Sir Terry Pratchett was an English humourist, satirist and author of fantasy novels, best known for the Discworld series.

He was knighted in 2009 at Buckingham Palace as part of the Queen’s New Year Honours. Mr Pratchett died in 2015, aged 66 after having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Before he died he became a patron for Alzheimer’s research and chronicled his experience with the disease. Hear Margaret Throsby’s 2002 interview where they chat about music, writing, religion, technology, philosophy and everything in-between.

On Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Festival Overture:

“It was the first ever classical album I bought, I didn’t know what to expect and I fell in love with it!”

On Thomas Tallis’ Spem in Alium:

“It makes God ashamed for not existing.”

And on Mozart’s Voi Che Sapete from The Marriage of Figaro:

“I just fell in love with it the first time I heard it and then I did a dreadful thing, I parodied it in one of my books.”





Terry Pratchett’s music choices

Rimsky-Korsakoff: Russian Easter Festival Overture

Philharmonia Orchestra / Yevgeny Svetlanov

Thomas Tallis: Spem in Alium

Winchester Cathedral Choir, Winchester College Quirsters, Vocal Arts / David Hill

Mozart: "Voi Che Sapete" from The Marriage of Figaro

Philharmonia Orchestra / George Szell. Elizabeth Schwarzkopf (sop.)

Icehouse: Great Southern Land

Tchaikovsky: Marche Slave. Op. 31

London Symphony Orchestra / Gennadi Rozhestvensky