Happy Birthday Radio 3

Radio 3 presenters celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the Third Programme, the predecessor of BBC Radio 3, on Thursday 29 September. L-R: Lopa Kothari, Sara Mohr-Pietsch, Max Reinhardt, Tom Service, Katie Derham, Petroc Trelawny, Sean Rafferty

Today is |BBC Radio 3's 70th birthday. The radio station was founded in 1946, as the Third Programme, and at 6 pm tonight (29 September 2016), the time at which the Third Programme first went on air, there will be jollification on air and at the Southbank Centre where the presenters from the station are in residence at a pop-up studio as part of a two week residency, Sound Frontiers, from 23 September to 7 October.

So there are celebrations at the Royal Festival Hall this evening, and a specially commissioned drama on Radio 3.  The celebrations are part of a whole season of broadcasting on Radio 3 celebrating 70 years, which launches today and lasts 70 days. Events include the young composer Matthew Kaner being embedded with the station. He will work day-to-day for the entire 70 days, establishing his voice with Radio 3’s listeners via a diverse portfolio of short pieces, among them a premiere every Monday morning for Radio 3’s Breakfast programme.

Seven composers, including Laura Jurd, Laurent Durupt, Jane Harbour and Kate Whitley, are being given their first Radio 3 commission to write a ten minute work, to be performed by a BBC Performing Group or Radio 3 New Generation Artist. Innovative newly composed music projects conceived specifically for radio and celebrating the broadcasting medium will include Matthew Herbert’s Requiem and Florian Hecker's site specific sound installation for BBC Maida Vale Studios. Established composers are being commissioned to write a significant work marking the 70th anniversary for future premier in 2017/18 including a piano concerto from Ryan Wigglesworth and a new work from Tansy Davies for the BBC Philharmonic.