Music Matters

Joyce DiDonato, Caroline Potter on Boulez, Szymanowski's Harnasie


Listen Later

Presented by Tom Service.

This week, Tom talks to the American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato about her life in music, and her creative mission to challenge the status quo. From her work in refugee camps, to her long relationship with the maximum security prison SingSing in New York State, as well as in concert halls and opera stages, DiDonato confounds expectations of an international classical artist. She talks about the joy of engaging differently with young audiences, and of recording and touring projects like Eden, which makes real connections with the natural world and includes the publishing of new music for anyone to sing.

Conductor Edward Gardner and artist Ben Cullen Wiliams talk about their reimagining of Szymanowski's ballet Harnasie: a story of love, bandits, and how the robbers of the Tatra mountains in Poland win out over the civilisation below. Also featuring filmed choreography by Wayne MacGregor, the production has received its premiere in Katowice and comes to London this month, and uses human and digital intelligence to form a kinetic, sculptural video installation opening a portal to new worlds of dance.

And Caroline Potter reveals the mission behind her new book, 'Pierre Boulez: Organised Delirium', which aims to change perceptions about the French composer. A leading figure of the musical avant-garde in the mid-20th century, Boulez is known for the mathematical and structural elements of his music, but Caroline Potter places just as much importance on the influences in his early career from the worlds of literature, magic, surrealism and the music of other cultures.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Music MattersBy BBC Radio 3

  • 3.7
  • 3.7
  • 3.7
  • 3.7
  • 3.7

3.7

14 ratings


More shows like Music Matters

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,455 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,805 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,649 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,749 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,090 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

952 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,094 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,046 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

710 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,997 Listeners

Speaking Soundly by Artful Narratives Media

Speaking Soundly

117 Listeners

Off Air with Jane & Fi by The Times

Off Air with Jane & Fi

151 Listeners