Front Row

Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

Magazines & Reviews

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.

BBC Radio 4 FM

Front Row: Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson plays live from Reykjavik

30/03/2020

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson plays live from Reykjavik

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson plays live from Reykjavik

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson talks to Front Row and plays live from Reykjavik

Icleandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson; Jo Hartley on TV drama In My Skin; musician and activist Mik Scarlet; tribute to Polish composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has a new album, Debussy – Rameau, exploring the music of two very different but complementary composers. He plays live from Reykjavik, exclusively for Front Row.

Actor Jo Hartley - best known for her roles in Shane Meadows' This is England series - discusses her new TV drama, In My Skin, which is coming to BBC Three. It's the story of a Welsh teenager - Bethan - who is dealing with mental illness, friendships and her sexuality. Her mother Trina - played by Hartley - has bipolar disorder and is sectioned in a psychiatric ward but Bethan is doing all she can to hide her mother's condition from her friends and the school authorities. The part is based on the personal experiences of Welsh writer Kayleigh Llewellyn.

Musician Mik Scarlet gives his Disabled Person’s Guide to Surviving (and Thriving) in Lockdown. He passes on his top tips and argues that, although on screen disabled people are often portrayed as weak and needing help, there is a lot the able-bodied can learn from this community who are more familiar with enforced time spent at home.

The death of Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki has been announced. Music critic and Radio 3 presenter Tom Service considers what it was about his music, which sounded uncompromisingly modern, that also appealed to people who felt they wouldn't normally enjoy modern classical music. 

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Oliver Jones

BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Front Row

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson plays live from Reykjavik

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4