Douglas Road Productions

Broadcasters Lenny Henry and Suzy Klein celebrate black classical composers and musicians across the centuries whose stories and music have been forgotten in a 90-minute special.

The story of Una Marson, a poet, playwright and campaigner, and the first black producer and broadcaster at the BBC. A Caribbean woman born in the early 1900s, Una defied the limits society placed on her.

Danielle de Niese explores the lives and works of five female composers - from the Middle Ages to the late 20th century - who were famous in their lifetimes, but whose work was then forgotten. Western classical music has traditionally been seen as a procession of male geniuses, but the truth is that women have always composed. Hildegard of Bingen, Francesca Caccini, Clara Schumann, Florence Price and Elizabeth Maconchy - all these women battled to fulfill their ambitions and overcome the obstacles that society placed in their way. They then disappeared into obscurity, and only some have found recognition again.