Welsh Musical Life

Wales has produced some great female composers, we discover the music and personal stories of three: Morfydd Llwyn Owen, Grace Williams and Dilys Elwyn-Edwards. Tom speaks to composers Steph Power and Rhian Davies, and Gwyn Williams, director of Tŷ Cerdd, in the Grace Williams studio in Cardiff Bay.

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Tŷ Cerdd
Tŷ Cerdd: Discover Welsh Music
Composers of Wales

Tom visits The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama who are set to host the 14th World Harp Congress in four years time. He meets teachers and students from the College’s harp course, drops in on rehearsals for an ambitious harp ensemble piece, and speaks to the college Principal, Hilary Boulding.

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RWCMD

Chair of Arts Council Wales Dai Smith talks to Tom about recent cuts to Arts Council funding, and how Wales’ identity as a modern democracy is reflected in the country’s new musical institutions.

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Arts Council Wales

Tom Service talks to David Pountney, Artistic Director of Welsh National Opera, about conservatism in opera audiences and how a combative relationship with the government can fuel the creative powers of an opera company.

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Welsh National Opera
WNO: David Pountney’s blog

As WNO prepares to stage Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, Rossini's Barber of Seville and a third, new opera called Figaro Gets a Divorce, Music Matters explores the enduring fascination of Figaro, from his invention in 1775 by the playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais to this latest 2016 incarnation. Tom speaks to actress and director Fiona Shaw about her experience of directing Figaro for ENO, David Pountney who has written the libretto for Figaro Gets a Divorce and musicologist Professor Suzanne Aspden.

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WNO: Figaro Forever