Radio 3’s Composers’ Rooms

Sara Mohr-Pietsch joins the singer, composer and director Laura Bowler at the London cafe she regular uses as her composing space, and at her flat in Stoke Newington. Laura tells Sara how being surrounded by human interaction feeds into her music, and why buses and trains are her favourite places to write.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits Mark-Anthony Turnage in his 1930s Art Deco apartment in North London. Mark talks to Sara about the creature comforts which aid his compositional process, from his sofa to a bust of Beethoven, and about the inspiration of Francis Bacon paintings on his walls.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch travels to Wiltshire, and the home of Sir Harrison Birtwistle who celebrates his 80th birthday in 2014. In his bespoke garden shed, Harry, as he's known, talks to Sara about the writing process, sleeping on the sofa and the influence of John Wayne.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch is in the London home and garden composing shed of Roxanna Panufnik. Roxanna talks to Sara about the reality of life as a working composer, the importance of natural wood in her studio, and about the piano which belonged to her father, the composer Andrezej Panufnik.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch meets the Norwegian composer Rolf Wallin in his garden hut, at the Rochester home he shares with Tansy Davies (already featured in this series). Rolf explains how his purpose-built, clean white space provides the perfect inspiration for creating music.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits the Glasgow home of James MacMillan, where he has a purpose-built studio in his courtyard garden. MacMillan talks about the need for a quiet retreat from daily life, and the religious paintings on the walls which provide inspiration for his music.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to Hanna Tuulikki in her tenement flat in Glasgow. Hanna's practice is a seamless combination of visual artist, vocal improvisor, multi-instrumentalist and composer, and she tells Sara how she brings her passion for birdsong and outdoor landscapes into her urban studio

Sara Mohr-Pietsch takes a trip to the North Kent coast, home to electronic music pioneer Matthew Herbert. Sara catches Matthew trying to decide where to move his studio to next, and in his current office-like space as well as a potential new building, a fishing hut on the beach, they talk about the impact the immediate environment has on his music.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch takes a tour of Tansy Davies' Georgian townhouse in Rochester, Kent. From her spiral staircase, and what Tansy calls her Minstrel's Gallery, Sara finds out how Tansy organises her studio and keeps a sense of clarity about her working day, and how that feeds into the music she writes.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to composer Dai Fujikura in his studio, which he shares with the visual artist Tomoya Yamaguchi in a converted East London fire station. Dai tells Sara what makes it an uniquely creative space, how he draws inspiration from Yamaguchi's paintings, and about music as multi-sensory experience.