Music Matters Folgen

Tom meets American pianist Stephen Kovacevich, who candidly discusses stage fright as well as the dark side of Chopin; he appraises the music of composer Howard Skempton with Esther Cavett, co-author and editor of a new book about him; and talks to conductor and composer Thomas Ades (pictured) about his new piano concerto, and his first foray into film music (the score for Colette, starring Keira Knightley). Plus,Tom visits London's only remaining Elizabethan church to catch a rehearsal of the Grandmothers Project, a community choral work by Esmeralda Conde Ruiz. Photo credit: Brian Voce

We hear about The Monstrous Child and Hel, the heroine of Gavin Higgins and Francesca Simon’s new opera. Pianists Peter Donohoe and Noriko Ogawa discuss and play mountains of the piano duo repertoire: Stravinsky, Rachmaninov & Debussy. Tom speaks to musicians who spend their evenings performing in concert halls, and their days walking in the mountains (conductor Garry Walker) stretching in hot yoga studios (violinist Elena Urioste), or running ultra-marathons (Leon Bosch) to discover the connection between music and sporting disciplines. Tom visits English composer Anthony Payne at home in London hearing about the catalyst that sparked his life in music, Elgar, and why we need more new music in our lives.

Young Czech conductor Jakub Hrusa talks to Tom Service about starting out, life at the helm of Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the special relationship he has with the music and musicians of the Czech Republic. Fifty years after it was written, composer Matthew Shlomowitz gets inside Luciano Berio's Sinfonia - a patchwork of borrowed musical fragments written for orchestra and amplified voices - and asks what it all means. For the latest in our Hidden Voices series, in which we shine a spotlight on musical figures from the past who we think should be better known, we explore the extraordinary life and work of Brazilian composer, conductor and pianist Chiquinha Gonzaga (pictured). She wrote over 2000 pieces including 77 operettas and a song that would become a classic in the carnivals of Brazil. Gabriella Di Laccio, soprano and founder of ‘Donne: Women in Music’, and pianist André Mehmari tell Gonzago's story.Plus, we find out about the hardest decision that some of the world’s finest musicians will ever make: when’s it time to take your final bow? Tom explores how musicians decide when to give up their performing careers and what comes next, with contributions from soprano Dame Anne Evans, pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy, horn player Sarah Willis and artist manager Thomas Hull.