The Lebrecht Interview

Born in Riga to musical parents Nelsons cites one of his earliest formative musical experiences as a performance of Wagner's Tannhauser which his parents took him to when he was just 5. He later took up the trumpet and eventually became a professional player in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra. He had conducting lessons with Neeme Jarvi and then came to the attention of Mariss Jansons whilst playing on tour with the Oslo Philharmonic and subsequently had lessons with him.

He eventually rose to become chief conductor of the Latvian National Opera at the age of 25 and it was there he met his future wife the soprano Kristine Opolais.

Nelsons has conducted at the Met, the Royal Opera House and at Bayreuth where he made his debut in 2010 with a new production of Lohengrin and where he returned this year.

In 2007 he became Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra having previously only conducted them in a private concert and a recording session, never at any public concerts. His present contract with them runs to 2014 and he appears with them at the BBC Proms this week.

Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons, music director of the CBSO, talks to Norman Lebrecht.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Antonio Pappano, music director of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, talks to Norman Lebrecht and speaks frankly about his life and work. Born into a musical family of Italian emigres living in Epping, North London, Pappano's career has embraced many of the major art houses including the Theatre de la Monnaie in Paris, Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, Chicago Lyric Opera and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Rome. Pappano talks openly about his Italian family upbringing in England and America - which involved making music but also at an early age cleaning offices to make money for the family - about the death of his father and the recreation of a family within the walls of the Royal Opera House.

Antonio Pappano, music director of the Royal Opera House, talks to Norman Lebrecht.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to German singer Brigitte Fassbaender, who has excelled onstage in the great mezzo roles in the music of Strauss and Mozart amongst others. Also one of the leading lieder singers of her day, she tells Norman about her career as one of the great mezzos of the 20th century, about her experiences growing up in wartime Germany, the great conductors she worked with and about her present role as a theatre and opera director in Innsbruck.

German mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbaender discusses her life and work.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Philharmonia Orchestra principal conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi talks to Norman Lebrecht about his eventful musical career. Grandson of the composer Erno von Dohnanyi and nephew of the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dohnanyi grew up in the Austro-German tradition of music making. His first appointment as music director was in Lubeck and he later went on to positions in Frankfurt, Hamburg and, most famously, with the Cleveland Orchestra for two decades. He discusses working with eminent conductors including Solti, Bernstein and Karajan.

Philharmonia Orchestra principal conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi talks to Norman Lebrecht

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht is joined by Deborah Borda, who runs the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht interviews one of the finest lieder singers of his generation. Fischer-Dieskau talks candidly about his time in the Hitler Youth; as a prisoner of war in Italy where he gave his first recitals; his legendary recordings of song cycles with Gerald Moore; working with prominent conductors Klemperer and Szell; and his views on music and singers today.

One of the finest lieder singers of his generation talks candidly about his life and work.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Gardner was appointed to the post at ENO in 2007 while in his early 30s and began by conducting a new production of Britten's Death in Venice. He was born in Gloucester and began his musical life as a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral. He later went to Eton where he enjoyed the music making and education and then went to Cambridge where he says he enjoyed the conducting and performing that he did there rather than the more academic side of the course. The Royal Academy of Music followed but before leaving he was already working in the summer at the Salzburg Festival as a repetiteur encountering some of the leading conductors and operatic productions of the time. This experience has influenced some of his choices at ENO. He then worked with Mark Elder at the Halle Orchestra.

So choral music and opera were both at the heart of his musical training. In 2004, before he was thirty, he was invited to be Music Director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera, an experience, he says which gave him the opportunity to conduct operas like La Boheme 20 times in different venues and acoustics around the UK.

Since taking up the baton at ENO he has been involved with the planning of the company's repertoire and has conducted new productions of operas by Saariaho, Verdi, Bartok and Puccini. He talks about the challenges the company faces. How it has improved its image and work after a period of decline and argues with Norman about the continuance of the company's policy of performing operas in English.

Producer Tony Cheevers.

Norman Lebrecht talks to music director of English National Opera Edward Gardner.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to Italian opera and film director Franco Zeffirelli, who speaks candidly of the early loss of his mother, his relationship with fellow film-maker Luchino Visconti, the experience of directing Joan Sutherland and Maria Callas, and the reasons behind Maria Callas's volatile temper.

Norman Lebrecht talks to celebrated opera and film director Franco Zeffirelli.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

He talks to Norman about Stockhausen, about his approach to directing, his views on opera and about his background.

Producer Paul Frankl.

Norman Lebrecht talks to the British opera director Graham Vick.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn. Born in Lexington, Virginia, Hahn was a child prodigy who made her major orchestral debut while still in her early teens. Now celebrated for her captivating stage presence and deeply felt interpretations, Hahn's international career embraces everything from concerto appearances (playing classic and new repertoire), to recitals, recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, and collaborations with singer-songwriter Tom Brosseau and folk-based singer-songwriter Josh Ritter. She tells Norman about the - sometimes harsh - realities of life on the road, the challenges of sustaining relationships, busking and the effects of the credit crunch on the classical music industry.

Norman Lebrecht talks to Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to tenor Ian Bostridge. Originally an academic specialising in English witchcraft in the 17th and 18th centuries, Bostridge burst onto the music scene in 1995 at the age of 30, rapidly becoming one of the most sought-after voices in the business. Celebrated on the operatic stage for Mozart, Monteverdi and Britten, in recital he is widely regarded as one of the great exponents of the German lied, particularly Schubert and Wolf.

In a wide-ranging and penetrating interview, Bostridge reveals the soul-searching behind his decision to leave academia behind in favour of music, his anxiety about acting on stage and why he nearly abandoned his role in Thomas Ades' opera The Tempest because he found it so difficult.

Norman Lebrecht talks to tenor Ian Bostridge, celebrated for performing German lieder.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Fischer recalls his elite musical education under communism, singing as a boy in the opera house where Gustav Mahler was once director. Being taught by both Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Hans Swarowsky during his studies in Vienna, where he initially set out to become a cellist, gave Fischer a unique musical perspective. He remembers what made both teachers great and how they impacted in his later decision to found The Budapest Festival Orchestra, alongside gifted pianist and countryman Zoltကn Kocsis. Fischer describes the jealousy and bad feeling which initially greeted the new orchestra, and why his relationship with Kocsis deteriorated. He talks frankly about his discomfort with Kocsis's perceived closeness to Hungary's rightist political regime, and why he will continue to speak out against it.

Ivကn Fischer has always been musically motivated by change: the desire to alter the status quo and unlock the potential of the musicians he conducts - he speaks passionately about what he sees as the crisis being faced by the modern symphony orchestra, and how they need to be reinvented or face extinction.

Norman Lebrecht meets Hungarian conductor Ivan Fischer.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to celebrated mezzo-soprano Janet Baker.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Adams who was born in Massachusetts is one of the most celebrated composers alive. Many of his pieces are in the repertory, including his operas Nixon in China, the Death of Klinghoffer and his opera about Robert Oppenheimer, Doctor Atomic all of which receive stagings around the world and all of which he talks about in this interview.

Adams also talks about his early years learning the clarinet, imagining music in his head as he did his paper round and starting to conduct and compose.

Adams turned down the chance to go to Tanglewood to learn conducting and instead drove to the West Coast to broaden his experiences. Here he encountered some of the early minimalist composers and was involved in performing concerts of music by John Cage. As he developed his artistic personality Adams rejected both Cage's ethos and that of the modernists. Adams has always been concerned with music as expressing feeling and was as open to influences from rock and pop music as he was to music of classical composers. In this sense he believes his openness to a variety of influences makes him closer to a fellow New Englander, Charles Ives.

John Adams also tells Norman about his experiences with the US Homeland security, and how he was blacklisted and about his political views in this honest conversation.

Producer Tony Cheevers.

Composer and conductor John Adams talks to Norman Lebrecht about his life and work.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to one of the most successful singers of his generation, John Tomlinson. The Lancashire-born bass is recognised as one of the finest performers on the international opera stage. He is particularly renowned for his Wagnerian roles: Wotan, Hagen and Hans Sachs, and also as Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Strauss' Baron Ochs.

Tomlinson learnt his craft singing in the chorus at Glyndebourne and as a member of the repertory company at English National Opera, where he worked with Reginald Goodall. In 1988 he made his debut at Bayreuth in the Barenboim/Kupfer Ring as Wotan, an experience he sees as one of the highlights of his career. He talks about his background, the success at Bayreuth and creating roles in operas by Birtwistle.

Norman Lebrecht talks to bass John Tomlinson.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

An interview from 2009 with the celebrated opera and theatre director Sir Jonathan Miller, who died on 27th November 2019. Jonathan Miller looks back on his ground-breaking work in theatre, in opera and in television, his training in medicine and his family background. He is interviewed by Norman Lebrecht.

An interview from 2009 with the opera and theatre director Sir Jonathan Miller.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to Jonathan Miller, a high-profile figure in British arts and intellectual circles whose work over the years has embraced medicine, satire, religion, television, theatre and opera direction.

Coming from a London Jewish background with a father who was a pychiatrist and a mother who was a writer, Miller initially went into medicine before becoming involved in the 60s satirical movement along with Peter Cook and Alan Bennett. This led to an invitation to work in television and then the theatre before he made his debut in the 70s directing opera. But Miller never left medicine behind, working on TV series like the Body in Question and Madness which reached large audiences in the UK and America.

Miller reflects on the way his career has been borne out of a series of invitations, his feelings about his Jewish upbringing, the world of opera and his atheism.

Norman Lebrecht talks to Jonathan Miller about his career, opera and atheism.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht meets the acclaimed American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. The sixth child of an Irish Catholic family in Prairie Village, Kansas, she married young and was almost thirty before anyone was prepared to back her talent. In the decade since then, she has taken on mezzo roles in Rossini and Handel with a wide-eyed zest that audiences find irresistible, and an openness that appears to be innate. The very model of a 21st-century communicator, Joyce DiDonato writes a chatty blog and decorates it with photographs that she snaps wherever she goes. She tells Norman Lebrecht about her early life in Kansas, her studies in Philadelphia and Houston, and how she bounced back from a string of rejections to become one of the world's great operatic stars.

Norman Lebrecht meets celebrated American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht in conversation with the conductor Kurt Masur, who celebrates his 80th birthday this Wednesday.

In an in-depth interview, Masur talks about his 26 years as director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in former East Germany and the impact of the fall of the Berlin Wall, his stormy 11 years at the New York Philharmonic and his current role in Paris as conductor of the French National Orchestra.

In conversation with Kurt Masur, currently conductor of the French National Orchestra.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Now in her eighties, Lilian - from a Jewish Ukrainian background - recalls the Cold War period which saw her and Victor pushing cultural and political boundaries to bring some of the most feted names in Russian music to Britain for the first time. Everyone from Rostropovich, Richter and Oistrakh through to The Borodin Quartet and the Kirov Ballet recieved their London debuts thanks to the Hochhausers.

Norman Lebrecht meets celebrated impresario Lilian Hochhauser.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to the conductor of this evening's prom, Mariss Jansons.

One of the world's most sought-after musicians, he now heads the orchestra of Bavarian Radio and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. His father died of a heart attack in 1984, and Mariss himself had a near-death experience during a performance almost 11 years ago. How have his experiences with death affected his career?

The sought-after conductor explains how his experience with death has affected his career.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Pressler looks back on a career which began in Nazi Germany, before he emigrated to Israel in 1939 and went on to win The Debussy Piano Competition in 1946. He recalls the teachers who helped him as a young pianist, including a German who defied the Nazi regime in continuing to teach him after it became illegal to do so, and his lessons with celebrated pianists Egon Petri and Leo Kestenberg.

Pressler remembers how he formed The Beaux Arts Trio with violinist Daniel Guilet and cellist Bernard Greenhouse almost by accident while living in New York, before making their debut at Boston's Tanglewood concert hall in 1955. He reflects on the trio's changing personnel, which has seen Pressler as the one constant member while five violinists and two cellists have come and gone. Still performing now at the age of eighty eight and a renowned teacher and mentor to top chamber musicians like the Emerson and Eb耀ne String Quartets - Menhem Pressler reflects on what makes a great chamber group and how music has sustained him throughout a long and distinguished career.

Norman Lebrecht meets the pianist Menahem Pressler, founder of The Beaux Arts Trio.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to president of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Michael Kaiser. Known as 'the turnaround king' of performing arts, Kaiser has saved numerous artistic organisations from closure. The American describes himself as 'very gloomy' about the effect of the current economic situation on the creative world and says a lot more damage will be done to many more artistic companies by the recession.

Advocating spending more money on the arts in time of economic difficulty, he also reflects on the turbulent years he spent rebuilding the Royal Opera House over a decade ago, on how he struggled to get the support of the New Labour government and how time working in Britain was the biggest challenge of his career.

Norman Lebrecht talks to arts leadership supremo Michael Kaiser.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Born in South Africa she first encountered ballet in Johannesburg and began to dance. After the sudden death of her father when she was just 13 she tells Norman how her mother brought her to London where they lived frugally in a bedsit in Finsbury Park.

Monica got a place at the Royal Ballet School and then unexpectedly was put in the company. Here she immediately encountered some of the great figures in international ballet whom she talks about in this interview.. The founder of the Royal Ballet was Dame Ninette de Valois who was then at the helm and a figure who fought for the company throughout the war years but who inspired fear in many. Frederick Ashton was the founder choreographer of the company and later held the post of Artistic Director. Monica Mason tells of dancing in his full length ballet Ondine to music by Henze which he found difficult to work to, but generally she was not one of his favourite dancers.

Monica also talks about Margot Fonteyn who for many years danced many of the best roles and continued past the normal age when dancers retire partly due to the arrival of Rudolf Nureyev with whom she formed a memorable partnership. Mason also talks of dancing with Nureyev herself.

She found a more direct working partnership with Ashton's successor Kenneth Macmillan who built his version of Rite of Spring around her . Macmillan was a troubled man subject to dark moods who, when he discovered Monica was considering leaving as her dancing years came to an end, persuaded her to stay as his assistant.

She agreed and worked closely with him and was there when he died suddenly backstage during an evening performance.

Monica Mason remained during the difficult years of the 90s when the Royal Opera House went through a troubled period, continuing as assistant to Norman Morrice, Anthony Dowell and then Ross Stretton. And it was only after Stretton's sudden dismissal that she went into the role of Director herself, at first she thought, on a temporary basis. Soon after she was offered the job. She reflects on her experiences as Director and how she has tried to move the company on, appointing Wayne McGregor as resident choreographer and commissioning a new full length ballet from Christopher Wheeldon.

Producer Tony Cheevers.

Norman Lebrecht talks to director of the Royal Ballet Monica Mason.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

In a revealing interview, she speaks candidly to Norman Lebrecht about that experience, about her need to be on stage to escape real life, explaining why she's happiest when rehearsing, her desire to revolutionise the operatic world and her conversion to the Jewish faith.

Norman Lebrecht in conversation with leading French soprano Natalie Dessay.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Now 65, Patrice Chereau is one of the most highly regarded French directors. He began his career directing at his Lycee and running a theatre in the Parisian suburbs in the 1960s. Not long after he was invited to Italy and to Germany initially directing plays by the classic dramatists.

His first job in opera was a work by Rossini at Spoleto but the occasion which caused the greatest controversy was in 1976 at Bayreuth when he directed Wagner's Ring Cycle with Pierre Boulez conducting. Chereau was not the first choice - Ingmar Bergman and Peter Brook were asked but both turned it down. Then, after Peter Stein accepted but then withdrew, Boulez approached Chereau. His production was deemed controversial in its setting, drawing as it did, heavily on the years of the 19th century Industrial Revolution and many staunch Wagnerites were incensed that the centenary Ring should be in the hands of a French production team. But the production is now seen as hugely influential in the effect it had on opera directors all over the world. It was widely seen on television in this country and abroad.

Patrice Chereau talks candidly to Norman Lebrecht in this interview recorded at his home in Paris about the Bayreuth experience including the hostility of the audience and the problems caused by his late appointment as director. He also talks about the works which attract him: Wozzeck and Lulu by Berg and Janacek's From The House of The Dead, all of which deal with difficult and sometimes expressionistic subject matter. And about some of his films which deal with issues of sexuality including L'Homme blesse and Son Frere.

Producer Tony Cheevers.

Norman Lebrecht talks to French film, theatre and opera director Patrice Chereau.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to music administrator Peter Jonas, who talks about his career at the helm of some of the world's most prestigious music companies, bereavement, his relationship with soprano Lucia Popp and his struggle with cancer. He also discusses the highs and lows of life in Chicago, London and Munich.

Music administrator Peter Jonas talks about his life and work.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to one of the world's best-known opera directors, Peter Sellars.

He has been startling audiences with overtly political stagings and festival seasons for a quarter of a century, but behind his non-stop clatter of ideas, what is it that drives his artistic vision: a passion to change the world or a determination to create something of beauty?

The opera director explains his art: a passion to change the world, or a love of beauty?

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

In the first of this year's Lebrecht Interviews, Norman meets the Italian conductor Riccardo Chailly. For more than 30 years, Chailly has been one of Europe's most important conductors. The son of a well-known Italian composer and music administrator, his career has taken him from the opera house in Bologna to the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Berlin, the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, and most recently the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig. Aged 57, Chailly specialises in the masterpieces of the symphonic repertoire and the summits of Italian opera. Yet some would say the Chailly story begs more questions than it answers. Although fluent in English, he's never held a major post in Britain or America; his moves have often been jagged and contentious, at odds with his calm and smiling persona. He talks to Norman about working with the likes of Pavarotti, Abbado and Karajan, his decision to leave Amsterdam (the first conductor ever to walk away from the Concertgebouw), the death of his father, and the possibility of a future post with a major American orchestra.

Norman Lebrecht talks to Italian conductor Riccardo Chailly.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Celebrated Italian conductor Riccardo Muti talks to Norman Lebrecht.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

For a while he was the only pupil of Pierre Boulez, and with Cardew he visited Darmstadt in Germany where the new music supremos of the era met and had their works performed. His prowess as a pianist meant he was called upon to play some of the more challenging music by Boulez, Stockhausen and others. But in parallel with this he was writing film scores and continuing to play jazz with friends. So already at the age of twenty his musical life was eclectic to say the least. In the late 50s and 60s his compositional career burgeoned with commissions and performances all over the world. His film scores included Far from the Madding Crowd, Nicholas and Alexandra and Murder on the Orient Express all of which earned him Oscar nominations.

In 1979 after the breakdown of a love affair and with the pressure of responsibilities in the music world proving too much, Bennett moved to New York where he has lived ever since.Now 75 Bennett enjoys his life spent between New York and London, singing with his regular collaborator Clare Martin.

In conversation with Norman Lebrecht Richard Rodney Bennett talks frankly about his life, his reasons for the different musical directions he has taken and why he no longer composes nor is interested in new music.

Producer Tony Cheevers.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to composer Richard Rodney Bennett.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Sir Roger Norrington has been one of the major movers and shakers on the classical music scene for nearly half a century. He founded the Schutz Choir and the London Classical Players, and was Music Director of Kent Opera for 15 years before taking his place on the podium with some of the great orchestras of Europe and America. The son of an Oxford Vice-Chancellor, Norrington was put to work in academic publishing before the musical imperative took over. His approach differed from other historically informed leaders, concentrating less on old instruments and more on texture of sound. He has outlasted many of his noisier contemporaries, a fact more remarkable since he was told two decades ago that he'd developed a brain tumour and had only months to live. Norrington talks to Norman Lebrecht about his early years growing up in Oxford and Canada, how he made the decision to become a musician, and how he battled ill health to come through fighting.

Norman Lebrecht talks to pioneering conductor Roger Norrington.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Producer, Jeremy Evans.

Norman Lebrecht talks to one of the world's most sought-after conductors - Semyon Bychkov.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Simone Young is an Australian conductor whose career has centred around the opera world and conducting the great Austro-German symphonic works. She appeared as a judge in the BBC TV series Maestro and has conducted here occasionally. She is currently Music Director of the Hamburg opera but her career began in her native country where she learnt the basics of her craft under a variety of mentors including Richard Bonynge and Stuart Challender at Opera Australia. Taking their advice she went to Europe and became assistant to a number of conductors including Daniel Barenboim whom she worked with on Wagner at Bayreuth. She later became the first woman to conduct both at the Vienna State Opera and the Paris Opera. She was Music Director at Australian Opera in the early 2000s but left after a dispute over funding and artistic standards. Hamburg followed where she will remain in her post until 2015.
Simone Young talks to Norman about the prejudice she has encountered as a woman her musical tastes and her research in the archives at Bayreuth. Approaching 50 she is widely tipped to get one of the forthcoming vacancies in the major opera houses but notwithstanding these opportunites, she considers her priority now to be how she can develop her ability to concentrate on artistic concerns principally the music.
Producer Tony Cheevers.

Norman Lebrecht talks to Australian conductor Simone Young.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Sir Clive Gillinson began his musical life as a cellist, holding positions in the Philharmonia Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. When that orchestra got into financial difficulties in the 1980s he was asked to become Managing Director. He held the position for twenty years, turning around the fortunes of the orchestra and establishing relationships with some of the leading conductors like Michael Tilson Thomas, Mstislav Rostropovich and Sir Colin Davis. He also helped plan some of the most innovative and succesful concert series in London musical life, developed the orchestra's education department and established LSO St Luke's in a previously derelict church. Gillinson was also behind of the launch of the LSO's own CD label.

In 2005 he became Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall in New York one of the leading concert venues in the world. It actually consists of three halls and presents hundreds of events every year. Clive Gillinson talks to Norman Lebrecht about his life and career, the challenges he's faced in his various orchestral roles and the differences between working in the arts in the UK and America.

Producer Tony Cheevers.

Norman Lebrecht is joined by Clive Gillinson, artistic director of Carnegie Hall.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

The pianist Stephen Hough is regarded as one of the most exciting British musicians of his generation. His career takes him around the world and he has won many awards for his recordings. His compositions include a Cello Concerto and a Mass for Westminster Cathedral. But music is just one part of his life. Hough is a Roman Catholic who converted while in his teens having been brought up in a Protestant family. Religion plays a major part in his life and he has published one book The Bible As Prayer and numerous articles on theological issues. He also regularly discusses the issues of being a gay Catholic. In this interview with Norman Lebrecht Stephen Hough talks about these issues and about repertoire, his early life and his near death experience in a car accident.

Norman Lebrecht talks to Stephen Hough, one of the most popular pianists working today.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

The pianist Stephen Hough is regarded as one of the most exciting British musicians of his generation. His career takes him around the world and he has won many awards for his recordings. His compositions include a Cello Concerto and a Mass for Westminster Cathedral. But music is just one part of his life. Hough is a Roman Catholic who converted while in his teens having been brought up in a Protestant family. Religion plays a major part in his life and he has published one book The Bible As Prayer and numerous articles on theological issues. He also regularly discusses the issues of being a gay Catholic. In this interview with Norman Lebrecht Stephen Hough talks about these issues and about repertoire, his early life and his near death experience in a car accident.

Norman Lebrecht talks to Stephen Hough, one of the most popular pianists working today.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Originally from Los Angeles, Kovacevich's father was Croatian and his mother American. After studying with the Russian pianist Lev Schorr he won a scholarship which brought him to London where he met and studied with Dame Myra Hess. She helped him develop the sound he made at the keyboard. In 1961 he hired the Wigmore Hall and made an acclaimed debut in music by Berg, Bach and Beethoven: the Diabelli Variations. This was the real start of his career in public which continues to this day.

His recordings date back to the 1960s when he made acclaimed concerto recordings of the Beethoven and Bartok Concertos with Colin Davis and of Beethoven Cello Sonatas with Jacqueline Du Pre, both artists he admires greatly. More recently his latest recording of the Diabelli Variations has garnered praise.

He has mainly confined himself to the great Classical pianist composers, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms with occasional forays into the twentieth century though he's never played the music of Rachmaninov in public, the pianist he most admires.

Throughout his playing life Kovacevich has suffered badly from nerves and he talks frankly about this and the way his more recent conducting career has helped him to deal with them.

Producer Tony Cheevers.

American pianist Stephen Kovacevich talks to Norman Lebrecht about his career.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to Stephen Sondheim, the leading living exponent of the American musical, at his home in New York.

Sondheim sees himself essentially as a songwriter, but through his collaborations with various dramatists, he has consistently extended the style and subject matter of the genre.

The leading living exponent of the American musical talks from his home in New York.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Norman Lebrecht talks to composer Steve Reich at his home in New York State. As well as speaking about the importance of his studies with composer Luciano Berio and the power of 12-tone music in the 1950s and 1960s, Reich talks at length about his relationship with God and how it shapes his daily routines, and in typical uncompromising style, addresses the question of religious fundamentalism.

Composer Steve Reich discusses studying with Luciano Berio and his relationship with God.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

In this extensive and wide-ranging interview, Quasthoff reflects on his happy childhood, his very close relationship with his brother Michael (who died of cancer last year), and the challenges of rebuilding his marriage after its apparent collapse.

Having said some years ago that he wouldn't return to the operatic stage, Quasthoff tells Norman how he's been lured back, and how his fundamental optimism has remained intact.

Producer Emma Bloxham.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to German bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

In this extended and wide-ranging interview recorded at Gergiev's Festival in Mikkeli, Finland, Gergiev tells Norman about his childhood in Ossetia and his reaction to the death of his father when he was just 14; his own very special method of fund-raising; his controversial relationship with Vladimir Putin; and just what drives him to live life at his famously frenetic pace.

Producer Emma Bloxham.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to conductor Valery Gergiev.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

One of the world's best known musicians, Vladimir Ashkenazy, in conversation with Norman Lebrecht. In a bright, humorous and optimistic 45 minutes, Ashkenazy describes himself as one of the luckiest people alive. He talks about his 'accidental' exile to the West. He describes his recruitment to and subsequent sacking by the KGB, and he considers how he now doesn't play live because of arthritis and misshapen fingers. And he tells Norman he still has one unfulfilled dream: to conduct opera. (Rpt)

Producer: Jeremy Evans.

Norman Lebrecht talks to Russian pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

One of the world's best known musicians, Vladimir Ashkenazy, in conversation with Norman Lebrecht. In a bright, humorous and optimistic 45 minutes, Ashkenazy describes himself as one of the luckiest people alive. He talks about his 'accidental' exile to the West. He describes his recruitment to and subsequent sacking by the KGB, and he considers how he now doesn't play live because of arthritis and misshapen fingers. And he tells Norman he still has one unfulfilled dream: to conduct opera. (Rpt)

Producer: Jeremy Evans.

Norman Lebrecht talks to Russian pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

In the first of a new series, Norman Lebrecht talks to William Christie - conductor and founder of early music ensemble, Les Arts Florissants. A frank and revealing converstation in which Christie, an American now living in France, talks about the draw of European music making. He reflects on the impact of the Vietnam War on his career, and reveals the bullying tactics of his teacher Ralph Kirkpatrick. He also considers the sometimes difficult working relationships with some of his colleagues, and how nervousness, stress and anxiety had a detrimental affect on his health.

Norman Lebrecht talks to William Christie, conductor and founder of Les Arts Florissants.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

In the first of a new series, Norman Lebrecht talks to William Christie - conductor and founder of early music ensemble, Les Arts Florissants. A frank and revealing converstation in which Christie, an American now living in France, talks about the draw of European music making. He reflects on the impact of the Vietnam War on his career, and reveals the bullying tactics of his teacher Ralph Kirkpatrick. He also considers the sometimes difficult working relationships with some of his colleagues, and how nervousness, stress and anxiety had a detrimental affect on his health.

Norman Lebrecht talks to William Christie, conductor and founder of Les Arts Florissants.

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field

Classical music critic Norman Lebrecht talks to major figures in the field