A BBC Radio Comedy Collection

All Classical Music Explained & more

Rainer Hersch gives us his irreverent take on classical music in these BBC Radio shows‘At last a musical comedian with a difference – he is really funny’ Daily TelegraphStand-up comic, musician and conductor Rainer Hersch has performed in comedy clubs worldwide, made numerous appearances at the Edinburgh Festival and put on several comedy-concert series at London’s Southbank Centre. This audio anthology brings together two of his BBC Radio series, All Classical Music Explained and Rainer Hersch’s 20th Century Retrospective, plus the standalone programme Gershwin’s Horns and some stand-up comedy from Rainer at London’s Comedy Store. 
 All Classical Music Explained sees him leading us through a comedic tour of our melodic past. In six spoof lectures, he reveals how 'Cosi Fan Tutte' is actually about TV chefs; assembles the largest collection of stylophones in one building; investigates the Bach family and the world’s most beautiful music; and explains the etiquette of concerts – including how to fall asleep and look like you’re still listening. Among his special guests are the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble, Richard Thomas, Wayne Marshall, Alistair McGowan and Tamsin Little.In Rainer Hersch’s 20th Century Retrospective, he presents five personal and idiosyncratic studies of the music of the last century. Starting with the Second Viennese School and atonality, he ponders the greatest musicians of the 20th century; gives us an abbreviated guide to the good, bad and indifferent musical premieres of the period; rummages around in the trunk marked ‘Inspirations, Muses and the Frankly Unbelievable’; and asks what music has made of the recording industry, and what the recording industry has made of us.Gershwin’s Horns finds him exploring the musical significance of cannons, typewriters, tuned salad bowls and – in the case of Gershwin’s An American in Paris – car horns. They’ve all appeared in concert performances over the last 200 years, but do they really deserve a place in the orchestra? Aided by leading British percussionists Mick Doran and Neil Percy, he demonstrates the soundscape such unusual instruments can conjure up, and discovers what can go wrong when you lose your tubular bells or inadvertently wound a conductor with the shrapnel from an anvil...Finally, in a 5-minute performance recorded at London’s legendary Comedy Store as part of 4 at the Store, Rainer keeps the audience in stitches with his fabulously funny stand-up routine, as he proves that classical music doesn't have to be a serious business.All Classical Music ExplainedProduced by Richard EdisWith Richard Thomas, Marilyn Hill-Smith, Lore Lixenberg, Patrick McCarthy, the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble, Thomas Hull, Susanna Candlin, Laurence Davies, Jeremy Comes, Andy Horrell, Wayne Marshall, the Hewitt-Jones family, Alistair McGowan and Tamsin LittleFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4,14 October-18 November 1998Rainer Hersch’s 20th Century RetrospectiveProduced by Chris NeillFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 21-25 December 1998Gershwin’s HornsPresented by Rainer HerschProduced by Tom AlbanWith Mick Doran and Neil PercyFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 20 May 20084 at the Store: Rainer HerschProduced by Tilusha GhelaniFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 January 2004© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Mark Maier

Rainer Hersch

Catherine Tate

A BBC Radio 4 Sitcom

All six episodes of the fashionable comedy set in a top London hair salon, starring Rainer Hersch, Mark Maier and Catherine Tate 
 
Quando, Quando, Quando is Clapham’s premier hairdressing establishment, where brothers Rene, Carlo and Charlie Quando cleverly clip, chop and crimp their lucky clients into shape. With three floors, 200 pairs of scissors and more mirrors than the Palace of Versailles, it’s truly a cut above – but all is not well at this emporium of excellence... 
 
When the President of Uruguay arrives for his annual trim, the stylists struggle to avoid mentioning his enormous head – and when the salon is swamped by kids with nits, the result is itchy pandemonium. The Quandos also run into trouble with the racketeering Fish brothers; have their secret formula stolen by spies; face matrimonial mayhem with their two-cuts-for-one wedding deal and are forced to take extreme measures when the Christmas rush gets out of control... 
 
Written and performed by Rainer Hersch and Mark Maier, this hair-larious sitcom also stars Catherine Tate and Stephen Greif, with a special guest appearance from Nicholas Parsons. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written and performed by Rainer Hersch and Mark Maier 
With Stephen Greif, Catherine Tate and Nicholas Parsons 
Produced by Claire Jones 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13 November-18 December 1999 
 
© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Rainer Hersch

Quando, Quando, Quando

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