Classic FM’s Movie Music Weekend: What’s on and when to listen
29 August 2020, 07:04
Here’s all you need to know about Classic FM’s Movie Music Weekend. Get the popcorn ready...
This weekend (Saturday 29 to Monday 31 August), we’ve got a selection of special programmes planned for our Movie Music Weekend.
We’ll be counting down The Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame in partnership with Radio Times – revealing the top 100 film scores you voted for across the whole weekend.
There will also be a special interview with award-winning composer Rachel Portman and a bumper edition of Saturday Night at the Movies – celebrating recent blockbusters and the best up-and-coming composers of the silver screen.
Read more: The 10 greatest film scores of all time, according to a movie expert >
Classic FM’s Movie Music Weekend
Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame
The Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame countdown begins on Saturday morning with Alan Titchmarsh, who will play number 100 in the first hour of his programme.
After that, there’ll be one entry per hour from 7pm to 7am across Saturday and Sunday.
The countdown continues from midday on Monday 31 August – with the prized top spots being revealed all afternoon, courtesy of Anne-Marie Minhall and John Brunning.
Moira Stuart’s Hall of Fame Concert
As part of the Movie Music Weekend, Moira Stuart has a special programme of classical music famously used in films.
She’ll play Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, used to great effect in Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull, and a beautiful concerto forever associated with Brief Encounter.
Mozart also features, with a piece played from a prison loudspeaker, as well as Beethoven’s Symphony No.7, which soundtracked the climax of The King’s Speech.
Listen from 3pm on Saturday 29 August, and find out more here.
Read more: The most iconic uses of classical music in film >
Alexander Armstrong introduces The Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame
Saturday Night at the Movies with Andrew Collins
This Saturday, Andrew Collins has a bumper Saturday Night at the Movies, featuring blockbuster soundtracks from recent years.
He’ll also gaze into his crystal ball to reveal the composers he thinks will be the legends of the future.
Music includes Ramin Djawadi’s theme to the small-screen hit Game of Thrones, Ryuichi Sakamoto’s searing cues to 2015’s The Revenant, and Dario Marianelli’s Oscar and Golden Globe-winning score for Atonement.
Join Andrew from 5pm on Saturday 29 August, and find out more here.
David Mellor celebrates legendary film composers
Coming up this Sunday evening is a special film-themed show presented by David Mellor, exploring the legendary film composers, from Walton to Korngold to Ennio Morricone.
Erich Korngold’s score to Escape Me Never features, along with William Walton’s music to Richard III.
And there’s a chance to hear from Ennio Morricone with a wonderful suite of his music featuring Yo-Yo Ma.
Two further entries from the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame will also be unveiled in the programme.
Listen from 5pm on Sunday 30 August, and find out more here.
Moira Stuart Meets…Rachel Portman
Sunday’s movie music celebrations close with Moira Stuart Meets….
Moira Stuart meets Oscar-winning composer Rachel Portman, who has written over 100 scores for film, television and theatre, and who in 1996 became the first female composer to with an Academy Award for Best Original Score.
They discuss Portman’s earliest musical inspirations, from when she first began composing at the age of just 14, and her many memorable scores, from Emma, to The Cider House Rules and Never Let Me Go.
Listen from 9pm on Sunday 30 August, and find out more here.
