''Private Passions'' is a weekly music discussion programme that has been running since 15 April 1995 on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

, presented by composer

Michael Berkeley Michael Fitzhardinge Berkeley, Baron Berkeley of Knighton, (born 29 May 1948) is an English composer, broadcaster on music and non-party political member of the House of Lords, speaking as an advocate for the arts, contemporary music and music ...

. The production was formerly made by Classic Arts Productions, a British radio and audio production company that provided programmes to the BBC until June 2013. Between June 2013 to April 2023 it was produced by Loftus Audio and producers Elizabeth Burke, Jane Greenwood and Olivia Seligman. Since April 2023 it has been made by the BBC and the producers are Clare Walker and Graham Rogers. The hour and a half show is broadcast almost every Sunday at 12:00 in the UK, and is available on demand through the BBC website, where it is possible to listen to the last seven days of Radio 3 broadcasts. Every week Berkeley interviews a notable guest about their life and musical interests and plays a selection of their favourite pieces. The emphasis is on

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

, but also embraces

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

and

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

. The "life and works" aspect of the interview is generally secondary to the discussion about musical passions, and Berkeley often aims to explore a guest's unexpected musical interests. There are programmes that are compilations covering a particular topic or a fictitious guest. Writer

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan (born 21 June 1948) is a British novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of the ...

has described it as "musically and psychologically irresistible. Probably the best programme on radio in Britain." The ''Private Passions'' book charts the show's first decade, listing all the guests and their choices of music. The programme's theme tune is Berkeley's own "The Wakeful Poet" (from ''Music from Chaucer'') performed by the Beaux-Arts Brass Quintet. On 15 April 2025 Petroc Trelawny presented a special edition of BBC Radio 3's '' In Tune'', interviewing Berkeley, and playing excerpts from notable participants, to celebrate the programme's 30th anniversary.

Episodes

* List of Private Passions episodes (1995–1999) * List of Private Passions episodes (2000–2004) * List of Private Passions episodes (2005–2009) * List of Private Passions episodes (2010–2014) * List of Private Passions episodes (2015–2019) * List of Private Passions episodes (2020–present)

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Classical music, BBC, Radio BBC Radio 3 programmes British classical music radio programmes 1995 radio programme debuts