Main content

Julia Blackburn

Writer Julia Blackburn talks to Michael Berkeley about how music helped her through her traumatic childhood and the joy of late-flowering love.

The writer Julia Blackburn talks to Michael Berkeley about how music helped her through her traumatic childhood and about the joy of late-flowering love.

Julia Blackburn is the author of novels, poetry, plays and books about historical figures including Napoleon, Billie Holiday, Goya, and the Norfolk artist John Craske, as well as books about grief, her love of animals, and the natural world. She’s also published memoirs, including an astonishing book about her childhood, The Three of Us.

Julia shares her love of Beethoven, Pergolesi, English folk song, music from central Africa, and the songs of Billie Holiday, which helped her through her a childhood marked by chaos and neglect.

And she tells Michael Berkeley about the happiness she has found in bringing up her own children, and the delight she has found in love later in life.

Producer: Jane Greenwood
A Loftus Media production for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3

Available now

36 minutes

Last on

Sun 13 Nov 2022 12:00

Music Played

  • Benjamin Britten

    Dirge (Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings)

    Performer: Dennis Brain. Singer: Peter Pears. Orchestra: New Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Eugene Goossens.
  • Billie Holiday

    Pennies From Heaven

  • Trad.

    The Agincourt Carol

    Ensemble: Musica Reservata. Conductor: John Beckett.
  • Aka Pygmies/Steve Reich

    Bossobe/Clapping Music

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Fantasia in D major (1st mvt: Allegro)

    Performer: Massimo Anfossi.
  • Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

    Stabat Mater

    Singer: Emma Kirkby. Singer: James Bowman. Ensemble: Academy of Ancient Music. Conductor: Christopher Hogwood.
  • Hannes Buder

    No death and no regrets (Outside Words)

Broadcast

  • Sun 13 Nov 2022 12:00

What makes Boogie-woogie piano legend Jools Holland tick?

What makes Boogie-woogie piano legend Jools Holland tick?

For Private Passions, Jools Holland revealed his piano history to Michael Berkeley.

11 things we learned from Harry Enfield’s Private Passions

11 things we learned from Harry Enfield’s Private Passions

Harry doesn't usually give interviews – but he couldn't say no to Michael Berkeley.

Archive Unlocked: Two Decades of Private Passions

Michael Berkeley introduces memorable interviews from Private Passions' archives.

Podcast