Editing Samuel West (section)

===Audiobooks, reciting and work with musicians===
West has recorded over one hundred [[audiobook]]s, among which are the [[Shakespeare]] plays ''[[All's Well That Ends Well]]'', ''[[Coriolanus]]'', ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'', ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'', ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]],'' ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'', ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]'' and ''[[Macbeth]]'' (directed by [[Steven Berkoff]]), the complete ''[[Inspector Morse]]'' novels by [[Colin Dexter]], the ''[[Wind on Fire]]'' trilogy by [[William Nicholson (writer)|William Nicholson]] (''[[The Wind Singer]]'', ''[[Slaves of the Mastery]]'' and ''[[Firesong]]''), the Arthur trilogy by [[Kevin Crossley-Holland]] (''[[The Seeing Stone]]'', ''At the Crossing Places'' and'' King of the Middle March''), five books by [[Sebastian Faulks]] (''[[Charlotte Gray (novel)|Charlotte Gray]]'', ''[[Birdsong (novel)|Birdsong]]'', ''[[The Girl at the Lion d'Or]]'', ''[[Human Traces]]'' and ''A Possible Life''), four by [[Michael Ridpath]] (''Trading Reality'', ''Final Venture'', ''Free to Trade'', and ''The Marketmaker''), two by [[George Orwell]] (''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' and ''[[Homage to Catalonia]]''), two by [[Mary Wesley]] (''An Imaginative Experience'' and ''Part of the Furniture''), two by [[Robert Goddard (novelist)|Robert Goddard]] (''Closed Circle'' and ''In Pale Battalions'') and several compilations of poetry ''(Realms of Gold: Letters and Poems of [[John Keats]]'', ''Bright Star'', ''The Collected Works of [[Percy Bysshe Shelley|Shelley]]'', ''Seven Ages'', ''Great Narrative Poems of the Romantic Age'' and ''[[A Shropshire Lad]])''. Also ''[[Goethe's Faust|Faust]]'', ''[[Bomber (novel)|Bomber]]'', ''[[Doctor Who]]: The Vengeance of Morbius'', ''[[Empire of the Sun (novel)|Empire of the Sun]]'',  ''[[Brighton Rock (novel)|Brighton Rock]]'', ''[[Fair Stood the Wind for France]]'',  ''[[Fluke (novel)|Fluke]]'', ''Great Speeches in History'', ''How Proust Can Change Your Life'',  ''[[Lady Windermere's Fan]]'', ''[[Peter and Wendy|Peter Pan]]'', ''[[The Alchemist (novel)|The Alchemist]]'', ''[[The Day of the Triffids]]'',  ''The Hairy Hands'', ''The Lives of Christopher Chant'', ''[[The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous]]'', ''[[The Queen's Man]]'', ''[[The Solitaire Mystery]]'', ''[[The Swimming Pool Library]]'', ''The Two Destinies'', ''[[The Velveteen Rabbit]]'', ''The Way I Found Her'', ''The Way to Dusty Death'', ''[[The Woodlanders]]'', ''[[Under the Net]]'', ''[[Wuthering Heights]]'' and [[Philip Pullman]]'s ''Grimm Tales for Young and Old''.

In June 2012, West recorded an English narration of ''[[The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My]]'' by [[Tove Jansson]] for an interactive audiobook developed by Spinfy and published by [[Sort of Books]].

In May 2015, West's reading of ''[[Brighton Rock (novel)|Brighton Rock]]'' was chosen as one of "The 20 best audiobooks of all time" by Carole Mansur of the ''[[Daily Telegraph]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mansur |first=Carole |date=8 May 2015 |title=20 best audiobooks of all time |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/11591983/20-best-audiobooks-of-all-time.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/11591983/20-best-audiobooks-of-all-time.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |location=UK |access-date=1 July 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

As a reciter West has worked with all the major British orchestras, as well as the [[Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra]], [[Dallas Symphony Orchestra]] and the [[National Symphony Orchestra]] in Washington, D.C. Works include Stravinsky's ''Oedipus Rex'' and ''[[The Soldier's Tale]]'', Prokofiev's ''Eugene Onegin'', Beethoven's ''[[Egmont (Beethoven)|Egmont]]'', Schoenburg's ''Ode To Napoleon'', Strauss' ''[[Enoch Arden (Strauss)|Enoch Arden]]'', Saint-Saëns' ''[[Carnival of the Animals]]'', Bernstein's ''[[Symphony No. 3 (Bernstein)|Kaddish]]'', Walton's ''[[Façade (poems)|Façade]]'' and ''Henry V'', ''[[Night Mail]]'' and ''[[The Way to the Sea]]'' by Britten and Auden, the world premieres of ''Concrete'' by [[Judith Weir]] at the Barbican and [[Howard Goodall]]'s ''Jason and the Argonauts'' at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] and the UK premiere of [[Jonathan Harvey (composer)|Jonathan Harvey]]'s final piece ''Weltethos'' at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tommasini |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Tommasini|date=22 June 2012 |title=Jonathan Harvey's 'Weltethos' in England |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/arts/music/jonathan-harveys-weltethos-in-england.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> In 2007 West made his New York recital debut in the first performance of ''Little Red Violin'' by [[Anne Dudley]] and [[Steven Isserlis]]. In November 2010, West performed a new English translation of [[Edvard Grieg|Grieg's]] complete incidental music to [[Henrik Ibsen|Ibsen's]] play ''[[Peer Gynt]]'' with the [[Southampton Philharmonic Choir]] at Southampton Guildhall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southamptonphil.org/web/?q=node/107 |title=Grieg – Peer Gynt, with Narrator, Samuel West |date=24 November 2009 |publisher=[[Southampton Philharmonic Choir]] |access-date=1 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702045128/http://www.southamptonphil.org/web/?q=node%2F107 |archive-date=2 July 2015  }}</ref> He has performed at the Proms six times,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/events/performers/3737/performances |title=BBC Proms – Performances – Samuel West|publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> including the suite version of ''Henry V'' at the 2002 [[Last Night of the Proms]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/archive/search/2000s/2002/september-14/12161 |title=Prom 73 – Last Night of the Proms 2002|date=2002|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=10 June 2015}}</ref>

He has also appeared with the [[Nash Ensemble]], the [[Raphael Ensemble]], The Hebrides Ensemble, [[Ensemble 360]] and the [[Lindsay String Quartet|Lindsay]], Dante and [[Endellion Quartet]]s at the [[Wigmore Hall]], London. Recordings include Prokofief's ''Eugene Onegin'' with Sinfonia 21 and Edward Downes,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Name/Andrew-Rutt/Performer/165997-2 |title=Prokofiev: Eugene Onegin / Downes, West, Sinfonia 21 |date=25 August 2009 |publisher=[[ArkivMusic]] |access-date=1 July 2015 |archive-date=2 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702043304/http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Name/Andrew-Rutt/Performer/165997-2 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[Salad Days (musical)|Salad Days]]'' and Walton's ''Henry V'' with the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] and [[Leonard Slatkin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/william-walton-henry-v-mw0001415136 |title=William Walton: Henry V – Leonard Slatkin, Samuel West |date=2002 |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref>

As a choral singer, West has participated in three Choir of London tours to [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]: in May 2006, when he also gave poetry readings as part of the concert programme; in April 2007 when he directed ''[[The Magic Flute]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.choiroflondon.org/Choir_of_London/Choir_of_London_-_PMF_-_Magic_Flute.html |title=Choir of London – PMF – Magic Flute |date=2007 |publisher=Choir of London |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> and in September 2013 (see below).

In 2013, the centenary year of [[Benjamin Britten]], West narrated the Britten/[[W. H. Auden|Auden]] film score ''[[Night Mail]]'' with the [[Nash Ensemble]] at the Wigmore Hall and later added ''Coal Face, God's Chillun, The Peace of Britain, [[The Way to the Sea]]'' and ''[[The King's Stamp]]'' with the [[Aurora Orchestra]] at the Queen Elizabeth and Fairfield Halls.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://insidecroydon.com/2013/11/07/west-takes-on-impossible-job-without-pausing-for-breath/ |title=West takes on impossible job without pausing for breath |date=7 November 2013 |website=Inside Croydon |access-date=1 July 2015 }}</ref> In June he played God in Britten's ''[[Noye's Fludde]]'' in Harrogate.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.harrogate-news.co.uk/2013/06/10/harrogate-grammar-school-present-benjamin-brittens-opera-noyes-fludde/ |title=Harrogate Grammar School present Benjamin Britten's opera, Noye's Fludde|date=10 June 2013|newspaper=Harrogate Informer |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> In July he appeared in a Proms Plus broadcast discussing Britten's setting of poetry.  In September he toured Palestine with the Choir of London as staff director of a new opera based on Britten's ''[[Hymn to St Cecilia]]'' and sang in Britten's ''[[Saint Nicolas (Britten)|St Nicolas]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sinfinimusic.com/uk/features/other-features/samuel-west-blog |title=Samuel West London choir on West Bank |last=West |first=Samuel |date=3 October 2013 |publisher=[[Sinfini Music]] |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> In October, he narrated the concert world premiere of ''Britten in America'' for the [[Hallé]] orchestra, which was released on CD<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.halle.co.uk/news.aspx?News_ID=10494 |title=Samuel West Narrates World Premiere |publisher=[[The Hallé]] |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> together with West's recordings of speeches to Britten's incidental music for Auden and [[Christopher Isherwood|Isherwood]]'s play ''[[The Ascent of F6]]'' (the disc, ''Britten to America'', was later nominated for a 2014 [[Grammy Award]] for Best Classical Compendium).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/nominees?genre=5 |title=57th Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners & Nominees |publisher=[[Grammy Award|Grammy]] |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> He also toured a program of Britten cabaret songs and Auden poems across the UK with Ruthie Culver and the UtterJazz Quartet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ruthieculver.com/look-stranger/ |title=Britten/Look Stranger|publisher=Ruthie Culver |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref>

In June 2013 he appeared in the video for ''Handyman Blues'' by [[Billy Bragg]], directed by [[Johnny Vegas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YmHtISRcz0  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/2YmHtISRcz0| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Billy Bragg – Handyman Blues |date=3 June 2013|website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=1 July 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

On 14 July 2017, one month after the [[Grenfell Tower fire]], BBC's ''[[Newshour]]'' programme invited West to read out an excerpt from a letter written by an anonymous firefighter giving a personal account of the fire scene and his inner thoughts on duty that night.

In 2020, West appeared on the album ''From The Ground Up'': an ensemble led by [[Hugo Ticciati]] improvised over [[Henry Purcell]] [[chaconne]] bass lines while West read [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] and rapper [[Soul Inscribed|Baba Israel]] improvised. The album won the 2020 [[Gramophone Classical Music Awards|Gramophone Award]] for Best Concept Album.