Composers
Leading composers in their own words
"London was very dull in about 1960, and it was mind-blowing meeting Cage."
Tom talks to composer, pianist and journalist Peter Dickinson.
"I can just imagine Stravinsky, his imagination on fire thinking 'what are the possibilities I can do?'"
Mark discusses juggling life as a composer and clarinettist.
"It's not something neat and tidy on the side like a cup of hot cocoa and a sticky bun."
Tom Service interviews British composer Michael Finnissy, who turned 70 in April 2016.
"I do see it as my duty to tell stories of our time."
Petroc interviews British composer, singer and teacher Errollyn Wallen.
"I didn't think I wasn't Fine Art. I thought I was Fine Art a hundred years from now."
Tom encounters the experimental American composer Morton Subotnick.
Alexander Goehr
Tom Service presents an extended interview with composer Alexander Goehr.
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"Art, from my opinion, is one of the connections that we do have to transcendence."
Austrian composer Georg Friedrich Haas’ opera "Morgen und Abend" premiered on 13 November
"That is avant garde, just to be moving, but not for the sake of being ahead of something else."
Tom Service meets the German-born composer and conductor Matthias Pintscher.
Thea Musgrave
Tom Service talks to composer Thea Musgrave.
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"Genre, I think, is something we can get rid of, it's not useful to anyone except for people who are writing about music"
Nico Muhly talks about 3 principles his new works must have, and musicians of the future.
"We're involved in the process of finding the film. And Mike is still finding the film by the time his composer comes on board"
Gary Yershon talks to Petroc about his Oscar-nominated music for Mike Leigh's "Mr Turner"
"I conducted my first Brahms Four the other day, at the age of 79!"
Elgar Howarth has led a multifaceted career as a conductor, composer, and instrumentalist
Oliver Knussen
Tom Service in conversation with the composer and conductor Oliver Knussen.
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Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Sir Harrison Birtwistle at 80
Tom Service talks to Harrison Birtwistle and the late Peter Maxwell Davies in 2014.
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"Tonality is like gravity – we cannot pretend that it doesn’t exist"
Petroc Trelawny caught up with composer, pianist and conductor Olli Mustonen.
“I have changed quite a lot, which has meant that I haven’t repeated myself quite as much as I thought.”
Tom Service met composer John McCabe as he approached his 75th birthday in 2014.
Just the Two of Us: Colin and David Matthews
Colin and David discuss their careers & the impact of their relationship as brothers.
Sir John Tavener: The last one-to-one interview for broadcast.
Tom Service visited the composer at his home in October 2013, just weeks before his death
"I don't see any point in pastiche or imitation or fakes."
Robin Holloway, one of the most distinctive composers in British music, turned 70 in 2013
"Generally, accident in my life is very important."
Zbigniew Preisner is regarded as Poland’s leading film composer.
"It's very important to feel that there's something that lifts from my shoulders certain aspects of the inventive process."
Born in 1943, composer Brian Ferneyhough spoke to Tom Service ahead of his 70th birthday.
"Everything comes from a very internal place, to become a form that is unique and has its own integrity."
The American composer and performer Meredith Monk turned seventy in November 2012
"The music of the world has come in to play a role, so this is changing things. All music is of interest."
Pauline Oliveros is a senior figure in contemporary American music. Recorded in May 2012
"I think the imagination is one of the biggest qualities we have, and we shouldn't block that."
Heiner Goebbels on his belief that great art has the power to change lives for the better
