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