Music Matters

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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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Music Matters: Krystian Zimerman and Randall Goosby

Krystian Zimerman and Randall Goosby

BBC Radio 3 - Music Matters, Krystian Zimerman and Randall Goosby

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to pianist Krystian Zimerman and violinist Randall Goosby.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to two musicians at opposite ends of their careers: one of the world's great pianists, Krystian Zimerman, and the young superstar violinist Randall Goosby.

Presenter Sara Mohr-Pietsch speaks to the enigmatic polish pianist Krystian Zimerman who, for many, is one of the world's greatest pianists. Zimerman gives few concerts each year - and even fewer interviews - but has a deep connection with both the music he plays and the inner workings of his instrument. He's known to build his own pianos to exacting standards, and travels with them around the world - he speaks to Sara about how he believes music isn't actually sound, why he fears classical music and diplomacy is dying, and why he's in love with the music of Karol Szymanowski.

The superstar American violinist Randall Goosby joins Sara from his home in Virginia Beach. Despite still being in his 20s, Goosby has become one of the world's most in demand violinists, acclaimed for the sensitivity of his playing and commitment to make music more inclusive. He talks to Sara about why playing golf helps him as a musician, how some of the great vocalists have improved his playing, why we need to bring the fun back into classical music, and how chicken nuggets brought him together with his teacher Itzhak Perlman.

Sara visits the Science Museum in London where a new exhibition exploring how music shapes our lives - Turn it up: The Power Of Music - is set to open its doors to the public next week. She’s shown around by curator Steven Leech, who introduces Sara to the central ideas behind the exhibition, and is joined by fellow Radio 3 presenter and bassoonist, Linton Stephens, to hear what insights it might hold for a professional musician.

Linton discusses, too, 31 sketches of Black and ethnically diverse composers he’s drawn and published, on both Instagram and ‘X’, as part of his #Blacktober series to mark and celebrate their artistry and contribution during Black History Month. 

And the novelist Michel Faber joins Sara to speak about his book "Listen: On Music, Sound and Us" - a dive into how people consume music, and a meditation on how it’s affected his life.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

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