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John Krebs

Michael Berkeley's guest is the zoologist John Krebs.

John Krebs is a zoologist who has specialised in the behaviour of birds. Although he was the son of a Nobel prize-winning chemist, ornithology was a very early passion: he hand-reared birds as a child and allowed them to fly freely around at family mealtimes.

In his later research, he discovered that birds that store seeds for the winter have remarkable spatial memory and an enlarged hippocampus 鈥 the part of the brain essential for remembering.

Alongside his academic career, he鈥檚 taken on high-profile public roles: he was the first chairman of the Food Standards Agency, where he faced the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. He鈥檚 also a cross-bench peer and was principal of Jesus College, Oxford, for a decade.

His musical choices include Haydn, Schubert, Schumann and Corelli.

Available now

36 minutes

Last on

Sun 31 Mar 2024 12:00

Music Played

  • Arcangelo Corelli

    Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op 6 No 8, 'Christmas Concerto'

    Ensemble: The English Concert. Conductor: Trevor Pinnock.
    • Corelli: Concerti Grossi Op.6.
    • Archiv.
    • 7-12.
  • Robert Schumann

    Papillons, Op 2

    Performer: Nelson Freire.
    • DECCA.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Piano Concerto no.27 in B flat K.595 (3rd mvt)

    Orchestra: Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Conductor: Piotr Anderszewski.
    • Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos 25 & 27.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 106.
  • Joseph Haydn

    Mit Staunen sieht das Wunderwerk (The Creation)

    Singer: Barbara Bonney. Choir: Stuttgart Radio Choir. Orchestra: Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Neville Marriner.
    • Haydn: Die Sch枚pfung.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 5.
  • Franz Schubert

    Licht und Liebe, D.352

    Performer: Gerald Moore. Singer: Janet Baker. Singer: Dietrich Fischer鈥怐ieskau.
    • Schubert: Duets.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 6.
  • Arthur Sullivan

    When I was a lad (HMS Pinafore)

    Librettist: William Gilbert. Singer: Richard Suart. Choir: Welsh National Opera Chorus. Orchestra: Welsh National Opera Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.
    • Gilbert and Sullivan: Highlights from the Mikado,the Pirates of Penznce, HMS Pin.
    • Telarc.
    • 1.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Adagio in F major, K. Anh. 94

    Performer: Sabine Meyer. Ensemble: Trio di Clarone.
    • Mozart: Kammermusik mit Klarinette.
    • EMI.
    • 1.

Broadcast

  • Sun 31 Mar 2024 12:00

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