Main content

Breaking rules, making new forms...

Leif Ove Andsnes on his Mozart 1785 project. The Royal Opera House's 'Current, Rising', a VR opera inspired by Shakespeare. Colombia's schools of music for social regeneration.

Image credit: Helge Hansen / Sony Music Entertainment

Tom Service talks to pianist Leif Ove Andsnes about a new four-year-long performing and recording project with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the 'Mozart Momentum 1785/1786', which explores two of the most crucial years in the composer's life.

We visit the Royal Opera House to witness their latest project, 'Current, Rising' - a hyper reality opera, inspired by Shakespeare’s 'The Tempest’, which combines virtual reality with a multi-sensory set. We hear from director Netia Jones and composer Samantha Fernando.

The scholar Geoff Baker speaks to Tom about his new book, 'Rethinking Social Action Through Music' - a case study of music schools in Medellín, Colombia's second city, whose recent history has been marked by a courageous fight against its endemic violence and social deprivation.

And as Glyndebourne opens its doors for a new Covid-adapted production of Janacek's Káťa Kabanová, Tom snoops on rehearsals and hears from opera director, Damiano Michieletto, and soprano Kateřina Kněžíková, who takes the title role. Glyndebourne's Artistic Director, Stephen Langridge, also explains the challenges the company faces as it embraces new ways of producing opera.

Producer: Juan Carlos Jaramillo

Available now

44 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Sat 22 May 2021 11:45
  • Mon 24 May 2021 22:00

Knock on wood – six stunning wooden concert halls around the world

Steel and concrete can't beat good old wood to produce the best sounds for music.

The evolution of video game music

Tom Service traces the rise of an exciting new genre, from bleeps to responsive scores.

Why music can literally make us lose track of time

Try our psychoacoustic experiment to see how tempo can affect your timekeeping abilities.

Podcast