A land without music?

This episode of A land without music? is about the extraordinary effect that the arts and music in particular can have on our physical and mental health. We hear from Daisy Fancourt, professor of Psychobiology and epidemiology at University College London and director of the WHO collaborating centre on arts and health.   Daisy has devoted her career to studying the intersection of art and health,...

A land without music? Episode 22 This episode of A land without music? is the second part of our interview with composer, clarinetist, conductor and all round force of nature, Jörg Widmann. Written and presented by Julian Leeks Produced by Sound World Music Fantasie by Jörg Widmann. Listen on Apple Music or Spotify In The Steps of Apollo by Julian Leeks (performed by Zelkova String Quartet). Liste...

A land without music? Episode 21 This episode of A land without music? is the first of a 2 part interview with  composer, clarinetist and conductor Jörg Widmann. As a composer, his music ranges from tonal works openly referencing the greats of the past such as Mozart and Schumann, to wild, pitchless celebrations of sound and rhythm. He's also in great demand as a wonderfully virtuosic performer an...

A land without music? Today’s episode is a full length interview with a British composer whose works include symphonies, concertos and chamber pieces, but who also looks beyond the classical tradition to Celtic music and jazz. Indeed, some of those concertos feature fairly unusual solo instruments including accordion, saxophone & clàrsach. In 2020 she composed April for Sound World’s lockdown...

A land without music? In today's episode of A land without music? we’re talking about arts funding. This is particularly relevant at the moment with an ongoing government commissioned independent review into Arts Council England and one year into a new labour government, which came in to power talking about the importance of art and putting creativity at the centre of education. But with financial...

A land without music? Episode 18 of A land without music? is one of our bonus full-length interviews and our guest is Sadie Harrison a composer, archeologist and gardener. Her music is wide ranging in style, embracing and engaging with the culture and folk music of places such as Afghanistan, Lithuania and The Isle of Skye. It’s known for its socio-political focus with several works challenging st...

A land without music? New music is central to the survival of classical music as a vital, living art form. Without new repertoire it becomes mere history, a kind of musical museum exhibit.  In episode 15 we heard about how has classical music has to think creatively to attract and retain a new audience, Well, for contemporary music, the problem is far bigger. With guests Jess Gillam, Dame Evelyn G...

A land without music? Today’s episode of A land without music? is another of our bonus, full length interview episodes. Our guest was the world’s first full-time solo percussionist. She’s released over 40 cds, she's won Grammys and she had a prominent role in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games. She’s collaborated with Björk, Mark Knopfler & Underworld. And as far as we know...

A land without music? In this episode of A land without music?,  we’re focusing on classical music - it’s image, how it presents itself and how it relates to the modern world. With guests Sally Beamish, Jess Gillam, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Sadie Harrison, Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, Daniel Kidane, Nico Muhly, Simon Opher MP, John Pickard, Samir Savant and Jörg Widmann. Written and presented by Julian Leeks...

This episode features the second half of our interview with psychiatrist, neuroscientist, literary scholar and author of The Master and His Emissary, Iain McGilchrist. It's a wide ranging interview, reflecting Iain's exceptionally broad frame of reference, taking in the evolution of the human brain, art, music, modernism, AI, society, politics and spirituality. The first half of the interview was...

This episode features the first half of our interview with psychiatrist, neuroscientist, literary scholar and author of The Master and His Emissary, Iain McGilchrist. We’ve decide to put this out following the interview with AI researcher Peter Flach since it touches on many of the same issues, albeit from a very different perspective. Beyond that, it's a wide ranging interview, reflecting Iain's...

This is another of our bonus episodes featuring one of the full length interviews that we recorded for the main strand of A land without music?. Following on from our last episode in which our guests discussed various aspects of AI and technology, we’re talking to Prof. Peter Flach. For anyone trying to make sense of AI, how it works and what it might mean for us to, Peter is someone to listen to....

What are the dangers posed by AI and what opportunities does it bring? What does it mean for music and for how we value, understand and experience creativity? Leading AI researcher Prof. Peter Flach and psychiatrist, neuroscientist and author Dr. Iain McGilchrist shed light on this complex and hugely consequential subject. Written and presented by Julian Leeks Produced by Sound World Music: Trombo...

Today’s episode is one of the bonus episodes featuring full length versions of the interviews recorded the main strand of A land without music? Our guest is a Bristol based Burnley born composer John Pickard. John's works includes six symphonies, two concertos, songs, chamber pieces and six string quartets. His orchestral piece The Flight of Icarus was described by the San Francisco Chronicle as "...

In episode nine of A land without music? our guests discuss the practical issues of teaching music including timetable pressure, the allocation of scarce resources and the multiplicity of genres competing for our attention.  Written and presented by Julian Leeks. With guests Hilary Dunford, Peter Flach, Daniel Kidane, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Guy Guerrini, Sadie Harrison, Ingrid McLean, Kadiatu Kanneh...

Today's episode is the third of our bonus episodes featuring the full length interviews that we recorded for the main strand of A land without music?  Our guest, Nico Muhly, is an American composer whose wide ranging work includes orchestral and chamber music, operas, songs and music for film and TV. Since his early days as an archivist for Philip Glass he has worked with many of the worlds major...

In episode seven of A land without music? our guests talk about what are the essential elements of music that all children should be taught. In a changing world of developing technology, multiculturalism and ever greater timetable and syllabus pressure, it's all a lot more complicated than it used to be.  Written and presented by Julian Leeks. With guests Sally Beamish, Daniel Kidane, Jess Gillam,...

Episode six is a special short episode made in response to emails we’ve received asking about the motivating factors behind the making of A land without music? Those who have heard earlier episodes will be aware that we believe music in the UK is in poor and declining health. In this episode we look at the evidence that led us to have these concerns. Please send comments or suggestions to info@sou...

Today’s episode is the second of our bonus episodes featuring full length versions of the interviews that we recorded for the main strand of A land without music? Our guest is Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, mother of 7 talented children, all of whom are classical musicians. Her memoir, House of Music: Raising the Kanneh-Masons, won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Storytelling Award in November 2021 and th...

In episode four of A land without music? our guests talk about what music education brings to children. Musicians will instinctively understand the huge social and developmental benefits of music; how it helps confidence and well-being; how it promotes engagement with the outside world and improves communication skills. Crucially, we hear how music can be an antidote to the stresses and pressures...

In a departure from our usual themed episodes in which our guests discuss a particular aspect of music, we're introducing the first in a series of bonus episodes featuring the full length interviews that we recorded for the main strand of A land without music?  Jess Gillam was described by The Times as “uniquely mercurial” “one of Britain’s most virtuosic instrumentalists” and “an inspiring person...

In episode two of A land without music? our guests talk about how they discovered music and what enabled them to develop their interest into a life-long passion; and we ask whether they would have had such opportunities had they been growing up today. Written and presented by Julian Leeks. With series guests Sally Beamish, Daisy Fancourt, Peter Flach, Jess Gillam, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Sadie Harris...

A land without music? In the first episode of A land without music? we look at how the value of music both to individuals and to society and ask why those in power, don't always recognise this value. Written and presented by Julian Leeks. With series guests Sally Beamish, Daisy Fancourt, Peter Flach, Jess Gillam, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Sadie Harrison, Iain McGilchrist, Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, Nico Muh...