brel and talks to contemporary singers or his …
11th August 2003
This programme was produced in 2003 to mark the 500th anniversary of what many consider to be the most famous painting in the world. The mysterious smile of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” has …
3rd October 2003
Rotterdam’s Poetry International Festival 2003 had a special programme to highlight minority languages, such as Welsh, Mayan, Corsican and Livonian. This programme features interviews with the Welsh …
26th October 2003
Destiny brought together two men from different worlds: one a Padaung tribal from the Hill Tracts of Burma, the other an ivory tower Cambridge don. The meeting would change both their lives forever. …
15th November 2003
This 2003 documentary was made to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of the film “Cabaret” and looks at whether the portrayal of Berlin cabaret was anything like the reality of …
5th March 2004
In the early 17th century, Robert Burton’s exhaustive study “The Anatomy of Melancholy” was an immediate best-seller. Nearly four hundred years later, Andrew Solomon included Burton in his own …
24th May 2004
The programme traces the story of the Volga boatmen in art, starting with Ilya Repin’s painting of the Barge-Haulers in the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg, and an interview with art historian …
6th July 2004
In 1959 a German artist – Ursula Pusch-Wennrich – painted a striking portrait called ‘The Girl At the Window’. A quarter of a century on, the painting hangs on the wall of …
12th September 2004
People fainted when the Leon Theremin was first performed onstage in Paris in 1927. Its haunting sound resembled voices from beyond the grave. It was the first electronic instrument, and at that …
19th December 2004
It has been used to advertise coffee and perfume, to rouse the spirit at football games and even been hijacked for house music and rap. The Carmina Burana does indeed seem indestructible. But who …
24th December 2004
It was a favourite of the Nazi Party; it was adopted by Communists to celebrate Marx’s ideals; it was played at the fall of the Berlin Wall to celebrate the collapse of Communism; and it’s currently …
5th January 2005
Acclaimed by Newsweek magazine as one of the top ten best works of fiction of the first decade of this century, “The People’s Act of Love” is a novel by British writer and …
28th February 2005
The question surrounding the authorship of plays and sonnets by William Shakespeare has been debated for centuries. Two books take very different points of view on the issue. Amsterdam-based author, …
11th July 2005
A portrait of British journalist and writer Rebecca West (1892-1983), whose life spanned most of the 20th century, with memories from her great-niece and thoughts from an actress who portrays …
16th August 2005
David Swatling meets Paco Peña, the master of flamenco and composer of the “Misa Flamenca”. The interview covers the origin of flamenco and the idea behind his flamenco mass. The …
16th August 2005
David Swatling focuses on insomnia and how it has appeared in literature, with readings from William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte, Franz Kafka, Sylvia Plath, among others. Producer: …
11th September 2005
New York author Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is part of a wave of what has been dubbed “post-9/11 fiction”. But some critics say not enough time has passed to …
12th October 2005
Was it fate or chance that brought them together? Theirs is probably one of the most unbelievable yet most fruitful encounters one could imagine. Vincent Polakovič, a lawyer from Slovakia, had always …
22nd November 2005
Gordon Smith has a remarkable gift. Since he was a child, he has claimed to be able to speak to the dead. He’s now acclaimed as one of the greatest clairvoyants of his generation, whilst still …
17th January 2006
A programme looking at the writings of the Scottish writer James Boswell who spent nine months in Utrecht in 1763. Three historians talk about life in Holland during this period based on …
28th February 2006
If you were born on January 27, 1756, you are precocious, liable to perform feats of extraordinary virtuosity and may be prone to shouting obscenities in public. We all know about Wolfgang Amadeus …
6th July 2006
When Cossack culture was rehabilitated after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the once suppressed Cossack music was revived, having been silenced for decades in Russia. A young Dutch conductor who …
25th July 2006
Lorenzo da Ponte is best known for his collaborations with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, writing the librettos for The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cosi fan Tutti. However, that was just a small …
1st November 2006
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), one of the greatest musical talents of all times, was only a child when he first acquired fame throughout Europe for his virtuosity at the piano and his …
15th November 2006
In 1910, two of the greatest minds in European culture decide to meet, not in their native Vienna, but at the train station of Leiden in the Netherlands: Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, …
18th November 2006
The programme looks at the life and work of Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670). Hélène Michaud examines the last 14 years of this Czech humanist’s life which was spent in exile in Amsterdam, and she …
27th December 2006
Northern Irish poet Seamus Heaney won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. Since then, his lines have been quoted by world leaders, his new translation of “Beowulf” has become a …
11th March 2008
Lieve Joris: “Bollieke” Lieve Joris is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning travel writer from Belgium. Her writing focuses chiefly on Africa, the Middle East and eastern Europe, …
11th March 2008
Ivo Michiels: “Amandine or the thousand letters of love” Every now and then, she has to open doors for colleagues of the Red Cross aid agency, but she also writes love letters to Ludović …
29th March 2008
One of the lesser noticed side-effects of war and violence is the immeasurable loss to humanity and to a nation’s sense of identity when its art treasures and cultural traditions are destroyed. In …
17th May 2008
Ever since the invention of printing, books have been banned, blacklisted, boycotted, burned and bowdlerized. Books can be dangerous, but the right to produce and distribute a book is essential to …
27th October 1924Ulysses, passage from Aeolus episode, reading by James Joyce on November 27, 1924 in Paris Finnegans Wake, Anna Livia Plurabelle, read by James Joyce, 1924 Chamber Music I – XX XVI, read by …
13th June 1971This radio play was among the finalists selected for production in the Golden Windmill Radio Drama contest organised by Radio Netherlands together with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the …
25th June 1972This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviewsPete Myers introduces us to world-famous Danish comedian and musician Victor Borge (1909-2000). We also hear from Nigerian writer Peter …
11th October 1972This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviews18-year-old Shirley Bassey caused a sensation as the “Tigress from Cardiff Bay” when she first appeared in a London West End …
29th April 1973This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviewsIngrid Bergman (1915-1982), one of the greatest screen actresses of the 20th century, looks back with Pete Myers on her career but also …
13th October 1973This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviewsPete Myers introduces us to the great French chanson singer Juliette Gréco (1927-2020). From singing in the streets as a child, she became …
17th November 1976This programme is part of the series Out of the Blue“Out of the Blue” was a series of broadcasts produced in the mid-1970’s on the sound and development of progressive rock. In the …
1st December 1976This programme is part of the series Out of the Blue“Out of the Blue” was a series of broadcasts produced in the mid-1970’s on the sound and development of progressive rock. In this …
25th December 1977The popular Christmas carol “Silent Night” was first performed in the Saint Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria on Christmas Eve 1818. This 1977 radio play reenacts a version of …
8th November 1982Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was without a doubt the most successful 20th-century children’s book author in the pre-Harry Potter age. In 1982, he was guest of honour at the annual Children’s …
18th April 1983David Attenborough’s epic film biography of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) presents a sweeping, masterful image of the life of India’s great pioneer of independence and 20th-century …
17th September 1985Pete Myers remembers his earliest exposure to music, from his childhood in India to the days he accompanied African performers to the Soviet Union. Part 1: Childhood memories of Fred Astaire, …
22nd August 1988David Swatling indulges his childhood fascinating with Jules Verne. We get some biographical information on the writer and reading from his work. We hear from a French Verne fan and a Dutch actor who …
26th December 1989The Edison Award, the annual Dutch distinction for achievement in music, is one of the world’s oldest music awards. First presented in 1960, the Edison goes to musicians and performers in many …
13th August 1990As a young rising star in radio at the BBC, Pete Myers interviewed some of the most memorable people in the entertainment world of his time. He decided in 1972 to keep a record of his impressions of …
31st October 1990Paul Theroux is one of the world’s most famous and successful travel writers and an award-winning author of fiction. His description of Britain (“The Kingdom by the Sea”) and of …
5th November 1990David Swatling presents a portrait of British film-maker Derek Jarman (1942-1994). His first film was “Sebastian”, spoken in Latin. Others include “Caravaggio”, “The …
19th March 1991In this edition of Radio Netherlands’ weekly cultural programme, Images, Pierre Audi, artistic director of the Netherlands Opera, talks about the coming opera season in the Netherlands. …
30th September 1991This programme is part of the series In So Many WordsWithin the European Community, Greek has the unique distinction of being a language spoken uninterruptedly for four thousand years. It has …
13th November 1991Riccardo Chailly, was chief conductor of Amsterdam’s prestigious Concertgebouw Orchestra from 1988 to 2004, and in 2017 he was appointed music director of the world’s most famous opera …
10th February 1992Radio drama is an old and illustrious art. In 1970, Radio Netherlands organised a radio drama competition to attract listeners in America. This play, “So Many Surprises” was one of the …
9th March 1992Saturday Stage was a short entertainment series introduced by Jonathan Marks in early 1992. In this programme, four British comedians present a show mildly sending up Holland and the European …
17th October 1993This special edition of the weekly cultural programme “Mirror Images” focuses on a debate in Amsterdam, entitled Hostages of Stupidity. The discussions dealt with the sense or otherwise …
14th November 1996Copenhagen currently holds the title of Cultural Capital of Europe, and Denmark’s capital is grabbing this opportunity to put on the biggest cultural event in its history. Throughout the year, …
20th December 1996In Western Christian culture, the arrival of a millenium, a one-thousand-year milestone measuring the time since the birth of Jesus Christ, is a date of great psychological significance. This …
20th December 1996From “The Ugly Ducking” to “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, the timeless tales by Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) have been told, read and filmed worldwide. But perhaps …
9th April 1997Robert Green and Michele Ernsting remember Johannes Brahms on the centenary of his death in 1897. With music, anecdotes and readings. Producers: Robert Green & Michele Ernsting Broadcast: …
8th July 1997Roughly every five years, a world summit of contemporary art is held in Kassel, Germany. In 1997, “Documenta”, as this 100-day event is called, was held for the tenth time. Documenta X …
29th August 1997Dheera Sujan remembers Maria Callas, 20 years after her death. What was so special about this great icon of the 20th century? With archive material from Callas herself, with Sigrid Koetse who played …
28th September 1997Dheera Sujan’s guests are both Irish, both are writers and both had alcoholic fathers. Frank McCourt, at 66, gained international literary stardom with his Pulitzer Prize-winning book …
5th October 1997Marijke van der Meer takes us on a tour of Berlin’s cultural scene, eight years after the fall of the Wall and a year before Berlin will be the seat of government again. In the 1920’s, …
14th October 1997In 1997, the famous Edinburgh Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary. In a two-part series, Dheera Sujan went along to sample the goodies on the show. Part one includes interviews with three …
30th October 1997In this series of highlights from the Radio Netherlands’ archives marking the station’s 50th anniversary, two interviews: one with British-born writer Christopher Isherwood, but we begin …
30th October 1997In this gem from our archives, arts producer Nevil Gray speaks with fellow Australian, Dame Joan Sutherland (1926-2010), one of the great opera sopranos of the 20th century. In 1982, Nevil caught up …
3rd April 1998In 1997, a book appeared in German that provided more troubling insights into the dark reputation of the Nazi cult around the composer Richard Wagner. But this time the criticism came from the …
1st August 1998In 1998, Amsterdam hosted the first Gay Games to be held outside of North America. The Games are open to gay and lesbian participants of all ages and are meant to bring LBGT people together from all …
19th October 1998David Swatling meets American solo-artist Frank Sheppard who, among other things, performed a one-man Othello, juxtaposing Shakespeare’s tragic Moor with OJ Simpson in Holland. David also talks …
23rd May 1999In 1999 the German city of Weimar was honoured as the Cultural Capital of Europe. This title is awarded annually to cities with an especially rich cultural heritage. Weimar was not only home to some …
3rd August 1999In the 18th century, it wasn’t the soprano or the tenor who ruled the operatic stage. It was the castrato. The likes of Farinelli and Gaspare Pacchierotti were huge stars. George Frederick Händel, …
10th August 1999In the late 19th century, Mary Cassatt was the only American artist invited into the Impressionist circle in Paris. She was a close friend of Edgar Degas, who said of her work: “I am not willing to …
23rd August 1999Scopitone was a cultural phenomenon of the 1960’s in France and the United States. It combined a jukebox and a film projector, a kind of forerunner of the music video-clip. David Swatling …
28th August 1999Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was the greatest writer of his time and even Napoleon insisted on meeting him when the French conqueror happened to be passing through Germany with the Grande …
1st September 1999The play “Faust” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe created a sensation when the first part of this drama was published in 1808. Now considered a milestone of world literature, it is the story …
17th September 1999During the 19th century, a small town in upstate New York quickly grew into America’s most popular resort. With its natural mineral water spas, luxury hotels, horse racing and gambling casinos, …
24th September 1999A literary journey with man’s best friend from the faithful hound Argus in Homer’s The Odyssey to the Russian space dog, Laika. It was Shakespeare’s Hamlet who said: “every dog will have his day”. So …
1st October 1999Bertine Krol’s very first edition of Dutch Horizons, a weekly programme on the Netherlands, features three items: Bertine interviews in his workshop Dutch master violin builder Jaap …
21st October 1999In 1999, the famous Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague hosted one of its most spectacular exhibitions: the self-portraits of one of the greatest painters of all times, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). …
22nd October 1999Part 1: From Antiquity to the 19th Century In spite of the great riches they have left behind and the immortality that many of them have achieved through their works, writers have long had a …
1st January 2000The great Irish writer James Joyce (1882-1941) left Ireland with his wife Nora Barnacle in 1904 and spent the following years in Trieste. This Adriatic port city is now in Italy but was part of the …
3rd February 2000Cyclops and dragons, vampires and mummies – monsters have been there since the days of the first storytellers. There are the monsters of nature, the monsters who are man made, the visible …
11th February 2000The Virgin Mary set an impossible standard for women brought up under the influence of Western mythology. She incorporated two mutually incompatible states of being – a Virgin AND a Mother. And …
18th February 2000Eve started it all, and women have never been able to live it down since: seductress, tempter, destroyer of men’s lives. There were the sirens who lured sailors to jump overboard by the beauty of …
25th February 2000The heroic exploits of Odysseus and Lancelot entertained generations of people hungry for heroes. They are what we secretly long to be. We create heroes so we can have someone to reflect our own …
11th June 2000In this two-part series, David Swatling compares the tulip mania of the 17th century with the latest new economy hype. Producer: David Swatling Broadcast: June 11, 2000…
23rd August 2000In part one of his Florentine Trilogy, David Swatling profiles the incredible life of Lorenzo de’ Medici (1449-1492), a member of the most prominent Florentine family. Apart from being a poet, …
23rd August 2000The stealing of art and artifacts is said to be as old as man itself. To find out how prevalent it is today (and historically), David Swatling spoke to the editor of Minerva, the International Review …
28th August 2000David Swatling meets three crime writers of the post-Agatha Christie era who have made their mark on crime fiction. However, the ladies – P.D. James (1920-2014), Ruth Rendell (1930-20115) and …
28th August 2000In this programme, David Swatling turns his attention to sex and the masters. While tame to modern eyes, many paintings from the 17th century were full of sexual symbolism. Some paintings of …
30th August 2000In the second part of his Florentine Trilogy, David Swatling focuses on Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), a Dominican friar who arrived in Florence in the late 15th century. His sermons were said to …
6th September 2000In the last part of his Florentine Trilogy, David Swatling examines the life of Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), the Florentine statesman and political writer who advocated resorting to morally …
30th September 2000Jane Murphy visits the Flamenco Festival in Jérez in the flamenco heart of Andalucía, pure heaven for lovers of the dance. She meets some of its stars, including Paco Peña and Angelita Gomez. In the …
13th October 2000This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meets In this unedited interview for the programme “Talking it Over”, Chris Chambers talks to Hungarian-born photographer Eva …
18th October 2000David Swatling visits Dutch correspondent Frans van Hasselt (75) who has lived and worked most of his life in Athens. During that period, he developed a great love of Greek music. During a stroll in …
19th October 2000Almost since the first words were written down, attempts have been made to censor them. But those who try to suppress the word (for religious, political or other reasons) by punishing writers have …
7th November 2000David Swatling meets author Barry Unsworth (1930-2012), one of the great contemporary masters of historical fiction. He’s written about medieval traveling players, 18th century slave traders …
7th November 2000David Swatling tells the fascinating life story of Saint Frances of Assisi, with the help of Valerie Martin, author of the book “Salvation: Scenes from the Life of St. Frances”, and …
24th November 2000The relationship between humans and horses can be traced back as far as the cave drawings of early man. And ever since, artists and writers have tried to capture the beauty and grace of these …
26th December 2000Hélène Michaud takes a look at what role culture plays in various stages of a country’s development. In Bosnia, the Sarajevo film festival helped create a feeling of solidarity in the besieged …
29th December 2000For well over a thousand years, the saints have been held up as examples for Catholics around the world. Though the Church sets the standards for sainthood, the choice of saints is often dependent on …
21st March 2001Indian-born author Salman Rushdie was invited to write the Netherlands’ book-week gift in 2001. The theme was writers between two cultures. The book Rushdie wrote was called …
25th March 2001Of all the images that artists have had at hand, none have had as much representation as the human body, which has been a source of boundless fascination through the ages—to the artists who try to …
29th May 2001In this new millennium, Amsterdam, like so many cities around the world, has been facing the challenge of building for an expanding population, a changing economy and new technologies. In these two …
13th September 2001Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were two of the greatest painters of their age. The nine stormy weeks they spent working together in Arles in the south of France at the end of 1888 marked one of …
2nd December 2001In the programme, a woman talks about her obsession with “The Sound of Music” and what she’s tried to do about it. It’s produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and …
26th December 2001To mark the 100th birthday of one of the great sex goddesses of the 20th century, David Swatling presents an impression of the lady, as seen through the eyes of some of her fans. It includes …
1st January 2002In this edition of “Aural Tapestry”, David Swatling weaves together many threads of stories, legends and personal memories relating to the humble scarecrow. Starting with his …
1st April 2002Isabella Agneta Elisabeth van Tuyll van Serooskerken (1740-1805) was her full name at birth, an impressive enough name on its own. She came to be known as simply Belle van Zuylen, the future Isabelle …
12th July 2002When this programme was made at the start of the century, Athens was undergoing a radical face-lift in feverish preparation for Greece’s hosting of the 2004 Olympics. What started out as a …
17th July 2002Hélène Michaud visits Guédelon in France where a medieval castle is being built with the same tools and techniques as 800 years ago. The workers are volunteers or people without jobs. The point is to …
19th September 2002Donald Mitchell talks to Russian conductor Valery Gergiev after a performance of Mahler’s 6th symphony with the Rotterdam Philharmonic in September 2002. The live interview took place before a …
1st December 2002Books can be a comfort, an escape from the demands and unpleasant realities of life. In this programme, the Sound Fountain looks at the very different public and private life of Enid Blyton, the 20th …
12th February 2003Dheera Sujan reveals the secret she’s kept for half a lifetime – her teenage addiction to romance novels. She talks to the people who create the handsomer than life heroes and write the books one …
4th April 2003Irish poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh lives in the north of County Donegal on land his family has farmed for generations. Tucked in a beautiful glen under the shadow of Mount Errigal, his house is decked …
28th April 2003In this programme, David Swatling portrays Jacques Brel, who’s been called a historian of the human heart. The programme visits an exhibition on Brel and talks to contemporary singers or his …
11th August 2003This programme was produced in 2003 to mark the 500th anniversary of what many consider to be the most famous painting in the world. The mysterious smile of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” has …
3rd October 2003Rotterdam’s Poetry International Festival 2003 had a special programme to highlight minority languages, such as Welsh, Mayan, Corsican and Livonian. This programme features interviews with the Welsh …
15th November 2003This 2003 documentary was made to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of the film “Cabaret” and looks at whether the portrayal of Berlin cabaret was anything like the reality of …
5th March 2004In the early 17th century, Robert Burton’s exhaustive study “The Anatomy of Melancholy” was an immediate best-seller. Nearly four hundred years later, Andrew Solomon included Burton in his own …
24th May 2004The programme traces the story of the Volga boatmen in art, starting with Ilya Repin’s painting of the Barge-Haulers in the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg, and an interview with art historian …
6th July 2004In 1959 a German artist – Ursula Pusch-Wennrich – painted a striking portrait called ‘The Girl At the Window’. A quarter of a century on, the painting hangs on the wall of …
12th September 2004People fainted when the Leon Theremin was first performed onstage in Paris in 1927. Its haunting sound resembled voices from beyond the grave. It was the first electronic instrument, and at that …
19th December 2004It has been used to advertise coffee and perfume, to rouse the spirit at football games and even been hijacked for house music and rap. The Carmina Burana does indeed seem indestructible. But who …
24th December 2004It was a favourite of the Nazi Party; it was adopted by Communists to celebrate Marx’s ideals; it was played at the fall of the Berlin Wall to celebrate the collapse of Communism; and it’s currently …
5th January 2005Acclaimed by Newsweek magazine as one of the top ten best works of fiction of the first decade of this century, “The People’s Act of Love” is a novel by British writer and …
28th February 2005The question surrounding the authorship of plays and sonnets by William Shakespeare has been debated for centuries. Two books take very different points of view on the issue. Amsterdam-based author, …
11th July 2005A portrait of British journalist and writer Rebecca West (1892-1983), whose life spanned most of the 20th century, with memories from her great-niece and thoughts from an actress who portrays …
16th August 2005David Swatling meets Paco Peña, the master of flamenco and composer of the “Misa Flamenca”. The interview covers the origin of flamenco and the idea behind his flamenco mass. The …
16th August 2005David Swatling focuses on insomnia and how it has appeared in literature, with readings from William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte, Franz Kafka, Sylvia Plath, among others. Producer: …
11th September 2005New York author Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is part of a wave of what has been dubbed “post-9/11 fiction”. But some critics say not enough time has passed to …
12th October 2005Was it fate or chance that brought them together? Theirs is probably one of the most unbelievable yet most fruitful encounters one could imagine. Vincent Polakovič, a lawyer from Slovakia, had always …
22nd November 2005Gordon Smith has a remarkable gift. Since he was a child, he has claimed to be able to speak to the dead. He’s now acclaimed as one of the greatest clairvoyants of his generation, whilst still …
17th January 2006A programme looking at the writings of the Scottish writer James Boswell who spent nine months in Utrecht in 1763. Three historians talk about life in Holland during this period based on …
28th February 2006If you were born on January 27, 1756, you are precocious, liable to perform feats of extraordinary virtuosity and may be prone to shouting obscenities in public. We all know about Wolfgang Amadeus …
6th July 2006When Cossack culture was rehabilitated after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the once suppressed Cossack music was revived, having been silenced for decades in Russia. A young Dutch conductor who …
25th July 2006Lorenzo da Ponte is best known for his collaborations with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, writing the librettos for The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cosi fan Tutti. However, that was just a small …
1st November 2006Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), one of the greatest musical talents of all times, was only a child when he first acquired fame throughout Europe for his virtuosity at the piano and his …
15th November 2006In 1910, two of the greatest minds in European culture decide to meet, not in their native Vienna, but at the train station of Leiden in the Netherlands: Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, …
18th November 2006The programme looks at the life and work of Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670). Hélène Michaud examines the last 14 years of this Czech humanist’s life which was spent in exile in Amsterdam, and she …
27th December 2006Northern Irish poet Seamus Heaney won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. Since then, his lines have been quoted by world leaders, his new translation of “Beowulf” has become a …
11th March 2008Lieve Joris: “Bollieke” Lieve Joris is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning travel writer from Belgium. Her writing focuses chiefly on Africa, the Middle East and eastern Europe, …
11th March 2008Ivo Michiels: “Amandine or the thousand letters of love” Every now and then, she has to open doors for colleagues of the Red Cross aid agency, but she also writes love letters to Ludović …
17th May 2008Ever since the invention of printing, books have been banned, blacklisted, boycotted, burned and bowdlerized. Books can be dangerous, but the right to produce and distribute a book is essential to …