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Sound of Cinema Sunday

From Charlie Chaplin to Barbenheimer, on Sunday 10 March 2024, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 3 presents Sound of Cinema Sunday, an entire day dedicated to film music ahead of this weekend’s 96th Academy Awards.

Tracing the way film composition has created some of the greatest movie moments of our time, this Sunday will see the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 3 airwaves filled with interviews, discussion and cinema scores, in the build-up to the high-octane LA buzz of the Academy Awards ceremony.

Highlights include Isobel Waller-Bridge in Sound of Cinema Sunday chatting to her fellow film composers including film titan Hans Zimmer, as well as Jerskin Fendrix, nominated for his soundtrack to Poor Things, and Ludwig Göransson, nominated for his soundtrack to Oppenheimer. In The Listening Service, "Needle Drop", Tom Service looks at how and why classical music is used in film, plus Between the Ears dives into the world of one of the greatest film composers of all time, Henry Mancini.

There is a special edition of The Early Music Show presented by Hannah French, who reflects on period music on the big screen with guest Jocelyn Pook, who provided music for Eyes Wide Shut, and The Merchant of Venice; in Private Passions, Michael Berkeley’s guest is the writer and director Mark Cousins, creator of the epic documentary series The Story of Film: An Odyssey. There’s also an interview with actor Ethan Hawke on playing the role of Chet Baker in Born to Be Blue, and Laura Karpman, one of this year’s Oscar nominees for her American Fiction soundtrack in Sunday’s special edition of Jazz Record Requests.

13.00-15.00 Sound of Cinema Sunday

Composer Isobel Waller-Bridge presents two hours of music and conversation with special guests Hans Zimmer and Oscar nominees Ludwig Goransson (Oppenheimer) and Jerskin Fendrix (Poor Things). The programme celebrates the creativity underpinning so much contemporary film music. Isobel is also joined by Hollywood composer Nami Melumad (Star Trek, An American Pickle, Thor: Love and Thunder) for a look at how composers enter the profession. Soprano Renée Fleming talks about her role in the epic score of Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings.

Essential Listening on Radio 3