The last weeks of the English composer EJ Moeran are the subject of this Friday’s Afternoon Play, Moeran's Last Symphony (BBC Radio 4, 2.15pm). Written by Martyn Wade – who has penned radio dramas on Gustav Holst, and Pears and Britten, as well radio adaptations of Trollope, Dickens and Wilkie Collins – the 45-minute play has been produced by Cherry Cookson.

After the critical and public acclaim of his First Symphony, Moeran was commissioned by the Hallé Orchestra to write a Second Symphony. However, his marriage to the cellist Peers Coetmore had fallen apart and Moeran was still suffering pain from injuries sustained during the First World War. He went to Kenmare in Ireland which had proved an inspirational place for him in the past and hoped that it would prove so again. Sadly, that was not to be.

The cast is headed by Tim McInnerny as Moeran with Kate Binchy as Mrs O’Donnell, Sean Froudist Walsh as Patrick, Geraldine Fitzgerald as Peers Coetmore, Nicholas Boulton as Peter Warlock and Geoffrey Whithead as Tomlinson.

Moeran’s Last Symphony will also be available on the BBC iPlayer for seven days following its broadcast.