Opening the archives: A cellist, a playwright and a king

About this episode

The episode celebrates international archives week by exploring significant historical records and stories from various notable figures.

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. And today, we’re celebrating international archives week, set up to highlight the importance of protecting the world's historical records. Our guest is BBC curator Joe Schultz who talks about some of the jewels in the BBC radio collections. We find out why cellist Mstislav Rostropovich was stripped of his Soviet citizenship in 1978. Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela reveals how he survived prison in South Africa. Plus, Pablo Picasso and his fellow artists enjoy a Surrealist summer in 1930s France. And more on the inspiration behind Anton Chekhov's most famous play, Three Sisters. We hear about the Jordanian king who survived numerous assassination attempts to become one of the Middle East’s longest serving leaders. And finally, Pickles the dog: the four-legged hero who found the stolen Jules Rimet trophy ahead of the 1966 World Cup. Contributors: Joe Schultz – BBC curator. Mstislav Rostropovich - virtuoso cellist. Nelson Mandela – former president of South Africa. Eileen Agar – Surrealist artist. Paul Shishkoff – friend of playwright Anton Chekhov. King Hussein of Jordan…

People in this episode

Host: Max Pearson

Guest: Joe Schultz

Topics covered

• archives
• history
• art
• politics
• culture
• personal stories

Keywords

• archives
• Mstislav Rostropovich
• Nelson Mandela
• Three Sisters
• King Hussein
• Pickles the dog
• BBC

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC World Service

Books & works: Three Sisters

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