Music Matters

Described as the purveyor of ‘some of the greatest... Bach pianism on record’, Kate Molleson speaks to the doyenne of the Polish piano world, Ewa Pobłocka, about the release of her second instalment of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. She tells Kate about her childhood in Gdańsk, the sonic temples she envisages building during performance, and the influence of the German Baroque master on Chopin. Marking 60-years of the humble cassette tape, Kate explores the medium’s unlikely revival as part of Radio 3’s Casseptember season. She talks to the British Phonographic Industry’s representative, Gennaro Castaldo, about the 443% increase in sales the cassette tape has seen over the past decade, and hears from the ethnomusicologist, DJ and filmmaker Arlen Dilsizian about the new releases he distributes on both the Hakuna Kulala and Nyege Nyege Tape label. She learns, too, how the blogger Brian Shimkovitz is using the analogue medium’s creative potential to build audiences for the artists he works with at his Awesome Tapes from Africa label. The music critic Jeremy Eichler joins Kate to discuss his new book ‘Time's Echo: The Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance’. He argues against the passive consumption of music ‘for relaxation’, tells Kate why certain areas of the repertoire require active engagement, and examines music’s ability to transcend physical monuments and act instead as one of the most profound forms of memorial. And as Hollywood writers vote on an agreement the Writers Guild of America have reached with studios to end their five-month strike, we hear from the General Secretary of the Musicians' Union, Naomi Pohl, and Interim Chief Executive of UK Music, Tom Kiehl, about what the deal means for music professionals on this side of the Atlantic.

As he prepares for concerts in the UK with the Czech Philharmonic, conductor Semyon Bychkov talks to Tom Service about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and about the relationship between art and politics, and draws a fascinating comparison with events in recent European history. We also hear heart-rending accounts from Ukrainian musicians, some still in the country, some abroad, about how the conflict has affected their lives, about whether they're prepared to answer the call to arms to defend their homeland, and about how they see their future. We hear from Oleksander Piriyev, cellist and broadcaster in Radio Kultura, in Lviv; from the leader of the Lviv National Philharmonic, Marko Komonko; from Dartsya Tarkovska, co-founder of Music Export Ukraine, an organisation promoting artists; and from Kirill Karabits, chief conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Also, Concert Fieri premieres recently found madrigals from Italian late Renaissance composer Maddalena Casulana; we talk to musicologist Laurie Stras who discovered them, as well as Hannah Ely, from the ensemble. And leading up to Radio 3's programmes on International Women’s Day next Tuesday, we take a look at female sound engineers and record producers, a role traditionally associated with men only. With contributions from Classical producer Martha de Francisco, who recorded artists such as Jessye Norman, Alfred Brendel, the Vienna Philharmonic and Simon Rattle, and also from Marta Salogni, whose creative drive has led her to collaborate with Bjork, Holly Herndon and Anna Meredith, and bands like Django Django and Groove Armada. Producer: Juan Carlos Jaramillo Photo: Semyon Bychkov (c) Umberto Nicoletti

To coincide with the release of his debut recording of all seven of Jean Sibelius’s symphonies, Tom Service talks to 26-year-old Finnish conductor, Klaus Mäkelä, about his meteoric rise as conductor of the Orchestre de Paris and the Oslo Philharmonic. In response to the government’s levelling up agenda, Tom also talks to Professor Katy Shaw about her own report “The Case for Culture” – the role that culture can be playing. Plus, Tom hears from Angie Burnett of Grimsby Central Hall and Scott O’Hara, director of the Seed organisation in Somerset about their own experiences when it comes to funding and government support. Author and violinist, Brendan Slocumb, also joins Tom from Washington DC to discuss the success and subject of his debut novel, The Violin Conspiracy, a thriller that draws heavily on Brendan’s own experiences of racial discrimination. This weekend marks the culmination of Radio 3’s After Dark Festival broadcasts, with a unique 5 hour edition of Night Tracks that was recorded live last weekend from Sage Gateshead. Tom talks to presenter Hannah Peel about her own dream-like experience there and also hears from DJ and sound artist, Jason Singh and explores his concept of music-making for different times of the day. Producer: Calantha Bonnissent Photo: Klaus Mäkelä (c) Marco Borggreve

The Russian born pianist Kirill Gerstein joins presenter Tom Service, fresh off the stage after his recent Ukraine solidarity concert with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin where he featured alongside a starry line-up of soloists, to discuss his thoughts about the tragedies of the war, and his series of online seminars – Kirill Gerstein Invites – in which he’s chaired discussion throughout the pandemic with leading creative figures, including Ai Weiwei, Ivan Fisher and Steven Isserlis, about the artistic subjects which matter to them. The American guitarist Pat Metheny shares his thoughts about collaborating with artists like the vibraphone-player Gary Burton and composer Steve Reich, his first records in the 1970s, and his most recent album – Side-Eye NYC project – which he tours to the UK in June. He tells Tom about the creative search for new sounds which has permeated the course of his career. Music Matters talks to the creative team behind a new chamber opera, The Paradis Files, based on the life of the Austrian musician and composer who lost her sight as a child – Maria Theresia von Paradis. With contributions from the composer Errollyn Wallen, director Jenny Sealey, and librettists Selena Milla and Nicola Werenowska, we hear about their collective instinct to tell the remarkable story of Theresia’s life, and how the life of this 18th Century figure has lessons for the 21st century. The BBC’s Secunder Kermani reports on the recent edicts stopping education for school-aged girls in Afghanistan, and describes the impact on the country’s musicians caused by the hardening attitude of the Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue towards live and recorded music. And we speak to Sinfonia Cymru’s Chief Executive Peter Bellingham, the Chief Executive of St George's Bristol Samir Savant, and the Associate Music Director of the Paraorchestra, Lloyd Coleman, about how the cost of living crisis is affecting the musicians, venues and institutions at the heart of the UK’s musical culture. Image: Marco Borggreve (c)