Music Matters

Ivan Hewett with news and views from the musical world.

This week, a walk round a Mendelssohn exhibition at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and a trip to a musical weekend in Lacock for players of the serpent, an ancient bass wind instrument.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, choreographer Mark Morris on his interpretation of Handel, violinist Gidon Kremer on master of tango Astor Piazzolla, and a look at Ravel's fascination with Spain.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, choreographer Mark Morris on his interpretation of Handel, Gidon Kremer pays homage to the master of tango Astor Piazzolla, and a look at Ravel's fascination with Spain.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and events in the musical world.

This week, a new book on Mahler, a meeting between Ensemble Bash and musicians from Ghana, and what a new-born baby hears.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and events in the musical world.

This week, composers' fascination with the poetry of Byron; a new scheme to provide music in prisons; and how Hong Kong's music scene will be affected by the handover to China at the end of this month.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and events in the musical world.

This week, the symphony becomes heroic in the wake of Beethoven; composers write again for the virginals; a new book on English cathedral music; and a project in Birmingham to get young people singing.

A new season and a new time for the popular music magazine presented by Ivan Hewett.

This week, a review of Jonathan Miller's TV series for people who do not like opera; the hidden riches of Yemenese music heard for the first time in this country; and a composing computer - will it ever replace the human composer?

A new season and a new time for the repeat of the popular music magazine presented by Ivan Hewett.

This week, a review of Jonathan Miller's TV series for people who do not like opera; the hidden riches of Yemenese music heard for the first time in this country; and a composing computer - will it ever replace the human composer?

Weekly music magazine presented by Ivan Hewett.

This week, a new book about Diaghilev, the San Francisco Opera House re-opens, music-making in Manchester, and the Diva as an icon.

Music magazine.

This week, Ivan Hewett discusses the flourishing cultural life in Vienna during the first half of the century; looks at how pop musicians like Paul McCartney have crossed over to classical music; and brings news of Riccardo Muti's appeal to halt the destruction of musical manuscripts in Naples.

Weekly music magazine presented by Ivan Hewett.

This week, the Russian choral tradition, a new ballet about Edward II, and Vaughan Williams - establishment figure or subversive?

Ivan Hewett explores Sibelius's fascination with Finnish legends and folklore, looks at the way Soundbeam helps people with disabilities make music, and joins 700 young people working on an education project to be performed at Huddersfield Football Stadium.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world, including news of a Prokofiev festival, the Brahms clarinet sonatas revisited, and a look at traditional music from the Andes.

Ivan Hewett looks at how Christmas music has changed through the ages.

McCarthy, artistic director, Music Theatre Wales; and Tom Sutcliffe, opera critic and author.

Ivan Hewett reviews the musical highlights of 1997 and looks forward to the year ahead.

Plus a report from Mostar, where the Pavarotti Music Centre has just opened.

Music magazine, presented by Ivan Hewett.

This week, Beethoven the revolutionary in Glasgow, the history of the drum kit and a new book on different styles of singing.

This week, Beethoven the revolutionary in Glasgow, and a new book on different styles of singing.

Music magazine, presented by Ivan Hewett.

This week, a new book on Verdi, a festival of improvisation and a new piece for the virginals.

/ Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, Rostropovich conducts Shostakovich, and the newly formed European Opera Centre perform Mozart at Buxton.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, Prince Albert's contribution to musical life, the problems of themed concert programming, and hot dishes and Cuban spice at Club Tropicana.

This week, Prince Albert's contribution to musical life, what went on in Bluebeard's castle, and the problems of themed concert programming.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, what makes a good musical biography, musical versions of Shakespeare, and Tchaikovsky tackled by Roger Norrington

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, a glance backstage at the opera, new ideas on Verdi, and a work by Handel rediscovered after 261 years.

Ivan Hewett visits Stockholm, this year's European City of Culture, and asks what the role of music is in the global city of the future.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

Pianist Joanna MacGregor explains how Birtwistle's music has links with music of the past, and a group of amateur musicians creates a new piece with the Danish composer Per Norgard.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

Pianist Imogen Cooper talks about her forays into the rich repertoire for piano trio.

Plus the unique sounds of Pham Van Ty and the Ca Tru Thai Ha Ensemble of Hanoi, who are here for a festival of Vietnamese culture.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, a look at Siobhan Davies's new dance piece choreographing Conlan Nancarrow's extraordinary studies for player piano.

Plus a visit to the new Wiltshire Music Centre.

Ivan Hewett talks to Thomas Hampson about Mahler's Ruckert Lieder and reviews Channel 4's new series on the jazz greats.

Ivan Hewett interviews Daniel Barenboim about his current Beethoven cycle at the Royal Festival Hall and celebrates 25 years of the Kronos Quartet.

Ivan Hewett investigates noise levels in orchestras, talks to Broadway singer Kim Criswell about the unearthing of some Cole Porter treasures, and samples ancient music from Georgia performed by Ensemble Mzetamze.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, a feature celebrating the centenary of the birth of Spanish poet and dramatist Federico Garcia Lorca, a tribute to the great Russian bass Chaliapin, and a preview of a new music theatre piece set in a Scottish pub.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the music world.

This week, silent-film legend Charlie Chaplin as a composer, and an assessment of the Royal Ballet on the hundreth birthday of its founder Dame Ninette de Valois.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the music world.

This week, composers who have written for and about children.

And the Lindseys talk about the evocative musical language in Janacek's quartets.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the music world.

This week, a look behind behind the scenes at Almeida Opera's Chinese double bill, and medieval music on the streets of York.

Also, what exactly is vibrato?

Music magazine, with Ivan Hewett.

This week: defnining the classical in music, and new attitudes to the role of music in society.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week: a rare interview with legendary dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham, and a look at a new scheme which aims to transform the way music is taught in schools.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week: a tribute to the extraordinary singer-actress Lotte Lenya as the centenary of her birth approaches.

Plus an assessment of the influence of the great visionary of 20th-century music - Karlheinz Stockhausen, celebrating his seventieth birthday.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, 25 years of the pioneering early-music vocal ensemble the Tallis Scholars.

Plus a look at the roots of klezmer as a month-long festival of Jewish music begins in London.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, he interviews Hans Werner Henze, a leading composer of contemporary opera, as the Royal Northern College of Music launches its festival of his music.

Plus a look at the new British Library transformed into a performance space for dance.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, he previews Simon Holt's first opera, based on an erotic strip cartoon by Lorca; reports on progress of the new Gateshead Arts Centre; and investigates the music that will create the atmosphere in the Millennium Dome.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world, including symmetries in Bach, music and gender, and the panpipes of Eastern Europe.

Ivan Hewett previews music programmes on television this Christmas, explores the King's College Choir phenomenon, and looks back at the musical highlights of 1998.

Ivan Hewett explores the way in which orchestras are developing new audiences.

He also visits the Richard Attenborough Arts Centre in Leicester, designed with disabled people in mind.

With Ivan Hewett.

This week, Julian Lloyd Webber comments from personal experience on the new film about Jacqueline Du Pre.

He also looks at the problems facing young musicians launching a professional career.

Ivan Hewett looks at the role of sponsorship in music.

And Tony Woodcock, former head of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra but now in charge of the Oregon Symphony, sends a postcard comparing Britain's sunny south coast with America's wild west.

Ivan Hewett debates the lack of a first-rate concert hall in London and looks at the plans for improving the acoustics of the Royal Festival Hall, the regenration of the ground-breaking Roundhouse in Camden, and the novel idea of reconstructing the Queen's Hall as it was in Sir Henry Wood's day.

Ivan Hewett analyses the identity crisis in English music and asks if music is the food of love.

Ivan Hewett dons his hard hat and visits the site of the Royal Opera House development to see where the millions have gone.

Plus a report from France on how the opera scene has become a political hot potato.

In National Orchestra Week, Ivan Hewett looks at the range of educational activities being run by orchestras.

Plus the latest research into communicating with babies through music.

Ivan Hewett talks to Jonathan Miller about the drama of the Passion and looks at the state of contemporary music publishing.

Ivan Hewett looks at the influence of painter Vassily Kandinsky as a major exhibition of his work opens at the Royal Academy of Art.

Plus a report from Venice on the latest news in the troubled history of the Fenice Theatre.

Ivan Hewett investigates the decline of individuality in arts centres' programming around the world.

Plus John Eliot Gardiner on his mammoth project to perform the complete cycle of Bach's cantatas in the year 2000.

To celebrate Duke Ellington's centenary, Ivan Hewett looks at his influence over jazz and classical music.

And teachers and pupils give their opinions of the Associated Board's new jazz examinations.

Ivan Hewett visits Salford to see how the North West will benefit culturally from the new Lowry Centre.

He also discovers Rachmaninov with Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Ivan Hewett looks at how politics have influenced music in Cuba since the revolution 40 years ago, as the Barbican plays host to the UK's largest ever Cuban arts festival.

Plus the furore over who should succeed Wolfgang Wagner as director of the Bayreuth Festival.

Ivan Hewett meets the Soglasie Male Voice Choir of St Petersburg, who are reviving Russian choral music that was banned in the Soviet era.

He also finds out about about Chamber Music 2000 - the Schubert Ensemble's ambitious plan to encourage the writing and playing of chamber music.

Ivan Hewett with news and views from the musical world, including an interview with doyen of musicologists H C Robbins Landon, who talks about his discoveries and adventures in music.

As the Cardiff Singer of the World competition gets under way, Ivan Hewett explores the benefits and perils of singing competitions.

Plus a look at challenge of finding a new chief conductor for the Berlin Philharmonic, as Claudio Abbado prepares to hand over the baton.

Ivan Hewett reports on choreographer Twyla Tharp's reworking of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations.

Plus a look at whether music festivals are losing their individual identities.

As the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates the diamond jubilee of its own hall, Ivan Hewett looks at the orchestra's uncertain future.

Plus a look at the future of music in the new millennium with Danish compmoser Per Norgard, featured composer at this year's Aldeburgh Festival.

As the South Bank Centre's Meltdown festival reaches its climax, Ivan Hewett asks: has the fashion of playing any kind of music in any venue gone too far? Also, does the opening of the new Scottish Parliament signal that Scotland needs its own national anthem?

Ivan Hewett looks at the musical heritage of Bangladesh as a festival of Bangladeshi arts and culture opens in the UK.

He also previews a new television series which explores six masterpieces of 20th-century British classical music.

Ivan Hewett looks forward to the televising of the first night of the Proms by exploring different approaches to directing concerts on television.

He also discusses the future of international arts centres with Karsten Witt of London's South Bank Centre and John Rockwell, former director of the Lincoln Center, New York.

Ivan Hewett presents the music magazine, which takes a look at the Arts Council's New Audience Programme.

Ivan Hewett talks to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies about the role of the composer in encouraging children's musical creativity.

Plus a report on why the Paris Opera is auctioning off 10,000 costumes.

Ivan Hewett debates the future of the musical with Tim Rice, Jeremy Sams and Sheridan Morley, and investigates whether ten years on Berlin's cultural life has benefited from the fall of the Wall.

Ivan Hewett asks whether the new spiritualism in music is the genuine article.

Plus a report from Argentina on People's Opera at the Teatro Colon.

Ivan Hewett discusses the music of Thomas Ades - the most feted British composer since Britten - in light of a new Channel 4 profile.

He also talks to William Orbit about his remix of classical music.

Ivan Hewett examines the public personae of modern composers.

How highly do we value our composers? What is their role in contemporary society? Plus a look at how Bristol is shaking off the disappointment of its failed Lottery bid for the refurbishment of a long-neglected music venue to provide an arts centre.

Ivan Hewett talks to conductor and composer Pierre Boulez, whose seventy-fifth year is marked by the Boulez 2000 Festival.

Plus a look at the first steps to change the Royal Festival Hall's acoustics, which musicians and audiences have complained about for years.

In the week that the South Bank Centre unveils its redevelopment masterplan, Ivan Hewett investigates the implications for the UK's largest arts complex.

Plus a discussion on whether the classical music magazine market can support the imminent lauch of yet another title.

Ivan Hewett presents a special edition live from Berlin, new capital of a unified Germany and the most culturally vibrant city in Europe.

Despite the city's optimism, money is tight, and the ghosts of a divided past still haunt the place.

Leading conductors, musicians and commentators debate the politics of Berlin's cultural life.

Ivan Hewett presents the latest news and views from the world of music, including a discussion on the future of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in the light of Gerard Schwarz's appointment as music director.

Plus a report on musical life in the former republics of the Soviet Union.

As Deborah Warner's staging of the St John Passion opens at English National Opera, Ivan Hewett explores the powerful connections between music and theatre in Bach's music.

Plus a discussion on Pierre Boulez - 75 this week - as a force on the contemporary music scene.

Ivan Hewett discusses the mplications for music institutions around the country as the Arts Council of England devolves power to the regional arts boards.

Plus a report on how the 250th anniversary of Bach's death is being marked in his homeland.

Ivan Hewett investigates whether the new arts centre in Salford is what the region needs or whethr it is at risk of becoming a white elephant.

Plus a report from France about why the proposal to move Berlioz's remains to the Pantheon in Paris is causing such a political furore.

Ivan Hewett debates whether amateur music-making in this country is valued.

Plus an exploration of the extraordinary world of sound art, as a major exhibition opens at London's Hayward Gallery.

As a celebration of Gypsy music and arts opens at London's Barbican Centre, Ivan Hewett investigates whether Gypsy culture is still alive today.

Plus a report on a music project tackling racism among football supporters at Charlton Athletic.

As a major festival devoted to works inspired by impresario Sergei Diaghilev opens, Ivan Hewett investigates whether there is still a place in the modern world for old-fashioned music dictators.

Plus a report on the background to today's controversial performance by the Vienna Philharmonic under Simon Rattle at the site of the Mauthausen concentration camp.

Italian politics is currently taking turn to the right.

Ivan Hewett investigates how this may affect the country's musical life.

Plus a report on the reaction to the news that the three Paris-based symphony orchestras have all appointed new conductors, none of them French.

Ivan Hewett investigates a project in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where the opera house has just been restored, and investigates the work of the specialists who treat injured dancers.

Ivan Hewett investigates what community music will be like in the 21st century and how community musicians will develop their skills to meet new challenges.

Plus a report on the use of computers in the musical classroom.

Are computers just another tool, or do they inhibit musical originality?

Ivan Hewett talks to Andrew Porter, who this week gives the Hesse Lecture at the Aldeburgh Festival on the subject of the responsibilities and rewards of being a music critic.

What are critics for? And who reads them? Ivan Hewett discusses these questions with Andrew Porter and some of his colleagues, and talks to those who read the critics, and those who commission their work.

Ivan Hewett discovers the background to the recent controversial collaboration between the Berlin Philharmonic and a leading German rock band.

Plus a report on the recent conference in Iceland on music and national identity.

Does English music still sound English? And should it still try?

Ivan Hewett explores the life and teaching of the composer Franz Schreker.

Plus why several international companies are currently vying to become dominant in the new multimedia musical world - in the process acquiring some of the most famous old-school music publishers, especially in France and Italy.

Ivan Hewett returns with a new series of his weekly look at matters of the moment in the musical world.

Today, he explores the origins of music itself, plus a look back at the Proms and a look forward to the autumn season.

Ivan Hewett takes a weekly look at current issues in the musical world.

In this edition, he previews an Argentinian fiesta and asks whether the phenomenon of cultural tourism is entirely healthy.

Plus a look at Sir John Drummond's thoughts on the state of music in Britain as revealed in his recently published memoirs.

Ivan Hewett takes a weekly look at current issues in the musical world.

In this edition, he invites Sir Charles Mackerras to mark the approach of his 75th birthday by reflecting upon his musical involvement in an ever-changing Eastern Europe.

Plus an investigation into the threats faced by brass bands.

Ivan Hewett takes a weekly look at current issues in the musical world.

This edition looks at a shared commissioning exercise between two female composers, namely Sally Beamish and Karin Rehnkvist.

Plus an investigation into the state of music publishing across Europe.

Ivan Hewett investigates how the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra has regrouped following the demise last winter of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta.

Plus news of a three-week celebration of the music of Sir John Taverner

Ivan Hewett investigates how the recently lifted EU sanctions against Austria have affected the musical life of the country.

Ivan Hewett looks at the changing role that music plays in forging cultural identity around the world.

Ivan Hewett investigates how the course of opera was changed by a philosopher and previews a new community opera inspired by the Tower of Babel.

Ivan Hewett investigates how politics impinges on music-making in Haiti.

Neil Hoyle make a plea for politics to be kept out of music.

And Christopher Cook looks at modern dance in China.

Ivan Hewett asks whether the tradition of British travelling folk singers is dying out, examines the teaching of music in the classroom, and assesses the artistic and financial health of the Ulster Orchestra.

On the centenary of the death of the Marxist composer Alan Bush, Ivan Hewett asks who are today's political composers.

And Michael Kaiser reflects on the arts, subsidy, and running an opera house in Britain.

Ivan Hewett takes a weekly look at current issues in the musical world.

This edition focuses on the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the seventh edition of which is due to be published tomorrow.

As well as a 29-volume print version, taking up almost five feet of shelf room and weighing 68 kilos, the dictionary will also be available in a constantly updated online version.

Ivan Hewett discovers how, with the establishment of the Sonic Arts Research Centre, Northern Ireland hopes to become a pioneer in the field of fusing technology and music.

Plus a report on Manchester's Halle Orchestra.

Ivan Hewett celebrates the sixtieth birthday of organist Dame Gillian Weir, anticipates Verdi centenary, and talks to pianist Robert Levin about improvisation.

Ivan Hewett visits Tate Modern's new exhibition Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis and asks whether the trend towards the use of background music in galleries enhances or distracts.

Plus a look at how Northern Ireland hopes to lead the field in fusing music and technology with the establishment of the Sonic Arts Research Centre.

Ivan Hewett investigates the difference between the City of Birmingham Touring Opera and the Birmingham Opera Company and talks to composer Ned Rorem about the UK premieres of three of his operas.

Ivan Hewett talks to Nicholas Kenyon about whether authentic performance has a future and looks at a new mentor scheme for young composers.

Ivan Hewett lvisits the new music venue Ocean, which aims to regenrate one of London's most deprived boroughs.

Plus a report on Vienna's millennium project the House of Music.

Ivan Hewett talks to two grand old men of music: the composer Hans Werner Henze - 75 later this year and currently being celebrated on London's South Bank - and musical iconoclast and prankster Mauricio Kagel, who is the subject of a retrospective at the Royal Academy of Music.

Sir Andrew Davis talks to Ivan Hewett about his first six months as the head of the Chicago Lyric Opera.

And Irene Schreier Scott makes the case for music theorist Heinrich Schenker.

Ivan Hewett is joined by two historians of recorded sound, Timothy Day and Robert Philip, to discuss the value of old recordings for today's musicians.

Plus news of two contrasting schemes to encourage young composers.

Ivan Hewett visits Rome and investigates a new concert hall, the Rome Opera and the state of music funding in Italy.

He also searches for lost musical treasures in the Vatican cellars.

Ivan Hewett talks to Peter Maxwell Davies about his trip to Antarctica and the resulting symphony, which premieres next weekend.

Plus an investigation into how Britain's summer music festivals will be affected by the foot and mouth epidemic.

Live from the Royal Festival Hall, Ivan Hewett chairs a debate on the future of the South Bank Centre.

The panel includes Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London, Jodi Myers, Director of Performing Arts at the South Bank, Serge Dorny, Artistic Director of the LPO, Claire Fox, Director of the Institute of Ideas, and David Jones, concert promoter and Director of Serious Ltd.

Ivan Hewett launches Radio 3's Remaking the Past season in conversation with the composer Alexander Goehr.

Plus a report on how musicals are breaking free of the past by turning to garage and hip hop music.

On the eve of the Chard Festival of Women Composers, Ivan Hewett discusses feminism in music.

And pianist Abdullah Ibrahim talks about new projects back home in South Africa.

Plus a profile of veteran film composer Ennio Morricone.

Ivan Hewett meets some of the members of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe - which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year - and eavesdrops on a commission by Heinz Holliger.

Plus a 70th-birthday recital and interview with pianist Alfred Brendel

Ivan Hewett talks to Valery Gergiev, Musical Director of the Kirov Opera.

Plus views on politics and the arts from musicians around the country.

Ivan Hewett investigates the education and training of the next generation of British musicians, talking to teachers, administrators, agents, seasoned performers and the young musicians themselves.

He compares their situation to that of their counterparts in Europe and America, and asks to what extent the current system of education is working and whether things are getting better or worse.

Ivan Hewett celebrates the centenary of the music publishing house Universal Edition, which since its foundation has been at the forefront of musical developments, publishing works by composers such as Mahler, Janacek, Boulez, Stockhausen and Birtwistle.

Ivan Hewett looks back at the pioneering fusion band Shakti, who are taking part in the South Bank Centre's Rhythm Sticks Festival.

Plus a report on why today's composers want to abandon the concert hall.

In the final edition before the programme takes a summer break, Ivan Hewett investigates ancient Greek water-organs, a pair of remarkable dramatic sisters and the continuing refurbishment of the Royal Albert Hall.

He also celebrates the centenary of Gerald Finzi, who was born yesterday in 1901.

Ivan Hewett takes the temperature of the symphony orchestra with conductor Douglas Bostock, composer Alwynne Prichard and managing director of the LSO Clive Gillinson

Ivan Hewett discusses surtitles for opera, the homeless state of La Scala, and a new Granta collection of writing on music.

Ivan Hewett explores the work of the Irene Taylor Trust, which uses music to teach prison inmates artistic and personal skills.

Plus reviews of two new books on William Walton.

Ivan Hewett marks the first BBC World Music Awards with a special edition discussing issues facing the world music scene today.

Plus an interview with Susheela Raman.

Ivan Hewett blows the dust off musical manuscripts at Magdalen College, Oxford, and finds out what is happening to the Bach family archive, currently housed in Kiev.

With Ivan Hewett.

Including an investigation of the Peter Warlock archive at Eton College and a profile of ballerina Beryl Grey as she approaches her seventy-fifth birthday.

Ivan Hewett talks to Daniel Barenboim.

Plus a review of a new book about Toscanini's 17 years at the helm of the NBC Symphony Orchestra, and Hilary Finch's views on the encore.

Ivan Hewett talks to conductor Lorin Maazel and investigates the theory that digital music editing has killed off interpretation in real music making.

Ivan Hewett pays tribute to Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag, who is on a visit to the UK, and Damian Fowler reports on the demise of classical music radio stations in America.

Ivan Hewett explores new works by composer Peter Maxwell Davies and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and reports on musical life down under.

Ivan Hewett investigates the world of Baroque music as part of the theme of this year's Lufthansa Festival, and examines the influences on music written for Bollywood films.

Ivan Hewett with features on this year's Spitalfields Festival, composer Iannis Xenakis, and the St Petersburg Philharmonic's bicentenary.

Ivan Hewett talks to Andre Previn; Catherine Guilyardi considers the cultural policies of Jean-Marie Le Pen; and Roger Nichols reviews a new book about Swiss conductor Paul Sacher.

Ivan Hewett talks to pianist Murray Perahia.

Plus a feature on the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, and writer Janice Galloway on her new novel based on the life of Clara Schumann.

Ivan Hewett's guests include composer Nigel Osborne and father-and-daughter duo Ravi and Anoushka Shankar.

Plus a new Janacek biography and this year's City of London Festival.

Ivan Hewett talks to countertenor James Bowman and Naxos boss Klaus Heymann.

With Dermot Clinch and Tommy Pearson.

Film director Ken Russell talks about how music helped him through a personal crisis.

And an examination of how well we nurture our composers.

Dermot Clinch and Tommy Pearson with news from the music world, an interview with pianist Murray Perahia and a fresh examination of Sergei Prokofiev.

The weekly magazine programme with Dermot Clinch and Tommy Pearson.

With Dermot Clinch and Tommy Pearson.

As Almeida Opera prepares to return to its Islington home, Music Matters takes a walk around its newly renovated theatre.

Dermot Clinch and Tommy Pearson with news from the music world and an interview with American pianist Richard Goode.

With Dermot Clinch and Tommy Pearson.

Music Matters takes a look at the relationship of singers and their unsung heroes, accompanists.

With Dermot Clinch and Tommy Pearson.

In the anniversary year of Queen Elizabeth the First, Dermot Clinch views some important Elizabethan musical scores in the British Library.

Plus a look at African polyrhythm and its influence on modern composers, and a consideration of the concept of virtuosity - lost art from a bygone age or relevant musical phenomenon?

With Dermot Clinch and Tommy Pearson.

Including an interview with composer George Benjamin and an examination of how top jobs in the music profession are filled.

Music magazine with Tom Service, featuring an interview with New York pianist and writer Charles Rosen, and a look at A Tale Of Four Houses, a new book charting the history of four of the world's most important and influential opera houses: The Royal Opera House; La Scala in Milan; Vienna's Staatsoper; and the New York Met.

With Tom Service Including an interview with The English conductor Sir Roger Norrington whose work on musical scores, on sound, on orchestra size, seating and playing have influenced the way 18th and 19th Century music is now perceived.

And a look at the world of some of the unsung heroes of the operatic world: understudies.

With Tom Service.

An interview with architect Frank Gehry whose 'Walt Disney Concert Hall' opens in Los Angeles next week, plus Music Matters assesses the reputation of Claudio Monteverdi.

With Tom Service.

Including news and interviews with key players in the music world.

With Tom Service.

News and interviews with key players in the music world.

With Tom Service.

News and interviews from key players in the music world.

Tom Service talks to William Christie, director of Les Arts Florissants, about the demands of Baroque repertoire.

Plus a discussion of two new biographies of Mendelssohn.

Tom Service with news and views from the world of music.

In a special live edition of Music Matters, Tom Service discusses the life and legacy of John Cage with experts and enthusiasts and illustration from those who knew him.

Austrian maverick HK Gruber talks about his work as composer, conductor, chansonnier and double bass player.

Simon Broughton reports from the most remote music festival in the world, held annually in the Sahara Desert.

And a look at a new assessment of the work of Luigi Dallapiccola, one of the most important Italian composers of the twentieth century.

Presented by Tom Service.

Featuring 'Spectrum', a new book and CD published by the Associated Board containing specially commissioned short cello pieces aimed at students, amateur and professional musicians.

Music Matters puts it to the test.

Presented by Tom Service.

With Tom Service.

Today's programme includes an interview with Scottish composer James MacMillan, whose work features heavily in the Sounds New festival in Canterbury.

And, as the organ in the Royal Festival Hall celebrates its 50th birthday, we'll be asking whether this particular instrument is as controversial today as it was back in 1954.

With Tom Service In this special edition Music Matters asks what was the genius of Mozart? Joining in the discussion are director Peter Hall, pianist Mitsuko Uchida, conductor Neville Marriner and Professor Joan Freeman, international expert on gifted children.

And composer John Tavener talks about why he thinks Mozart was divinely inspired.

Evening Morning

Afternoon

With Tom Service.

The violin is possibly the most versatile of all instruments and blessed with a range and emotional intensity to rival even the human voice.

As a major festival devoted to the instrument opens this week across London, Music Matters takes a look at the violin from the great triumphs of instrument making in the seventeenth century to the latest repertoire written for it.

With contributions from Gil Shaham, Maxim Vengerov, Nigel Kennedy, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Ida Haendel.

When Stalin stormed out of an early performance of Shostakovich's earthy and often violent opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, the composer feared he would be arrested and killed.

Music Matters discusses Solomon Volkov's new account of the relationship between composer and dictator.

And, as a new production of the opera opens at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Tom Service talks to its director, Richard Jones.

Tom Service presents a special edition of Music Matters looking at the legacy of Luciano Berio, who died last year.

As a major festival devoted to life and work of the composer opens this week at London's South Bank Centre, Tom talks to some of those closest to him, including his widow Talia Pecker-Berio, cellist Rohan de Saram, trombonist Christian Lindberg and his biographer David Osmond-Smith.

Conductor Marc Minkowski has made a virtue out of playing not only early repertoire but classical, romantic and modern music too.

With such diversity, Tom asks him how he manages to keep focused.

Michael Kennedy talks about his new biography of Edward Elgar and Tom travels to Northumberland to explore its native folk music.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Conductor Marc Minkowski has made a virtue out of playing not only early repertoire but classical, romantic and modern music too. With such diversity, Tom asks him how he manages to keep focused. Michael Kennedy talks about his new biography of Edward Elgar and Tom travels to Northumberland to explore its native folk music.

English conductor Sir Edward Downes is currently in his eightieth year.

As he prepares to conduct Verdi's Il Trovatore at the Royal Opera House, where he has worked for more than half a century, he talks of his life, work, and collaboration with great artists including the composer Shostakovich.

Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time was given one of the most unusual and moving premieres of any in the last century in Stalag VIII A, a Nazi prison camp.

Author Rebecca Rischin talks to Tom Service about her investigation into the history of the premiere based on testimonies by former prisoners and musicians.

Plus, Judith Weir, one of Britain's most wide ranging composers, looks back on her prolific career on the occasion of her 50th birthday, and the Battersea Arts Centre, pioneers of the phenomenally successful Jerry Springer the Opera, celebrate the beginning of their opera festival.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time was given one of the most unusual and moving premieres of any in the last century in Stalag VIII A, a Nazi prison camp. Author Rebecca Rischin talks to Tom Service about her investigation into the history of the premiere based on testimonies by former prisoners and musicians.

With Tom Service The operas of Richard Strauss are hugely popular - a new production of Arabella is one of three Strauss operas staged by the Royal Opera House this year.

Music Matters asks whether the composer's genius for operatic music is matched by his characterisation and plot.

With Tom Service

The operas of Richard Strauss are hugely popular - a new production of Arabella is one of three Strauss operas staged by the Royal Opera House this year.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

The operas of Richard Strauss are hugely popular - a new production of Arabella is one of three Strauss operas staged by the Royal Opera House this year. Music Matters asks whether the composer's genius for operatic music is matched by his characterisation and plot.

Tom Service's guest is Sir Richard Rodney Bennett is one of the most versatile composers around, composing for concerts and films, playing the piano in contemporary music and in jazz idioms, singing and playing classic show tunes in cabaret.

With a major world premiere, he is also the featured composer at this year's Bury St.

Edmunds festival.

What does his success owe to his 1979 move to New York and what does he feel is the current state of American contemporary music?

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Tom Service talks to key players in today's music scene and looks back at the world of the medieval troubador.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Tom Service talks to composer Kevin Volans, whose latest string quartet, 'Black Woman Rising', is premiered at the Ravinia Festival, one of America's largest musical events.

And five years ago, Youth Music set out to bring music making to children living in areas of social and economic need.

Tom previews their big birthday bash in Birmingham this week with music from Taiko drummers to hip hop bands and youth orchestras.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Tom Service talks to composer Kevin Volans, whose latest string quartet, 'Black Woman Rising', is premiered at the Ravinia Festival, one of America's largest musical events. And five years ago, Youth Music set out to bring music making to children living in areas of social and economic need. Tom previews their big birthday bash in Birmingham this week with music from Taiko drummers to hip hop bands and youth orchestras.

Tom Service talks to leading singers about Britten's tenor roles and reviews a new biography of the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould.

Includes a conversation with Pierre Boulez as he prepares to return to Bayreuth with Parsifal and Jonathan Coe on why he prefers composers who are often regarded as 'second rate'.

With Tom Service.

Daniel Barenboim explains why, relatively late in his career, he has now joined the pantheon of great pianists to have recorded Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.

And a look at Push 04, a season of British, black-led theatre, opera and ballet.

Daniel Barenboim explains why, relatively late in his career, he has now joined the pantheon of great pianists to have recorded Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. And a look at Push 04, a season of British, black-led theatre, opera and ballet.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Tom Service presents a live edition of the programme in which he meets composer conductor Pierre Boulez ahead of a series of performances with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Author Jerrold Northrop Moore explores the rural landscape of Worcestershire that informed much of Elgar's work, and as English National Opera prepare to present the complete production of Berlioz's opera, The Trojans, Tom talks to some of those who remember the British premiere of the epic in Glasgow in 1935.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Tom Service presents a live edition of the programme in which he meets composer conductor Pierre Boulez ahead of a series of performances with the London Symphony Orchestra. Author Jerrold Northrop Moore explores the rural landscape of Worcestershire that informed much of Elgar's work, and as English National Opera prepare to present the complete production of Berlioz's opera, The Trojans, Tom talks to some of those who remember the British premiere of the epic in Glasgow in 1935.

Virtuoso recorder player Michala Petri talks about forging a modern career with an instrument most associated with baroque music.

And, as productions of the one-act opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle open in England and Scotland, Music Matters looks at the personal and psychosexual elements of Bartok's dark, interior drama.#

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Virtuoso recorder player Michala Petri talks about forging a modern career with an instrument most associated with baroque music. And, as productions of the one-act opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle open in England and Scotland, Music Matters looks at the personal and psychosexual elements of Bartok's dark, interior drama.#

The acting skills of many opera singers are often said to be as wooden as the stage the performers are standing on.

Tom Service investigates the infinite difficulties posed by combining acting with singing.

Tom also meets one of Europe's most influential composers, Louis Andriessen.

He has continually challenged conventional ideas about what music is and today he visits some of the places most important to him in his native Amsterdam.

And as the National Brass Band Championships take place next week at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Tom looks at how the passion and excitement of banding informs so much of the nation's music making.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

The acting skills of many opera singers are often said to be as wooden as the stage the performers are standing on. Tom Service investigates the infinite difficulties posed by combining acting with singing. Tom also meets one of Europe's most influential composers, Louis Andriessen. He has continually challenged conventional ideas about what music is and today he visits some of the places most important to him in his native Amsterdam. And as the National Brass Band Championships take place next week at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Tom looks at how the passion and excitement of banding informs so much of the nation's music making.

A live edition with music news and interviews including a profile of composer Harrison Birtwistle.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Sakari Oramo talks to Tom Service about one of the most remarkable, yet forgotten figures of the British Music Renaissance, Manchester born John Foulds.

And Tom discovers what the young composers from the Royal Academy of Music are learning from their Stateside contemporaries.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Sakari Oramo talks to Tom Service about one of the most remarkable, yet forgotten figures of the British Music Renaissance, Manchester born John Foulds. And Tom discovers what the young composers from the Royal Academy of Music are learning from their Stateside contemporaries.

As the dust begins to settle on the US elections, a look at the American music scene past and present.

What do events in the Oval Office mean for American orchestras and music-making? With American musician Joshua Rifkin on Sousa, Joplin and Bach, and a personal memoir of the journalist Paul Moor on his 1948 meeting with the composer Charles Ives.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

As the dust begins to settle on the US elections, a look at the American music scene past and present. What do events in the Oval Office mean for American orchestras and music-making? With American musician Joshua Rifkin on Sousa, Joplin and Bach, and a personal memoir of the journalist Paul Moor on his 1948 meeting with the composer Charles Ives.

Almost nine years after Venice's La Fenice Opera House was burnt to the ground, the phoenix of the Italian opera world is about to re-open with a new production of La Traviata originally written for the theatre in 1853.

The first time it was performed there was a disaster with the audience sniggering at the large leading lady apparently wasting away from consumption, but this time directed by Robert Carsen, it promises to be a more celebratory affair in the newly restored building.

Tom Service presents a special edition of the programme talking to the director and taking a tour of the resplendent opera house.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Almost nine years after Venice's La Fenice Opera House was burnt to the ground, the phoenix of the Italian opera world is about to re-open with a new production of La Traviata originally written for the theatre in 1853. The first time it was performed there was a disaster with the audience sniggering at the large leading lady apparently wasting away from consumption, but this time directed by Robert Carsen, it promises to be a more celebratory affair in the newly restored building. Tom Service presents a special edition of the programme talking to the director and taking a tour of the resplendent opera house.

Tom Service looks at the state of jazz today.

Are the new breed of young jazz performers really developing the genre or just giving it a glossy, marketable image?

Tom Service looks at the state of jazz today. Are the new breed of young jazz performers really developing the genre or just giving it a glossy, marketable image?

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Today a rare interview with Dame Janet Baker, the English mezzo-soprano who was one of the most sought after and beloved voices of music in the twentieth century.

Does Joachim Kohler's new biography of Richard Wagner succeed in painting a rounded portrait of the composer as both historical phenomenon and complex personality? And, with a season of horror films in full swing at the National Film Theatre, a look at the way music has expressed fear in the movies.

Presenter Tom Service.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Today a rare interview with Dame Janet Baker, the English mezzo-soprano who was one of the most sought after and beloved voices of music in the twentieth century. Does Joachim Kohler's new biography of Richard Wagner succeed in painting a rounded portrait of the composer as both historical phenomenon and complex personality? And, with a season of horror films in full swing at the National Film Theatre, a look at the way music has expressed fear in the movies.

Tom Service talks to Portuguese pianist Maria Joao Pires about the spirituality of her performances, and examines the letters of Benjamin Britten written between 1946 and 1951 - the period when he wrote many of his best known works, founded both the English Opera Group and the Aldeburgh Festival, and toured widely as a pianist and composer.

Tom Service talks to conductor Charles Dutoit about giving old music new vitality, the influence Herbert von Karajan made on him and how, unusually for a conductor, he prefers short rehearsals.

And as Orthodox Christians celebrated Christmas last Friday, Tom takes a look at the music associated with the celebrations.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Tom Service talks to conductor Charles Dutoit about giving old music new vitality, the influence Herbert von Karajan made on him and how, unusually for a conductor, he prefers short rehearsals. And as Orthodox Christians celebrated Christmas last Friday, Tom takes a look at the music associated with the celebrations.

Tom Service takes a look at music written to commemorate the liberation of the Second World War concentration camps as the 60th anniversary is marked on Thursday by Holocaust Memorial Day.

He also talks to one of the world's foremost experts in the performance of 18th century music, Frans Brüggen.

Tom Service takes a look at music written to commemorate the liberation of the Second World War concentration camps as the 60th anniversary is marked on Thursday by Holocaust Memorial Day. He also talks to one of the world's foremost experts in the performance of 18th century music, Frans Brüggen.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Meredith Monk has been described as 'a voice of the future' and 'one of America's coolest composers', she talks to presenter Tom Service about her career that spans more than 35 years.

And Tom follows the members of the Sacconi Quartet as they make their debut at one of London's most prestigious venues, in the first in a short series investigating the pitfalls of launching a performing career.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Meredith Monk has been described as 'a voice of the future' and 'one of America's coolest composers', she talks to presenter Tom Service about her career that spans more than 35 years. And Tom follows the members of the Sacconi Quartet as they make their debut at one of London's most prestigious venues, in the first in a short series investigating the pitfalls of launching a performing career.

Today's programme includes an interview with one of Britain's great conducting talents, Sir Colin Davis, Principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Plus a profile of maverick American composer Marc Blitzstein and, 50 years since its invention, a look at the synthesiser, the electronic instrument that transformed pop and classical music.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Tom Service talks to Fanny Waterman, doyenne of piano teachers, and takes a look at the reputation of the prolific Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

GF Handel is one of the best known and loved of all composers, but why has his music fascinated and delighted so many?

As the 28th London Handel Festival opens, Tom Service talks to leading musicians drawn to the Handelian flame, including Christopher Hogwood, Nicholas McGegan and Emmanuelle Haim.

Does the image of Handel the jolly composer and impressario belie a darker side to his character? And what were Handel's views on food, music, money and the opposite sex?

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

In a major interview ahead of a festival of his music at the South Bank Centre in London, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies speaks frankly to Tom Service about the position he holds as the Master of the Queen?s Music, the future of contemporary classical music, and the government?s recently announced Music Manifesto.

Tom also investigates the complex life of the Faustian figure, composer Ferruccio Busoni, as the first biography of him is published for over 70 years.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Tom Service talks to director Peter Sellars, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and video artist Bill Viola about their extraordinary new production of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde which opens in Paris this week, promising to deliver fresh insight into Wagner's operatic masterpiece.

In the UK, a new play Tristan and Yseult opens at the National Theatre and Music Matters calls on psychologists and philosophers to explain why the Tristan myth has endured so strongly since the middle ages - and is still relevant today.

And leading musicians talk about their make-or-break career decisions.

In the UK, a new play Tristan and Yseult opens at the National Theatre and Music Matters calls on psychologists and philosophers to explain why the Tristan myth has endured so strongly since the middle ages - and is still relevant today. And leading musicians talk about their make-or-break career decisions.

Tom Service talks to director Peter Sellars, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and video artist Bill Viola about their extraordinary new production of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde which opens in Paris this week, promising to deliver fresh insight into Wagner's operatic masterpiece.

In the UK, a new play Tristan and Yseult opens at the National Theatre and Music Matters calls on psychologists and philosophers to explain why the Tristan myth has endured so strongly since the middle ages - and is still relevant today.

And leading musicians talk about their make-or-break career decisions.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

In the UK, a new play Tristan and Yseult opens at the National Theatre and Music Matters calls on psychologists and philosophers to explain why the Tristan myth has endured so strongly since the middle ages - and is still relevant today. And leading musicians talk about their make-or-break career decisions.

Better known as conductor rather than composer, Lorin Maazel's new opera based on George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four opens at the Royal Opera House at the beginning of May.

It's directed by Robert Lepage, and Tom Service talks to both Maazel and Lepage about the work and the possibilities Orwell's novel presents on the operatic stage.

Meanwhile, conductor, Ingo Metzmacher's declared passion is to turn today's music into accepted repertoire, he talks about his ideas for radical concert programming and his success in giving concerts combining composers as incongruous as Beethoven and Luigi Nono.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Better known as conductor rather than composer, Lorin Maazel's new opera based on George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four opens at the Royal Opera House at the beginning of May. It's directed by Robert Lepage, and Tom Service talks to both Maazel and Lepage about the work and the possibilities Orwell's novel presents on the operatic stage. Meanwhile, conductor, Ingo Metzmacher's declared passion is to turn today's music into accepted repertoire, he talks about his ideas for radical concert programming and his success in giving concerts combining composers as incongruous as Beethoven and Luigi Nono.

Politicians, pollsters and the electorate are gearing up for the final election push this week.

But how might music be affected by Thursday's result?

Is enough being done to foster musical appreciation and talent? As a nation, are we properly investing in our musical future? Music Matters debates music policy with representatives from the political parties and leading British musicians.

With Tom Service.

Politicians, pollsters and the electorate are gearing up for the final election push this week. But how might music be affected by Thursday's result?

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

The Grand Tour reached its peak in the mid 18th century when rich, adventurous young travellers embarked on a journey south through Europe to expand their horizons.

Tom Service investigates the works of some of the composers who were inspired by that journey.

Tom also looks at the phenomonen of child prodigies and the talent of 12 year old New Yorker, Jay Greenberg who's already written five symphonies.

The Grand Tour reached its peak in the mid 18th century when rich, adventurous young travellers embarked on a journey south through Europe to expand their horizons. Tom Service investigates the works of some of the composers who were inspired by that journey.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, in his 70th year, is profiled by Tom Service.

The composer's works are seen by many as having an extra spiritual dimension.

Plus, as a new collection of the letters of Philip Heseltine is published, Tom looks at the colourful and complicated life of the composer who wrote under the pseudonym of Peter Warlock.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, in his 70th year, is profiled by Tom Service. The composer's works are seen by many as having an extra spiritual dimension. Plus, as a new collection of the letters of Philip Heseltine is published, Tom looks at the colourful and complicated life of the composer who wrote under the pseudonym of Peter Warlock.

Leonard Bernstein's interest in music education, exemplified by his Young Peoples Concerts with the New York Philharmonic in the 50s and 60s and his celebrated Harvard Lectures in 1973, is continued today through the Grammy Foundation Leonard Bernstein Center for Learning in California.

Tom Service looks at this side of Bernstein's work and the legacy he has left.

Part of Radio 3's Bernstein season.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Includes a major interview with the charismatic conductor, pianist and composer Andr� Previn as he celebrates his 75th birthday with a LONDON Symphony Orchestra concert series; a profile of Polish composer, Karol Szymanowski; and as part of the BBC's A Picture of Britain series, an investigation into the relationship between landscape and music.

Presented by Tom Service.

Minimalist composer Terry Riley influenced people such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass and John Adams, as well as rock groups such as Soft Machine, The Who and Tangerine Dream with his seminal work 'In C'.

He celebrates his 70th birthday this year and talks to Tom Service.

There's also an investigation into the journey of jazz along the Mississippi River on the steamboats of the 1920s, and a look into the mysterious world of the piano tuner.

Minimalist composer Terry Riley influenced people such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass and John Adams, as well as rock groups such as Soft Machine, The Who and Tangerine Dream with his seminal work 'In C'. He celebrates his 70th birthday this year and talks to Tom Service.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Tom Service presents a rare interview with American pianist and composer, Earl Wild, possibly the last great exponent of the Romantic tradition of piano playing.

There's also a look at a new book about the gypsy music of the Roma communities in Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

After 40 years as one of Britain's most highly regarded string quartets, the Lindsays are coming to the end of their final season together.

Among their achievements are recordings of complete cycles of the Beethoven and Bartók quartets, together with revitalising the musical life of their adopted city of Sheffield.

Tom Service talks to the members of the quartet in their final major broadcast interview.

Solihull born conductor Jonathan Nott has also revolutionised music making in his adopted home town, Bamberg, in Germany.

He's an unfamiliar figure in the UK, but he brings his Bamberg Symphony Orchestra to the Edinburgh Festival next month and talks to Tom about its eclectic programming and renewed vitality.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

After 40 years as one of Britain's most highly regarded string quartets, the Lindsays are coming to the end of their final season together. Among their achievements are recordings of complete cycles of the Beethoven and Bartók quartets, together with revitalising the musical life of their adopted city of Sheffield. Tom Service talks to the members of the quartet in their final major broadcast interview.

Solihull born conductor Jonathan Nott has also revolutionised music making in his adopted home town, Bamberg, in Germany. He's an unfamiliar figure in the UK, but he brings his Bamberg Symphony Orchestra to the Edinburgh Festival next month and talks to Tom about its eclectic programming and renewed vitality.

A Man of All Time

"I knew if I worked properly I would do all I had to do."

This year is the centenary of the birth of Sir Michael Tippett and his music is featured throughout the Proms.

Tom Service looks at Tippett's long life and artistic credo through archive interviews with the composer.

This year is the centenary of the birth of Sir Michael Tippett and his music is featured throughout the Proms. Tom Service looks at Tippett's long life and artistic credo through archive interviews with the composer.

With Tom Service.

The composer Sir John Tavener talks about his first ballet score, Amu, a meditation on the human heart inspired by medical technology.

And, ahead of Radio 3's Webern Day, Tavener contemplates the Divine Vacuity of Webern's music.

And Sir Michael Tippett's centenary year continues to be marked through the publication of the first major selection of his letters.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

And, ahead of Radio 3's Webern Day, Tavener contemplates the Divine Vacuity of Webern's music. And Sir Michael Tippett's centenary year continues to be marked through the publication of the first major selection of his letters.

In an opera special, Tom Service talks to David Pountney about his production of Nielsen's Maskarade at the Royal Opera House.

There's a look at the enduring appeal of Lehar's The Merry Widow as it opens at Welsh National Opera; a visit to Nottingham as homeless people in the city prepare the premiere of a new opera based on Mahler's Rückert Lieder; and composer Gerald Barry and director Richard Jones talk about the new opera at English National Opera based on Fassbinder's stage play The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

A special edition focusing on the Greek-born, French composer Iannis Xenakis.

Working as an architect with Le Corbusier after the Second World War, Xenakis developed a radical musical style based on the principles and sounds of nature.

As a major Xenakis festival opens in London, Tom Service talks to those who knew him well and to the musicians who play his mesmeric music.

A special edition focusing on the Greek-born, French composer Iannis Xenakis. Working as an architect with Le Corbusier after the Second World War, Xenakis developed a radical musical style based on the principles and sounds of nature. As a major Xenakis festival opens in London, Tom Service talks to those who knew him well and to the musicians who play his mesmeric music.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

On the publication of the latest biography of composer Gerald Finzi, Tom Service visits Church Farm, the house that Finzi built in Berkshire where he wrote some of his best known music.

Plus the soundworld of experimental composer Alvin Lucier - and a chat with Evan Eisenberg about the update to his seminal work, The Recording Angel, looking at how recording has changed the way we listen to music.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Jane Glover discusses her new book about Mozart's women - the mother, sister, friends and lovers who featured so significantly in his life.

Harpsichord legend Gustav Leonhardt talks about the keyboard music of Tallis and Byrd.

And Tom Service looks at how composers have been portrayed in the movies.

Harpsichord legend Gustav Leonhardt talks about the keyboard music of Tallis and Byrd. And Tom Service looks at how composers have been portrayed in the movies.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

As the English National Opera opens a new production of Madam Butterfly, Anthony Minghella makes his operatic directorial debut.

Tom Service also talks to Elgar Howarth, now in his 70th year, about his multi-faceted career as a composer, performer and conductor.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

As the English National Opera opens a new production of Madam Butterfly, Anthony Minghella makes his operatic directorial debut. Tom Service also talks to Elgar Howarth, now in his 70th year, about his multi-faceted career as a composer, performer and conductor.

A new book about the composer Olivier Messiaen claims to explore the world that Messiaen himself was at pains to keep hidden.

Tom Service talks to the authors.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

A new book about the composer Olivier Messiaen claims to explore the world that Messiaen himself was at pains to keep hidden. Tom Service talks to the authors.

Presented by Tom Service.

In Sir Charles Mackerras' 80th year, a profile of the conductor as seen through the eyes of those most closely associated with him, including Dame Janet Baker and Sir Brian McMaster, director of the Edinburgh Festival.

Plus the story of a new opera which unites the Tête à Tête opera company with the skilled knitters and spinners of Shetland - in A Shetland Odyssey.

Presented by Tom Service. In Sir Charles Mackerras' 80th year, a profile of the conductor as seen through the eyes of those most closely associated with him, including Dame Janet Baker and Sir Brian McMaster, director of the Edinburgh Festival.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

As Steve Reich, one of the pioneers of American minimalism, approaches his 70th birthday next year, Tom Service talks to him about two of his latest works - You Are Variations and Cello Counterpoint.

Plus Reich's views on science, Judaism and technology.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Fifteen years after the death of Aaron Copland, Tom Service reassesses the music of one of America's best loved composers.

He talks to friends and colleagues including conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, writer and historian Vivian Perlis and the journalist Paul Moor, a former lover.

And ahead of Radio 3's British Music Week, Tom discusses the position of British contemporary music in the 21st century.

Fifteen years after the death of Aaron Copland, Tom Service reassesses the music of one of America's best loved composers. He talks to friends and colleagues including conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, writer and historian Vivian Perlis and the journalist Paul Moor, a former lover. And ahead of Radio 3's British Music Week, Tom discusses the position of British contemporary music in the 21st century.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Presented by Tom Service.

Writer Roger Nichols looks over the vast personal correspondence of Claude Debussy, published in France for the first time.

American music historian Vivian Perlis talks about her new publication, An Oral History of American Music, documenting the history of 20th Century music directly through the voices of composers.

Plus a look at the simple dance in triple time that became the most popular ballroom dance of the 19th Century, inspiring composers well into the 20th Century - the Waltz.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

The historic City Halls in Glasgow played host to the likes of Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Dickens and William Gladstone.

But the building has recently been undergoing a massive refurbishment updating the concert hall and becoming the new home of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Tom Service visits the Halls and looks at how the restoration will change music making in Glasgow.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

The historic City Halls in Glasgow played host to the likes of Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Dickens and William Gladstone. But the building has recently been undergoing a massive refurbishment updating the concert hall and becoming the new home of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Tom Service talks to Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov, whose La Pasión Según San Marcos gets its UK premiere at the Barbican as part of two concerts focusing on his work.

Tom also explores a collaboration between British and Iraqi performers at the Old Vic in London; a new production of Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Petroc Trelawny talks to the legendary German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

Specialist in Russian music David Nice and ballet critic Ismene Brown review a new book that explores the 15-year collaboration between Prokofiev and the ballet impresario Diaghilev.

Plus, 91-year-old Margaret Elliot talks about life in St Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith during the years Gustav Holst was the music master.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Petroc Trelawny talks to the legendary German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Specialist in Russian music David Nice and ballet critic Ismene Brown review a new book that explores the 15-year collaboration between Prokofiev and the ballet impresario Diaghilev. Plus, 91-year-old Margaret Elliot talks about life in St Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith during the years Gustav Holst was the music master.

Petroc Trelawny previews English National Opera's production of Vaughan Williams' rarely performed opera, Sir John in Love, and he delves into the peculiar world of the trombone as a new book is published charting the idiosyncratic development of the instrument.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

With Petroc Trelawny.

Mozart's 250th birthday has provoked a number of new books on the composer's life and music. But are they adding anything new to the already vast Mozart literature?

Plus a look at Shostakovich's 15 String Quartets through the eyes and ears of the performers, including members of the Fitzwilliam and Kopelman Quartets who worked directly with the composer.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Mozart's 250th birthday has provoked a number of new books on the composer's life and music.

But are they adding anything new to the already vast Mozart literature?

The BBC Concert Orchestra celebrates film score composer Bernard Herrmann's brilliant, yet often turbulent relationship with Alfred Hitchcock. Petroc Trelawny investigates how Herrmann redefined the relationship between image and sound.

Plus a look at Tchaikovsky's masterpiece Eugene Onegin, as a new production is staged at the Royal Opera House.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

The BBC Concert Orchestra celebrates film score composer Bernard Herrmann's brilliant, yet often turbulent relationship with Alfred Hitchcock.

Petroc Trelawny investigates how Herrmann redefined the relationship between image and sound.

A profile of British composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett who is 70 this month.

Plus a look at Opera North's production of Arms and the Cow, Kurt Weill's satirical operetta.

With Petroc Trelawny.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

A profile of British composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett who is 70 this month. Plus a look at Opera North's production of Arms and the Cow, Kurt Weill's satirical operetta. With Petroc Trelawny.

With Petroc Trelawny.

As a new production of Offenbach's La Belle Helene opens at English National Opera, a look at Offenbach's place in French culture with soprano Dame Felicity Lott and translator Kit Hesketh-harvey.

Plus, an interview with the Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon.

Petroc Trelawny talks to Chinese-born director Chen Shi-Zheng about his new production of Monteverdi's Orfeo at English National Opera, and to John Mark Ainsley who sings the title role.

Plus, ahead of Radio 3's Samuel Beckett Evening, a look at some of the composers who have been inspired by the writer.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

A Wagner Prelude

Tom Service presents a special edition of Music Matters as a prelude to BBC Radio 3's Ring in a Day on Monday.

Author Patrick Carnegy takes a look at the history of staging Wagner; while writer and broadcaster Stephen Johnson talks about his often rocky relationship with the composer. Soprano Dame Anne Evans and bass Sir John Tomlinson talk about both the physical and mental strain of performing in such a vast work.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Author Patrick Carnegy takes a look at the history of staging Wagner; while writer and broadcaster Stephen Johnson talks about his often rocky relationship with the composer.

Soprano Dame Anne Evans and bass Sir John Tomlinson talk about both the physical and mental strain of performing in such a vast work.

Tom Service talks to director Francesca Zambello, as Franco Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac receives its premiere at the Royal Opera House, 70 years after its first performance.

Plus, a celebration of the life of radical experimental composer and founder of the Scratch Orchestra, Cornelius Cardew, on the 70th anniversary of his birth.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Tom Service finds out about two exciting recent musical developments in South Africa. He talks to Pauline Malefane and Mark Dornford-May, star and director of a new film of Bizet's Carmen set in Pauline's home township of Khayelitsha, Cape Town. And at OSCA, the opera course at the University of Natal in Durban, Martin Handley hears that "black singers are the singers of the future", in the amazing voices of the people of KwaZulu-Natal.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Tom Service finds out about two exciting recent musical developments in South Africa.

He talks to Pauline Malefane and Mark Dornford-May, star and director of a new film of Bizet's Carmen set in Pauline's home township of Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

And at OSCA, the opera course at the University of Natal in Durban, Martin Handley hears that "black singers are the singers of the future", in the amazing voices of the people of KwaZulu-Natal.

Tom Service presents a special operatic edition, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Welsh National Opera, the company brought together by a former miner. From those who were there at its inception in 1946 to the newest recruit - general director John Fisher - the programme looks at the past, present and future of opera in Wales.

Plus, French directors Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser talk about their new production of Tchaikovsky's Mazepa; and director Peter Sellars on his production of Mozart's opera, Zaide.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Tom Service presents a special operatic edition, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Welsh National Opera, the company brought together by a former miner.

From those who were there at its inception in 1946 to the newest recruit - general director John Fisher - the programme looks at the past, present and future of opera in Wales.

Tom Service speaks to Danish composer Poul Ruders about his opera Kafka's Trial. Plus cellist Matthew Barley presents a special report from Uzbekistan on his Between the Notes project.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Tom Service speaks to Danish composer Poul Ruders about his opera Kafka's Trial.

Plus cellist Matthew Barley presents a special report from Uzbekistan on his Between the Notes project.

Tom Service speaks to Raymond Yiu about his new opera The Original Chinese Conjuror, based on the true story of Chung Ling Soo - whose dramatic death onstage at the Wood Green Empire led to his unmasking as William Robinson.

For the 350th anniversary of the birth of the French composer and bass viol virtuoso Marin Marais, viol player Hille Perl and French baroque expert Philip Weller uncover his life and work. Plus, Tom meets identical twins who knew since their teens that they both wanted to be cutting-edge opera directors - Christopher and David Alden, currently staging Janacek and Handel at ENO.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

For the 350th anniversary of the birth of the French composer and bass viol virtuoso Marin Marais, viol player Hille Perl and French baroque expert Philip Weller uncover his life and work.

Plus, Tom meets identical twins who knew since their teens that they both wanted to be cutting-edge opera directors - Christopher and David Alden, currently staging Janacek and Handel at ENO.

Tom Service investigates the world of 'semi-opera' as Mark Morris and Jane Glover prepare to stage Purcell and Dryden's King Arthur for English National Opera.

Conductor and author Robert Craft takes a break from recording to talk about Arnold Schoenberg; and a look behind the doors of Tate Modern's new Kandinsky exhibition prompts an examination of the pivotal relationship between Schoenberg and the artist.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Tom Service investigates the world of 'semi-opera' and speaks to Mark Morris and Jane Glover about their staging of Purcell and Dryden's King Arthur for English National Opera.

Plus, composer Judith Weir talks about the new version of her opera Blond Eckbert - currently touring the UK.

Tom Service investigates the world of 'semi-opera' and speaks to Mark Morris and Jane Glover about their staging of Purcell and Dryden's King Arthur for English National Opera.

Plus, composer Judith Weir talks about the new version of her opera Blond Eckbert - currently touring the UK.

Tom Service speaks to author Seb Hunter and music critic Fiona Maddocks about Seb's new book. Plus a look at the life of French composer Gustave Charpentier on the 50th anniversary of his death.

Tom Service speaks to author Seb Hunter and music critic Fiona Maddocks about Seb's new book.

Plus a look at the life of French composer Gustave Charpentier on the 50th anniversary of his death.

Tom Service talks to conductor Riccardo Chailly about running both the orchestra and opera in Leipzig. Plus, the story of Peter and the Wolf 70 years on from its first performance.

It's also the 60th anniversary of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - we hear from founding members and conductor Daniel Gatti. And following news of the death of former Radio 3 Controller, Sir John Drummond, we look back on his life in the Arts.

Tom Service talks to conductor Riccardo Chailly about running both the orchestra and opera in Leipzig.

Plus, the story of Peter and the Wolf 70 years on from its first performance.

It's also the 60th anniversary of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - we hear from founding members and conductor Daniel Gatti.

And following news of the death of former Radio 3 Controller, Sir John Drummond, we look back on his life in the Arts.

As composer Steve Reich celebrates his 70th birthday, Tom Service travels to New York to talk to Reich and assess how his legacy influences both popular and classical music. DJ Spooky looks at the composer's affect on Urban DJ culture, and, as Reich once earned a living driving a taxi in New York, Service is joined by composer and journalist Kyle Gann on a musical and cultural taxi ride.

As composer Steve Reich celebrates his 70th birthday, Tom Service travels to New York to talk to Reich and assess how his legacy influences both popular and classical music.

DJ Spooky looks at the composer's affect on Urban DJ culture, and, as Reich once earned a living driving a taxi in New York, Service is joined by composer and journalist Kyle Gann on a musical and cultural taxi ride.

Tom Service explores that most versatile of instruments - the human voice.

Tenor Ian Bostridge previews a major song series on London's South Bank and Emma Kirkby and Anthony Rooley sample different approaches to performing Dowland songs. Plus reviews of a new book on Italian opera and the art of 'bel canto', and a fascinating study of the human voice by Anne Karpf.

Tenor Ian Bostridge previews a major song series on London's South Bank and Emma Kirkby and Anthony Rooley sample different approaches to performing Dowland songs.

Plus reviews of a new book on Italian opera and the art of 'bel canto', and a fascinating study of the human voice by Anne Karpf.

Tom Service interviews Deborah Warner, whose new production of Poulenc's La voix humaine is due to be performed by Opera North in the newly refurbished Leeds Grand Theatre. Plus Stephen Walsh on his second volume of the biography of one of the most significant and influential composers of the 20th Century, Stravinsky.

Tom also explores the latest corporate bonding exercise, can paintballing really be replaced by playing in an orchestra?

Tom Service interviews Deborah Warner, whose new production of Poulenc's La voix humaine is due to be performed by Opera North in the newly refurbished Leeds Grand Theatre.

Plus Stephen Walsh on his second volume of the biography of one of the most significant and influential composers of the 20th Century, Stravinsky.

Tom Service investigates the relationship between the music of Grieg and the landscape of his native Norway, and how the composer's time in England had a far greater influence on his life than previously thought.

Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard talks about his life in music as his latest CD of Schumann is released.

Plus news of the UK's first ever Bachelor of Music degree in Indian classical music.

With Tom Service.

Tom Service talks to Prof Stephen Hawking about the role music plays in his life ahead of his specially programmed concert at the Cambridge Music Festival. As Western classical music takes a greater hold in East Asia, an investigation into its role in Chinese society.

And coinciding with a festival of his music in Manchester, composer Mark Anthony Turnage discusses jazz, classical and his unique path between modernism and tradition.

Tom Service talks to Prof Stephen Hawking about the role music plays in his life ahead of his specially programmed concert at the Cambridge Music Festival.

As Western classical music takes a greater hold in East Asia, an investigation into its role in Chinese society.

A look at the colourful world of Gilbert and Sullivan.

And Tom Service talks to Janacek scholar John Tyrell about his new biography of the composer.

A look at the colourful world of Gilbert and Sullivan. And Tom Service talks to Janacek scholar John Tyrell about his new biography of the composer.

Tom Service talks to Anthony Phillips, who has translated the journals of Sergei Prokofiev, and Prokofiev specialist Noelle Mann about the composer who was a compulsive diarist. After his death, many of Prokofiev's writings were kept in a special closed section of the Russian State Archive and have only recently been published.

Composer George Benjamin and his librettist Martin Crimp talk about Benjamin's first opera, Into the Little Hill, which opens in Paris.

Plus the revelatory music of composer Helmut Lachenmann.

Tom Service talks to Anthony Phillips, who has translated the journals of Sergei Prokofiev, and Prokofiev specialist Noelle Mann about the composer who was a compulsive diarist.

After his death, many of Prokofiev's writings were kept in a special closed section of the Russian State Archive and have only recently been published.

With Tom Service.

Personal stories from the silent force behind the music industry - members of the 700-strong former workforce of instrument makers Boosey and Hawkes talk about how they helped to shape the sound of Britain.

Plus an exploration of the brave new world of Sound Intermedia as lights, computers and video screens increasingly alter the relationship between composition and performance.

As the UK album charts are increasingly populated by classical crossover artists in the run-up to Christmas, Tom Service takes a look at the genre that has included names such as Mario Lanza, Emerson Lake and Palmer, the Three Tenors and Angelis. He asks if there is more to crossover than marketing and easy money.

Director Francesca Zambello talks about her new production of Carmen at Covent Garden.

As the UK album charts are increasingly populated by classical crossover artists in the run-up to Christmas, Tom Service takes a look at the genre that has included names such as Mario Lanza, Emerson Lake and Palmer, the Three Tenors and Angelis.

He asks if there is more to crossover than marketing and easy money.

Composer and writer Ned Rorem talks movingly to Tom Service about how his words and music are inextricably linked in his new collection of diaries, Facing the Night.

Plus a report from Tel Aviv on the 70th anniversary of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and New Year celebrations behind the scenes with the National Youth Orchestra in Oxfordshire.

Tom Service talks to renowned pianist and scholar Charles Rosen, who celebrates his 80th birthday this year. He also explores graphic images of musical humour from the middle ages to modern times with author and historian Jeremy Barlow.

Tom Service talks to renowned pianist and scholar Charles Rosen, who celebrates his 80th birthday this year.

He also explores graphic images of musical humour from the middle ages to modern times with author and historian Jeremy Barlow.

As the English Folk Dance and Song society celebrates its 75th anniversary, Tom Service visits Lincolnshire. From Percy Grainger's field recordings of folksong at Brigg to the peal of tuned bells at Croyland Abbey, he asks how music shapes the sense of where we live.

As the English Folk Dance and Song society celebrates its 75th anniversary, Tom Service visits Lincolnshire.

From Percy Grainger's field recordings of folksong at Brigg to the peal of tuned bells at Croyland Abbey, he asks how music shapes the sense of where we live.

Tom Service investigates the stories behind this week's headlines in the music world. He meets the pianist Alice Herz-Sommer, who at 103 years old still plays daily.

And celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of one of the best loved and most hated buildings in the country - the Barbican Centre. Tom asks what should our arts centres be today - bastions of cutting edge urban design or monuments to a fading culture?

Tom Service investigates the stories behind this week's headlines in the music world.

He meets the pianist Alice Herz-Sommer, who at 103 years old still plays daily.

And celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of one of the best loved and most hated buildings in the country - the Barbican Centre.

Tom asks what should our arts centres be today - bastions of cutting edge urban design or monuments to a fading culture?

Tom Service asks what the future holds for classical music and whether the genre needs to change. He looks at the Victorian predictions of William Sterndale Bennett which provide a fascinating account of the hopes and fears of the Victorian musical world.

He is also joined by John Williams and John Etheridge to talk about their unique collaboration combining two of the greatest names in classical and jazz guitar.

Tom Service asks what the future holds for classical music and whether the genre needs to change.

He looks at the Victorian predictions of William Sterndale Bennett which provide a fascinating account of the hopes and fears of the Victorian musical world.

Tom Service talks to Handel scholar Winton Dean about his in-depth study of Handel's last 20 operas, and investigates the challenge of staging and performing Handel's operas in the world's great opera houses with guests including Sir Peter Jonas, Sir Charles Mackerras and Sarah Connolly.

Plus American conductor Michael Tilson Thomas on what drives his work with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and his passion for education.

Petroc Trelawny travels to Cumbria to find out more about the Dowdales Community Opera Project, part of an ongoing partnership between the Royal Opera House and Dowdales Performing Arts College. He also talks to Alexandra Wilson, author of a new book about Puccini.

Petroc Trelawny travels to Cumbria to find out more about the Dowdales Community Opera Project, part of an ongoing partnership between the Royal Opera House and Dowdales Performing Arts College.

He also talks to Alexandra Wilson, author of a new book about Puccini.

On Easter Saturday, Harry Christophers helps Tom Service to take a closer look at Spanish Renaissance composer Tomas Luis de Victoria, one of the most admired European composers of church music in his day.

Plus, tenor Roberto Alagna talks about the pressures of singing in some of the world's most prestigious opera houses.

Tom Service visits the British Library with Lewis Foreman to sift through the remarkable secret archive of papers and photographs of Arnold Bax's mistress Harriet Cohen.

And Norman Lebrecht discusses his latest book, The Life and Death of Classical Music, with Tom, record producer Michael Haas and New York journalist John Rockwell.

In this week's programme Petroc Trelawny talks to harpsichordist-turned-conductor Christophe Rousset about playing Baroque music the French way, and the secrets behind the success of his group Les Talens Lyriques.

Petroc also explores the viola, taking as a starting point a new biography of Lionel Tertis by John White, and looks at Britten's 'forgotten opera', Owen Wingrave, conceived originally for television but about to hit the stage of the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House.

Petroc Trelawny heads to the British Library for the first ever three-day conference devoted to the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts.

A unique gathering of historians, musicologists, practitioners, media commentators and concert-goers reflect on the cultural phenomenon which for many marks the highlight of the classical music year.

Archive recordings and interviews with the leading authorities on the history of the Proms will illustrate key topics raised in the lectures and debates of the conference, and shed new light on the future of what has become a national institution.

Tom Service talks to author Tim Carter about his new book, which offers the first fully documented history of the making of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!

He also catches up with one of the world's most sought-after musicians, Portuguese pianist Maria Joao Pires.

Tom Service tracks down composer Oliver Knussen in his Suffolk hideaway and gets the latest thoughts and predictions from the founder of Naxos Records Klaus Heymann. American singer Grace Bumbry reminisces about a glorious operatic career that took in both soprano and mezzo-soprano roles. And Tom discovers the vibrant Cuban world of Anacaona, the all-girl band that set the nightclubs of Havana alight in the 1930s.

Tom Service tracks down composer Oliver Knussen in his Suffolk hideaway and gets the latest thoughts and predictions from the founder of Naxos Records Klaus Heymann.

American singer Grace Bumbry reminisces about a glorious operatic career that took in both soprano and mezzo-soprano roles.

And Tom discovers the vibrant Cuban world of Anacaona, the all-girl band that set the nightclubs of Havana alight in the 1930s.

Tom Service travels to Paris to visit the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique, or IRCAM. Founded in 1977 by Pierre Boulez at the behest of President Georges Pompidou, IRCAM is a research centre for new music and associated technologies.

Thirty years on, Tom finds out what goes on at the IRCAM today and asks how relevant it is as an institution in the context of 21st century art music, and French culture generally. With contributions from Pierre Boulez, Georgina Born, Roger Nichols and Jonathan Harvey.

Tom Service travels to Paris to visit the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique, or IRCAM.

Founded in 1977 by Pierre Boulez at the behest of President Georges Pompidou, IRCAM is a research centre for new music and associated technologies.

Thirty years on, Tom finds out what goes on at the IRCAM today and asks how relevant it is as an institution in the context of 21st century art music, and French culture generally.

With contributions from Pierre Boulez, Georgina Born, Roger Nichols and Jonathan Harvey.

As celebrations begin to mark the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank following its major refurbishment, Petroc Trelawny goes behind the scenes and talks to the people running this cultural landmark.

He also takes a look at the murky history of musical life in post-war Germany, and German conductor Ingo Metzmacher discusses the attraction of orchestras in his native country.

There's an operatic flavour to the programme as Tom Service talks to John Fisher, General Director of Welsh National Opera.

He also finds out about Elephant and Castle, a new opera aiming to project an urban vision onto a rural landscape by incorporating film, digital sounds, installations and live performance.

Tom Service talks to early music virtuoso Jordi Savall, focuses on the Glyndebourne Opera House as they stage Katie Mitchell's dramatic vision of Bach's St Matthew Passion, and explores the dangers of being a practising musician.

Tom Service talks to conductor Robert Spano and discusses music, memory and 'The Importance of Music to Girls' with poet and author Lavinia Greenlaw.

Plus pianist John York and psychologist John Sloboda look at the psychological skills necessary to become a musician.

Tom Service introduces topical interviews, features and discussions on the big ideas driving today's classical music world.

Tom Service talks to composer James MacMillan, whose new opera The Sacrifice is to receive its premiere by Welsh National Opera in Cardiff.

Directed by Katie Mitchell and with a libretto by Michael Symmons Roberts, the opera draws on the Mabinogion, an ancient collection of Welsh folk tales, and tells the story of a ruler's ultimate sacrifice to safeguard the future of his war-torn country.

40th Anniversary Special

As Radio 3 celebrates 40 years of broadcasting, Tom Service listens back over the decades and investigates how the station has reacted to the outside world and vice-versa. With contributions from Nicholas Kenyon, Harrison Birtwistle, Lord Asa Briggs, Robert Ponsonby and Georgina Born.

As Radio 3 celebrates 40 years of broadcasting, Tom Service listens back over the decades and investigates how the station has reacted to the outside world and vice-versa.

With contributions from Nicholas Kenyon, Harrison Birtwistle, Lord Asa Briggs, Robert Ponsonby and Georgina Born.

Tom Service examines the life and legacy of one of Italy's most pioneering and influential 20th-century composers, Luigi Nono, as a major celebration of his work gets underway in London.

Also, as the London Philharmonic Orchestra turns 75, Tom finds out what makes it unique and talks to its acclaimed new Principal Conductor, Vladimir Jurowski, about his plans for the future of the LPO.

Tom Service meets conductor John Eliot Gardiner to explore his reinterpretation of the music of Brahms, there's the latest from music's most talked about family with author Jonathan Carr on The Wagner Clan, and Vienna meets Hollywood with Erich Wolfgang Korngold at the movies.

Petroc Trelawny explores the border territory between literature and music, and how music can transform Shakespeare plays.

Plus pianist Richard Goode talks about the many guises of piano playing, and the programme investigates the uncompromising music of Alexander Goehr as he reaches 75.

The spotlight falls on four new books about music, including a major biography of Robert Schumann, and Oliver Sacks's hot-off-the-press Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain.

Petroc Trelawny talks to the authors and is joined by critic Hilary Finch, violinist Paul Robertson and musicologist Tess Knighton.

Tom Service talks to one of the most versatile jazz musicians of his generation, Chick Corea. Musician and artist Bill Drummond, who came up with the idea of a No Music Day, and pianist David Owen Norris discuss living a life without music.

Tom Service talks to one of the most versatile jazz musicians of his generation, Chick Corea.

Musician and artist Bill Drummond, who came up with the idea of a No Music Day, and pianist David Owen Norris discuss living a life without music.

Tom Service immerses himself in the music of Domenico Scarlatti as the Royal Northern College of Music perform all 555 of his sonatas in one day in Manchester.

The life of composer and war poet Ivor Gurney is celebrated in Gloucester, and tenor Ian Bostridge talks about his year-long series of concerts at London's Barbican.

Tom Service talks to violinist Itzhak Perlman about being a great advocate of classical music and the importance of music education.

There's an update on the Music Manifesto from composer and broadcaster Howard Goodall, and Tony Hall, Executive Director of the Royal Opera House, talks about the challenges of finding new audiences for opera and ballet.

Tom Service presents a special programme looking back on the life and music of one of the 20th century's most distinguished and controversial composers - Karlheinz Stockhausen, who died last week.

Tom Service talks to composer Judith Weir ahead of Radio 3's forthcoming weekend celebration of her work.

Plus 25 years after the death of pianist Artur Rubinstein, friends and colleagues assess his legacy, and a new collection of essays entitled Philosophers on Music falls under the Music Matters spotlight.

Tom Service talks to Daniel Barenboim as he performs the entire cycle of 32 Beethoven piano sonatas at London's South Bank.

Plus a review of Marina Frolova-Walker's new book on Russian music which challenges the notion of 'Russianness'.

Tom Service talks to Daniel Barenboim as he performs the entire cycle of 32 Beethoven piano sonatas at London's South Bank. Plus a review of Marina Frolova-Walker's new book on Russian music which challenges the notion of 'Russianness'.

Tom Service talks to pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard about his first recording of Bach - The Art of Fugue - and his stewardship of the Aldeburgh Festival.

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales celebrate the music of Henri Dutilleux. And a major exhibition of field recordings from India opens at the Horniman Museum in London.

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales celebrate the music of Henri Dutilleux.

And a major exhibition of field recordings from India opens at the Horniman Museum in London.

Tom Service explores the little-known world of Vivaldi the opera composer ahead of a performance of Tito Manlio at London's Barbican next week.

With a re-assessment of Olivier Messiaen's legacy as teacher, and harpist Osian Ellis on his 80th birthday.

Tom Service explores the little-known world of Vivaldi the opera composer ahead of a performance of Tito Manlio at London's Barbican next week. With a re-assessment of Olivier Messiaen's legacy as teacher, and harpist Osian Ellis on his 80th birthday.

Tom Service investigates the links between music and health.

He looks at reports on how music can change the lives of people with conditions ranging from schizophrenia to Alzheimer's.

Saxophonist Barbara Thompson talks about her battle with Parkinson's disease.

Plus news from the Royal Opera House and its workshops for autistic teenagers, and Prof Paul Robertson on the effects of music on the mind.

Tom Service investigates the links between music and health. He looks at reports on how music can change the lives of people with conditions ranging from schizophrenia to Alzheimer's. Saxophonist Barbara Thompson talks about her battle with Parkinson's disease. Plus news from the Royal Opera House and its workshops for autistic teenagers, and Prof Paul Robertson on the effects of music on the mind.

As the Grand Union Orchestra celebrates its 25th birthday, Petroc Trelawny meets the recently formed Grand Union Youth Orchestra as they prepare for a performance in East London.

Plus a review of Alex Ross's new book about 20th-century music The Rest is Noise, and miniature opera, with a look at five 15-minute chamber operas, the fruit of collaborations between Scotland's leading creative figures.

Tom Service talks to English baritone Thomas Allen about what sustains him through decades of success in his profession.

As a new book about the poet Heinrich Heine is published, Music Matters examines his enduring appeal for composers from Schubert to Berg.

And there is an interview with composer Olga Neuwirth about her opera Lost Highway, based on the film by David Lynch, which opens at the Young Vic in London next month.

With Tom Service.

Fifty years since the death of Ralph Vaughan Williams, journalist Simon Heffer explains the profound influence of war on the composer's music and how it modernised his style of writing, especially in his Sixth Symphony.

Tom talks to German composer Heiner Goebbels about his strongly 'visual' compositions. And organist, harpsichordist and conductor Ton Koopman looks back on his 40-year career.

Tom talks to German composer Heiner Goebbels about his strongly 'visual' compositions.

And organist, harpsichordist and conductor Ton Koopman looks back on his 40-year career.

Tom Service presents a programme devoted to a rare interview with the celebrated and often controversial pianist Krystian Zimerman. In an extensive and wide-ranging discussion, he talks about everything from his relationship with audiences and the recording process, to politics, pianos and why he can only listen to his own performances in the car.

Born in Poland in 1956, Zimerman became the youngest-ever winner of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1975, before studying intensively with the great Artur Rubinstein. Highly self-critical, Zimerman gives relatively few concert performances and has not released a solo recording for nearly two decades.

Tom Service presents a programme devoted to a rare interview with the celebrated and often controversial pianist Krystian Zimerman.

In an extensive and wide-ranging discussion, he talks about everything from his relationship with audiences and the recording process, to politics, pianos and why he can only listen to his own performances in the car.

Born in Poland in 1956, Zimerman became the youngest-ever winner of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1975, before studying intensively with the great Artur Rubinstein.

Highly self-critical, Zimerman gives relatively few concert performances and has not released a solo recording for nearly two decades.

Tom Service meets sitar virtuoso Ravin Shankar, currently on his final tour of Europe.

Plus a reassessment of Rimsky-Korsakov's legacy 100 years after his death, and as a second volume of Prokofiev's diaries is published, Tom looks at the wider phenomenon of composers' diaries and what can be learnt from them.

Tom Service meets sitar virtuoso Ravin Shankar, currently on his final tour of Europe. Plus a reassessment of Rimsky-Korsakov's legacy 100 years after his death, and as a second volume of Prokofiev's diaries is published, Tom looks at the wider phenomenon of composers' diaries and what can be learnt from them.

Tom Service talks to Hungarian composer Peter Eotvos about his new opera Love and Other Demons due to open at Glyndebourne next month. We're also on the trail of historic keyboards in Surrey, Arnold Dolmetsch and the early music revival at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Tom Service talks to Hungarian composer Peter Eotvos about his new opera Love and Other Demons due to open at Glyndebourne next month.

We're also on the trail of historic keyboards in Surrey, Arnold Dolmetsch and the early music revival at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Kennedy on Grappelli

In conversation with Geoffrey Smith, Nigel Kennedy pays tribute to the great improvising violinist Stephane Grappelli. Featuring some of the classic recordings and selections from the archive.

In conversation with Geoffrey Smith, Nigel Kennedy pays tribute to the great improvising violinist Stephane Grappelli.

Featuring some of the classic recordings and selections from the archive.

Tom Service visits the celebrated Lucerne Festival Academy in Switzerland, where 130 musicians from around the world come together to explore contemporary classical music under the direction of Pierre Boulez and members of his Ensemble Intercontemporain.

Conductors stay in the spotlight as Tom and Petroc Trelawny meet two other major figures: Esa-Pekka Salonen, newly appointed principal conductor and artistic advisor to the Philharmonia Orchestra, and Charles Mackerras, who talks about Mozart as he launches the Royal Opera House season with Don Giovanni.

Tom Service travels to Ireland to explore the part classical music has to play in Irish culture today. In the last decade, the country has experienced a revolution in music-making. Tom visits Ireland's first purpose-built opera house, which is about to open its doors to the Wexford Opera Festival.

Plus a look at contemporary classical composition in Dublin and traditional music and dance at the world-renowned Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in Limerick. And Irish composer Gerald Barry explains how the solitude of County Clare is essential to his uncompromising music.

Tom Service travels to Ireland to explore the part classical music has to play in Irish culture today.

In the last decade, the country has experienced a revolution in music-making.

Tom visits Ireland's first purpose-built opera house, which is about to open its doors to the Wexford Opera Festival.

Plus a look at contemporary classical composition in Dublin and traditional music and dance at the world-renowned Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in Limerick.

And Irish composer Gerald Barry explains how the solitude of County Clare is essential to his uncompromising music.

Petroc Trelawny talks to leading American composer John Adams about his new musical memoir Hallelujah Junction, and how he has been blacklisted by US security for the perceived morality of his political stage works.

Authors David Huckvale, Peter Dickinson and Adrian Wright review each other's recent books on the composers Lord Berners and William Alwyn and about the British composers who composed music for Hammer horror films.

And as a rare Stradivarius cello, expected to fetch over one million pounds, is about to be auctioned online, Petroc investigates the phenomenal prices such instruments command and asks who is buying them.

With the presidential elections a few days away, Tom Service is joined by three leading figures from the American music scene to assess the possible impact on musical life in the US.

Plus author John Tilbury talking about his controversial new biography of composer Cornelius Cardew, and a conversation with Leon Fleisher, hailed as one of the great pianists of the 50s and 60s and who was forced into early retirement by repetitive strain injury.

Petroc Trelawny is joined by Alexander Waugh to discuss his new book about the Wittgensteins, one of the most talented and eccentric families in European history, dogged by conflicts but held together by a fanatical love of music.

He also hears a new Remembrance Sunday commission from Portsmouth Grammar School by Peter Maxwell Davies and Andrew Motion.

With Tom Service.

Including Fiona Shaw on directing her first opera.

Tom Service discusses the collaborative process with actress Fiona Shaw as she makes her directorial debut in the opera world in charge of a new production of Ralph Vaughan Williams's Riders to the Sea.

With the latest Streetwise Opera project, My Secret Heart, bringing together the homeless with professional opera through Allegri's Miserere, and an interview with leading young German composer Jorg Widmann.

Plus a look back at the history of the London Sinfonietta, reflecting on the progress made in new music since its establishment 40 years ago.

With Tom Service. Including Fiona Shaw on directing her first opera.

Nigel Simeone tells the story of classical music activity in Nazi-occupied Paris.

Nigel Simeone visits Paris to tell the story of classical music activity in the city during the years of Nazi occupation, with historians, musicologists and musicians who vividly outline both the oppression and the resistance in the concert halls, conservatoires and radio studios of the times.

Tom Service compares two modern dystopian visions of the world about to hit the London stage: Korngold's Die Tote Stadt at the Royal Opera House and John Adams' Dr Atomic at the ENO.

He also speaks to Canadian baritone Gerald Finley on singing the title role in Adams' opera.

There is also a survey of The Complete Church Cantatas by JS Bach, a cycle devised by the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Tom discusses the project's objectives with RAM's principal Jonathan Freeman-Atwood and Bach scholar Berta Joncus.

And Michael Church visits Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to report on efforts to preserve traditional music in Central Asia.

Tom Service compares two dystopian visions of the world on stage in London opera houses.

Ahead of the General Election, Tom Service chairs a live phone-in about the future of classical music and the arts.

On the panel are those responsible for cultural policy from each of the main parties: Ben Bradshaw for Labour, Ed Vaizey for the Conservatives and Don Foster for the Liberal Democrats.

To put your question to the panel, Phone: 0370 909 33 33 [standard geographic charges apply].

Lines open at 9.30am, or e-mail: music.matters@bbc.co.uk.

Tom Service chairs a phone-in about the future of classical music and the arts.

Tom Service is joined by Richard Morrison and Elaine Padmore to preview highlights of the musical year ahead.

Plus David Pountney of Welsh National Opera and Christopher Hogwood.

Tom Service previews the new musical season.

Plus David Pountney and Christopher Hogwood.

Tom Service is joined by Richard Morrison and Elaine Padmore to preview highlights of the musical year ahead. Plus David Pountney of Welsh National Opera and Christopher Hogwood.

Tom Service previews the new musical season. Plus David Pountney and Christopher Hogwood.

Pierre Boulez is a man who stirs strong feelings among the musical public, to some he is one of the greatest composers of our time whose works glisten with colour and rhythmic vitality, to others he's the modernist bogeyman whose pronouncements on contemporary music led to a rigid orthodoxy which shouted down all other points of view.

What is certain is that he casts a long shadow over our musical world, whether as a composer, conductor, founder of IRCAM - the electro acoustic research centre in Paris - or as a philosopher of music, he is someone who can't be ignored.

Tom Service caught up with him last month as he prepared for a weekend devoted to his music at London's Southbank Centre and finds that at 86 years-old he's not slowing down and he's still as passionate as ever about his art.

Tom Service talks to French composer, conductor and philosopher of music Pierre Boulez.

Pierre Boulez is a man who stirs strong feelings among the musical public, to some he is one of the greatest composers of our time whose works glisten with colour and rhythmic vitality, to others he's the modernist bogeyman whose pronouncements on contemporary music led to a rigid orthodoxy which shouted down all other points of view. What is certain is that he casts a long shadow over our musical world, whether as a composer, conductor, founder of IRCAM - the electro acoustic research centre in Paris - or as a philosopher of music, he is someone who can't be ignored. Tom Service caught up with him last month as he prepared for a weekend devoted to his music at London's Southbank Centre and finds that at 86 years-old he's not slowing down and he's still as passionate as ever about his art.

As the Merce Cunningham Dance Company begins its final tour at the Barbican in London, Tom Service talks to US dance critic John Rockwell about the legacy of the renowned American choreographer who died in 2009 aged 90.

In a groundbreaking move, Cunnigham established a two-year legacy plan for the company, which is set to dissolve at the end of this year.

To discuss the tricky notion of preserving contemporary dance, and the nature of celebrity choreographers, Tom is joined by British choreographer and founder of Siobhan Davies Dance Company, Siobhan Davies.

Young Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja is one of the most promising vocal talents of his generation.

At the end of a year of acclaimed performances, including in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, and Verdi's Requiem at the BBC Proms, he talks to Tom Service about life as a rising operatic star.

With Tom Service.

The legacy of dancer Merce Cunningham; tenor Joseph Calleja interviewed.

As the Merce Cunningham Dance Company begins its final tour at the Barbican in London, Tom Service talks to US dance critic John Rockwell about the legacy of the renowned American choreographer who died in 2009 aged 90. In a groundbreaking move, Cunnigham established a two-year legacy plan for the company, which is set to dissolve at the end of this year. To discuss the tricky notion of preserving contemporary dance, and the nature of celebrity choreographers, Tom is joined by British choreographer and founder of Siobhan Davies Dance Company, Siobhan Davies.

Young Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja is one of the most promising vocal talents of his generation. At the end of a year of acclaimed performances, including in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, and Verdi's Requiem at the BBC Proms, he talks to Tom Service about life as a rising operatic star.

With Tom Service. The legacy of dancer Merce Cunningham; tenor Joseph Calleja interviewed.

Suzy Klein remembers conductor Sir Colin Davis who died this week aged 85. She hears from those he knew and worked with him, and delves into the archive to hear Sir Colin's thoughts on music and life, in his own words.

Young Iranian American harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani looks forwards and backwards when preparing a concert programme, and he takes Suzy to visit the harpsichord he uses to play the music of Ligeti in the Goble harpsichord factory in Oxford.

With Tom Service, including a report from the new Mariinsky II in St Petersburg which opens this weekend and is expected to transform the existing Mariinsky Theatre and Concert Hall into one of the world's premiere performing arts centres for classical music, opera and ballet.

Author Philip Eisenbeiss comes into the Music Matters studio to talk about his new biography of the legendary impresario Domenico Barbaja, who dominated European operatic stages for thirty years at the height of the bel canto era, and was responsible for commissioning operas by Donizetti, Weber and Bellini among others.

Tom also catches up with Alexander Pereira, for nearly two decades director of Zurich Opera, and since 2011 artistic director of the Salzburg Festival. Pereira talks about the importance of new music for the Festival, how he's dealing with a large budget deficit, and who the Festival is really for, given that ticket prices which are beyond the reach of many people.

Producer Emma Bloxham

BILLING ENDS.

Tom Service talks to Australian pianist Roger Woodward.

Presented by Tom Service.

Tom interviews the Australian pianist Roger Woodward. Now based in San Francisco, Woodward's love of music began with Bach, in his childhood home in the Sydney suburbs. After studies in Poland, he pursued an international solo career devoted not only to the mainstream pianistic repertoire of Chopin, Bach, Beethoven and Debussy, but also to championing new music by composers including Messiaen, Barraqué, Cage and Stockhausen. His close collaborations with many living composers, and his passion for the great composers of the past, is documented in his autobiography published last year, Beyond Black and White: My Life in Music.

And Paul Griffiths and Jane Manning join Tom to review 'Music Theatre in Britain 1960-75', a new book based on interviews by the ex-BBC producer Michael Hall with leading composers of the time. With its roots in works by Monteverdi, Schoenberg and Weill, the genre of Music Theatre - distinct from traditional opera and ballet - flourished in Britain in the 1960s. This book provides insights into the pioneering work of Harrison Birtwistle, Alexander Goehr and Peter Maxwell Davies, and into lesser-known early works by other major figures such as Cornelius Cardew and John Tavener.

Tom Service meets trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger and explores Philip Glass's Akhnaten.

Tom Service meets trumpet virtuoso Håkan Hardenberger who recalls an audition for Pierre Boulez which would have seen his career go in a very different direction. Philip Glass's opera Akhnaten is set to open in a new production at English National Opera, Music Matters explores the story behind its creation in 1983, it was the last in Glass's trilogy of 'portrait' operas in which he looked at figures from the fields of science, politics and religion. Plus: Edward Dusinberre discusses his new book Beethoven for a Later Age: the journey of a string quartet, which traces his experiences of joining the Takács Quartet as First Violin and the quartet's approach to playing Beethoven's sixteen extraordinary string quartets.

Radio 3's flagship classical music magazine programme.

The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters

Sarah Connolly and the Aldridge sisters

The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters

Sarah Connolly and the Aldridge sisters

The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters

Sarah Connolly and the Aldridge sisters

The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters

New music for the centenary of the Armistice and 350 years of Francois Couperin

The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters

New music for the centenary of the Armistice and 350 years of Francois Couperin

The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters

Sara Mohr-Pietsch asks: 'What is the future of opera?' With Dame Felicity Palmer.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch is in conversation with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.

Tom Service with conductor Semyon Bychkov and composer Brian Irvine.

Tom Service is in conversation with opera singer Sir Willard White.

Valery Gergiev, principal conductor of the LSO, talks to Tom Service about his current preoccupations, including his Mahler cycle.

And conductor Mark Elder and players celebrate 150 years of the Halle, Britain's oldest professional symphony orchestra.

Valery Gergiev, principal conductor of the LSO, talks to Tom Service about his current preoccupations, including his Mahler cycle. And conductor Mark Elder and players celebrate 150 years of the Halle, Britain's oldest professional symphony orchestra.

With Petroc Trelawny.

As Luigi Nono's opera Prometeo receives its UK premiere, Tom Service talks to architect Renzo Piano about his designs for the original performance of the work.

He also meets Nono's widow Nuria Schoenberg-Nono, who tells of the place the piece occupied in the composer's life.

Plus an interview with violinist Nigel Kennedy on the release of his recording of Beethoven's Violin Concerto and a celebration of the sound of the King's Singers to mark their 40th anniversary.

As Luigi Nono's opera Prometeo receives its UK premiere, Tom Service talks to architect Renzo Piano about his designs for the original performance of the work. He also meets Nono's widow Nuria Schoenberg-Nono, who tells of the place the piece occupied in the composer's life.

Tom Service talks to sibling pianists Katia and Marielle Labeque to find out about their unique rapport.

Belgian conductor Philippe Herreweghe explains the importance of his Baroque music group Collegium Vocale Gent in advance of their appearance at this year's Lufthansa Festival.

Plus contemporary composer Jonathan Harvey explaining the complex musical language of his compositional world.

Tom Service talks to sibling pianists Katia and Marielle Labeque to find out about their unique rapport. Belgian conductor Philippe Herreweghe explains the importance of his Baroque music group Collegium Vocale Gent in advance of their appearance at this year's Lufthansa Festival.

With the first new concert hall to be built in London for over 25 years about to open its doors to the public, Tom Service investigates why the capital needs yet another concert venue.

There is also a look at La Calisto, a comic tale of amorous confusion between gods and mortals, and the first ever opera by Baroque composer Francesco Cavalli to be performed by the Royal Opera House.

Why has it taken so long for it to reach the stage there?

Plus 2008's centenary of composer Raymond Scott, the man who wrote music for adverts, electronics and for getting babies to sleep.

There is also a look at La Calisto, a comic tale of amorous confusion between gods and mortals, and the first ever opera by Baroque composer Francesco Cavalli to be performed by the Royal Opera House. Why has it taken so long for it to reach the stage there?

Tom Service meets young Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons as he takes over the reigns of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

The life of Thomas Beecham falls under the spotlight as author John Lucas presents new material on the conductor's private life, including his visits to Nazi Germany and his views of its leaders.

And singing Rossini - what exactly does it involve? Credited with the invention of the modern tenor, Rossini makes demands of his singers that far exceed those of his predecessors.

Some of today's leading Rossinians reveal the secrets of their success, pianist and vocal coach Gerald Martin Moore looks back at some of the great Rossini singers of the past, and opera historian Emanuele Senici explains why singers in Rossini's day had it so much easier than the divas of today.

And singing Rossini - what exactly does it involve? Credited with the invention of the modern tenor, Rossini makes demands of his singers that far exceed those of his predecessors. Some of today's leading Rossinians reveal the secrets of their success, pianist and vocal coach Gerald Martin Moore looks back at some of the great Rossini singers of the past, and opera historian Emanuele Senici explains why singers in Rossini's day had it so much easier than the divas of today.

Presented by Tom Service.

Including 100 years of Elliott Carter's correspondence.

Tom Service looks through a new book charting nearly a century of Elliott Carter's correspondence.

Plus an interview with one of the most sought-after mezzo-sopranos on the operatic stage, Angelika Kirchschlager.

Presented by Tom Service.

With pianist Stephen Hough ahead of concerts in London and New York, and Nicholas Kenyon and Paul Griffiths reviewing American musicologist Richard Taruskin's collection of essays entitled The Danger of Music.

Also, as a new production of Benjamin Britten's reworking of the Beggar's Opera opens at the Linbury Studio Theatre, Tom is joined by Jeremy Barlow to trace the history of this work, first heard in Britain in 1728.

Tom Service talks to pianist Stephen Hough and looks at the history of the Beggar's Opera.

Petroc Trelawny talks to director Jonathan Miller as his eagerly-awaited production of Puccini's La Boheme opens at English National Opera.

Voice coach Christina Shewell talks about her new book, The Mystery and Mending of the Voice, in which she offers solutions to help people with problems in their spoken and singing voices.

Petroc Trelawny focuses on three new books: Susie Gilbert's Opera for Everybody: The Story of English National Opera; Sjeng Scheijen's new biography of the great impresario Sergei Diaghilev; and the diaries of the young Benjamin Britten, edited by John Evans.

Petroc is joined by tenor Robert Tear, director of opera at the Royal Opera House Elaine Padmore and musicologist David Nice to review them.

Petroc Trelawny and guests review three new books about music.

Petroc Trelawny visits the seaside in a quest to find one of Britain's finest Wurlitzer organs.

As Harrison Birtwistle's opera Punch and Judy opens on two London stages in the coming weeks, the programme asks how Mr Punch has infiltrated the world of classical music.

Plus a look at whether music can shape the politics of the artist.

Petroc Trelawny investigates the place of classical music in fiction and why it appeals to authors from Louis de Bernieres to Rose Tremain.

Novelist Ian Mcewan has written his first libretto for composer Michael Berkeley and both composer and librettist talk together about their collaboration, For You.

Plus a look at the world of philanthropy, asking how much does the classical music world rely on the charitable donations of the super-rich.

With baritone Thomas Quasthoff, a Nielsen festival and an Opera North comic operetta.

Tom Service talks to German baritone Thomas Quasthoff, who appears in Haydn's oratorio The Creation in as part of his series of concerts given at London's Barbican Centre throughout 2009.

Academic David Fanning, musicologist Niels Krabbe and composer Karl Aage Rasmussen discuss Carl Nielsen and his music, as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Halle embark on a complete cycle of the Danish composer's symphonies in Manchester and Birmingham.

The programme also eavesdrops on a rehearsal of Skin Deep, a new comic operetta staged by Opera North in Leeds, and which is based on a libretto by Armando Iannucci set to music by David Sawer.

And Michael Church visits Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to report on efforts to preserve traditional music in Central Asia.

Tom Service is joined by American critic and playwright Bonnie Greer to discuss a new book by George E Lewis.

A Power Stronger Than Itself charts the progress of the Assocation for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, an American institution founded in 1965, still active today, and renowned for its unparalleled contributions to modern music.

And 50 years after its Broadway premiere, Music Matters reassesses the significance of perhaps the most famous musical of all, West Side Story.

Tom Service is joined by American critic and playwright Bonnie Greer to discuss a new book by George E Lewis. A Power Stronger Than Itself charts the progress of the Assocation for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, an American institution founded in 1965, still active today, and renowned for its unparalleled contributions to modern music. And 50 years after its Broadway premiere, Music Matters reassesses the significance of perhaps the most famous musical of all, West Side Story.

A look at the legacy of the legendary jazz alto saxophonist, Charlie Parker, who died fifty years ago leaving a generation of inspired jazz performers and composers.

Presented by Tom Service.

A look at the legacy of the legendary jazz alto saxophonist, Charlie Parker, who died fifty years ago leaving a generation of inspired jazz performers and composers. Presented by Tom Service.

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Tom Service presents a special programme marking the 150th anniversary of Puccini's birth.

In a special edition to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Puccini, Tom Service visits some of the locations in Tuscany that meant so much to the composer, even when he had achieved international stardom.

In the company of musicologist Roger Parker, he assesses Puccini's legacy, the reception of his music a century ago and now, his complicated relationships with women and their impact on the operas, and the importance of his works in the Italian opera scene after Verdi.

1989: Twentieth Anniversary

Petroc Trelawny presents a special live edition from the studios of Deutschlandradio Kultur to mark the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Petroc Trelawny presents a special edition from Deutschlandradio Kultur in Berlin.

"I knew if I worked properly I would do all I had to do."

On the centenary of his birth Music Matters looks at Tippett's long life and artistic credo in interviews with the Composer held in the BBC Archives.

A Man Of All Time

Evening

Morning

Afternoon

Ivan Hewett discusses ENO's interpretation of `A Masked Ball'.

Sally Beamish on writing `Monster' for Scottish Opera.

Plus the electroacoustic group BEAST at 20.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and events in the musical world.

This week, a look at Leonard Bernstein's `A White House Cantata', only now receiving its world premiere; singers from the Royal Opera House rehearsing Verdi's `Macbeth'; and why the French composer Eric Satie wrote the piece `Vexations', which lasts 14 hours.

Presented by Tom Service.

In this edition of Music Matters, Tom talks to the New York Philharmonic's Music Director, Alan Gilbert, who recently announced he will leave his post in 2017. During his tenure in New York since 2009 his ambition and sense of adventure has revolutionised the orchestra, both in terms of repertoire - with a focus on 20th and 21st century works, and the establishment of the New York Biennial for new music - and in challenging the way classical music is performed and presented to today's audiences.

Tom also meets the German-born composer and conductor Matthias Pintscher. With current posts including Music Director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain and Artist-in-Association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Pintscher's career combines his work as a composer with that as a conductor of music from Beethoven to Boulez. He's also a major international influence for the promotion of new music, as teacher, communicator and festival curator, whether in Paris or his home town of New York.

And, as this year's Glyndebourne Festival opens, Tom visits a new exhibition in the grounds of the Sussex opera house, a collaboration with the contemporary art gallery White Cube which this season will feature work by the German painter Georg Baselitz.

Tom Service talks to two New Yorkers - conductor Alan Gilbert in his first season with the New York Philharmonic, and young composer Nico Muhly. Stories are turned into music in Helen Chadwick's Dalston Songs, and Tom meets British-born conductor Julia Jones ahead of her debut at the Royal Opers House.

Tom Service talks to two New Yorkers - conductor Alan Gilbert in his first season with the New York Philharmonic, and young composer Nico Muhly.

Stories are turned into music in Helen Chadwick's Dalston Songs, and Tom meets British-born conductor Julia Jones ahead of her debut at the Royal Opers House.

Presented by Tom Service.

Featuring conductor Alan Gilbert and composer Nico Muhly.

Tom Service visits the Aldeburgh Festival as it prepares to mark the centenary of the birth of Suffolk composer Benjamin Britten with a staging on the beach of his opera Peter Grimes. Ronald Blythe, the author of Akenfield - the book of rural realism based in Suffolk talks to Tom about his time working with Britten, and as Radio 3 celebrates British music, there's a look at the vitality of Welsh composition both past and present.

Author Paul Elie discusses his new book Reinventing Bach. Conductor and Bach expert Andrew Parrott gives his verdict on the book and its take on Bach as a forerunner of the technological age.

Tom Service joins author Jules Pretty walking the coast from Orford to Sizewell in Suffolk ahead of the Aldeburgh Festival investigating the relationship between creativity and the landscape.

On the journey they meet performers at this year's festival including tenor Ian Bostridge, mezzo soprano Angelika Kirchschlager, and baritone Christopher Purves.

There's a visit to the Huddersfield Choral Society who are celebrating their 175th anniversary this month, and new music for bells.

How the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, one of the country's oldest and last remaining bell foundries, is providing the starting point for a series of concerts at the Spitalfields Festival.

Producer: Jeremy Evans.

Tom Service meets musicians in Aldeburgh, Huddersfield and East London.

Tom Service joins author Jules Pretty walking the coast from Orford to Sizewell in Suffolk ahead of the Aldeburgh Festival investigating the relationship between creativity and the landscape. On the journey they meet performers at this year's festival including tenor Ian Bostridge, mezzo soprano Angelika Kirchschlager, and baritone Christopher Purves.

There's a visit to the Huddersfield Choral Society who are celebrating their 175th anniversary this month, and new music for bells. How the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, one of the country's oldest and last remaining bell foundries, is providing the starting point for a series of concerts at the Spitalfields Festival.

Tom Service presents an extended interview with composer Alexander Goehr.

In a major interview, Tom Service talks to the influential British composer Alexander Goehr about his style, his influences, and his influence on music.

As the British composer Alexander Goehr turns 80, Tom Service talks to him ahead of the world premiere of his new work for orchestra, When Adam Fell. A new book about John Ireland falls under the Music Matters spotlight, and columnist Simon Heffer offers his thoughts on the musical significance of 2012. Presented by Tom Service.

Producer Emma Bloxham.

Tom Service talks to composer Alexander Goehr about his new work for orchestra.

Tom Service catches up Alexander Goehr at rehearsals for his new opera 'Promised End' which is fashioned from 24 short scenes from King Lear and which the composer says will be his last.

Tom also explores Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano with the author of a new book which looks at the complex background to these seminal works, and gets the latest score from Leif Segerstam, the Finnish composer, conductor and teacher who has so far published 220 symphonies.

Tom Service talks to Alexander Goehr about his new opera Promised End.

Tom Service catches up Alexander Goehr at rehearsals for his new opera 'Promised End' which is fashioned from 24 short scenes from King Lear and which the composer says will be his last. Tom also explores Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano with the author of a new book which looks at the complex background to these seminal works, and gets the latest score from Leif Segerstam, the Finnish composer, conductor and teacher who has so far published 220 symphonies.

Starting a new season of Music Matters, Tom Service talks - in a rare interview - to one of the most respected musicians of our time: pianist Alfred Brendel. Despite retiring from the concert hall in 2008, he's regarded as one of the major interpreters of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart. Brendel, now 84, has always been a deep thinker and an insightful writer on music, as well as a poet - literature is his second passion after music. Tom discusses music, art and life with Brendel at a time when the pianist is publishing 'Music, Sense and Nonsense', a new book of collected essays and lectures.

Tom Service meets young composer and violinist Alma Deutscher.

Pianist Andras Schiff talks to presenter Tom Service about his performances of all of Beethoven's piano sonatas. With Dame Janet Baker and legendary music critic Michael Kennedy, Tom looks at the latest volume of Benjamin Britten's letters to be published, and discovers what they reveal about the last ten years of Britten's life. And Irvine Arditti, the first violinist with the Arditti Quartet, talks to Tom about John Cage's Freeman Etudes and the influence that the Arditti quartet have had on 20th and 21st century string quartets. Producer: Jeremy Evans.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch speaks to German-born Swiss pianist Andreas Haefliger ahead of his upcoming performance at London's Wigmore Hall. Known for the brilliance of his Beethoven playing, he talks about why the composer's music embodies the very best human ideals, why pianists need to learn to breathe and why he's removing himself completely from the internet.

Benedictine monks in monasteries all over the UK and around the world structure their whole day around the singing of plainchant - five or six times a day they gather together and sing the psalms. Sara visits Downside Abbey in Somerset to experience first hand the musical life of monks.

People often have a very traditional view of brass band music, yet composers from Harrison Birtwistle to Hans Werner Henze not to mention young contemporary composers have all written for bands. The composers Edward Gregson and Lucy Pankhurst reveal the cutting edge of brass band composition.

And Viviana Durante - former Royal Ballet principal and mentor on BBC4's BBC Young Dancer programme - talks to Sara about the show and the prospects for young dancers today.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch speaks to German-born Swiss pianist Andreas Haefliger ahead of his upcoming performance at London's Wigmore Hall. And she spends the day in a Benedictine Monastery to learn about how music shapes the daily lives of the monks.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to pianist Andreas Haefliger and visits a musical monastery.

With Tom Service.

Including Andreas Scholl on a London recital with songs by Purcell and Dowland, a biography of Charles-Marie Widor, and the latest research in music therapy.

Including Andreas Scholl and a biography of Charles-Marie Widor.

Tom Service talks to the countertenor Andreas Scholl as he prepares for a solo recital in London devoted to Purcell, Dowland and other English composers of Early Music.

Also, an interview with John R.

Near on his biography of Charles-Marie Widor, A Life Beyond the Toccata, exploring the organist's other, less well-known output, which includes 4 operas, a wealth of songs and chamber music.

And as the British Association for Music Therapy opens a new, state-of-the-art centre in Sussex we assess the latest research in the field.

Finally, we explore the findings of an amazing quest undertaken by Balint Andras Varga in his book Three Questions for Sixty-Five Composers.

With Tom Service. Including Andreas Scholl on a London recital with songs by Purcell and Dowland, a biography of Charles-Marie Widor, and the latest research in music therapy.

With Tom Service. Including Andreas Scholl and a biography of Charles-Marie Widor.

Tom Service talks to the countertenor Andreas Scholl as he prepares for a solo recital in London devoted to Purcell, Dowland and other English composers of Early Music. Also, an interview with John R. Near on his biography of Charles-Marie Widor, A Life Beyond the Toccata, exploring the organist's other, less well-known output, which includes 4 operas, a wealth of songs and chamber music. And as the British Association for Music Therapy opens a new, state-of-the-art centre in Sussex we assess the latest research in the field. Finally, we explore the findings of an amazing quest undertaken by Balint Andras Varga in his book Three Questions for Sixty-Five Composers.

Tom Service interviews harpsichordist Andreas Staier as he prepares for a London recital tackling one of the greatest works ever written for the keyboard: Bach's 'Goldberg Variations'; Also, 'The Enchanted Island', a magic tale inspired by Baroque masques and pasticcios, which has its world premiere in New York's Metropolitan Opera on New Year's Eve with a starry cast conducted by William Christie.

We talk to the celebrated maestro as well as to Jeremy Sams who not only devised the script - following Shakespeare - but selected the music from works by Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau and others; Also, a new book with a collection of essays reassessing the legacy of composer Gyorgy Ligeti, one of the most original voices of the 20th-Century.

And we take a look at the evergreen appeal and commercial success of Christmas Choral Music.

Presented by Tom Service.

Including an interview with harpsichordist Andreas Staier.

Tom Service interviews harpsichordist Andreas Staier as he prepares for a London recital tackling one of the greatest works ever written for the keyboard: Bach's 'Goldberg Variations'; Also, 'The Enchanted Island', a magic tale inspired by Baroque masques and pasticcios, which has its world premiere in New York's Metropolitan Opera on New Year's Eve with a starry cast conducted by William Christie. We talk to the celebrated maestro as well as to Jeremy Sams who not only devised the script - following Shakespeare - but selected the music from works by Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau and others; Also, a new book with a collection of essays reassessing the legacy of composer Gyorgy Ligeti, one of the most original voices of the 20th-Century. And we take a look at the evergreen appeal and commercial success of Christmas Choral Music.

Presented by Tom Service. Including an interview with harpsichordist Andreas Staier.

Petroc Trelawny presents a profile of the composer Andrzej Panufnik on his centenary, celebrated this month, including contributions from Lady Camilla Panufnik, the composer's widow, the conductor Antoni Wit, pianist Ewa Poblocka, members of the Silesian String Quartet and Polish music specialist Adrian Thomas - as well as archive recordings of the composer himself.

And a tribute to conductor, keyboard player and musicologist Christopher Hogwood, who died earlier this week. Best known for his pioneering work in historically informed performance with the Academy of Ancient Music, Hogwood combined his roles as keyboard player, director and musicologist to discover and recreate the intentions of composers of all periods, both in notation and in performance. Petroc remembers Christopher Hogwood with the countertenor James Bowman and the harpsichordist and musicologist Davitt Moroney. We also hear from Hogwood himself in archive interviews.

Ivan Hewett explores magical ideas in music as John Harle and David Pountney's new opera `Angel Magick' opens in Salisbury.

Plus a look at image in classical music, from Nigel Kennedy to Medieval Babes.

Tom Service meets pianist Angela Hewitt, and talks Schumann and Bach.

He visits Thurrock where the Royal Opera House are putting on The Purfleet Opera which opens their brand new Production Park in Essex.

There's music from bands of the RAF at their new rehearsal rooms at RAF Northolt, and the story of a dog becoming human at English National Opera with Russian composer Alexander Raskatov's new work, A Dog's Heart directed by Simon McBurney.

Presented by Tom Service.

With Angela Hewitt; opera in Essex; music from the RAF.

Tom Service meets pianist Angela Hewitt, and talks Schumann and Bach. He visits Thurrock where the Royal Opera House are putting on The Purfleet Opera which opens their brand new Production Park in Essex. There's music from bands of the RAF at their new rehearsal rooms at RAF Northolt, and the story of a dog becoming human at English National Opera with Russian composer Alexander Raskatov's new work, A Dog's Heart directed by Simon McBurney.

Presented by Tom Service. With Angela Hewitt; opera in Essex; music from the RAF.

Radio 3's weekly music magazine programme, presented by Tom Service.

Irish mezzo-soprano Ann Murray is one of the great voices of the past 50 years.

As she prepares to give her last full recital at Wigmore Hall in London, Tom talks to her about her long and distinguished career both on the operatic stage and the concert platform.

A new book about Arnold Schoenberg's years in America throws new light on this controversial period in the composer's life, and Tom meets composer Nico Muhly as his new work about the fatal stabbing of a teenage boy takes shape at English National Opera.

Irish mezzo-soprano Ann Murray is one of the great voices of the past 50 years. As she prepares to give her last full recital at Wigmore Hall in London, Tom talks to her about her long and distinguished career both on the operatic stage and the concert platform.

Presented by Tom Service. With mezzo Ann Murray and a new opera by Nico Muhly.

Presented by Petroc Trelawny, with Irish mezzo-soprano Ann Murray in conversation.

Petroc Trelawny talks to the mezzo-soprano Ann Murray, reviews a new book about musical culture in Stalin's Soviet Union, and Julian Lloyd Webber is on the Music Matters Soapbox.

Tom Service talks to the Italian super-star singer Anna Caterina Antonacci about her unique voice, about saying no to opera directors when needed, and about why she left her homeland for good. We travel to the heart of the Midlands to eavesdrop into one of the most successful ensembles of the country, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group as they celebrate 25 years of existence: Tom talks to conductor Simon Rattle, composers Thomas Ades, Oliver Knussen, Colin Matthews and Charlotte Bray, players of the BCMG, and critic Christopher Morley too. And as the Royal Opera House starts Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung this week in London we gather views from 4 different fields about both the artistic and logistic challenges of staging this gigantic 4-opera cycle: we hear from the ROH's Director of Opera Kasper Holten and soprano Susan Bullock, who's performing the role of Brunhilde; but also from composer Judith Weir and novelist and critic Philip Hensher.

Tom Service meets the acclaimed violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter ahead of concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra. Mutter was invited by Herbert von Karajan to play with the Berlin Philharmonic at the age of 13 and has since been one of the biggest stars of the classical music world, playing everything from the great warhorses of the concerto repertoire to contemporary works written specially for her.

As the Royal Opera House in London prepares to stage Dvorak's opera Rusalka for the very first time, Tom delves deeper into this tragic story of the water nymph who longs to walk on the ground as a human and discovers there's much more to it than the popular Song to the Moon.

And in a new book, Jewry in Music, David Conway analyses why and how Jews, virtually absent from western art music until the end of the 18th century, came to be represented in all branches of the profession within fifty years as leading figures - not only as composers and performers, but as publishers, impresarios and critics. Professor John Deathridge and cellist Natalie Clein join Tom to discuss.

Tom Service meets acclaimed violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Harrison Birtwistle and Peter Hall's forthcoming `Bacchai', the new Proms season, and Marc-Andre Hamelin plus a new book on composer-pianists.

Violinist Baiba Skride, a new score of Ravel's Bolero new score, plus tinnitus and music.

The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters

Violinist Baiba Skride, a new score of Ravel's Bolero new score, plus tinnitus and music.

The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters

Tom Service profiles New York-based Bang On A Can ahead of a UK performance with Steve Reich.

This multi-faceted ensemble has been at the forefront of contemporary music across the Atlantic: Tom talks to BOAC's founders and artistic directors - American composers David Lang, Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe.

A new book by Robert Carl analyses and researches the origins of Terry Riley's In C - the Rite of Spring of Minimalism.

Tom talks to the author, and discusses the book and the piece's legacy with rock critic and musician Robert Sandall, and composer Anna Meredith.

Tom talks to enfant terrible of British music Steve Martland, asking him for his controversial views on the 'British music establishment', on the role of the composer in today's society and on how today's music will be assessed in the future.

And there is a look at an online competition seeking to re-define the concept of a composer-in-residence for the digital age - with three finalists having been drawn from over 300 competitors in 120 countries.

Featuring a profile of Bang on a Can, a new book on Terry Riley's In C and Steve Martland

In a live edition of the programme Tom Service is joined by singers Alice Coote and Barbara Hannigan, he discusses a new book about conductor Charles Mackerras and reviews the Royal Opera House's new production of Szymanowski's masterpiece King Roger.

Internationally acclaimed for her performances of roles in Handel's operas originally written for castrati, mezzo soprano Alice Coote discusses the experience and perception of gender in opera together with director Susannah Waters ahead of their Brighton Festival show 'Being Both'.

Soprano Barbara Hannigan is one of the foremost performers of contemporary music working today, creating new roles on the opera stage and having many pieces commissioned for her formidable technique. Now establishing herself as a conductor as well she talks to Tom her dual life and musical passions.

The musical passions of conductor Charles Mackerras are brought to light in a new book about the conductor who died in 2010, whether this was his championing of the operas of Leos Janacek, his love of Mozart or reinvigorating Gilbert and Sullivan. Tom talks to Nigel Simeone, one of the book's editors, while Nicholas Kenyon casts his critical eye across it.

Tom and the musicologist and broadcaster Gavin Plumley review Kasper Holten's new production of Szymanowski's masterpiece, King Roger, after its opening performance last night at the Royal Opera House.

As part of Radio 3's Baroque Spring Tom Service explores the changes in the performance of Baroque music over the last 40 years. From the early days in the 60s and 70s when small groups first started performing this repertoire with historical instruments and performance practice, through to today when the discoveries made by that movement now inform how nearly every professional ensemble approaches these works. Tom talks to some of the early music pioneers from Britain, Europe and America including Christopher Hogwood, Roger Norrington, Reinhard Goebel, René Jacobs, William Christie, Emma Kirkby and Joel Cohen about how they started out and the journey Baroque performance and repertoire has taken over the decades.

Ivan Hewett talks to conductor Leonard Slatkin about the Czech spirit in music.

Plus a look at `Bartok', a trendy new bar in London featuring classical music from Bach to Steve Reich - is this the shape of things to come?

Mark-Anthony Turnage on prison music, plus Joseph Calleja, Ingo Metzmacher, and birdsong.

Mark-Anthony Turnage on prison music, plus Joseph Calleja, Ingo Metzmacher, and birdsong. With Tom Service.

Tom Service reviews Terry Gilliam's new production of Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini at English National Opera. The composer's first opera tells the story of the famed Italian sculptor, draftsman and musician. The premiere in Paris in 1838 sparked a riot from its audience who were disturbed by the radical new work and the orchestra claimed the piece was impossible to play! Tom also visits Birmingham to see how preparations are coming along for the composer David Lang's new work called Crowd Out which features a thousand voices shouting, whispering and chanting. As well as Birmingham the piece will be performed in London and Berlin.

Tom Service meets conductor Bernard Haitink at his London home.

Tom Service talks to the conductor Bernard Haitink as he begins a tour with the London Symphony Orchestra, explores the legacy of the American musical polymath Nicolas Slonimsky through letters newly published by his daughter Electra Slonimsky Yourke, and talks to the electroacoustic composer Simon Emmerson and Rob Young of The Wire about the influence of Pierre Schaeffer's classic texts on "concrete music", now translated into English for the first time.

Tom Service travels to New York City to discover Bernstein's musical and social legacy.

The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters

Tom Service travels to New York City to discover Bernstein's musical and social legacy.

The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters

As a major festival of African music opens at the Barbican Centre in London featuring artists such as King Sunny Ade and Miriam Makeba, Ivan Hewett discusses the changing world music scene.

Plus a preview of Howard Goodall's television series `Big Bangs', which depicts five crucial moments in Western musical history.

Ivan Hewett with the latest news and views from the musical world.

This week, to mark the centenary of the birth of Bertolt Brecht, a look at the writer's association with composers.

Opera North presents a new production of Britten's `Billy Budd' in Leeds.

And the musical diversity of the 1970s is celebrated in the `Towards the Millennium' series.

As the LSO inaugurates its `Bohemian Spring' series, Ivan Hewett investigates Czech music.

Leon Botstein reveals how he balances his conducting career with his academic pursuits.

Plus, on the fortieth anniversary of his death, a tribute to the pioneering pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in the First World War but went on to commission works from Ravel, Prokofiev, Strauss, Schmidt and Britten.

Tom Service reviews two books, the first on opera's psychologically flawed characters, the second on 'The Other Classical Musics'. Plus Finchcocks is closing, and Matthew Herbert on the Soapbox.

Tom Service presents. We review two books, the first on some of opera's psychologically flawed characters, like Otello, Don Giovanni, Peter Grimes and Werther. The book's called 'Disordered Heroes in Opera: A Psychiatric Report', and was written by John Cordingly - we talk to him and hear also from Elaine Padmore, former Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House, and opera director David Alden, who review the book; the second book, 'The Other Classical Musics - Fifteen Great Traditions', explores World Music including folk traditions from the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent, the Far East, South-East Asia and North America. We talk to the book's editor, Michael Church, and hear from World Music experts Robin Denselow and Jane Cornwell too. Also, another of our regular soapboxes as we invite Matthew Herbert, a composer and producer working in electronic music, to reflect on his work and the world of music today.

Tom Service talks to Schoenberg's daughter, Nuria Schoenberg Nono, and discusses the legacy of the whole Second Viennese School with Professor Julian Johnson, Gillian Moore - Director of Music, Southbank Centre - and composer Gabriel Prokofiev. Composer-conductors Reinbert de Leeuw and HK Gruber talk about the challenges and rewards of performing the orchestral works of Schoenberg, Berg and Webern. Plus Tom McKinney is joined by curator Therese Muxeneder as he visits the Schönberg-Haus in Mödling, just outside Vienna, which is known as the "birthplace of twelve-tone music".

Tom Service talks to Schoenberg's daughter, Nuria Schoenberg Nono, and discusses the legacy of the whole Second Viennese School with Julian Johnson and Gillian Moore. Plus Tom McKinney visits the Schönberg-Haus in Mödling, just outside Vienna, which is being called the "birthplace of twelve-tone music" and is the place where Schoenberg taught Berg and Webern.

Tom Service meets conductor Teodor Currentzis.

Tom Service interviews Australian composer and viola player Brett Dean. Plus a review of Turnage's opera Anna Nicole Smith, and a discussion about the pitfalls of musical notation.

Email: musicmatters@bbc.co.uk.

Presented by Tom Service.

An interview with Australian Brett Dean on life as a composer, arts manager and performer Down Under - all that after a successful career as a viola player with the Berlin Philharmoniker.

Also, we review Mark Anthony Turnage's opera Anna Nicole Smith at Covent Garden with writer Kate Mosse and LA Times critic Mark Swed; and we discuss the pitfalls and advantages of musical notation a propos a book on the subject.

An interview with Australian Brett Dean on life as a composer, arts manager and performer Down Under - all that after a successful career as a viola player with the Berlin Philharmoniker. Also, we review Mark Anthony Turnage's opera Anna Nicole Smith at Covent Garden with writer Kate Mosse and LA Times critic Mark Swed; and we discuss the pitfalls and advantages of musical notation a propos a book on the subject.

Presented by Tom Service. With composer Brett Dean, plus the opera Anna Nicole Smith.

Tom Service talks to the composer Brian Ferneyhough as he celebrates his 70th birthday and also speaks to Philip Glass about his new opera "The Perfect American" which premieres in Madrid later this month. Also in the programme Tom travels to Edinburgh to explore the myths surrounding Robert Burns, and Suzy Klein meets young Russian virtuoso pianist Daniil Trifonov.

In a special programme Tom Service talks to German mezzo-soprano and opera director Brigitte Fassbaender about her life and career. Fassbaender, who is celebrating her 75th birthday this year, was born in Berlin to an actress mother and celebrated baritone father - Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender - so it is not surprising that the opera stage should have appealed to the young Brigitte.

Fassbaender made her stage debut at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich in the early 1960s and since then has performed around the world concentrating on roles in Austro-German opera from Mozart to Wagner. It was her performance as Octavian in Richard Strauss' Rosenkavalier in Munich in 1967 that launched her international career, leading to debuts at Covent Garden (1971) and the Metropolitan Opera (1974) in the same role. Aside from the operatic stage Fassbaender is well known as a lieder singer, winning admirers worldwide with her richly imaginative, psychologically revealing interpretations.

Since retiring from public performances in 1995 Fassbaender has continued to work closely with the operatic world - as a stage director and intendantin of the Tiroler Landestheatre in Innsbruck for 13 years from 1999-2012. The works of Richard Strauss have always had a special part in Fassbaender's career, and she curates the Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, the town he lived in for over 40 years.

In this interview Fassbaender talks about her transition from singer to director, her work with young singers and about the music of Richard Strauss.

In a special programme Tom Service talks to German mezzo-soprano and opera director Brigitte Fassbaender about her life and career. Fassbaender, who is celebrating her seventy-fifth birthday this year, was born in Berlin to an actress mother and celebrated baritone father - Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender - so it is not surprising the the opera stage should have appealed to the young Brigitte. She made her stage debut at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich in the early 1960s and since then has performed around the world concentrating on roles in German opera from Mozart to Wagner. She was also well known as a lieder singer and since the 1990s has been directing opera. The works of Richard Strauss have always had a special part in her career, particularly the role of Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier and now in the year of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Richard Strauss she is curating a festival of his music in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria where Strauss lived for over forty years. In this interview she talks about her approach to her voice and to opera, about the transition from singer to director and about the music that has meant much to her throughout her career.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch discusses two books about Britten. Plus a visit to the Ruhrtriennale.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch discusses 2 books on Benjamin Britten, one about his relationship with Russia and the other, correspondence with Peter Pears. Also a trip to the Ruhrtriennale.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits a new exhibition: Queer Talk: Homosexuality In Britten's Britain.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits a new exhibition in Aldeburgh entitled Queer Talk: Homosexuality In Britten's Britain, reflecting on the life and works of Benjamin Britten, during the period of social change that led to the 1967 decriminalisation of homosexuality. Plus an interview with the young conductor Alpesh Chauhan.

Tom Service visits the Teatro Real in Madrid for the premiere of a new opera by composer Charles Wuorinen and author and librettist Annie Proulx and asks them how they went about adapting Proulx's best-selling novel 'Brokeback Mountain' for the opera stage. Hotfoot from the first night Tom will be reviewing the production with music critic Shirley Apthorp. Polish composer and pianist André Tchaikowsky is the subject of a new book by Anastasia Belina-Johnson, Tom talks to the author as well as pianist Stephen Kovacevich and opera director David Pountney about this fascinating yet complex musician. As the Minnesota Orchestra prepare for their return to music making after a fifteen-month lockout, Tom assesses the current US musical landscape with Jesse Rosen of the League of American Symphony Orchestras.

Tom Service talks to Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel as he prepares to take on the role of Wagner's Flying Dutchman at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and looks at a new book about how the Paris Opera survived the French Revolution.

And Tom also visits Leeds to find out about some of Yorkshire's lost pianos.

Tom Service talks to Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel.

Plus some of Yorkshire's lost pianos.

On Music Matters today Petroc Trelawny travels to Cardiff to meet Bryn Terfel as he prepares for his debut as Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

And we mark the centenary of English tenor Peter Pears with a visit to Aldeburgh to explore his legacy - not just as a musician and inspiration to Britten, but as a patron and collector of contemporary art.

Plus violinist Daniel Hope on his online Bow Project which explores the roots of the violin, and a new production of Mozart's Zaide by the Classical Opera Company.

Producer: Jeremy Evans.

Petroc Trelawny meets Bryn Terfel in Cardiff and marks the centenary of tenor Peter Pears.

Tom Service visits Berlin to explore Busoni in his 150th anniversary year with the writer Antony Beaumont. He also discusses the anniversary Busoni exhibition at the Kunstbibliothek with its co-curators, Thomas Ertelt and Michael Lailach. Plus American baritone, Thomas Hampson, talks about playing the title role in Busoni's operatic dream, Doktor Faustus, and the pianist and scholar, Svetlana Belsky discusses Busoni's arrangements of Bach. Tom also finds out about Busoni's aesthetic concepts from American Busoni scholar Erinn Knyt.

At the turn of the 20th Century, the name of Ferruccio Busoni was on the lips of music-lovers across Europe. But 150 years after the composer’s birth, contemporary concert goers barely know who he is. With Tom Service.

Presented by Tom Service.

Including Cape Town Opera's UK debut, the life of Scottish composer Erik Chisholm, South African born composer Kevin Volans and Scottish Opera's tour of the Highlands.

Including Cape Town Opera's UK debut, and the life of Scottish composer Erik Chisholm.

Adultery, witchcraft and murder on Music Matters today as presenter Tom Service explores the music of the Renaissance composer who's perhaps best known for murdering his wife, Carlo Gesualdo.

The author of a new book on the composer, Glenn Watkins guides us through Gesualdo's bewildering life.

Pianist Stephen Kovacevich appears on the show ahead of his performance of Takemitsu and Schubert at Wigmore Hall in London, and the latest on how folk music is shaping the national identity of the English with star of the folk world, Eliza Carthy.

Tom Service explores Carlo Gesualdo's music.

Plus Stephen Kovacevich and Eliza Carthy.

Ivan Hewett looks at the continuing fascination of `Carmen' and of German composer Handel.

Ivan Hewett attends rehearsals for Glyndebourne's new production of Bizet's `Carmen'.

Plus a survey of early music from Spain and a review of a book about how we listen to music.

Tom Service learns about a new production of Carousel at Opera North.

Tom Service meets Italian mezzo soprano Cecilia Bartoli as she prepares for concerts in London and Manchester.

After making her first public performance in Tosca at the age of eight, Bartoli has gone on to become one of the world's best loved singers and has championed baroque repertoire.

Her latest CD Sospiri sees Bartoli tackling bel canto arias from the likes of Bellini, Rossini and Handel.

Steetwise Opera works with the homeless to further their personal development through high quality music making.

Tom drops in on a rehearsal for their latest project: Fables - A film Opera, a collection of short film operas which are being created by Streetwise Opera performers in collaboration with high profile film makers and composers, including Orlando Gough and Mira Calix.

The results will premiere in a live theatrical staging in London's Shoreditch Church.

Mischa Aster's new book The Reich's Orchestra tells the remarkable story of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's controversial relationship with Hitler's government.

In Mozart and the Nazis: How the Third Reich Abused a Cultural Icon, Erik Levi explores the way in which the Nazi regime manipulated Mozart's music for political gain.

Tom talks to both authors, and then reviews the books with John Deathridge, King Edward Professor of Music at King's College London and expert in German music; and author and broadcaster Norman Lebrecht.

Presented by Tom Service.

With mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli and Mischa Aster.

Tom Service meets Italian mezzo soprano Cecilia Bartoli as she prepares for concerts in London and Manchester. After making her first public performance in Tosca at the age of eight, Bartoli has gone on to become one of the world's best loved singers and has championed baroque repertoire. Her latest CD Sospiri sees Bartoli tackling bel canto arias from the likes of Bellini, Rossini and Handel.

Steetwise Opera works with the homeless to further their personal development through high quality music making. Tom drops in on a rehearsal for their latest project: Fables - A film Opera, a collection of short film operas which are being created by Streetwise Opera performers in collaboration with high profile film makers and composers, including Orlando Gough and Mira Calix. The results will premiere in a live theatrical staging in London's Shoreditch Church.

Mischa Aster's new book The Reich's Orchestra tells the remarkable story of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's controversial relationship with Hitler's government. In Mozart and the Nazis: How the Third Reich Abused a Cultural Icon, Erik Levi explores the way in which the Nazi regime manipulated Mozart's music for political gain. Tom talks to both authors, and then reviews the books with John Deathridge, King Edward Professor of Music at King's College London and expert in German music; and author and broadcaster Norman Lebrecht.

Presented by Tom Service. With mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli and Mischa Aster.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of one of the greatest composers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: Claude Debussy. In this special edition of Radio 3's weekly magazine programme, Tom Service sets out to Paris to get the French view of Debussy. Trying to unlock the elusive musical world of the composer often called an 'impressionist', Tom visits a cafe where Debussy would meet Proust and other writers, artists and thinkers, and learns that behind the mist and colours of Debussy's music lies rugged and innovative musical structures. And Tom finds that the composer of works such as Claire de lune, Pelleas et Melisande and the orchestral masterpieces such as Jeux and L'apres-midi d'un faune was a great thinker, a lover of literature, fine wines and expensive tobacco, and a man beset by financial success and concerns.

Daniel Schnyder talks to Tom Service about his opera Charlie Parker's Yardbird.

Tom Service visits Chicago to talk to cellist Yo-Yo Ma and conductor Riccardo Muti.

The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters

In Music Matters this week Tom Service celebrates the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth, meeting two of the world's greatest pianists Maurizio Pollini and Krystian Zimerman to find out how their individual journeys with Chopin have developed over the years, and how his music has changed their lives.

Pianists Maurizio Pollini and Krystian Zimerman talk about the music of Chopin.

Retired mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig talks to Tom Service about her life in music.

In an extended interview at her home in Vienna, Tom Service talks to the retired mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig about her life in music.

Retired mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig talks to Tom Service about her life in music.

Out of the wreckage of WW2 Germany, mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig forged a stellar career singing opera and lieder. With Tom Service.

Photo credit: Lyric Opera

Christian Tetzlaff is one of the most sort after violinists of his generation. He talks to Tom Service about the ability of music to communicate directly with the audience.

There are new revelations about Benjamin Britten's life from Paul Kildea and Neil Powell as we look at their two fresh biographies of the composer in this centenary year.

And are we facing the demise of the brass band? As bands struggle to clinch sponsorship deals, Tom investigates the future of the British institution.

Producer: Jeremy Evans.

Tom Service interviews violinist Christian Tetzlaff, talks to George Benjamin and Martin Crimp about their much acclaimed new opera 'Written on Skin' and celebrates 40 years of the Renaissance vocal group The Tallis Scholars.

Christian Tetzlaff is one of the most respected violinists of today, equally at home in the Classical and Romantic repertoire as he is in contemporary works. Tom catches up with Tetzlaff on one of his regular visits to Britain to find out what makes this committed and intelligent violinist tick.

George Benjamin's new opera 'Written on Skin' has received rave reviews since its first performance at the Aix-en-Provence Festival last year. Ahead of its eagerly anticipated opening at Covent Garden Tom talks to Benjamin