Composer of the Week and The New Global Indians

Composer of the Week (Radio 3) is Chopin, with the focus on his musical output during the seven summers he spent with George Sand at her country retreat, Nohant. There, we heard from Donald Macleod, Chopin wrote mazurkas ("it was a little piece of Poland he kept with him, a musical security blanket") and Sand came up with many an affectionate nickname ("little chip chip") for him. They hadn't seemed an obvious couple at first meeting. Sand was smoking a cigar and wearing men's clothing. "He found her positively repellent," Macleod explained. A year later though, rebuffed by another woman, Chopin changed his mind. The New Global Indians (Radio 4) don't sound as if they need nostalgic security blankets to remind them of home. Presenter Mukti Jain Campion explained how Indian entrepreneurs and corporate leaders successfully think and act globally these days. "I think of myself being Indian about as much as I think of myself wearing glasses," said one. Content-wise this was great, exploring the reasons for the changes it charted. But it was structured around an absolutely maddening list of names, read over perky music. After each name and job title, there was a brief pause and then: "Indian!" The rest of the material was evidence enough of a significant trend, and this just sounded daft.