Music Matters

19 March 2006

Sunday 19 March 2006 17:45-18:30 (Radio 3)

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.

Duration:

45 minutes

In this programme

Arms and the Cow
Kurt Weill's 'Der Kuhhandel' was written in 1934 when he was in exile. The operetta's first performance took place in London 's Savoy Theatre in 1935, but closed after a 2-week run and was never staged again in the 20 th Century. Set on a Caribbean Island , shared by two countries, the piece tells of a pair of poor lovers who have to give up their only possession - a cow - to pay tax for their country to enter an arms race with neighbouring nations. It's a satirical work reflecting on 1930s dictatorships. In a translation by David Pountney and Jeremy Sams, Opera North's new production, 'Arms and the Cow' has given Der Kuhhandel an Austro-Caribbean twist. Petroc talks with David Pountney about his take on the operetta, and asks Kim Kowalke, President of the Kurt Weill Foundation about the history of the work.

Opera North 's touring production of Arms and the Cow opens at the Bradford Alhambra theatre on 30 th March, with subsequent performances in Nottingham, Norwich , Salford, Newcastle , Hull , Sheffield and Aberdeen .

Richard Rodney Bennett
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett celebrates his 70 th Birthday this month. A truly versatile musician, he has composed concertos and chamber works; scored films including Murder on the Orient Express and Four Weddings and a Funeral; written music for TV productions, including the recent BBC Gormenghast, and delighted the lounge lovers of Manhattan, London and elsewhere with his cabaret performances.
But how is Richard Rodney Bennett perceived by the people closest to him? His sister, Meg Peacocke, vocal partners Jane Manning and Claire Martin, fellow composer and friend Mark-Antony Turnage and the horn player and long-standing collaborator Barry Tuckwell, all contribute to a profile of Richard Rodney Bennett - the man and his music.

Richard Rodney Bennett is BBC Radio 3's Composer of the Week from 26 th March.
Celebration concerts take place at London 's Wigmore Hall on 28 th March at 7.30pm and at the Barbican on 8 th April from 6pm.

Manchester Piano Festival
The Piano 2006 Festival at Manchester 's Bridgewater Hall features performances of all of Mozart's piano concertos. This year, Barry Douglas replaces Kathryn Stott as the Festival's Artistic Director. Douglas's own Camerata Ireland joins Manchester 's three professional orchestras, the Hallé, the BBC Philharmonic and the Manchester Camerata in performances accompanying an array of international performers. Petroc talks with Barry Douglas about his vision for this year's Festival.

Piano 2006 Festival, 21 st -26 th March 2006 & you the complete Mozart piano concertos on BBC Radio 3, starting in Sunday Gala and continuing in Performance on 3 from 26 th March.

William Christie
Born in Buffalo , U.S.A. , the conductor William Christie moved to Paris in 1971 where he founded Les Arts Florissants and has built a reputation as a champion of Baroque music. He has delighted French audiences with vibrant productions of obscure operas; formed an on-going relationship with the Comedie-Francaise, reviving the partnership between Lully and Moliere, and has established Le Jardin des Voix in the Normandy countryside to nurture a new generation of singers. Now he is a French citizen, but he is deeply critical of the cultural state of his adopted homeland. Petroc asks Christie about his views on contemporary French Culture and finds out about his passion for the inspirational voice of Aretha Franklin.