The view from Barr Mor on the Isle of Lismore, Marshall Walker's favourite spot on his favourite island. Photo: Marshall Walker
Marshall Walker grew up in Glasgow and was hooked by the music of Sibelius at a very early age.
It became a lifelong passion. He started to call him 'The Big Man'.
These programmes, written in the form of letters, pay tribute to the Finnish composer's genius and give thanks to him for a life's enrichment from a self-confessed "junky".
In this, the fifth and final of the series, Walker tells of his encounters with his boyhood hero, conductor, Ian Whyte.
As a student, he has to banish the music of Sibelius until he finishes his degree.
Later, he moves to New Zealand, where he finds the freedom to enjoy Sibelius at full volume on his stereo, and landscapes to match the music's grandeur.
And we come back to the beginning: a jumping-off point for the pilgrimage described in the first programme of the series.
'North and South' won the 2009 NZ Radio Award for Best Music Feature. First broadcast 27 March 2008.
