Harmonious World

The latest episode of Harmonious World features a brief but fascinating interview with guitarist Ryan Michael Richards . Ryan's latest album is More Than Time , and it features Ryan's beautiful guitar playing and compositions, but also renowned musicians like Premik Russell Tubbs, Michael Manring, Jully Haley and Charlie Bisharrat. The album is produced by Will Ackerman, with co-producti...

In a double interview, I chatted with conductor Tom Hammond and composer James Francis Brown , co-Artistic Directors of Hertfordshire Festival of Music . Tom and James give some insights into this year's festival, which runs from 4-10 June 2021. Principal Artist is Chloe Hanslip and Featured Living Composer is Judith Weir CBE, Master of the Queen's Music. This is an exciting - if challen...

This time on Harmonious World I'm joined by composer and pianist Carl Lord. If you're in need of relaxation, you won't go far wrong with Carl's latest album,  Stillness ,  which brings moments of peace. In our conversation, Carl talks about the writing and performance of these tracks, and goes into detail on two of the tracks that are featured. Many thanks to Carl for allowing...

I was delighted to be joined for this episode of Harmonious World by pianist and composer Lynn Tredeau. Lynn's latest album -  A Quiet Path  - is out now and it features a collection of reflective tracks that somehow sum up the fragility of life as it has changed in the last twelve months or so. All the music is composed, performed and produced by Lynn. Many thanks to Lynn for allowing me to...

This episode of Harmonious World features composer Craig Hella Johnson, who is also Artistic Director of Conspirare. Conspirare have a new album out, called The Singing Guitar . It details an unusual musical journey combining voices, guitars, cellos and women's stories. Many thanks to Craig and Conspirare for allowing me to feature clips from The Singing Guitar  alongside our conversation. To...

Another of my heroes allowed me to interview him. This time it's sax player Joe Lovano. Joe tells tales about playing in London, with some true legends of the international jazz world. We could have gone on for hours and there's a false ending, followed by more insights into his new album - Garden of Expression  - which features pianist Marilyn Crispell and Carmen Castaldi on drums. No b...

Acclaimed guitarist Todd Mosby joins me for the latest episode of Harmonious World. We all need perspective right now, and there's a lot of that in Todd's latest album - Aerial Views . Todd's comment about creating music that musicians will love to perform on is very apt and I finish with Aether , one of my favourite tracks of 2021. Many thanks to Todd for allowing me to feature cli...

The latest episode of Harmonious World features an interview with composer, poet and singer Lara Solnicki. Lara's latest album - The One and the Other - is out now. It features a cinematic array of tone poems and jazz performances that are inspiring and exciting, Many thanks to Lara for allowing me to feature clips from The One and the Other  alongside our conversation. To find out more about...

Christian Loffler is a composer and artist and it was a pleasure to interview him for the latest episode of Harmonious World. Parallels  is a fitting, 21st Century tribute to Beethoven, and it was released to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer. Our conversation explores Loffler's reworking of performances recorded in the 1920s after he was invited to experiment with the Deutsche...

The latest episode of Harmonious World features a duo interview with Ashley Slater and Hattie Snooks. Ashley and Hattie are collaborating on a number of musical projects and it was great to catch up with them, especially as I have known Ashley since (as he reminded me!) 1979. As the duo Queen Mab, Ashley and Hattie are releasing the album Roll With The Punches and this episode features clips of th...

I was delighted to be joined for a second conversation with composer Michael Shapiro. We discuss Michael's 'Peace Variations for solo violin', performed by Tim Fain. Our conversation expanded to include several other works from this prolific and extraordinary composer. I am still waiting for the chance to see Frankenstein  accompanied by Michael's orchestral score, and the next...

For this episode of Harmonious World, I spoke to Dean Tsur, a sax player who is usually based in New York but found himself in lockdown in Israel. Dean's latest album - Live From Lockdown - is out now and if you're looking for a straight-ahead jazz album, you won't go wrong with this one. It has some great tracks on and I start the episode with a clip from my favourite - I Loves You...

Welcome to season 4 of Harmonious World. I have so many great interviews lined up, that I'm aiming for two episodes a week, starting tomorrow - 2 April 2021. Follow me on instagram.com/hilaryrwriter Follow me on facebook.com/HilaryRobertsonFreelanceWriter Follow me on twitter.com/hilaryrwriter Get in touch to let me know what you think! Thank you for listening to Harmonious World. Please rate...

This episode of Harmonious World features violist Paul Laraia from Catalyst Quartet. The Catalyst Quartet has a new album out now - the first in a series of their 'Uncovered' project. This one features the work of little-known composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. To find out more about Catalyst Quartet, click here . Follow me on instagram.com/hilaryrwriter Follow me on facebook.com/HilaryRo...

This episode of Harmonious World features singer Lisa Reagan from Shunia. Lisa joined me to discuss Shunia's latest self-titled album of chants and music, filled with Sanskrit chants, Latin prayer, ancient poetry and exquisite orchestration. Many thanks to Lisa for allowing me to feature clips from Shunia alongside our conversation. To find out more about Shunia, click here . Follow me on ins...

I confess to being a little star-struck this week on Harmonious World. I interviewed a hero of mine - sax player Ernie Watts. You may not be familiar with Ernie's name, but you will certainly have heard his playing: the man's discography is extraordinary. His latest album - Home Light   - came out in 2018 and features his quartet. It's a great jazz album, and I had to finish our con...

I'm joined for this episode of Harmonious World by Hailey Brinnel, trombonist and singer. I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles is Hailey's joyous album with touches of New Orleans jazz and a lot of fun. In fact, our interview has a lot of laughter - the editing process removed some, but I left a little in so you can see how much fun we had, talking about the album, music and lockdown. Many t...

The latest episode of Harmonious World features an interview with composer, pianist and bandleader Jorn Swart. Jorn's latest project is Hello Future , an album featuring his trio - Malnoia. The album launch starts on 13 March and will allow listeners to experience the music, the accompanying short stories and even the live videos from the trio's last tour before lockdown. Many thanks for...

In the latest episode of Harmonious World, I am joined by three-time Grammy-winning violinist Hilary Hahn. Hilary and I discuss her latest album - Paris - which includes Chausson's Poeme , Prokofiev's Concerto for violin and orchestra and the world premiere of Rautavaara's stunning Deux Serenades . To find out more about Hilary, click here . Follow me on instagram.com/hilaryrwriter...

The latest episode of Harmonious World features a conversation with producer, composer, flautist and pianist Nicholas Gunn. Nicholas has just released his latest album - Sound Condition. In our conversation, Nicholas talks about the transformational power of music and explains to me what he means by the term 'sound condition'. To find out more about Nicholas, click here . Get in touch to...

Renowned Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov joins me for this episode of Harmonious World. His latest album - Silver Age - is a brilliant collection of works by Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Scriabin. In our conversation, Daniil gave a real insight into why these pieces form the basis of Russia's Silver Age and the importance of Sergei Diaghilev, as founder of the Ballets Russes. To find out more ab...

My first podcast with extracts from the composer's music. With grateful thanks to composer William Susman, I hope you enjoy our conversation. The new album - 'A Quiet Madness' is available now, featuring three piano pieces, a piano and violin duet, a series of seven scenes for four flutes and a solo accordion piece that was composed as a response to Hurricane Katrina. To find out mo...

Another fascinating discussion that I hope you will enjoy. For this - episode 30 - I was joined online by composer, pianist and inventor of the Refractor Piano(TM), Peter Manning Robinson. 'Double Helix' is out now, and it contains two CDs of music that I think you will love. If you can, please do look at Peter's website and watch some of the beautiful videos. In our conversation, w...

I was joined by American saxophonist and composer Jane Ira Bloom for episode 29. Jane's new album - 'Some Kind of Tomorrow' - features improvisations with bassist Mark Helias. The tracks were recorded through 2020 as the musicians' responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. "We just had to play - to connect with each other across a distance in whatever way we could," said Ja...

Episode 28 features an interview with my second Grammy-nominated guest of 2021, composer Luna Pearl Woolf. 'Fire and Flood' is nominated for Best classical compendium and we now have to wait until 14 March to find out if it's successful. Even the nomination is a huge accolade for this wonderful album. There's lots of laughter, and discussion of growing up playing clarinet in ba...