German countertenor Andreas Scholl returns to The Music Show whilst he’s in the country with the Australian World Orchestra. He talks to Andrew about the life of a countertenor: old repertoire, new repertoire, and looking after a voice when great demands are made of it.American pianist Donna Coleman deep dives into the life and influence of American modernist composer Charles Ives, whose 150th anniversary is this year. There’s more to this composer than the experimental (and sometimes chaotic) sounds he is best-known for.

Julia Fredersdorff, Artistic Director of Van Diemen's Band, talks about music from perhaps the most turbulent time in England's history - its Civil War. And, violinist, composer and vocalist Véronique Serret collaborates with nature on her latest (and ARIA Award nominated) album Migrating Bird.

Elisabeth Lutyens and Edward Clark were a kind of power couple of the 20th century: she a prolific composer; he a less successful conductor but an influential producer and administrator. Annika Forkert is the author of Elisabeth Lutyens and Edward Clark: the orchestration of progress in British twentieth-century music, and she tells Andy the story of their relationship and their work.Electronic pioneer Ash Wednesday has had a “self-imposed hiatus” from music over the last decade as he was confronted by a diagnosis of progressive multiple sclerosis. He joins Andy to talk about his new album, AfterMATH, a work for electronics and the majestic Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ, composed and generated around Ash’s loss of movement in the right side of his body.

Percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and poet Raymond Antrobus are two of the UK’s most famous Deaf artists and their first collaboration is Another Noise, an album that captures first-takes of Raymond’s spoken word poems, accompanied by Evelyn’s percussion, completely improvised without her having prior knowledge of any poem performed. They join Andy at the start of what promises to be a beautiful friendship. Electronic artist Marcus Whale was last on The Music Show when he was in year 10, having composed a saxophone quartet entitled “The Whistler” as part of his high school’s composer scheme. Now he’s four solo albums and two critically acclaimed bands into his career, and he’s about to perform a live version of his album Ecstasy as part of the Liveworks festival in Sydney. He joins Andy to talk about the ritual and sensuality of both the church and the dancefloor, and to remember his friend and collaborator, the singer songwriter Jack Colwell, who has died at the age of 34. If you need support, you can reach Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Crooked Fiddle Band refer to their music as “chainsaw folk”, but their fourth studio album The Free Wild Wind & the Songs of Birds is heavier on the folk than on the chainsaw. The band comes into The Music Show studio to play live from the new album, and talk about eighteen years playing together.What’s it like to have thousands of fans sing your own words back at you? Angie McMahon knows this feeling well after touring last year’s ARIA-nominated album Light, Dark, Light Again. And she recently surprised us with the five-track companion EP Light Sides. Angie joins Andrew Ford to talk about the catharsis she gets from songwriting, and how she also loves to 'live inside' other peoples' songs (ABBA, Bonnie Tyler, Australian Crawl). 

Henry Wagons remembers Outlaw Country figurehead Kris Kristofferson, who has died at the age of 88. From Nashville to Hollywood, from Oxford University to the US Army, he had a life almost as unique as his voice.That leaves Willie Nelson the last of the Highwaymen, the original Outlaw supergroup, and his music is the subject of New Zealand-based Canadian songwriter Tami Neilson’s new album Neilson Sings Nelson. From a childhood singing in the travelling Neilson Family Band to a career that’s put her on stages with greats like Johnny Cash, Tanya Tucker and Willie Nelson, Tami returns to The Music Show after a US tour performing at venues like Dollywood and the Grand Ole Opry to talk about the legacy of country music in the US, as well as Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

With a voice that's 'equal parts balm and blowtorch' Irish multi-instrumentalist and singer songwriter Susan O'Neill makes a welcome return to The Music Show. She was one of our last live guests in March 2020 before she had to cut her tour short and race home. The last four years have been filled with nature, songwriting and collaboration and she joins us from her home in County Clare to pull apart the music and lyrics on her brand new album Now In A Minute.British cellist Steven Isserlis returns to Australia, and The Music Show, to talk about “falling madly in love” with Gabriel Fauré, and his friendship with György Kurtág.Susan O’Neill will be playing in Australia in December and January.Steven Isserlis plays with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 3-5 October.

Singer songwriter Eliza Hull has been writing and performing piano-driven pop music for over a decade. She's also a disability advocate and has championed increased visibility and access for musicians around Australia. Only in the last couple of years has she started sharing more about her own disability in her songwriting, including last year's EP Here They Come. Eliza is on The Music Show ahead of Alter State - a Deaf and Disability-led arts festival in Melbourne.Sir Donald Runnicles is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Sydney Symphony, the outgoing Music Director of Deutsche Oper Berlin, Artistic Director of Grand Teton Music Festival and Chief Conductor Designate at the Dresden Philharmonic. Between all that he managed to swing by the studio to talk about “having all the fun without too much responsibility” with the Sydney Symphony, and bringing Duruflé’s requiem to the orchestra for the first time.

Ten years ago Melody Pool was a rising star of the Australian folk music scene. She won awards and released two acclaimed albums of heartbreaking songs, and then she disappeared. It takes a lot of guts to step back publicly from the music industry when your career has so much momentum, but Melody made the decision to prioritise her mental health.Last year she made a return to recording and touring; free of the constraints of a major label contract and determined to do things on her terms. And she's writing some of her best music yet.When Sam Weller started conducting he didn't have an orchestra to practice with so he started his own. Over eight years Ensemble Apex has introduced eclectic audiences to classical and contemporary repertoire in unconventional settings (think art storage facilities, breweries, and rooms where the audience sits amongst the orchestra). Sam Weller is also one of 6 'designated winners' of the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam and he explains to Andrew Ford the rigours of a competition like this, and why it pays to be versatile.

The gods are unhappy with a despotic king (Gilgamesh). They create a half-man, half-beast to topple him (Enkidu). They meet, Enkidu doesn’t topple him. They fall in love, destroy a forest, there’s retribution from the gods. Enkidu dies and Gilgamesh wonders what the point of life is. He searches for immortality. And of course there are dancing scorpions.That’s the shortest possible version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, as summarised by composer Jack Symonds, who’s taken on the tale for its first English language opera adaptation. Gilgamesh brings together Sydney Chamber Opera with the Australian String Quartet, Ensemble Offspring, and support from Opera Australia to stage this enormously ambitious piece at inner-city post-industrial venue Carriageworks.Andy pops into rehearsal to talk to Jack, Jeremy Kleeman (Gilgamesh), and Mitchell Riley (Enkidu), and to hear a live performance from Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and those dancing scorpions. And with the sad news this week that Australian-Tatar singer, folk musician and director of The Boîte, Zulya Kamalova has died, The Music Show remembers her energy and her music with a live performance from Zulya and the Children of the Underground, and an interview from the archives. 

Alynda Segarra has been making music as Hurray For The Riff Raff for nearly two decades. They ran away from NYC as a queer teen to ride trains across states—busking, sleeping rough and meeting all sorts of characters. They then settled in New Orleans and their music career kicked off, but their ninth and latest album, The Past Is Still Alive, finally shares the memories of those formative years of grief, love and finding community on the fringes.Jazz drummer Laurence Pike’s new album is called The Undreamt-Of Centre and it’s a modern take on the requiem mass. Influences come from places as different as modern classical music, Japanese environmental ambient music, fourth world electronics, free jazz and the choral traditions of Estonia. Laurence joins Andy to explain how all those things come together.

Performance artist, composer, and violinist Laurie Anderson once told The Music Show that she sometimes starts off thinking something is an opera, and it ends up being a potato print. Her latest album, Amelia, began life as a much longer orchestral piece that “didn’t work at all”, but at least it avoided the fate of becoming a potato print. It’s a portrait of Amelia Earhart and a sprawling, atmospheric imagining of her last flight. Laurie returns to The Music Show, with frequent contributions from her dog Willie, to talk to Andy about technology, identifying as an “artist”, and the “thrill” of her 1981 single O Superman finding a new audience with kids on TikTok. Finnish-Australian composer and cellist Simon Svoboda has bunkered down and used the darkest, coldest time of year in Finland to write suite of music KAAMOS. Each piece is inspired by a different element of winter (like mist, frost, smoke, light) and blends his cello with his soaring falsetto. He speaks to Andrew Ford about the healthy state of music in Scandinavia and the complexities of writing minimalist music. 

Arnold Schoenberg’s music tore a hole in the fabric of the twentieth century. Over the course of his life, he charted a new course through expressionism, atonality, and ultimately to the invention of twelve tone serialism. As the father of the Second Viennese School, he’s been both cursed and adored (often at the same time) by the people who’ve taken up his scores – you’ll hear quite a lot of the adoration and no small amount of the cursing on this episode of The Music Show. Danaë Killian, who is about to perform his complete solo piano works, and Jeremy Eichler, who wrote about Schoenberg in his prize-winning book Time’s Echo, join Andy, and you’ll hear voices including Pierre Boulez, singers Tabatha McFadyen, Merlyn Quaife and Jane Manning, conductors Simone Young and Roger Benedict, pianist Simon Tedeschi, violinists Jack Liebeck and Michael Barenboim, and author Joy Calico from The Music Show’s archives.Danaë Killian performs Schoenberg’s complete solo piano music at Tempo Rubato in Naarm/Melbourne on 13 September.Jeremy Eichler’s Time’s Echo is published by Alfred A. Knopf and Faber, newly in paperback. Music heard in the show:1899 - Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 Artist: Amichai Grosz; Maxim Rysanov; Jens Peter Maintz; Janine Jansen; Boris Brovtsyn; Torleif ThedéenAlbum: Janine Jansen plays Schoenberg & SchubertLabel: Decca 47835511905 – String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7Artist: Julliard String QuartetAlbum: Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 1 Label: Sony G010004560203F1908 - String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10 Artist: Amaryllis Quartet, Katharina PersickeAlbum: YellowLabel: Genuin GEN164381909 - Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11Artist: Danaë KillianAlbum: Arnold Schoenberg - Complete Works for Piano SoloLabel: Move Records MCD513 1911 - Six Little Pieces for Piano, Op. 19 Artist: Danaë KillianAlbum: Arnold Schoenberg - Complete Works for Piano SoloLabel: Move Records MCD513 1911 - Gurrelieder Artist: Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, Philharmonia Voices, Esa-Pekka SalonenAlbum: Schoenberg - GurreliederLabel: Signum SIGCD1731912 - Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21Artist: Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin/sprechgesang), Meesun Hong (violin), Julia Gallego (flute), Reto Bieri (clarinet), Thomas Kaufmann (cello), Joonas Ahonen (piano), Marko Milenkovic (viola)Album: Schoenberg – Pierrot LunaireLabel: Alpha ALPHA722Artist: Mary Thomas (soprano/reciter), London Sinfonietta, David AthertonAlbum: Schoenberg – Pierrot Lunaire and SerenadeLabel: Decca 42562621923 - Five Pieces for Piano, Op. 23 Artist: Danaë KillianAlbum: Arnold Schoenberg - Complete Works for Piano SoloLabel: Move Records MCD513 1923 - Suite for Piano, Op. 25 Artist: Danaë KillianAlbum: Arnold Schoenberg - Complete Works for Piano SoloLabel: Move Records MCD513 1929/1931 - Two Pieces for Piano, Op. 33 Artist: Danaë KillianAlbum: Arnold Schoenberg - Complete Works for Piano SoloLabel: Move Records MCD513 1930 – Accompaniment to a film scene, Op. 34 Artist: BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pierre BoulezAlbum: Pierre Boulez Edition – Schoenberg ILabel: Sony G010001828334P1936 - Violin Concerto, Op. 36 Artist: Michael Barenboim, Vienna Philharmonic, Pierre BoulezAlbum: Schoenberg: Violin and Piano ConcertosLabel: Peral 4811613Artist: Jack Liebeck, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew GourlayAlbum: Schoenberg and Brahms – Violin ConcertosLabel: Orchid Classics ORC1001291942 - Piano Concerto, Op. 42 Artist: Simon TedeschiPerformed in The Music Show studio1947 - A Survivor from Warsaw, Op. 46 Artist: Gunther Reich (speaker), BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pierre BoulezAlbum: A Survivor from WarsawLabel: Sony M358821949 - Phantasy for Violin and Piano, Op. 47Artist: Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), Joonas Ahonen (piano)Album: Schoenberg – Pierrot LunaireLabel: Alpha ALPHA722Interviews heard in the show:Jeremy EichlerDanaë Killian Simone Young (2024)Tabatha McFadyen (2022)Jane Manning (1996)Merlyn Quaife (2003)Roger Benedict (2024)Pierre Boulez (2001)Michael Barenboim (2014)Jack Liebeck (2022)Joy Calico (2015)The Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra CountryTechnical production by Bethany Stewart, Nathan Turnbull and Tegan Nicholls

Jazz has always been about innovation and collaboration, and saxophonist and composer Sandy Evans has excelled on both counts for nearly four decades. She returns to The Music Show studio to perform live with an eclectic trio—the bass trombone of Adrian Sherriff and Suresh Vaidyanathan's ghatam (Indian clay drum). Sandy reflects on a life filled with musical conversations and why she's re-releasing her old albums for the streaming generation. How do you make historical speeches something that people will actually want to sit down and listen to? You set them to music. Composer Robert Davidson has teamed up with pianist Sonya Lifschitz to create a series of live musical portraits that weave archival audio from women like Frida Kahlo, Greta Thunberg, Michelle Obama and Patti Smith with piano music and video projections. Both the composer and performer will be on to talk about the inherent musicality of speech and how the work can breathe new life into figures from the past. So Much Myself: Piano Portraits is on at Brisbane Festival on 21 September.Sandy Evans performs with Adrian Sherriff and Suresh Vaidyanathan at Local Edition on 7 September, Festival of the Winds in Bondi on 8 September and at JazzLab in Melbourne on 15 September.Sandy Evans Trio (with Brett Hirst and Toby Hall) perform at Church St Studios on 30 September and at Inner West Jazz Fest on 20 October. Music in the program:Title: So Much Myself (Nina Simone)Artist: Sonya LifschitzComposer: Robert DavidsonLive recording courtesy of the composerTitle: One PlanetArtist: Sandy Evans, Suresh Vaidyanathan, Adrian SherriffComposer: Sandy EvansRecorded live in The Music Show studioTitle: Improvised percussion duetArtist: Adrian Sherriff, Suresh VaidyanathanComposer: Adrian Sherriff, Suresh VaidyanathanRecorded live in The Music Show studioTitle: Ritual BurningArtist: Sandy Evans Trio (Sandy Evans, Brett Hirst, Toby Hall)Composer: Sandy EvansAlbum: The Running Tide (due 27 September)Label: IndependentTitle: To Connect (Michelle Obama)Artist: Sonya LifschitzComposer: Robert DavidsonLive recording courtesy of the composerTitle: Sweet Spring (E. E. Cummings)Artist: Sonya LifschitzComposer: Robert DavidsonAlbum: Stalin's PianoLabel: IndependentTitle: Portrait of Diego (Frida Kahlo)Artist: Sonya LifschitzComposer: Robert DavidsonLive recording courtesy of the composerTitle: Susan SontagArtist: Sonya LifschitzComposer: Robert DavidsonLive recording courtesy of the composerTitle: Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21: XII. GalgenliedComposer: Arnold SchoenbergArtist: Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Thomas Kaufmann, Reto Bieri, Júlia Gállego, Joonas Ahonen, Meesun HongAlbum: Schoenberg: Pierrot LunaireLabel: ALPHA Classics ALPHA 722Technical production by Nathan Turnbull, Tegan Nicholls and Beth StewartThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

Composer Larry Sitsky is a charming sort of thorn in the side of the Australian music scene, and he’s about to turn 90. In this conversation recorded at the 2024 Canberra International Music Festival, he doesn’t hold back. New York based trumpeter Chloe Rowlands divides her time between playing with art brass quartet the Westerlies, and with groups like Fleet Foxes and the 8-Bit Big Band. She’s visiting both edges of Australia when she collaborates with the WA Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Sydney Conservatorium’s Young Women’s Jazz Workshops. Larry Sitsky’s The Compleat Busoni is published by ANU Press.Chloe Rowlands performs a free concert at Sydney Conservatorium of Music on Thursday 5 September, 6.30-8.30pm. Chloe performs two shows in Perth with WA Youth Jazz Orchestra, in the Progressions 2024 Showcase and at The Ellington Jazz Club. Music heard in the show:Title: When All of This is OverComposer: Chloe RowlandsArtist: The WesterliesAlbum: Songbook Vol. 2Label: The Westerlies MusicTitle: Piano Concerto No. 1 – The Twenty-Two Paths of the Tarot; vi. The LoversComposer: Larry SitskyArtist: Roger Woodward, David Porcelijn, Adelaide Symphony OrchestraAlbum: A Concerto CollectionLabel: ABC Classics 481 1322Title: Sonatina Seconda Composer: Ferruccio BusoniArtist: Marc-André Hamelin (piano)Album: Busoni Late Piano MusicLabel: Hyperion CDA67951Title: Violin Concerto No. 3 ‘I Ching’ – The Eight Kua (Trigrams); i. WaterComposer: Larry SitskyArtist: Jan Sedivka, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Lyndon-GeeAlbum: Australian ConcertosLabel: Australian Music Unit AMU4Title: Arch (Fantasia No. 4)Composer: Larry SitskyArtist: Larry Sitsky (piano)Album: Contemporary Australian PianoLabel: Move M3066Title: Blue and Red HorsesComposer: Adriene LenkerArtist: The WesterliesAlbum: Songbook Vol. 1Label: The Westerlies MusicTitle: Tifa’s ThemeComposer: Nobuo UematsuArtist: The 8-Bit Big Band, Chloe Rowlands (flugelhorn)Album: Album 4 – Game ChangerLabel: 8-Bit Title: LaurieComposer: Chloe RowlandsArtist: The WesterliesAlbum: Wherein Lies the GoodLabel: The Westerlies MusicTechnical production by Emrys Cronin, Isabella Tropiano, and John JacobsThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

Romano Crevici has been playing violins made by Harry Vatiliotis for decades. Now drawing to the end of their respective careers, Harry has made one final instrument, which will be Romano's last violin too. The process, challenged by sore joints, thin skin, and Harry's caring responsibilities to the love of his life Maria, have been captured in a moving film called The Last Violin by Carla Thackrah. Romano and Carla are in the studio with the titular violin.Andrew Robertson's The Journeyman Suite is music about making music—documenting the realities and career arc of a jobbing musician. Big band music presents big possibilities for colour and texture and the composer tells Andrew Ford about writing for this intergenerational band, and why he added a string quartet.The Last Violin is being screened on SBS on Sunday 15 September and will be available on SBS On Demand after that.You can contact Romano Crivici here if you own an instrument made by Harry Vatiliotis. AR Big Band's The Journeyman Suite is out now on ABC Jazz. Romano Crivici and Carla Thackrah with the last violin.Music in this program:Title: String Quartet No. 4 ‘Undercurrents’Artist: Elektra String QuartetComposer: Romano CriviciAlbum: Ebb & FlowLabel: ABC Classics ABCL0015DTitle: Let it Go Artist: Allie OsborneComposer: Romano CriviciAlbum: The Vatiliotis Collection: music from The Last ViolinLabel: No-Self RecordsTitle: Ecstasy of CloudsArtist: Elektra String QuartetComposer: Romano CriviciAlbum: Flat EarthLabel: ABC Classics 4657042Titles: Blow; Torment; The one less travelled by...; The BalladierArtist: AR Big Band & String QuartetComposer: Andrew RobertsonAlbum: The Journeyman Suite Label: ABC Jazz ABCJ0031DTitle: Symphony for Big Band; 3rd Movement Artist: AR Big BandComposer: Andrew RobertsonAlbum: The Journeyman Suite Label: ABC Jazz ABCJ0031DTechnical production by Emrys Cronin, Isabella Tropiano, and John JacobsThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

Good times and bum times, she’s seen them all and she’s here: Geraldine Turner, lynchpin of the Australian music theatre scene from 1970s repertory to the current run of The Mousetrap, reflects on her massive career (so far), her love of Sondheim, and Judy Garland.Geraldine Turner is performing in The Mousetrap until 15 September. Music heard in the program:Title: I’m Still Here (Follies)Composer: Stephen SondheimArtist: Geraldine TurnerAlbum: Great Australian Voices: Geraldine TurnerLabel: Désirée Records - GAV 008Title: Down With LoveComposer: music Harold Arlen, lyrics Yip HarburgArtist: Geraldine TurnerAlbum: Great Australian Voices: Geraldine TurnerLabel: Désirée Records - GAV 008Title: All That Jazz (Chicago)Composer: music John Kander, lyrics Fred EbbArtist: Geraldine TurnerAlbum: Great Australian Voices: Geraldine TurnerLabel: Désirée Records - GAV 008Title: Sondheim Medley: The Little Things You Do Together (Company) - We're Gonna Be Alright (Do I Hear A Waltz-) - Could I Leave You (Follies)Composer: Stephen Sondheim, Richard RogersArtist: Geraldine TurnerAlbum: Great Australian Voices: Geraldine TurnerLabel: Désirée Records - GAV 008Title: It Never Was YouComposer: music Kurt Weill, lyrics Maxwell AndersonArtist: Judy GarlandAlbum: That’s Entertainment!Label: Capitol Records - CDP 7 48426 2Title: Being Alive (Company)Composer: Stephen SondheimArtist: Geraldine TurnerAlbum: Great Australian Voices: Geraldine TurnerLabel: Désirée Records - GAV 008The Music Show Is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra CountryTechnical production by Bethany Stewart and Nathan Turnbull

Friend of The Music Show Kate Fagan’s new book of poetry is entitled Song in the Grass and it’s full of music. She returns to the show to talk about the book, the relationship between her musical and poetic writing, and her enduring connection to folk artists Peggy Seeger and Lisa O’Neill. The ABC’s iconic old News theme is new again: a new version by sound designer David McDonald puts a fresh lick of paint on Peter Wall and the late Tony Ansell’s 1980s bulletin soundtrack. David and Peter join Andy to talk about what makes a news theme work. Song in the Grass is published by Giramondo Books. Kate launches the book at Margaret Whitlam Galleries in Parramatta on 29 August. Music heard in the show: Title: Majestic FanfareArtist: Sydney Symphony Orchestra/Stuart ChallenderComposer: Charles WilliamsAlbum: Classic ABC TV & Radio ThemesLabel: ABC Classics 4724462Title: ABC News ThemeArtist: Tony Ansell & Peter WallComposer: Tony Ansell, Peter WallAlbum: Classic ABC TV & Radio ThemesLabel: ABC Classics 4724462Title: JJJ News ThemeComposer: Paul McKercher, John JacobsCourtesy of Triple JTitle: Gotta Get Home By MidnightArtist: Peggy SeegerComposer: Peggy SeegerAlbum: First FarewellLabel: Red Grape MusicTitle: All Of This Is ChanceArtist: Lisa O’NeillComposer: Lisa O’NeillAlbum: All Of This Is ChanceLabel: Rough Trade RecordsTitle: ABC News ThemeArtist: Tony Ansell & Peter WallComposer: Tony Ansell, Peter WallAlbum: Classic ABC TV & Radio ThemesLabel: ABC Classics 4724462Title: ABC News Theme (Pendulum Remix)Artist: Pendulum, Tony Ansell & Peter WallComposer: Tony Ansell & Peter WallAlbum: Pendulum Remix (single)Label: single releaseTitle: ABC News Theme (2024)Composer: Tony Ansell, Peter Wall and David McDonaldCourtesy of the ABCThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra CountryTechnical production by Bethany Stewart and Nathan Turnbull

Harnessing looping pedals, percussion and vocal manipulation, Tune-Yards make a very big sound for a core membership of two people. It's been ten years since the experimental pop project released their third album Nikki Nack and creepy hit Water Fountain. Songwriter and singer Merrill Garbus is on The Music Show to talk about the duo's complex rhythms, vocal athleticism, and how to play with words.What does it take to start your own record label in this economy? Andrew Ford chats to two people who did just this—Coco Eke was involved in the early days of First Nations label Bad Apples and pianist and composer Nat Bartsch's new label Amica focuses on 'kind' music. We find out what exactly a record label does, why they still have a role in the age of streaming, and what success can look like for an independent artist.Nat Bartsch launches her new album Forever Changed on Saturday 16 November.Tune-Yards' 10th anniversary Deluxe Edition of Nikki Nack is out now via 4AD/Remote Control Records.And you can find more information about the Bush Music Fund here.Music in the program:Title: Heart AttackComposer: Merrill GarbusArtist: Tune-YardsAlbum: I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private LifeLabel: 4AD 0052Title: Water FountainComposer: Merrill Garbus, Nate BrennerArtist: Tune-YardsAlbum: Nikki NackLabel: 4AD CAD3414CDTitle: Water Fountain (Live)Composer: Merrill Garbus, Nate Brenner, arranged by Kristopher FultonArtist: Vancouver Youth ChoirTitle: BiznessComposer: Merrill Garbus, Nate BrennerArtist: Tune-YardsAlbum: w h o k i l lLabel: 4AD CAD3106Title: Hey LifeComposer: Merrill Garbus, Nate BrennerArtist: Tune-YardsAlbum: Nikki NackLabel: 4AD CAD3414CDTitle: PowaComposer: Merrill GarbusArtist: Tune-YardsAlbum: w h o k i l lLabel: 4AD CAD3106Title: hypnotizedComposer: Merrill Garbus, Nate BrennerArtist: Tune-YardsAlbum: sketchy.Label: 4AD 4AD0309Title: Hope (for orchestra)Composer: Nat BartschArtist: Budapest Art Orchestra, conducted by Peter PejtsikAlbum: (Single)Label: Amica AMI006Title: Na​-​kalamandjardaComposer: Rona Lawrence and Jodie KellArtist: Ripple Effect BandAlbum: (Single)Label: IndependentThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, Turrbal and Yuggera CountryTechnical production by Russell Stapleton and Bethany Stewart

Legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock returns to The Music Show. He’s a bandleader, a composer and a professor, and at the age of 84 he’s got one of the longest living memories in the jazz world. He joins Andy to remember collaborators like Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter, and to ask whether jazz can be a path towards peace. Tenzin Choegyal is a Tibetan multi-instrumentalist, and as he shares Tibetan music and story around the world he’s become a sort of activist by default. His new album Whispering Sky is the product of slow, experimental recording process across Australia, Japan, Canada and the UK which blends the voices of international collaborators with his nomadic Tibetan roots. Herbie Hancock is in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth in October. Whispering Sky is out now via 4000 Records.Music heard in the show:Title: Kailish Roof of the WorldArtist: Tenzin Choegyal feat. Tony White and Evie WilliamsComposer: Tenzin ChoegyalAlbum: Whispering SkyLabel: 4000 RecordsTitle: The Sorcerer Artist: Miles Davis (trumpet), Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass), Tony Williams (drums)Composer: Herbie HancockAlbum: SorcererLabel: Columbia CK 65 680Title: Visitor from NowhereArtist: Herbie Hancock & Wayne ShorterComposer: Herbie Hancock & Wayne ShorterAlbum: 1 + 1Label: Verve Records 537 564-2Title: RiverArtist: Corinne Bailey Rae (vocals), Herbie Hancock (piano), Wayne Shorter (soprano sax), Lionel Loueke (guitar), Dave Holland (bass), Vinnie Colaiuta (drums)Composer: Joni MitchellAlbum: River: The Joni LettersLabel: Verve Records – B0009791-02Title: Dolma Whispering SkyArtist: Tenzin Choegyal feat. Taro Terahara and Manao DoiComposer: Tenzin ChoegyalAlbum: Whispering SkyLabel: 4000 RecordsTitle: Gyallu Tibetan AnthemArtist: Tenzin Choegyal feat. Matt Antal and Metta StringsComposer: TraditionalAlbum: Whispering SkyLabel: 4000 RecordsTitle: Jampa A Big HugArtist: Tenzin Choegyal feat. Hico Natsuaki and Tenzin KunsangComposer: Tenzin ChoegyalAlbum: Whispering SkyLabel: 4000 RecordsThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, Turrbal and Yuggera CountryTechnical production by Russell Stapleton and Bethany Stewart

For someone referred to as "the Queen of Jazz" and "First Lady of Song", there's a surprising amount we don't know about legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. She didn't fit the image of a star: she was incredibly polite, avoided drugs and swearing, and kept her private life entirely private. But when she sang, people listened. Her clear diction, perfect intonation and master of scat singing made her one of the greatest vocalists of the 20th century.  Music historian and author of Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song Judith Tick reveals as much as she can about the great singer.Music heard in the show:Title: Lover, Come Back to MeArtist: Ella FitzgeraldComposer: Sigmund Romberg (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics)Album: Sweet And HotLabel: Decca DL8155Title: A-Tisket, A-TasketArtist: Ella Fitzgerald & the Chick Webb OrchestraComposer: trad., embellished by Ella Fitzgerald and Al FeldmanAlbum: A-Tisket, A-TasketLabel: Decca S8140Title: Oh, Lady Be GoodArtist: Ella FitzgeraldComposer: George Gershwin, Ira GershwinAlbum: Lullabies of Birdland Label: Decca DL8149Title: Oh, Lady Be GoodArtist: Ella FitzgeraldComposer: George Gershwin (music), Ira Gershwin (lyrics)Album: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George & Ira Gershwin SongbookLabel: Verve MG V-4029Title: Ev’ry Time We Say GoodbyeArtist: Ella FitzgeraldComposer: Cole PorterAlbum: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter SongbookLabel: Verve MG V-4001Title: Cheek to CheekArtist: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis ArmstrongComposer: Irving BerlinAlbum: Ella & LouisLabel: Verve MG V-4003Title: Mack the KnifeArtist: Ella FitzgeraldComposer: Kurt WeillAlbum: Mack the Knife: Ella in BerlinLabel: Verve MG V-4041Title: Cry Me A RiverArtist: Ella Fitzgerald & Joe PassComposer: Arthur HamiltonAlbum: Duets in Hannover 1975Label: Impro-Jazz IJ 546Technical production by Simon Branthwaite, Tim James and Roi HubermanThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto makes a welcome return to The Music Show, this time with American singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane. They talk about collaborating and songwriting and perform live in the studio; and Pekka tells us about completing and conducting a symphony by his late brother, Jaakko Kuusisto.When was the last time you sat down and listened to a record from start to finish? And when did you last do that in a room with other people? In Japan, people have been gathering in ongaku kissaten (‘music cafes’) for 100 years. They drink coffee and listen to records, usually in silence and always on very high quality sound systems. Nick Dwyer is the director of a new documentary series called A Century in Sound which is being screened at Melbourne International Film Festival. It takes us into three of these cafes in Tokyo to reveal the proprietors, the records, the customers and the role that these dedicated listening spaces play in the life of a busy city. Pekka Kuusisto and Gabriel Kahane are on tour as Council with Musica Viva Australia from 6-17 August. A Century In Sound screens at Melbourne International Film Festival on 18 and 20 August. Music in this program: Title: India And On Down To Australia Composer: Laurie Anderson feat. ANOHNIArtist: Laurie AndersonAlbum: Amelia (forthcoming, due 30 August)Label: NonesuchTitle: Märchentänze III: A Skylark for JaneComposer: Thomas AdèsArtist: Pekka Kuusisto, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas CollonAlbum: Adès: Orchestral WorksLabel: Ondine ODE 14112Title: BaedekerComposer: Gabriel KahaneArtist: Gabriel KahaneAlbum: Book of TravelersLabel: Nonesuch 571525-2Title: Symphony, Op. 39; II. Lento (Live)Composer: Jaakko KuusistoArtist: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Pekka KuusistoAlbum: Kuusisto: Symphony, Op. 39, Pictured Within & Birthday Variations for M.C.B.Label: BIS 2747Title: Bright Forms (Live)Composer: Pekka Kuusisto and Gabriel KahaneArtist: Council Performed live in The Music Show studio Title: Piano Concerto No. 21 In C Major, K. 467, I. Allegro MaestosoComposer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Artist: Walter Klien piano, Mainzer Kammerorchester, Günter Kehr conductorAlbum: Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 In C Major, K. 467Label: Turnabout TV-S 34504Title: An Oscar For Treadwell (Alternate Take)Composer: Charlie ParkerArtist: Charlie Parker and Dizzy GillespieAlbum: Bird and DizLabel: Mercury MGC-512Title: Walk, Don't RunComposer: Johnny SmithArtist: The VenturesAlbum: Walk Don't RunLabel: Dolton Records BST 8003Title: DakishimetaiComposer: Eiichi Ohtaki and Takashi MatsumotoArtist: Happy EndAlbum: Kazemachi RomanLabel: URC URG-4009Technical production by Simon Branthwaite, Tim James, and Roi HubermanThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

How The Saints and Radio Birdman paved the way for punk and independent music in Australia.

Australian music icon and proud Torres Strait Islander Christine Anu has just released her first album of new music in 20 years. Waku-Minaral A Minalay was recorded across the Pacific in places like New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Torres Strait Islands and the Solomon Islands - utilising traditional percussion instruments like the Warup (drums), the Urub (shakers) and the Kulap (seed pot rattles). It’s a deeply personal bilingual album which includes songs written by Christine Anu, her grandfather and her daughter. British countertenor Iestyn Davies is about to make his Australian debut singing music by JS Bach and Arvo Pärt alongside the Australian Chamber Orchestra and dancers from Sydney Dance Company. He speaks to Andrew Ford about what links these two composers (born nearly three centuries apart) and the changing attitudes, and repertoire, for high male voices.Christine Anu performs at the Mt Isa Rodeo on 8 August, at Cairns Festival on 23 August and at North Australian Festival of Arts on 13 October.Iestyn Davies performs with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sydney Dance Company in Silence & Rapture from 2-19 August.Music in Christine Anu's interview:Title: Aukum of SaibaiComposer: Christine Anu, David BridieArtist: Christine AnuAlbum: Waku - Minaral A MinalayLabel: ABC Music ABCM0029Title: Koey Dhoerim Composer: Nadi AnuArtist: Christine AnuAlbum: Waku - Minaral A MinalayLabel: ABC Music ABCM0029Title: My Popu Nadhi AnuComposer: Christine Anu, David BridieArtist: Christine AnuAlbum: Waku - Minaral A MinalayLabel: ABC Music ABCM0029Title: Laga Saibai Composer: Nadi AnuArtist: Christine AnuAlbum: Waku - Minaral A MinalayLabel: ABC Music ABCM0029Title: Dhibagaw GabuComposer: Zipporah Corser AnuArtist: Christine AnuAlbum: Waku - Minaral A MinalayLabel: ABC Music ABCM0029Music in Iestyn Davies' interview:Title: King DavidComposer: Herbert Howells, words Walter de la MareArtist: Iestyn DaviesAlbum: Divine Music: An English SongbookLabel: Signum Classics SIGCD725Title: 'Wer Sünde tut, der ist vom Teufel' from Cantata No. 54, 'Widerstehe doch der Sünde,' BWV 54 (BC A51)Composer: Johann Sebastian BachArtist: Iestyn Davies, Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen conductorAlbum: Cantatas Nos 54, 82 & 170Label: Hyperion CDA68111Title: Or la tromba (from Rinaldo)Composer: George Frideric HandelArtist: Iestyn Davies, La Nuova Musica, artistic director David BatesAlbum: Handel’s Unsung HeroesLabel: Pentatone 5186892Music at the end of the show:Title: (I’m) StrandedArtist: The SaintsComposer: Chris Bailey, Ed KuepperAlbum: (I’m) StrandedLabel: EMI -- EMC-2570Technical production by Russell StapletonThe Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

In 1961, the first elected leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was assassinated just months after the country’s newfound independence. Unbeknownst to themselves, US jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Dizzie Gillespie, Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln played an unlikely role in his death. Belgian director Johan Grimonprez joins us on The Music Show to explain the bizarre link between jazz and the CIA involvement in this Congolese coup, detailed in his new documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, playing as part of Melbourne International Film Festival. Sinking Cities is a new work from jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger Rafael Karlen. It laments the 2019 flooding of 12,000-year old Türkish city Hasankeyf (one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world) to make way for a controversial dam. Karlen, who has never been to Türkiye, explains to Andrew Ford why this issue inspired him to write a large-scale piece of music for string orchestra, choir and saxophone.Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, directed by Johan Grimonprez is showing as part of Melbourne International Film Festival on 12 + 24 August, and New Zealand International Film Festival on 15 + 17 August.Rafael Karlen's album Sinking Cities is out now on ABC Classic.Technical production by Ann-Marie DebettencorThe Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

With a voice comfortable singing baroque repertoire and world premieres, Roderick Williams is one of the most sought-after baritones in the UK. He’s also an arranger and composer (he wrote music for King Charles’ coronation), but tells Andrew Ford that his most important label is ‘musician’. He’s in Australia for concerts at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, the Newcastle Music Festival, and with the Adelaide and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras.“We who believe in freedom cannot rest, we who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes” — Bernice Johnson Reagon (from the lyrics to Ella's Song)The pioneering US civil rights activist, composer, scholar and singer Bernice Johnson Reagon died last week at the age of 81. The vocal group she founded, Sweet Honey In The Rock, has elevated the voices and music of Black women in America for decades. We'll hear again from a Music Show interview from the eve of the 2000 US election where Reagon explains what drives her, and how singing and protest are so intertwined. Roderick Williams' Australian performance dates:Friday 26 July - ACFM Opening Night Concert - Festival FeelingsSaturday 27 July - AFCM Ray Golding Sunset Series 1 -Spanish SunsetSaturday 27 July - AFCM Governor's Gala - Angels, Demons and other Nasties...Sunday 28 July - AFCM SPECIAL EVENT Sunday Night Concert - SchubertiadeMonday 29 July - AFCM Concert Conversations 2 withAlexandra Raikhlina, Christian-Pierre La Marca, Roderick Williams, Umberto Clerici and Stephen JohnsonWednesday 31 July - Roam with the Adelaide Symphony OrchestraThursday 1 August - AFCM Ray Golding Sunset Series 4 - Brothers in LoveThursday 1 August - AFCM Evening Concert 3 - Baroque TemptationsSaturday 3 August - AFCM Ray Golding Sunset Series 6-Distant BelovedSaturday 3 August - AFCM Closing Concert - Festival FarewellSunday 4 August - AFCM After PartyFriday 23 August - Newcastle Music Festival masterclassFriday 23 August - Newcastle Music Festival recital Thursday 29 August - Fauré's Requiem with the MSOSaturday 31 August - Fauré's Requiem with the MSO Sunday 1 September - Siobhan Stagg and Roderick Williams in recitalMusic in this show:Title: Ella's SongComposer: Bernice Johnson ReagonArtist: Sweet Honey In The RockAlbum: BreathsLabel: Cooking Vinyl COOK 008Title: The ShepherdComposer: Roderick Williams, words William BlakeArtist: Roderick Williams and Susie AllanAlbum: Vaughan Williams: A Birthday GarlandLabel: SOMM Recordings SOMMCD 0683Title: Be Thou My Vision, Triptych for OrchestraComposer: Roderick WilliamsArtist: The Coronation Orchestra, Sir Antonio Pappano conductorAlbum: The Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla: The Official AlbumLabel: Decca 5574786Title: When I was one-and-twentyComposer: George Butterworth, words A. E. Housman, arr. Roderick WilliamsArtist: Roderick Williams, Hallé Orchestra, Mark ElderAlbum: A Shropshire Lad: English Songs Orchestrated by Roderick WilliamsLabel: Hallé CDHLL7559Title: We Are The OnesComposer: Bernice Johnson Reagon, words June JordanArtist: Sweet Honey In The RockAlbum: ...Twenty-Five...Label: Rykodisc RCD 10451Title: Ballad of the Broken WordComposer: Toshi ReagonArtist: Sweet Honey In The RockAlbum: Still On The JourneyLabel: EarthBeat! 9 42536-2Technical production by Ann-Marie DebettencorThe Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

Kamilaroi and Tongan singer and musician Radical Son (AKA David Leha) has just released his second album, a full decade after his debut. Called Bilambiyal (The Learning) it demonstrates his growth as a songwriter with a knack for weaving personal stories alongside wider reflections on culture, community and Country. He's also a masterful collaborator, bringing in the voices of legends Frank Yamma and Emma Donovan and a crack team of producers to build out the album's lush sound.Christopher Cerrone's Nervous Systems is an aural exploration of systems; from flesh and blood, to tides and oceans, to the brutalist architecture of Pier Luigi Nervi. With the original work barely dry on the score, Omega Ensemble have commissioned a new arrangement that brings new colour to this sonic landscape. Chris joins us on The Music Show to discuss this work, as well as mentoring, opera, and dystopian insect drones.Radical Son's second album Bilimbiyal (The Learning) is out now, and he performs at CLANCESTRY Festival in Brisbane on 31 July.Christopher Cerrone's new arrangement of Nervous Systems will be played as part of Omega Ensemble's Alchymia, with two shows playing at ACO Pier 2-3 in Sydney July 27. Music in this program:Title: ElderArtist: Radical Son, Jida GulpililComposer: Andrew Robinson, David Bridie, David Leha, Jida Gulpilil, Marcus LongfootAlbum: Bilambiyal (The Learning)Label: Wantok MusikTitle: Dhuwan Baraay YuligiArtist: Radical SonPerformed live in the RN Breakfast studio Title: Yuluwirri Wandabaa (The Rainbow Dreaming)Artist: Radical Son, Emma Donovan, Frank YammaComposer: David Bridie, David Leha, Marcus LongfootAlbum:  Bilambiyal (The Learning)Label: Wantok MusikTitle:  Nervous SystemsArtist: CIM New Music Ensemble (Greg Hamilton – clarinet, Kayla Bryan – violin, Minchae Kim – violin, Tristan Wilson – viola, Annamarie Wellems – cello)Composer: Christopher CerronePerformed live on Sunday, November 12, 2023 at Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of MusicTitle: Scene 7: The Murdered Man, Channeled by a MediumArtist: Metropolis Ensemble and full vocal castComposer: Christopher Cerrone, Stephanie FleischmannAlbum: In a GroveLabel: Independent -- ICR028Title:  The Insects Became MagneticArtist:  Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester BerlinComposer:  Christopher CerronePerformed live by the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester BerlinTechnical production by Russell Stapleton and Ann-Marie DebettencorProduced on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

Brett Dean and Matthew Jocelyn's Hamlet (2017) has been one of the most successful operas of recent years with performances at the Glyndebourne Festival, the Adelaide Festival, New York's Metropolitan Opera and the Bavarian State Opera. Now it comes to the Sydney Opera House in its original production by Neil Armfield, with the tenor Allan Clayton, who created the role of Hamlet, perhaps singing it for the last time. Brett Dean and Allan Clayton join Andrew Ford to talk about the opera's origins and its connection to Shakespeare's play.New York-based jazz bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh is back in Australia for a string of concerts with her husband, the Cuban American pianist Fabian Almazan, as well as the WA Youth Jazz Orchestra (a nice full circle moment for the Perth-raised musician). She speaks to Andrew Ford about switching between electric and upright bass, incorporating her voice in compositions, and the environmental themes behind her piece Ephemeral Echoes which has just earned her a nomination at the forthcoming 2024 Art Music Awards. Hamlet runs from 20 July - 9 August at the Sydney Opera House. Linda May Han Oh performs 21 July at the Sydney Opera House, and 22 July at Church St Studios in Sydney.Music in this program:Title: Act I; Scene 4, ...or not to be (Live)Composer: Brett Dean, words William Shakespeare, libretto Matthew JocelynArtist: Allan Clayton, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Nicholas CarterAlbum: Brett Dean: Hamlet (Recorded Live at the Met, June 4 2022)Label: The Metropolitan Opera (digital release)Title: Spring Symphony, Op. 44, Part II. Waters aboveComposer: Benjamin BrittenArtist: Allan Clayton, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon RattleAlbum: Britten: Spring Symphony, Sinfonia da Requiem, the Young Person's Guide To the OrchestraLabel: LSO Live LSO0830Title: Act I; Scene 4, Get thee to a nunnery (Live)Composer: Brett Dean, words William Shakespeare, libretto Matthew JocelynArtist: Allan Clayton, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Nicholas CarterAlbum: Brett Dean: Hamlet (Recorded Live at the Met, June 4 2022)Label: The Metropolitan Opera (digital release)Title: Wring from him the cause (from Gertrude Fragments) Composer: Brett DeanArtist: Lotte Betts-Dean, Andrey LebedevRecording supplied by Brett DeanTitle: Firefly, from Ephemeral Echoes (Live)Composer: Linda May Han OhArtist: Linda May Han Oh, Steve Richter, Iain Robbie, Genevieve Wilkins, Fabian Almazan, Ben VanderwalLive recording from Perth Festival 2023, with thanks to Finding Our VoiceTitle: HatchlingComposer: Linda May Han OhArtist: Linda May Han OhAlbum: The Glass HoursLabel: Biophilia RecordsTitle: ArchComposer: Vijay IyerArtist: Vijay Iyer, Tyshawn Sorey, Linda May Han OhAlbum: CompassionLabel: ECM 2760Technical production by Russell StapletonProduced on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

This program contains strong language throughout. Before Madonna brought voguing into the limelight, the queer community had been quietly putting on balls and celebrating this form of expression since the 1970s. Far from the ballroom of waltzes and tangos, queer ballroom is an artform, a community, a form of protest and its very own genre of music. You might have seen the seminal documentary Paris is Burning, or seen ballroom referred to on RuPaul’s Drag Race, or seen the drama Pose – but even if ballroom is brand new to you, Australia’s unique queer community has created its very own style of ball – and the music you’ll hear there.You’ll hear from US “king of vogue” Dashaun Wesley, as well as local icons Xander Khoury (overall father of the House of Silky), DJ Mirasia (overall mother of the House of Silky), and multi-hyphenate artist Jamaica Moana.Thanks to ABC Arts for their interview with Jamaica Moana, featured in this episode.Technical production by Simon BranthwaiteThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

Andrew Gurruwiwi leads the Andrew Gurruwiwi Band in what they call 'Yolŋu funk', a mix between reggae, heavy metal, and funk in language from across the region. Andrew tells us about his music-making, his career as a radio presenter, and explains the stories behind some of the tracks on the band's dynamic debut album, Sing Your Own Song."He basically invents the rules of jazz. He shows you 'this is how to play a solo, this is how to sing, this is how to phrase, this is how to tell a story, this is how to swing. Ok, this is jazz. And now I'm going to break all those rules.'" - Ricky Riccardi on Louis ArmstrongTowards the end of the 1960s Louis Armstrong's performances were hit-and-miss. Plagued by health issues and pushing 70, the veteran entertainer was determined to keep playing, singing and touring, despite calls from his doctors to slow down. But in 1968, with a burst of vitality, he performed for BBC TV with hits spanning his remarkable five decades in music. This included What A Wonderful World, a song that had made him a household name just weeks prior. The concert recording of Armstrong's "last great performance" has been rediscovered, and now released as live album Louis In London. Ricky Riccardi is Director of Research Collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum and joins Andy to talk about the great trumpeter and why we're still talking about him over 50 years after his death.You can hear the Louis In London album in full on ABC Jazz program Jazztrack Live this Saturday 20 July at 4pm.Music heard in the program:Title: A Kiss To Build A Dream OnComposer: Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein IIArtist: Louis ArmstrongAlbum: Louis In London Label: Verve 602465686128Title: Bare Necessities Composer: Bruce Reitherman and Phil HarrisArtist: Louis ArmstrongAlbum: Louis In London Label: Verve 602465686128Title: When It's Sleepy Time Down SouthComposer: Clarence Muse, Leon René and Otis RenéArtist: Louis ArmstrongAlbum: Louis In London Label: Verve 602465686128Title: Gatjumak (Dance Battle), Go To Sleep (The Legend of Ŋamini Baŋ Baŋ), Wata MäwiComposer: Andrew GurruwiwiArtist: Andrew Gurruwiwi BandAlbum: Sing Your Own SongLabel: Gaga MusicTechnical production by Simon BranthwaiteThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

First Nations listeners are advised that this program contains the names and voices of people who have died.At the start of NAIDOC Week, The Music Show explores the legacy of the late Ruby Hunter – short in stature, a giant in music, and a mentor and parental figure to so many First Nations musicians in subsequent generations. We’ll hear Ruby from the archives, and catch up with Emily Wurramara and Dan Sultan, both of whom have sung a tribute to Ruby Hunter alongside their fantastic new albums.Dan Sultan reunites with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra  to perform 12 & 13 July, before playing Yabaardu in Ceduna SA on 19 July.Emily Wurramara is performing at Live in the Gardens on 13 November.Music in this programTitle: Kurongk Boy, Kurongk GirlArtist: Ruby HunterAlbum: Thoughts WithinLabel: Mushroom – MUSH32309.2Title: Proud, Proud WomenArtist: Ruby HunterAlbum: Thoughts WithinLabel: Mushroom – MUSH32309.2Title: Midnight BluesArtist: Emily WurramaraComposer: Bed Edgar, Caiti Baker, Emily Blinter (Wurramara), James MangohigAlbum: NARALabel: ABC MusicTitle: Lordy LordyArtist:  Emily Wurramara, Tasman KeithComposer: Emily Blinter (Wurramara)Album: NARALabel: ABC MusicTitle: It’s OkayArtist:  Ruby HunterAlbum: Feeling GoodLabel: Mushroom – MUSH332672 Title: True LoversArtist:  Ruby HunterAlbum: Feeling GoodLabel: Mushroom – MUSH332672 Title: Nobody Knows Artist:  Dan SultanAlbum: BlackbirdLabel: Liberation Music – LMCD0238Title: Ringing in My Ears Artist:  Dan SultanComposer: Chris Collins, Dan Sultan, Joel QuartermainAlbum: Dan SultanLabel: Liberation Music – LRCD0040Title: Chance to Lose Control Artist:  Dan SultanComposer: Dan Sultan, Joel QuartermainAlbum: Dan SultanLabel: Liberation Music – LRCD0040Title: Sister YappaArtist: Ruby HunterRecorded live at WOMADelaide 1995Technical production by Russell StapletonProduced on Gadigal, Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung and Gundungurra Country

Russian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya comes to Opera Australia to conduct Puccini’s Il trittico, a rare triptych of operas which span tragedy, farce, and religious fervour. Lidiya is at home with the operatic canon but she’s also conducted a swathe of new opera world premieres. She joins Andy to talk about finding the same passion for the music through new and old works.Three of India's most revered instrumentalists have formed trio Triveni. Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain (who's played with everyone from Herbie Hancock to Béla Fleck) joins Kala Ramnath's singing violin and Jayanthi Kumaresh's Saraswathi veena. The musicians drop by the studio in the midst of a whirlwind Australian tour to talk about their shared language of improvisation and how they seamlessly blend North (Hindustani) and South (Carnatic) Indian musical traditions.Il trittico is on at the Sydney Opera House until 19 July. Triveni perform in Melbourne on Friday 5 July and Sydney on Sunday 7 July.Music in this program:Live concert recording: Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore, India 2022Artist: Zakir Hussain - tabla, Jayanthi Kumaresh - veena, Kala Ramnath - violinTitle: O Mio Babbino Caro (from Gianni Schicchi)Composer: Giacomo PucciniArtist: Victoria De Los Angeles, Orchestra Del Teatro Dell'Opera Di Roma, conducted by Gabriele SantiniAlbum: The Very Best Of Victoria De Los AngelesLabel: EMI Classics 5 75888 2Title: Now, at the BeginningComposer: Ricky Ian Gordon, libretto Frank BidartArtist: Jennifer Zetlan, Nathan Gunn, Aeolus Quartet, Evan Premo, conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya Album: Ellen WestLabel: Shiny Bright ThingsTitle: Forty Days and Forty NightsComposer: Kamala Sankaram, libretto Jerry DyeArtist: Chicago Opera Theater, conducted by Lidiya YankovskayaAlbum: Taking Up SerpentsLabel: Chicago Opera Theater digital releaseLive concert recording: Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore, India 2022Artist: Zakir Hussain - tabla, Jayanthi Kumaresh - veena, Kala Ramnath - violinTechnical production by Russell Stapleton and Richard GirvanProduced on Gadigal, Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung and Gundungurra Country

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this program contains the names and voices of people who have died.Neal Peres Da Costa’s most recent recordings include a Mozart piano concerto and a Robert Schumann song cycle, each using a model of piano its composer would have recognised. But as he explains on today’s show, there’s much more to this music than getting the instrument right – there’s also the matter of historical style. Mozart would have expected his soloists to embellish their music and Schumann’s singers would have been more melodramatic than their modern counterparts. Can modern ears adjust to this? And... Croeso i Rhaglen Cerddoriaeth! Jenny M Thomas might be best known to Music Show audiences for her band Bush Gothic, but this time she’s back with The Côr of the Matter, a Welsh language choir based in Naarm/Melbourne. Jenny joins Andy to delve into the complex and contradictory darkness and warmth of Crymru/Wales and its culture.The late Ruby Hunter first performed in public at Bondi Pavilion in 1988, and an array of great artists are now coming together to that same venue to play tribute to her in a concert called Proud, Proud Woman. Emily Wurramara and Dan Sultan are part of it and talk about her legacy. Neal Peres Da Costa plays with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra for a Night in Versailles, 5 – 14 July in Sydney and Melbourne.The Côr of the Matter performs at Melbourne Welsh Church on 6 JulyBush Gothic performs at Selby Folk Club on 5 July and at Port Lounge 23 AugustMusic heard in the show:Title: MyfanwyComposer: Joseph ParryArtist: Rhos Male Voice ChoirAlbum: Music from the Welsh Mines, Songs of Peace & GoodwillLabel: Moochin’ About Title: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K488; II. AdagioComposer: Wolfgang Amadeus MozartArtist: Neal Peres Da Costa, Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra/Rachel BeesleyAlbum: Heavenly MozartLabel: ABC Classics 197190404852Title: Dichterliebe, Op. 48; No. 1, Im wunderschönen Monat MaiComposer: Robert SchumannArtist: Koen van Stade, Neal Peres Da CostaAlbum: Schumann: DichterliebeLabel: Deux-Elles DXL1193Title: Concerto for Four Keyboards in A minor (after Vivaldi), BWV1065 - II. LargoComposer: Johann Sebastian BachArtists: Kenneth Gilbert (harpsichord), Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord), Nicholas Kraemer (harpsichord), The English Concert/Trevor Pinnock (director/harpsichord)Album: JS Bach: The Concertos for 3 and 4 HarpsichordsLabel: DG Archiv 4000412Title: MyfanwyComposer: Joseph ParryArtist: Jenny M Thomas, The Côr of the MatterCourtesy of Jenny M ThomasTitle: Si hwi hwiComposer: Trad.Artist: Jenny M Thomas, The Côr of the MatterRehearsal recording courtesy of Jenny M ThomasTitle: Proud, Proud WomanArtist: Ruby HunterAlbum: Thoughts WithinLabel: White – MUSH32309.2Title: It’s OkayArtist: Ruby HunterAlbum: Feeling GoodLabel: Mushroom Records - MUSH332672Technical production by John Jacobs and Michelle BarryThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

British singer songwriter Grace Petrie has an EP called “There’s No Such Thing As A Protest Singer” – but if there was such a thing she would definitely be one of the preeminent ones. Her musical career started in the early years of the UK Conservative Party’s now 15 years in government, and she’s railed against injustice throughout those years. She’s on The Music Show to talk about hope, activism, and cynicism and to play live in studio.Unsound is a Polish festival with an adventurous spirit. Co-director Mat Schulz has made Adelaide Unsound's Australian home for the past ten years, and he joins us on The Music Show to talk about the genesis of the festival, the similarities between jazz and grimy electronica, and why he was accused of Satanism.Unsound Adelaide runs from 19 - 20 July at Dom Polski Centre, Adelaide SA.Grace Petrie tours Australia from 25 September to 4 October playing Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. More details here. Music heard in the show:Title: Pandemonium InstituteComposer: Lee GambleArtist: Lee GambleAlbum: Diversions 1994-1996 Label: IndependentTitle: King & Country Composer: Grace PetrieArtist: Grace PetriePerformed Live in The Music Show studioTitle: Fixer UpperComposer: Grace PetrieArtist: Grace PetrieAlbum: Build Something BetterLabel: The Robots Needs Home Collective TRNHC013Title: Black Tie Composer: Grace PetrieArtist: Grace PetriePerformed Live in The Music Show studioTitle: Our Good Deeds Will Lead to a Better Life for the Next GenerationComposer: TraditionalArtist: Yeshi, Bhutan BalladeersAlbum: Your Face Is Like the Moon, Your Eyes Are StarsLabel: IndependentTitle: CruisingComposer: Bendik GiskeArtist: Bendik GiskeAlbum: CracksLabel: Smalltown Supersound STS381Title: Yuangan (Dugong)Composer: Fred Leone, Sam PankhurstArtist: YirindaAlbum: YirindaLabel: Chapter Music CH187LPTitle: Concerto for Four Keyboards in A minor (after Vivaldi), BWV1065 - II. LargoComposer: Johann Sebastian BachArtists: Kenneth Gilbert (harpsichord), Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord), Nicholas Kraemer (harpsichord), The English Concert/Trevor Pinnock (director/harpsichord)Album: JS Bach: The Concertos for 3 and 4 HarpsichordsLabel: DG Archiv 4000412Technical production by John Jacobs and Michelle BarryThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Land

Sixty years ago The Fab Four toured Australia for the first and last time. Greg Armstrong is the co-author of When We Was Fab - Inside The Beatles' Australasian Tour 1964. He takes us behind the scenes of the tour— the promoters who lucked out by signing the band up before the height of their fame, the late inclusion of the Adelaide shows, the band's unprecedented reception in the streets, and how Australia's music scene was left permanently changed when it was all over. Our thanks to all of the listeners who got in touch with us about their memories of the 1964 Australian tour. In this episode we hear from Gillian, Maggie, Jane, Paul, Robert, Geoff, Geraldine, Dianne, Pauline and Chris.Music heard in the show:Title: It Won't Be LongArtist: The BeatlesComposer: Lennon-McCartneyAlbum: With The BeatlesLabel: Parlophone PMCO 1206Title: I Want To Hold Your HandArtist: The BeatlesComposer: Lennon-McCartneyAlbum: (Single)Label: Parlophone A8103Title: MiseryArtist: The BeatlesComposer: Lennon-McCartneyAlbum: Please Please MeLabel: Parlophone PMCO 1202Title: Roll Over BeethovenArtist: The BeatlesComposer: Chuck BerryAlbum: With The BeatlesLabel: Parlophone PMCO 1206Title: Can't Buy Me Love (Live in Melbourne 1964)Artist: The BeatlesComposer: Lennon-McCartneyABC RecordingTitle: (Let's Have A) PartyArtist: Johnny ChesterComposer: Jessie Mae RobinsonAlbum: Rocker 1961-1966Label: ScreenSound Australia CD/SSA/3C0026Title: Long Tall SallyArtist: The BeatlesComposer: Enotris Johnson, Robert Blackwell, Richard PennimanAlbum: (Single)Label: Parlophone GEP 8913Title: She Loves YouArtist: The BeatlesComposer: Lennon-McCartneyAlbum: (Single)Label: Parlophone A8093Title: LotusArtist: The TwilightsComposer: Terry BrittenAlbum: The Way They PlayedLabel: Raven Records RVCD-364Title: Twist And Shout (Live in Melbourne 1964)Artist: The BeatlesComposer: Bert Berns, Phil MedleyABC RecordingThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country.Technical production by Simon Branthwaite

American composer Caroline Shaw’s latest album, a collaboration with Sō Percussion, is called Rectangles and Circumstance. It’s a collection of ten songs run through with words by Emily Dickinson, Emily Bronte, William Blake and Christina Rossetti, as well as Caroline herself. She joins Andy from her home in the US to talk about her collaborators and her co-poets.German cellist Nicolas Altstaedt takes the role of guest director, soloist, and conductor in his first tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Nestling Haydn’s jubilant Cello Concerto in C major amongst works by significantly more angular composers like Kurtag, Veress and Xenakis, he joins Andy on The Music Show to map out his versatile and prolific life on the concert platform and beyond.Music heard in the show: Title: Partita for 8 Voices i. AllemandeComposer: Caroline ShawArtist: Roomful of TeethAlbum: Partita for 8 VoicesLabel: New AmsterdamTitle: Sing On, And So, The Parting Glass, and To MusicComposer: Caroline Shaw, Sō PercussionArtist: Caroline Shaw, Sō PercussionAlbum: Rectangles and CircumstanceLabel: NonesuchTitle: Cello Concerto in C Major; iii. FinaleComposer: Joseph HaydnArtist: Nicolas Altstaedt, Australian Chamber OrchestraCourtesy of the ACOTitle: Atlas; iii. Perpetuum Mobile – Ladon the DragonComposer: Helena WinkelmanArtist: Nicolas Altstaedt, Lockenhaus ArtistsAlbum: CreationLabel: Alpha ALPHA861Technical production by Simon BranthwaiteThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Land.

This week on the Music Show, we take a look into the archives to an interview with the late, great Clive James. Andy spoke to Clive back in 2003 about what it was like writing for the song and the stage, and they discussed some of Clive's favourite pieces of musical poetry — from Stephen Sondheim to Aretha Franklin. As ever, we’re indebted to Penny Lomax and Maureen Cooney for producing the first thirtyish years of this show from which to draw this archive.Technical production from Roi Huberman and Nathan Turnbull. The Music Show is produced on Gadigal land and Gundungurra country.

Three authors on music from The Music Show archives.Margaret Atwood spoke to Andrew Ford back in 2003, after the transformation of her novel The Handmaid’s Tale into an opera by Danish composer Poul Ruders.Andrea Goldsmith joined Andy on stage for the 2013 Melbourne Writers’ Festival after her novel The Memory Trap invoked Beethoven amongst other composers. Live performance from Zoe Knighton and Amir Farid.And Anna Goldsworthy is a concert pianist as well as a writer. Her two lauded volumes of memoirs were followed up by her debut novel Melting Moments in 2020, when she spoke to Andy about how music inspired the structure of the book.Music in the show:Track: Prologue and “The Wall, from The Handmaid's TaleComposer: Poul RudersArtist: Royal Danish Opera Company & Royal Danish OrchestraAlbum: The Handmaid's TaleLabel: Dacapo 8.224165-66Track: Cello sonata No. 4 in C major (Op. 102, No. 1)Composer: Ludwig van BeethovenArtists: Zoe Knighton and Amir FaridPerformed live on The Music Show at Melbourne Writers’ FestivalTrack Title: Moment Musicaux Nos 1 and 3, Op 94Artist: Paul LewisComposer: Franz SchubertAlbum: Schubert Piano Sonata D.845, "Wandererfantasie" D.760, 4 Impromptus D.935, Moments Musicaux D.780Label: Harmonia Mundi ‎– HMC902136.37The Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country.Technical production by Nathan Turnbull. 

The Music Show goes Deep Inside the Blues with photographer and writer Margo Cooper, who’s assembled a beautiful book of photographs and interviews with blues musicians from Chicago to the Mississippi Delta. She joins Andy on The Music Show to outline a sprawling, searching and ultimately living tradition, plus interviews with Blues legends from the Music Show archive.Deep Inside the Blues is published by University Press of Mississippi. Archive interviews heard in the show:Cedric Burnside, 2016 and 2019Billy Boy Arnold, 2006Buddy Guy, 1996Music heard in the show:Title: Mannish BoyArtist: Muddy WatersAlbum: Hard AgainLabel: Blue Sky RecordsTitle: Messin’ with the KidArtist: Buddy Guy & Junior WellsAlbum: Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The BluesLabel: Rhino RecordsTitle: Hard TimesArtist: Cedric Burnside & Trenton AyersLive in The Music Show studioTitle: Damn Right I’ve Got the BluesArtist: Buddy GuyAlbum: Damn Right I’ve Got the BluesLabel: SilvertoneTitle: Shake the BoogieArtist: Sonny Boy Williamson (I)Album: Million Years of Blues Vol. 4Label: QuadromaniaTitle: Born With ItArtist: Cedric Burnside ProjectAlbum: I Be TryingLabel: Single Lock RecordsTitle: The Blues Is Alive and WellArtist: Buddy GuyAlbum: The Blues Is Alive and WellLabel: Silvertone RecordsTitle: Bo DiddleyArtist: Bo DiddleyAlbum: single releaseLabel: Checker RecordsTitle: Whiskey, Beer and ReefaArtist: Billy Boy ArnoldLive on The Music Show from Wangaratta Jazz FestivalTitle: We Made ItArtist: Cedric BurnsideAlbum: Benton County RelicLabel: Single LockThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country.Technical production by Isabella Tropiano. 

Indie-rock veterans Deerhoof are set to make their first appearance in Australia in a decade, and drummer Greg Saunier joins us on The Music Show to discuss their journey. With a repertoire spanning nineteen albums and a diverse range of styles, Greg talks to us about politics, conceptual art, and his own foray into solo work for the first time in the band's long career. Soprano Anna Fraser sings brand new contemporary opera, renaissance chant, and Schubert… under water. She’s also the curator of the sadly land-based concert IMPOSTO, where her eclectic tastes bring together not only disparate repertoire but disparate composer/performers too – she’s joined by singer Jane Sheldon, baryton player Laura Vaughan, and koto player Satsuki Odamura – and there’s music based on everything from Sylvia Plath to a jellyfish.And do you remember The Beatles’ 1964 tour of Australia? Beatles superfan and co-author of When We Was Fab: Inside The Beatles Australasian Tour 1964 will be joining us to talk about the phenomenon — but we want your memories too! Were you at one of 1964 Beatles' concerts? Did you catch a glimpse of them on the street? Send us your memories via email at: [email protected] details:Deerhoof12 June, Brunswick Ballroom, Melbourne, VIC13 June, VIVID Sydney, Machine Hall, Sydney, NSW14 June, The Zoo, Brisbane, QLD15 June, The Jive Bar, Adelaide, SA16 June, The Milk Bar, Perth, WAAnna Fraser14 June, IMPOSTO: Sympathetic Resonance Vibrations, Woodburn Creatives RedfernTechnical production by Bella TropianoThe Music Show is produced on Gadigal Land and on Gundungurra Country

Ziggy Ramo returns to The Music Show with a new album that’s more than just an album. Human? will be released later this year but right now the only way you can hear it is through QR codes in his book of the same name. It’s a new and beautifully contradictory sound for Ziggy, blending folk (with guest vocals from Vonn) and his signature rap, precipitated by Ziggy picking up the guitar for the first time in the wake of his 2021 single Little Things. Ziggy joins Andy to talk about the project (which spans the album, the book, and a related exhibition), an exploration of dark histories and big questions. Human? A Lie That Has Been Killing Us Since 1788 (the book) is out now via Pantera Press. Human? (the album) is out via Ramo Records in July.Tracks from the album heard in the show:BanambaLittle ThingsApril 25 (Black Thoughts and Human? versions)SorryShameHumanThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra CountryTechnical production by Simon Branthwaite on Gadigal Country.

Artist Jeremy Deller first made the connection between acid house music and brass bands back in 1995. The project that emerged, ACID BRASS, brings community bands together in raucous live events. Deller says he was “liberated by brass bands” – since then he’s won the Turner Prize, made conceptual, installation and video art across the world, and represented the UK at the Venice Biennale. Now he brings ACID BRASS to Melbourne’s Rising festival, and he talks to Andy about what music has given his art practice, and what his art has given his music.Bach’s St John Passion is not his most famous Passion oratorio – often eclipsed by the St Matthew Passion, this earlier work is wilder and more extravagant. John O’Donnell is getting ready to conduct Accademia Arcadia, Ensemble Gombert, and a cast of soloists in a period instrument performance of the Passion to mark its 300th anniversary.Composer, artist, and archaeologist Victoria Pham joins us on The Music Show to talk about her latest bio-installation Listening Gardens ii - soil fields showing at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery. Her work crosses the boundaries of music and sound in order to communicate otherwise-unheard symphonies of nature. She leans on her background as a biological anthropologist to create a mushroom opera, an orchestral Boeing 747, and draught conservation plans told through synthesisers. Performance dates:Jeremy Deller1 - 16 June, ACID BRASS, Rising Festival Melbourne. Full details of free performance locations here.Bach's St John Passion 8 + 9 June, Bach's St John Passion, Woodend Winter Arts Festival. St Ambrose Church Templeton St, Woodend.Victoria Pham4 May - 23 June, Listening Gardens ii -- Soil Fields, Season One: Terrestrial. Bathurst Regional Art Gallery.Technical production by Simon BranthwaiteThis episode of the music show was produced on Gadigal Land and on Gundungurra Country

Errollyn Wallen’s memoir Becoming a Composer is a look into the mind of the composer as well as the life of one. Born in Belize but now based in the far-flung north of Scotland, where she sometimes inhabits a lighthouse, she works at a brisk pace, composing prolifically for orchestra, chamber ensemble, choir, and over twenty operas.Her major public commissions have included music for The Last Night of the Proms, the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and she joins us from her home in the Orkney Islands to talk about Becoming a Composer, and becoming a composer.Music heard in the show:Title: Horseplay i. Dark and mysteriousArtist: The Continuum Ensemble/Philip HeadlamComposer: Errollyn WallenAlbum: The Girl In My AlphabetLabel: Avie AV0006Title: DervishArtist: Matthew Sharp (cello), Dominic Harlan (piano)Composer: Errollyn WallenAlbum: The Girl In My AlphabetLabel: Avie AV0006Title: Sojourner TruthArtist: Madeleine Mitchell (violin), Errollyn Wallen (piano)Composer: Errollyn WallenAlbum: Violin ConversationsLabel: Naxos 8574560Title: Cello ConcertoArtist: Matthew Sharp (cello), Ensemble X, Nicholas KokComposer: Errollyn WallenAlbum: PhotographyLabel: NMC NMCD221Title: Boom BoomArtist: Palaver Strings, Nicholas PhanComposer: Errollyn WallenAlbum: A Change is Gonna ComeLabel: Azica Records 71365The Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra CountryTechnical Production by Simon Branthwaite and Tegan Nicholls

Playwright, screenwriter, and actress Kate Mulvany has been commissioned with the task of writing the lost prologue for the first true English opera, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. She joins Andy on The Music Show to chat about getting into the head of the queen of Carthage, and what it was like writing for opera for the first time. Independent hip-hop label Elefant Traks has had a huge cultural impact on the Australian music industry, and in 2024 after 26 years they are wrapping up operations. Back in 2018 we chatted to Tim Levinson and L-Fresh the Lion for Elefant Traks 20th birthday, and we're bringing it back for this week's show as the label begins preparations for their farewell concerts.Plus, a new release of an old tune by Louis Armstrong, recorded live at the BBC. Technical production by Tegan Nichols and Simon BranthwaiteThis episode of the music show was produced on Gadigal Land and Gundungurra Country.Performance dates:Dido and Aeneas by Pinchgut Opera:30 May, City Recital Hall, Sydney, 7pm1 June, City Recital Hall, Sydney, 2pm2 June, City Recital Hall, Sydney, 5pm3 Jun, City Recital Hall, Sydney, 7pmElefant Traks:26 May, Elefant Traks 25th Anniversary – The Finale, Sydney Opera House, 7:30pm8 June, Elefant Traks: 25 The Finale, Open Season at the Tivoli Brisbane, 7pm15 June, Elefant Traks 25th Anniversary – The Finale, Melbourne Recital Centre, 3pm and 7:30pm

Omar Musa is an author, artist, poet, and woodcutter making music and art from Borneo to Brooklyn. He is back in Australia to talk about his latest album The Fullness. His third album touches on the environment, culture, religious identity, and mortality. He creates poetry from a spoken-word background, melding hip-hop, jazz, and electronic sounds with earnest lyricism. Gillian Dooley joins us on The Music Show to talk about her latest book She Played and Sang, which explores the music of Jane Austen. From Haydn piano sonatas to Scottish folk songs, Gillian gives us a sense of what not only Elizabeth Bennett and the Dashwoods were playing in their parlour, but also Jane Austen herself. Also new music from Leila and Sean ShibePerformance Dates -- Omar Musa4 May – 2 June All My Memories Are Mistranslations, Humble House Gallery Canberra, 2 August ACO Up Close: Omar Musa and Mariel Roberts, ACO Pier 2-3 - The Nielson, 7pmGillian Dooley -- She Played and Sang: Jane Austen and Music, Manchester University Press

Australian tenor Stuart Skelton returns to The Music Show as he prepares to sing Mahler’s Song of the Earth (Das Lied von der Erde) with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Looking over his increasingly heroic career from oddball roles like the titular Peter Grimes to the pantheon of Wagner’s men, Stuart reflects on growing into his voice, and what he learned from the conducting and musical leadership of the late Andrew Davis.Story of Another Soul is a “decolonial dreaming of new futures that seeks truth in the roots of improvisation”, from Meanjin/Brisbane based spoken word poet Huda Fadlelmawla and jazz trumpeter, composer and producer Reuben Lewis. They join Andy to talk about the process of improvisation in which words and music come together.Stuart Skelton performs Mahler’s Song of the Earth with the Australian Chamber Orchestra until 26 May.Story of Another Soul is out now via Life Before Man.Title: These StoriesComposer: Reuben Lewis, Huda FadlelmawlaArtist: Huda The Goddess & Reuben LewisAlbum: Story of Another SoulLabel: Life Before ManTitle: Das Lied von der Erde; i. Das Trinklied von Jammer der ErdeComposer: Gustav MahlerArtist: Stuart Skelton, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon RattleAlbum: Das Lied von der ErdeLabel: BR Klassik 900172Title: “Now the Great Bear and Pleiades” from Peter GrimesComposer: Benjamin BrittenArtist: Stuart Skelton, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward GardnerAlbum: Peter GrimesLabel: Chandos CHSA5250Title: “Take me away, and in the lowest deep there let me be” from The Dream of GerontiusComposer: Edward ElgarArtist: Stuart Skelton, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew DavisAlbum: The Dream of GerontiusLabel: Chandos CHSA5140Title: When People Ask You, BreakComposer: Reuben Lewis, Huda FadlelmawlaArtist: Huda The Goddess & Reuben LewisAlbum: Story of Another SoulLabel: Life Before ManTitle: Love So DeepComposer: Omar MusaArtist: Omar MusaAlbum: The FullnessLabel: Monkeycat MusicThe Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra CountryTechnical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor

Andrew is at the Canberra International Music Festival, where we get to catch up with an Australian who lives in the UK, a Belgian who tours the world, and another Belgian who lives in Australia.Lotte Betts-Dean, Aussie mezzo-soprano now based in London, makes a trip home to perform a series of form-expanding vocal works from composers like Michael Finnissy, one of the masters of so-called "new complexity". Belgian jazz pianist Bram de Looze invites The Music Show into the Belgian Embassy where he's staying with the two resident llamas to talk about where improvisation and composition meet for him, and what he's taken from jazz idols like Hank Jones, Keith Jarrett and Thelonious Monk. And CIMF Artistic Director Roland Peelman looks back on his ten years leading the festival, the joys and tribulations of wearing multiple hats, and the particular way the city of Canberra has shaped the festival. Look out for Bram De Looze on ABC Jazz’s Jazztrack Live in June.Music heard in the show:Title: Spotting GatewaysArtist: Bram de LoozeLive in Canberra – courtesy of ABC JazzTitle: Blessed Be IArtist: Lotte Betts-DeanComposer: Michael FinnissyAlbum: Alternative ReadingsLabel: Divine Art MEX77102Title: Botany BayArtist: Lotte Betts-Dean, Joseph HavlatComposer: Michael FinnissyAlbum: Alternative ReadingsLabel: Divine Art MEX77102Title: parallaxis formaArtist: Lotte Betts Dean, Explore EnsembleComposer: Catherine LambAlbum: 3 Compositions for Voices and EnsembleLabel: Another Timbre at-215CDTitle: BowArtist: Bram De LoozeComposer: Bram De LoozeAlbum: Spotting GatewaysLabel: Independent releaseTitle: Monk’s MoodArtist: Bram De Looze, Joey Baron, Robin VerheyenComposer: Thelonious MonkAlbum: MiXMONKLabel: UCJTechnical production by Simon BranthwaiteRecorded on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country.

Rainbow Chan returns to The Music Show to discuss her latest audio-visual project, The Bridal Lament. In an attempt to preserve her mother's mother tongue, Rainbow has spent the last five years researching and learning the Weitou language, an endangered Cantonese dialect, through learning traditional bridal laments. Rainbow talks to Andy about the defiant tradition of performing these laments in the face of arranged marriages, and her process of learning the language through song from the 'grannies' preserving it. You might think Broadway composer George Gershwin and pioneer of 12-tone music Arnold Schoenberg would have had little in common, but when Gershwin arrived in Beverly Hills in August 1936, he found Schoenberg (who had fled Nazi Germany in 1933), was his neighbour. Gershwin was in the last year of his life, but during that time the two composers played tennis together every week. They also admired each other’s music - and Schoenberg admired Gershwin’s business acumen. When Gershwin asked Schoenberg for lessons, the older man enquired how much Gershwin earned, suggesting he should the one taking lessons from Gershwin. When George Met Arnold is the title of a film/concert from pianist Simon Tedeschi and conductor/violist Roger Benedict with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and they’ll be in the music studio to talk about it.Plus an exclusive live performance from Yirinda via our comrades at Awaye.This week’s show was recorded on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country and produced on Gadigal Land.Technical production by Simon Branthwaite.

Bringing huge amounts of energy, musicianship and a sense of humour to the Australian folk scene is Apolline. They chat to Ce Benedict about their trio's unusual line up (fiddle, cello, bass), their approach to arranging and layering tunes, and having varied musical influences—from jazz to Scandi folk and Eurovision. They'll also perform two sets of tunes live in The Music Show studio.American jazz pianist and singer Blossom Dearie would have turned 100 this week. We revisit a delightful interview from 1995 (one of the first Andrew Ford ever recorded), where he gets a strong telling off for suggesting that she played chords like Thelonious Monk. And we hear new music from Tessa Bird, Cedric Burnside, and Allysha Joy.

Norwegian trumpet player Tine Thing Helseth returns to The Music Show as she prepares to play with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She talks to Andy about the peculiarities of trumpet concertos, about composers writing for her versus writing for her instrument, and about expanding her musical life to include playing and writing.Maanyung is a proud Aboriginal man with strong connections to Gumbaynggir and Yaegl nations. His songwriting comes from Language and Country – he’s a surfer, a youth worker and a songwriter and he’s released a string of singles in the last few years. He’s on The Music Show to talk about saltwater, sand, and sound.Plus new music from Charlie Grey and Joseph Peach.The Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra LandTechnical production by Roi Huberman and Tim Symonds

It's been forty years since the 1984–5 United Kingdom miners' strike and The Music Show has dug into the archives for a special program looking at the role that music played in this political, industrial and personal struggle. From Peggy Seeger to Paul Weller, Billy Bragg to brass bands—there's music supporting the striking miners, songs tormenting strikebreakers and tracks referencing (and sometimes sampling) National Union of Mineworkers leader Arthur Scargill and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of East Anglia John Street guides us through the history and music of this divisive time, plus we hear interviews from the ABC archives with folklorist A L Lloyd, singer songwriter Billy Bragg, Grimethorpe Colliery Band, folk singers Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger and composer David Lumsdaine.

For over fifty years, Sir Andrew Davis (1944–2024) was one of the world's busiest conductors, He conducted in the opera house and the concert hall and his repertoire ranged from Bach to Birtwistle. In the mid 1970s, he became chief conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, then took on Glyndebourne Opera, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago - always for long stretches. From 2012 to 2019 he was chief conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and thereafter the orchestra's conductor laureate. He died this week at the age of 80, and we remember him in the company of Benjamin Northey, the MSO's principal conductor, and listen to excerpts from some of Sir Andrew's Music Show interviews.  Martha Wainwright returns to Australia, playing old and new songs. She dips into her family’s discography as well as her experiences of rebirth over the last few years in her latest album, Love Will Be Reborn, which was accompanied by a memoir that looks back at a life of joy, grief and family.Martha Wainwright is on tour around Australia:Wednesday, May 8 – Princess Theatre, Brisbane, QLDThursday, May 9 – Anita’s Theatre, Wollongong, NSWFriday, May 10 – City Recital Hall, Sydney, NSWSaturday, May 11 – Civic Theatre, Newcastle, NSWSunday, May 12 – Blue Mountains Theatre, Blue Mountains, NSWTuesday, May 14 – The Gov, Adelaide, SAThursday, May 16 – Odeon Theatre, Hobart, TASFriday, May 17 – Recital Centre, Melbourne, VICSaturday, May 18 – Capital Theatre, Bendigo, VICMusic heard in the show:Title: Symphony No. 9 in E minorComposer: Ralph Vaughan WilliamsArtist: Bergen Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor)Album: Symphony No. 9Label: Chandos CHSA5180Title: Your RockabyComposer: Mark-Anthony TurnageArtist: Martin Robertson (saxophone), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor)Album: Turnage: Your Rockaby; Night Dances; Dispelling The FearsLabel: Argo 4525982Title: Enigma Variations; x. NimrodComposer: Edward ElgarArtist: BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor)Album: The Queen’s Diamond JubileeLabel: Warner Classics 2564660472Title: The Mask of Orpheus; 3 Orphic Hymns – Hymn of CatharsisComposer: Harrison BirtwistleArtist: BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, Martyn Brabbins (conductor), Sir Andrew Davis (conductor)Album: The Mask of OrpheusLabel: NMC NMCD050Title: Brigg Fair (An English Rhapsody)Composer: Frederic DeliusArtist: Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor)Album: Delius Orchestral WorksLabel: Chandos CHAN10742Title: Love Will Be RebornComposer: Martha WainwrightArtist: Martha WainwrightAlbum: Love Will Be RebornLabel: Pheromone RecordsTitle: Dinner at EightComposer: Rufus WainwrightArtist: Martha WainwrightAlbum: Love Will Be RebornLabel: Pheromone RecordsTitle: Tell My SisterComposer: Kate McGarrigleArtist: Martha WainwrightAlbum: Love Will Be RebornLabel: Pheromone RecordsTitle: Being RightComposer: Martha WainwrightArtist: Martha WainwrightAlbum: Love Will Be RebornLabel: Pheromone RecordsTitle: There Is Power In A UnionComposer: Billy BraggArtist: Billy BraggAlbum: Talking With the Taxman About PoetryLabel: Cooking Vinyl COOKCD304The Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra CountryTechnical production by John Jacobs

Beethoven's five sonatas for cello and piano span his career - two from the beginning, one from the middle and two from his late period - so they provide a good framework for talking about the composer. Timo-Veikko Valve and Aura Go have recorded them alongside the complete music for cello and piano by Anton Webern (three works, together lasting under ten minutes) and they'll be in the studio to talk about them and play excerpts. Alison Cotton is a London-based experimental artist whose viola/drone/voice/soundscape-rich music is very hard to pigeonhole. Her new album Engelchen (meaning 'little angels') follows the incredible story of British opera-loving sisters Ida and Louise Cook who helped save 29 Jewish people before the start of World War II. The sisters used their love of attending operas as a guise for travelling to Germany, where they actually met refugees and helped smuggle their valuables out of the country. Items like jewellery, furs and watches were sold in the UK to help fund their owner's safe passage. The sisters would do things like restitch British labels to the German coats to avoid suspicion from the Nazi border guards... who thought they were just spinsters dressed in finery returning from a weekend trip to the opera. Timo-Veikko Valve and Aura Go are performing at ACO Up Close: Beethoven Arranged on 20 April in Sydney and 22 April in Melbourne.Alison Cotton’s Engelchen is out now.Music in the show:Title: Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69; ii. ScherzoComposer: Ludwig van BeethovenArtist: Timo-Veikko Valve (cello) and Aura Go (piano)Performed Live in The Music Show studioTitle: Three Little Pieces, Op. 11Composer: Anton WebernArtist: Timo-Veikko Valve (cello) and Aura Go (piano)Performed Live in The Music Show studioTitle: Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 No. 1; ii. Adagio – Tempo d'andante – Allegro vivaceComposer: Ludwig van BeethovenArtist: Timo-Veikko Valve (cello) and Aura Go (piano)Album: Beethoven Cello Sonatas, Webern Works for Cello & PianoLabel: ABC ClassicTitle: The Letter Burning; We Were Smuggling People’s Lives; Crepuscle; Engelchen NowArtist: Alison CottonAlbum: EngelchenLabel: Feeding Tube Records LAUNCH339RTitle: CrepuscleComposer: Jules MassenetArtist: Amelita Galli-CurciAlbum: Amelita Galli-Curci Volume OneLabel: The Rubini Collection GV.578Title: As The Trees Have Always KnownArtist: Melanie HorsnellAlbum: As The Trees Have Always Known (Single)Label: Independent releaseTechnical Production by Russell Stapleton and John JacobsThe Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra Land

In Southern Louisiana, a few hours from New Orleans, Ann Savoy has spent a lifetime studying, playing and collecting Cajun music. She's best known for her trio Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, her duet album with Linda Ronstadt Adieu False Heart, and touring and playing festivals with the Savoy Family Band. Ann has just released her first ever solo album, Another Heart, which pays tribute to her early musical loves, the English and American singer songwriters of the 1960s and 70s, but with a Cajun twist.Pianist and composer Wilbur Whitta has released Wildfire, his debut album as bandleader. During the midst of a NSW tour, Wilbur joins Andrew on The Music Show to explain the blend of improvisation and composition on the album, writing for a quartet with two horns and no bass, and about the importance of having mentors in jazz.Music in the show:Title: Two Step D'AmédéArtist: Savoy-Doucet Cajun BandComposer: Marc SavoyAlbum: Two-Step D'AmédéLabel: Arhoolie Records CD-316 Title: Cajun Love SongArtist: Ann SavoyComposer: Ann SavoyAlbum: Another HeartLabel: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW40256Title: Waterloo SunsetArtist: Ann SavoyComposer: Ray DaviesAlbum: Another HeartLabel: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW40256Title: Walk Away ReneeArtist: Linda Ronstadt, Ann SavoyComposer: Bob Calilli, Mike Brown, Tony Sansome Album: Adieu False HeartLabel: Vanguard 79808-2Title: Stolen CarArtist: Ann SavoyComposer: Bruce SpringsteenAlbum: Another HeartLabel: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW40256Titles: Leave To Enter; Pizza; Not Interested; RED; Sea LegsArtist: Wilbur Whitta piano and keyboards, Tom Avgenicos trumpet, Jack Stoneham saxophone, Alex Inman-Hislop drumsComposer: Wilbur WhittaAlbum: WildfireLabel: ABC Jazz ABCJ0026D

Duo Windborne are two of Australia’s finest recorder players: Rodney Waterman and Ryan Williams. Their debut album, Venus Bay Fireside Sessions, is a record of their improvisational partnership. Originally intended to be recorded outside as a direct response to the natural world of Venus Bay, the weather drove them indoors and beside the fire – hence the title. They join Andy in studio with a fraction of their huge instrument collection to talk about their relationship with nature, their collaboration, and mount a defence of their much maligned instrument.Coral Reid is a fiddle player, a clog dancer, and a sword dancer (!) too. She’s an English folk music specialist and she’s brought her violin, her clogs, but sadly no swords into studio to demonstrate some of the traditions that spilled out from the mills, the mines and the pubs of northern England around the Industrial Revolution.Plus new music from Tonya Lemoh and Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion.Duo Windborne launch their album Venus Bay Fireside Sessions on 19 April at Victorian Artists Society in Melbourne.Coral Reid is on tour with the Sofa of Fools across Victoria and NSW until 21 April.Tonya Lemoh’s album I Dream A World is out now via ABC Classic.Music heard in the show:Title: BrownsArtist: Duo WindborneComposer: improvised by Rodney Waterman and Ryan WilliamsAlbum: Venus Bay Fireside SessionsLabel: Independent releaseTitle: Dances in the Canebrakes No. 1; Nimble FeetArtist: Tonya LemohComposer: Florence PriceAlbum: I Dream A WorldLabel: ABC ClassicTitle: Mangrove InletArtist: Duo WindborneComposer: improvised by Rodney Waterman and Ryan WilliamsAlbum: Venus Bay Fireside SessionsLabel: Independent releaseThree improvised pieces performed live in The Music Show studio by Duo Windborne – Rodney Waterman and Ryan WilliamsTitle: The Bonny Miller (trad)Performed live by Coral Reid in The Music Show studioClog dances “Sam Sherry’s Beginner Hornpipe”, and “Mrs. Willis’s Rag” demonstrated by Coral Reid in The Music Show studioTitle: Road to PoyntonComposer: Rob HarbronPerformed live by Coral Reid in The Music Show studioTitle: Rectangles and CircumstanceArtist: Caroline Shaw and Sō PercussionComposer: Caroline Shaw and Sō PercussionAlbum: Rectangles and CircumstanceLabel: Nonesuch (releasing 14 June)Technical production by Tim Jenkins, Tim Symonds, and Hamish “Tim” CamilleriThis episode of The Music Show was produced on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, Gadigal and Gundungurra Land

Benjamin Northey picked up the baton as Chief Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra only a few years after the devastating 2011 earthquake. In a wide-ranging conversation he talks to Andrew Ford about the rebuilding of the musical life of the city (there was a period where the CSO performed at an Air Force museum after many performance venues were damaged). He also looks back on his years learning under the great Finnish conductor Jorma Panula, and why starting his career as a saxophone player put him in perfect stead to be on the podium. And we hear an interview with New Orleans singer and pianist Clarence 'Frogman' Henry. "I sing like a girl and I sing like a frog....." Clarence Henry croaked on his 1956 debut hit Ain't Got No Home, which earned him the nickname of 'Frogman'. In 2000 Andrew Ford crossed the Mississippi to Clarence's home in Algiers, New Orleans and sat down in his garden amongst the decorative frogs for a chat. Clarence Henry died on 7 April 2024 at the age of 87.Music heard in this programTitle: (I Don't Know Why) But I DoArtist: Clarence 'Frogman' HenryComposer:  Paul Gayten and Bobby CharlesAlbum: You Always Hurt The One You LoveLabel: Viking AUSLP 1009Title: Ain't Got No HomeArtist: Clarence 'Frogman' HenryComposer: Clarence HenryAlbum: Ain't Got No HomeLabel: Chess CHD 9346Title: McPancakeArtist: ApollineComposer: Stuart Morison, John Morris Rankin, Jonathan BerkahnAlbum: Home Home EPLabel: Blythe RecordsTitle: Finlandia, Op. 26 Artist: Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Jorma Panula conductorComposer: Jean SibeliusAlbum: The Very Best of SibeliusLabel: Naxos 8.552135-36Title: Symphony in F sharp, Op. 40, ii. Scherzo: Allegro moltoArtist: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Daniel de Borah piano, Benjamin Northey conductorComposer: Erich KorngoldLive recording: Courtesy ABC Classic, 2022Title: Waratah BayArtist: Duo WindborneComposer: improvised by Ryan Williams and Rodney WatermanAlbum: Venus Bay Fireside Sessions Label: Independent

Four pieces of music written in the years after World War II – Strauss’s Metamorphosen, Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw, Britten’s War Requiem, and Shostakovich’s 13th Symphony, ‘Babi Yar’  – paint a complicated picture of how European composers memorialised war in Jeremy Eichler’s new book Time’s Echo. Jeremy joins Andy on the show to trace the connections and conflicts in the ways that a German, a Jewish Austrian in exile, an Englishman, and a Russian looked back at the war(s) and the Holocaust.Time’s Echo: The Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance by Jeremy Eichler is published by Faber.Music heard in the show: Title: War Requiem, Op. 66Composer: Benjamin Britten, text by Wilfred OwenArtists: Peter Pears (tenor), Heather Harper (soprano), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone), Coventry Festival Choir, Boys of Holy Trinity Leamington and Stratford, John Cooper (organ), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Melos Ensemble, Meredith Davies and Benjamin Britten (conductors)Album: Britten War Requiem (recorded live at Conventry Cathedral, May 1962)Label: Testament SBT 1490Title: MetamorphosenComposer: Richard StraussArtists: Berlin Philharmonic, Wilhelm Furtwängler (conductor)Album: Wilhelm Furtwängler: An Anniversary TributeLabel: Deutsche Grammophon 477 006-2Title: A Survivor from Warsaw, Op. 46Composer: Arnold SchoenbergArtists: Günter Reich (narrator), BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez (conductor)Album: Boulez - SchoenbergLabel: Masterworks G010003768085JTitle: Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 113, ‘Babi Yar’; i. Babi YarComposer: Dmitri ShostakovichArtists: Arthur Eisen (bass), Male Group of Republican Russian Academic Choir Capella, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin (conductor)Album: Shostakovich Complete SymphoniesLabel: Melodiya RCID18056928Technical production by Bethany Stewart on Gadigal LandThe Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra Land

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this program contains the name of someone who has died.Melbourne double bassist Sam Anning’s latest album is dedicated to Archie Roach. The album’s title Earthen comes from a remark Roach made from his hospital bed about instruments being ‘earthenware’—coming from the earth, carrying music and then returning to the earth. The septet on this record is made up of Anning's friends and long-term collaborators and he reflects on writing for specific people rather than instruments, and how tragedy and grief can become jazz.Two hundred years ago, Beethoven was almost completely deaf, pushing fifty, and working on his massive – and final – 9th Symphony. He also completed (years behind schedule) the biggest of his sacred works, his Missa solemnis. On the 200th anniversary of its first performance, Peter Tregear is presenting the mass in its full liturgical context at St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne, and he joins Andy to unpack what makes the piece “profoundly humanistic” and a little less religiously zealous than you might imagine.Music in Sam Anning:Titles: Rise Up Lights; Strangers featuring Kyrie Anderson; Transitive States featuring Julien Wilson; Uvalde featuring Kyrie Anderson; Moonland featuring Carl MackeyArtist: Sam AnningComposer: Sam AnningAlbum: EarthenLabel: Earshift Music EAR075Music in Peter Tregear:Titles: Missa solemnis in D major, Op. 123: Kyrie; Agnus Dei; Dona Nobis Pacem; Credo In Unum DeumArtist: Laura Aikin, Bernarda Fink, Johannes Chum, Ruben Drole, Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Concentus Musicus Wien, conducted by Nikolaus HarnoncourtComposer: BeethovenAlbum: Beethoven: Missa Solemnis in D Major, Op. 123Label: Sony Classical 0889853135929Title: Missa In Tempore Belli, ‘Paukenmesse’ In C Major (Hob.XXII:9; 1796): Agnus DeiArtist: Kirsten Sollek, Richard Lippold, Ann Hoyt, Daniel Neer, Trinity Choir, Rebel Baroque Orchestra, Composer: HaydnAlbum: Mariazellermesse (Missa Cellensis) / Paukenmesse (Missa In Tempore Belli)Label: Naxos 8.572124

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson is most of the way through an international tour that sees him playing Bach’s Goldberg Variations almost a hundred times, including his first ever performances in Australia. He joins Andy in the studio, in front of the piano, to talk about finding infinite variety in those Variations.We remember the late pianist Maurizio Pollini who died this week. “With Pollini things were never simple,” says Víkingur Ólafsson, “Chopin became the musical architect, Stockhausen the poet, Beethoven the philosopher. Many of us became better listeners and players.”Plus new music from Aussie singer-songwriter Emily Barker.Music heard in the show: Title: Goldberg Variations BWV988: Var. 1Artist: Víkingur ÓlafssonComposer: J.S. BachAlbum: Bach: Goldberg VariationsLabel: Deutsche Grammophon 4864553Title: … sofferte onde serene…Artist: Maurizio PolliniComposer: Luigi NonoAlbum: Maurizio Pollini: 20th CenturyLabel: Deutsche Grammophon 4779918Title: Boulez: Piano Sonata No. 2Artist: Maurizio PolliniComposer: Pierre BoulezAlbum: Maurizio Pollini plays Prokofiev, Boulez, Webern and StravinskyLabel: Deutsche Grammophon 4192022Title: Preludes Op. 28; No. 24, Prelude in D Minor, Allegro AppassionatoArtist: Maurizio PolliniComposer: Frédéric ChopinAlbum: Maurizio Pollini: ChopinLabel: Deutsche Grammophon 4779908Title: Goldberg Variations BWV988: Aria; extracts from other movementsArtist: Víkingur ÓlafssonComposer: J.S. BachPerformed live in studioTitle: The Quiet WaysArtist: Emily BarkerAlbum: Fragile As Humans (out 3 May)Label: Independent releaseTechnical production by Virginia Read and John JacobsThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country

In the 1960s, the Les Girls Revue made Carlotta a star, and earned her the moniker “Queen of the Cross”. In Sydney’s red light district, she made a name for herself before hitting the road – she’d be the first to remind you that Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is at least partially based on her rural tours. Now she’s contemplating (but not committing to) retirement, she looks back at her career as an entertainer with Andrew Ford.  Maria Grenfell is a composer for the concert hall and for film, and also a teacher of composition at the University of Tasmania Conservatorium of Music. With her follow composer-academics Linda Kouvaras and Natalie Williams she has edited two volumes about the experiences of composing women. She recently sat down with Andrew in her home town of Christchurch to talk about writing for orchestra, teaching, and whether the term 'woman composer' is a help or a hindrance.Teho. is a Finnish fiddle duo made up of Tero Hyväluoma and Esko Järvelä (who are also members of 7-piece folk band Frigg). At the end of a whirlwind Australian tour the pair speak to Andrew about the rich musical history in the Kaustinen region, bringing traditional music into the 21st Century and how they can get such a big sound out of just two violins. Music in Carlotta:Title: Got To Be Real Composer: Cheryl Lynn, David Paich and David FosterArtist: Cheryl LynnAlbum: Cheryl LynnLabel: ColumbiaTitle: I'm The Greatest StarComposer: Jule Styne, lyrics Bob Merrill Artist: Barbara StreisandAlbum: Funny Girl (Original Broadway Cast)Label: Capitol Records W 2059Music in Maria Grenfell:Title: Di Primavera III. With energy and bounceComposer: Maria GrenfellArtist: Claire Edwardes and Karin SchauppAlbum: Women of Note: A Century of Australian ComposersLabel: ABC Classics 4817995Title: River Mountain SkyComposer: Maria GrenfellArtist: Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin NortheyRecording: Courtesy of ABC ClassicMusic in Teho.:Title: Jokivarren Polska & FlikuleeriComposer: Esko JärveläArtist: Teho.Album: Not A Violin DuoLabel: IndependentTitle: TähtisilmävalssiComposer: Konsta JylhäArtist: Teho.Album: (E2 + ε + V) x I3 = PLabel: IndependentMusic at the end of the show:Title: No. 1: "Múzika igráyet tak bódro" (Olga, Masha, Irina)Composer: Peter EötvösArtist: Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Lyon, conducted by Kent NaganoAlbum: Eötvös: Three SistersLabel: Deutsche Grammophon E4596942

From the rattling charge of The Lone Ranger to the slick, warbling vocals of White Lotus, music for television has been beckoning us to the couch for the best part of a century.In Music for Prime Time: A History of American Television Themes and Scoring, Jon Burlingame has charted the history of music for telly in the form of an elegiac sort of look back at the medium as streaming overtook network TV and the 2007 writers’ strike looked to have changed the medium forever. Now a new edition, released in the context of a new and bitterly long writers’ and actors’ strike, may serve as an elegy for the streaming age too.Jon joins Andy from Los Angeles to fire up the cathode ray and listen to the music of the medium, with plenty of memorable tunes in the mix.Featuring themes and music from:The Lone RangerRawhideThe Twilight Zone (Bernard Herrmann)The Twilight Zone (Marius Constant)Peter GunnHawaii Five-0The Man from U.N.C.L.EMission, ImpossibleGet SmartThe JetsonsThe FlintstonesGilligan’s IslandAll In The FamilyCheersHill Street BluesThe West WingPride & PrejudiceJeeves & WoosterDeadwoodThe SopranosGame of ThronesSuccessionWhite LotusThe West Wing (closing credits)The Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra CountryTechnical production by Russell Stapleton on Gadigal Country

Peter Garrett has still got a fire in his belly at 70. The True North, his new solo album, tackles similar ground to an Oils record—the climate crisis, politics and addiction to technology, but it's his own songwriting voice out front. The songs contain messages of hope and anger in equal measure. The music is provided by The Alter Egos (which includes Midnight Oil alumnus Martin Rotsey and The Jezabels' Heather Shannon) as well as his daughters Grace and May on backing vocals.Opera Australia is a beast of a company, most famously nestled beneath the sails of the Sydney Opera House but also in Melbourne, and across the East Coast. Programming for multiple cities, venues, audiences and tastes is a massive undertaking that British director Jo Davies took on when she was announced as the new Artistic Director of the company last year. Now with her feet firmly under the table and her inaugural season hitting the stage, she talks with Andy about her programming choices, which see a significant Australian and new opera presence, collaborations with other smaller opera companies, as well as smatterings of musical theatre and a production of Tosca staged at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena.Music in Peter GarrettTitles: Innocence Parts 1 & 2, Meltdown, Human Playground, Permaglow, EverybodyComposer: Peter Garrett (except Human Playground which was written by Ainslie Wills)Artist: Peter GarrettAlbum: The True NorthLabel: Sony Music 19658844501Music in Jo DaviesTitle: Overture, from Così fan tutteComposer: MozartArtist: La Petite Bande, conduted byt Sigiswald KuijkenAlbum: Mozart: Così fan tutteLabel: Brilliant Classics 99555Title: Breaking The Waves (excerpt)Composer: Missy Mazzoli, libretto Royce VavrekArtist: Opera Philadelphia Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Steven Osgood with soprano Kiera DuffyThe Music Show is made on Gadigal and Gundungurra CountryTechnical production by Russell Stapleton on Gadigal Country

It was hard to miss Corinne Bailey Rae’s ubiquitous track from 2006 'Put Your Records On'. And it’s still heard in coffee shops the world over. The English singer songwriter released her fourth studio album late last year and it represented a complete left turn in both sound and subject. Black Rainbows is her first album not on a major label and spans genres like rock, jazz and punk. It's a celebration of Black history and resilience, with each track inspired by books, photographs and objects that Corinne encountered at the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago.Ju Ben is a Fijian hip hop artist who won ABC’s Pacific Break competition, and a slot on stage at WOMADelaide. Producer Ce Benedict caught up with him backstage to talk about the song 'Sema Mai' and the messages behind his music.Angélique Kidjo shares the story behind her 2018 album Remain In Light, a track-for-track re-imagining of the Talking Heads’ classic, highlighting the African influences across the record.Music in Corinne Bailey Rae:Title: Peach Velvet SkyComposer: Corinne Bailey Rae, Stephen James BrownArtist: Corinne Bailey RaeAlbum: Black RainbowsLabel: Thirty TigersTitle: ErasureComposer: Corinne Bailey RaeArtist: Corinne Bailey RaeAlbum: Black RainbowsLabel: Thirty TigersTitle: Before The Throne Of The Invisible GodComposer: Corinne Bailey RaeArtist: Corinne Bailey RaeAlbum: Black RainbowsLabel: Thirty TigersMusic in Ju Ben:Title: Sema MaiComposer: Peni Tupou Roqara (Ju Ben)Artist: JU BENAlbum: Tauyavu EPLabel: VTBOP Music/PreciseMusic in Angelique Kidjo:Title: Once In A LifetimeComposer: Brian Eno, Christopher Frantz, David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina WeymouthArtist: Talking HeadsAlbum: Remain In LightLabel: Sire SRK 6095Title: Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)Composer: Brian Eno, Christopher Frantz, David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina WeymouthArtist: Talking HeadsAlbum: Remain In LightLabel: Sire SRK 6095Title: Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)Composer: Brian Eno, Christopher Frantz, David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina WeymouthArtist: Angélique KidjoAlbum: Remain In LightLabel: KravenworksTechnical production by Simon Branthwaite, Nathan Turnbull and Harvey O'SullivanThe Music Show was produced this week on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Kaurna Country

Simone Young, who has just renewed her contract with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for another two years, talks about conducting Gurrelieder for the first time. Schoenberg's late-Romantic extravagance is one of the most sumptuous works of the twentieth century, and one of the biggest - such a concert hall rarity that Simone herself has never heard it live. We also talk about her forthcoming cycles of Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung at the theatre Wagner himself built in Bayreuth, Germany.Eleanor McEvoy is one of Ireland’s foremost singer songwriters, and we pick up the conversation where we left it last time—in the midst of an ill-fated tour in March 2020. After nearly two years without touring or playing a single gig, Eleanor released her 16th album, Gimme Some Wine, a lush and introspective record with instrumentation inspired by listening to a wide range of music. She plays two songs from it live in our studio.Music in the show:Extracts from Arnold Schoenberg's Gurrelieder from the following recordings:Artists: Stig Andersen, Soile Isokoski, Monica Groop, Ralf Lukas, Andreas Conrad, Barbara Sukowa, City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, Philharmonia Voices, and Philharmonia OrchestraConductor: Esa-Pekka SalonenLabel: Signum Classics SIGCD173Artists: Marita Napier, Yvonne Minton, Jess Thomas, Siegmund Nimsgern, Kenneth Bowen and Gunter Reich (narrator), BBC Symphony Orchestra & ChorusConductor: Pierre BoulezLabel: Sony Music SM2K 48 459Eleanor McEvoy performs live in The Music Show studio two songs from her album Gimme Some Wine:South Anne StreetThe Spanish Word for LoveAt the end of the show:Title: Carbon FootprintArtist: Veronique Serret feat. William BartonIndependent single releaseTechnical production by Simon Branthwaite, Nathan Turnbull and Harvey O'SullivanThe Music Show was produced this week on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Kaurna Country

An hour with two Irish living legends, singer songwriter Lisa O’Neill and concertina master Cormac Begley. Both stalwarts of the Irish traditional music scene, they united for an intense, wailing version of All the Tired Horses which was used in the final moment of Peaky Blinders.They play live and talk to Andy about what tradition means, how new writing can sing alongside the old songs, and the highs (piccolo) and lows (bass) of having a concertina collection.Including live performances of:All the Tired HorsesThe Green Groves of ErinTo WarOld NoteWhen Cash Was KingO’Neill’s March/Croppy CroppyTechnical production by Tom Henry, Tim Symonds, Olivia Aquilina and Ann-Marie DebettencorWOMADelaide technical crew Alex Mollison, Jess Wolfendale, Jamie Mensforth, Cambell Lawrence, Alex Hadden, Jared Jackson, Greg Pickle, Ryan O'DeaWith special thanks to Tiki Menegola and Tayla CarlawThe Music Show was produced this week on Gadigal and Kaurna Country

The Music Show is back on Kaurna Land at Adelaide's Botanic Park for WOMADelaide 2024, a festival celebrating music from all over the world.Marta Pereira da Costa was the first woman to make a career as a Fado guitarist. From Lisbon, Portugal, she gave up a career as a civil engineer to pursue the music full time and keep Portugal’s major musical tradition alive.The Good Ones formed in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda as a way of processing, healing and finding hope. There is a universality to their sound—fingerpicked acoustic guitar, simple percussion and haunting harmonies, which is deeply affecting even if we don't speak Kinyarwanda.Katanga Junior grew up in Tanzania's mountainous region of Arusha, but he now calls Mparntwe/Alice Springs home. His style ranges from acoustic folk to hip hop to reggae, and he brings a unique sound and perspective to the vibrant music scene of Central Australia. Performed live by Marta Pereira da CostaTerraDia de FeiraPerformed live by The Good OnesThe FarmerMon CheriPerformed live by Katanga JuniorKwenye MaishaMapenzi BusinessTechnical production by Tom Henry, Tim Symonds, Olivia Aquilina and Ann-Marie DebettencorWOMADelaide technical crew Alex Mollison, Jess Wolfendale, Jamie Mensforth, Cambell Lawrence, Alex Hadden, Jared Jackson, Greg Pickle, Ryan O'DeaWith special thanks to Tiki Menegola and Tayla CarlawThe Music Show was produced this week on Gadigal and Kaurna Country

Windborne are a vocal quartet from New England in the US. Their tagline is 'old songs, bold harmonies' and their varied repertoire puts Corsican polyphony next to 17th Century English protest songs. They’ve found a huge following online in recent years, thanks in part to a performance outside of Trump Tower. They’re in the country for a string of local shows and festival appearances and they perform live in our music studio.Yorta Yorta musician and storyteller Allara is also in our studio this week. Allara brings her poetry to life armed with a double bass, looping pedal and electronics. She chats to Andy about learning her Yorta Yorta Language and the enduring legacy of her old bandmate Archie Roach (she’s performing on the Archie Roach Foundation stage at this year’s Port Fairy Folk Festival). Windborne live in The Music Show studio (ABC: Ellie Parnell)

With sixteen albums and five Grammys under her belt, Angélique Kidjo doesn’t need much of an introduction. She’s back in Australia to perform songs from her 2021 album Mother Nature as well as gems from her catalogue that highlight her infectious energy, dazzling array of influences and multi-language pop music. Supporting most of her tour is Maatakitj (the stage name of Noongar song-maker, composer, and academic Clint Bracknell). In this special double-header interview Angélique and Clint reflect on performing in languages most of their audience don’t understand, whether music can be an ambassador, and why it’s more important than ever for us to dance. Mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley makes her home in Germany’s opera houses these days, but she’s back on her home soil for a run of concerts with the pianist Michael Curtain, tackling a body of work called Cabaret Songs by American composer William Bolcom and the late “theatre poet” Arnold Weinstein. Even though they were written in the 70s and 80s, these songs have something distinctly 1930s about them, but also a sharp contemporary wit. Anna and Michael join Andy in studio to play selections from Cabaret Songs live and delve into this eccentric collection. 

The Music Show is about the creation and enjoyment of music.

Joseph Keckler creates operatic monologues that cover subjects such as psychedelic mushroom trips, haunted houses, and buying a jacket. He also does Schubert lieder. He’s about to tour to Australia with no-wave legend Lydia Lunch and joins Andy to unpack his unique sound and influences.Mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis makes her Australian debut with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jaime Martín for Mahler’s 3rd Symphony. She’s a booked and busy opera performer too, with repertoire as varied as classics like Verdi’s Aida to contemporary remounts like X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X and world premieres like 10 Days in a Madhouse.

Arooj Aftab’s 2021 album Vulture Prince took her ten years to write, and for the final two she had to shut all other music out of her life. “I just was trying to make a thing that didn't have a blueprint" she says, of an opus that combines jazz, experimental electronica and Sufi devotional music with her own unique voice. She's about to tour the album here and looks back at over a decade of work with Andy before she hits Australian stages.When Notre-Dame caught fire in 2019, playwright Alana Valentine was amongst those moved by the sight. That emotional response eventually sparked a collaboration with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, fittingly called Notre-Dame, which uses a narrative poem to tell the story of the disaster and the long life of the cathedral. Plus new music from Kirin J Callinan and Cameron Undy.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Ruban Nielson on the band's latest and fifth album V, which combines reggae with Hawaiian music and psychedelic rock. But rather than being a deliberate fusion, V is instead a reflection of Nielson's roots, ranging from a family legacy of Hawaiian reggae, Māori and Hawaiian heritage, and Auckland's punk scene's DIY ethics.Soprano Katharine Dain's album Forget This Night takes Lili Boulanger's sensual song cycle Clairières dans le ciel as a springboard for a collection of music about desire and impermanence, with other songs by Grażyna Bacewicz and Karol Szymanowski. Katharine joins Andy to trace the stories and songs of three very different composers. Plus new music from Leyla McCalla.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Ruban Nielson on the band's latest and fifth album V, which combines reggae with Hawaiian music and psychedelic rock. But rather than being a deliberate fusion, V is instead a reflection of Nielson's roots, ranging from a family legacy of Hawaiian reggae, Māori and Hawaiian heritage, and Auckland's punk scene's DIY ethics.Soprano Katharine Dain's album Forget This Night takes Lili Boulanger's sensual song cycle Clairières dans le ciel as a springboard for a collection of music about desire and impermanence, with other songs by Grażyna Bacewicz and Karol Szymanowski. Katharine joins Andy to trace the stories and songs of three very different composers. Plus new music from Leyla McCalla.

Lonnie Holley has dedicated his life to art, but his music career – as a recording artist at least – only started at the age of 62, decades after he became a sculptor displayed at the White House and collected by The Met, The Smithsonian, and the Art Gallery of NSW. He grew up in Jim Crow era Alabama and suffered a huge amount of abuse at the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, which has always informed his art and his music.  His first album came out in 2012 and his most recent, Oh Me Oh My, came out last year. He’s back in Australia to perform live with Moor Mother and Irreversible Entanglements.Liquid Pearls is a duo performance by harpist Hannah Lane and viola da gamba/lirone player Laura Vaughan, and it takes that name from a 1500s madrigal: “from her eyes, Cupid scattered liquid pearls…”. Hannah and Laura join Andy to perform live in studio, demonstrating how their exploration of 16th and 17th century Italy and Spain has resulted in something simultaneously “organic and rarified”.

Embarking on a nautical adventure this week, Andy is welcomed onboard the ‘floating cultural platform’ known as the Arka Kinari, sailed by musical duo Grey Filastine and Nova Ruth. Made of steel intended for a Nazi U-Boat, this seventy-tonne schooner has been fitted out as an eco-touring venue, and after leaving home waters in Indonesia last month is currently visiting Australia for a run of shows.Pitjantjatjara singer and songwriter Frank Yamma was born into music, and has since had a long and storied career. In the desert, he’s a hard rocker, and in the cities he plays “slow style”. He joins Andy in The Music Show studio ahead of a national tour to play songs from his city repertoire, and talk about his life and work.

Eddie Perfect has been to Broadway and back with music theatre composer credits including Beetlejuice and King Kong, not to mention home-grown hit Shane Warne: The Musical. Now he’s set to play as Dr Pangloss and Voltaire in Leonard Bernstein’s exquisitely convoluted opera Candide with Victorian Opera, and he talks to Andy about how a work written during McCarthyism, based on a novel written during the 7 Years War, finds new resonance now.While the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur has had countless retellings, in operas, plays, movies and more, none have been quite like Labyrinth, the new ‘dance-opera/piano concerto’ from Melbourne’s Forest Collective. In this version the absent Minotaur is felt through a “big virtuosic piano part” played by acclaimed soloist Danaë Killian. She and composer Evan J Lawson join Andy to talk about this innovative new production.Plus new music from DOBBY and Emily Wurramara.

Richard Tognetti, artistic director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, returns to The Music Show to catch up with Andy about River, the latest in the ACO’s series of cinematic collaborations, and looks back at the way the pandemic has shaped the ensemble and the classical music scene more widely.In the 1970s, trailblazing Australian dancer Phillippa Cullen developed a set of ‘pressure-sensitive floors’, but after her tragic early death they sat unused in a dusty corner of the University of Adelaide for forty-odd years. That is until Dr Iran Sanadzadeh stumbled upon them, ultimately developing her own new set of floors christened the terpsichora for the Greek muse of dance. Iran joins Andy to talk about this unusual instrument and her innovative compositional practice, culminating in her new album Ocean, Again.And we remember Broadway legend Chita Rivera, who has died at the age of 91, with a 2006 interview from The Music Show archives.

Formed out of a love for Django Reinhardt and excellent band-name puns, Cigány Weaver play in a style reminiscent of jazz Manouche, traditional swing and Romani music. We hosted the full six-piece band in The Music Show studio where they delivered a performance rich in energetic fiddling, gentle strumming and soaring vocals, playing two songs drawn from their new album Episode II: Still Water.Scottish composer Stuart MacRae had set medieval poetry to music before, but it wasn’t until he heard Australian mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean’s take on his setting of the anonymous poem ‘The Lif of this World’ that he found a collaborator that “got it straight away”. Stuart began writing new compositions specifically for Lotte’s voice, resulting in the album Earth thy cold is keen, and they joined Andy for a chat about their collaboration.And music from Irish powerhouse Lisa O’Neill, who is on tour around Australia now and will be joining us live on stage at WOMADelaide on 9 March.

When Irish singer songwriter David Keenan came onto the scene he was described as “the sound of Tim Buckley and Brendan Behan arguing over a few jars, while Kavanagh deals Dylan a suspicious hand of cards, and Anthony Cronin and Jack Kerouac furiously try to scribble it all down” – so no pressure there. He talks about wearing those comparisons, writing songs about Ireland, and the story behind his guitar as well as performing new music live.David Lumsdaine was an Australian composer who spent most of his life outside Australia, and retired from composing almost thirty years ago. He died this month at the age of 92 and Michael Hooper, who wrote the book on Lumsdaine’s music, joins Andy to talk about his legacy. And we hear Lumsdaine himself, amongst the birds of his beloved dawn chorus, from the archives.Plus new music from Maanyung and Emma Donovan.

This is the story a song written by Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly around a campfire in 1988. What started off as a casually recorded folk number has become what Carmody calls “a kind of cultural love song”: a foundational entry in the Australian songbook.2023’s NAIDOC Week theme was “For Our Elders”, so RN’s Rudi Bremer went to speak with Kev Carmody at his studio on Kambuwal Country to gather his recollections of From Little Things Big Things Grow as it started, the story of the Gurindji Walk Off that inspired it, and the many different iterations he’s performed and heard in the last thirty years.Wik and South Sea Islander rapper Ziggy Ramo, Electric Fields vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands and Adelaide producer Michael Ross, and Zillmere State School Year 7 Class of 2003 student Tonii-Lee Betts join Craig Tilmouth to talk about their interpretations of the song that Carmody says “belongs to everyone now”.

Robbie speaks to Electric Fields -  Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross about the perspectives that have been infused into the music through collaborative songwriting and Zaachariaha's upbringing in Mimili (APY Lands). After noticing their undeniable creative spark back in 2015, they have been making music together that hark back to the days watching Rage on the weekends, while adding their own individual sounds and stories to the mix.And Andy talks to the Stiff Gins, who are 24 years into what they hope is a lifelong partnership. Yuwaalaraay woman Nardi Simpson and Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri woman Kaleena Briggs look back at their almost quarter century and the changing landscape of music and language with live performance in The Music Show studio.

Author Oliver Soden tackles the public and private personas of Noël Coward in his biography Masquerade: The Lives of Noël Coward. He joins Andy on to unpack the way that life yielded one of the most productive artistic careers of the 20th century.Including scenes from Private Lives, performed by Geraldine Turner, Dennis Olsen, and Guy Noble from The Music Show archives. 

Marcia Hines marks fifty years since her debut recording, but her life in music started long before that. Raised with gospel in Boston, she was at Woodstock when she was 16 and then shortly after on her way to Australia to star in the local production of Hair. And then she stayed. After Hair came touring in a jazz band with B.B. King, then Jesus Christ Superstar, before being crowned Queen of Pop. A huge career across pop, jazz, disco and more followed and is still going with Marcia touring across her adopted Australia.As a reflection of his Butchulla, Garrwa, South-Sea Islander and Tongan backgrounds, Fred Leone's music is captivating cocktail of Language, collaboration and storytelling. He speaks to Andrew about his own musical upbringing and how he works with other musicians including trials (A.B. Original), Birdz and Samuel Pankhurst.

An hour in the company of music writer James Gavin whose biographies include George Michael, Chet Baker and Peggy Lee. Gavin discusses ‘ravaged’ voices;  singers whose voices became utterly wrecked in old age like Billie Holiday and Alessandro Moreschi. Or in the case of Marianne Faithful where age wearied the voice in a new and haunting way. We hear high voices that never dropped like Jimmy Scott and Peter Pears and Joan Baez whose technique only improved with age. And not forgetting the drama that became the hallmark of Johnny Cash’s late singing.

ANOHNI & the Johnsons return with My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, and Robbie visits the ACO studios to chat with Will Gregory and his Moog Ensemble.

Pop music is an art, it’s a science, it’s an industrial complex. Ring in the new year with some of your favourite pop hits, and a favourite conversation from 2023.

New albums from some of the most iconic voices of 2023: Hozier chats about Unreal Unearth, and Benjamin Appl on Forbidden Fruit. 

Two friends of The Music Show drop by the live music studio with performances from their 2023 releases.

The Music Show on RN Summer revisits conversations with Don Walker and Rob Hao.

Andy Irvine is the quintessential Irish traditional musician and songwriter, but he was born in 1940s London. Since then he’s been a huge part of the wave that popularised Irish music and folk music more broadly, and he joins us in The Music Show studio to play and reflect on a life on stage.

The Sound of White was Missy Higgins' debut album and includes tracks written in her teenage bedroom, on her post-high school backpacking trip, and in LA studios sponsored by her new record label. She rocketed to stardom back in 2004 and as that breakthrough record is about to celebrate its twentieth anniversary, Missy talks to The Music Show producer Ce Benedict about how it came together and how she looks back on it now.Judith Hill is one of the subjects of the documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, having been a backing vocalist for many years. Now she’s about to head to Sydney Festival and her parents – who met when they joined the same 70s funk band – are on tour with her.  These days, she is very much a frontwoman, and she tells Andrew about her life as a hardworking musician and finding her own sound whilst working with stars like Michael Jackson and Prince.And composer, dramaturg, director, writer, collaborator, and friend of the Music Show Felix Cross talks about a project that has been simmering away over the last few years that is coming to fruition early next year in India. Working with the Akshar Trust, Felix is creating new musical opportunities for children with hearing impairment, and devising a stage adaptation of the short film Vishwamitri Villas with his collaborator in life and theatre, Kristine Landon-Smith.

Richard Mills finishes up thirteen years at the helm of Victorian Opera at the end of this year, and his opera Galileo gets its concert premiere as a kind of farewell. He’s got plenty to look back on and to look forward to as well as opera in Australia and worldwide goes through a kind of sea change.And we look back at some of The Music Show’s favourite live sessions from the year with jazz piano, classical chamber music, monk punk and a vacuum cleaner plugged into a clarinet. Not to mention the banjos – multiple banjos. Music from Throat Pleats, Party Dozen, Buddhadatta and Shogo Yoshii, Mike Nock, members of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck.

2023 marks the centenary of Hank Williams' birth. Even if you’re allergic to country music, the music you listen to would likely be somehow traced back to this seminal singer and songwriter. In fact, there might be quite a few songs you’ve heard by some of your favourite legendary singers that were actually written many years earlier by Hank. Get to know Hank’s music, his life and his legacy through archive interviews with his biographer Colin Escott, a chat with Lucky Oceans from 2019, and a story from Billy Joe Shaver that he shared in 2002.And Emily Granger joins us in the live music studio with her harp to talk through the ins and outs of her instrument and share some very handy tips about writing for the harp. Emily was raised in Missouri but has called Australia home for the last seven years, and he’s just released an album of duets for harp and Sally Walker’s flute called Something Like This. She has been appointed Principal Harp at the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and is about to head down to the Mornington Peninsula for their annual Peninsula Summer Music Festival. 

British violinist Anthony Marwood returns to our shores where he’s playing a series of concerts in duet with accordionist James Crabb for the Australian Chamber Orchestra.As a soloist, chamber musician, orchestra director, and festival director he’s a man with many strings to his bow, but we’ll try not to let that horrific pun get in the way of a good, in-depth conversation between Anthony and Andrew.They talk about working with composers like Thomas Adès, Sally Beamish, learning from Emanuel Hurwitz, and collaborating with Sinead O'Connor. 

Following the release of her second studio album Hertz, Perth-based singer-songwriter Carla Geneve chats to Andrew about channelling the experiences of her bipolar diagnosis into her music and resisting the temptations of becoming the “tortured artist”. Describing the record as a “concept album,” Hertz is a continuation of her previous release Learn to Like It, but takes on a new, raw sound that still maintains an authentic Aussie twang.Reflecting the melting pot of Adelaide, Nexus Arts Orchestra adds new dimensions to the idea of “Contemporary Australian Music”. The group is made up of performers from varying musical backgrounds, and include instruments like the guzheng, shamisen and santur alongside a string section, vocals and flamenco guitar. They have just released a three-track EP, featuring co-composed music and songs by Ngaanyatjarra singer-songwriter Vonda Last.And we remember one of the greatest Irish songwriters and frontman of The Pogues, Shane MacGowan, who died this week at the age of 65. He was renowned for the powerful sound he derived from Irish traditional music and punk.

Celebrate 100 years of  broadcast radio in Australia with The Music Show in a live recording at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) in Canberra!In front of a live audience, we are joined by the NFSA's Sound Curator Thorsten Kaeding, pianist and Deputy Head of School at the ANU School of Music Scott Davie, and local experimental musician Sia Ahmad for a chat about the impact of broadcast radio on music, and music's influence on the development of media.We delve into the archives of the NFSA and the ABC to listen to recordings from lacquer discs recorded by ABC's war correspondent Chester Wilmot in Tobruk during the second world war, some of a Prix Italia winning work, and live performances by Sia and a boombox and Thorsten playing an original wax cylinder.

Ashley Naylor is guitarist who has played in many bands. He has his own bands, like Even, plays in other bands like The Church, and is even in bands on TV, like The RocKwiz Orkestra. In fact, you may have heard his guitar on The Music Show, but this time, he is on the program to talk about his most recent release - a new album of instrumental music called Soundtracks Volume 2, a follow up to his 2020 lockdown album Soundtracks Volume 1.Founding member of No Fixed Address and Mixed Relations and the godfather of Australian reggae, Bart Willoughby makes his Music Show debut. He is an alumni of CASM (Centre for Aborignal Studies in Music) in Adelaide and has toured internationally with bands like Yothu Yindi. In this interview, we journey into Bart’s incredible story as a multi-instrumentalist, and how he came to be one of the most significant figures in Australian songwriting. 

Fred Smith is that classic combo: troubadour and a diplomat. Now based back in Canberra, his career as a singer-songwriter is defined by his time in Bougainville and Afghanistan. But his new album, Look, is "a collection of songs that are not about Afghanistan", and features tributes to Leonard Cohen and Helen Garner, the latter of which he performs live in The Music Show studio. Jazz duo Claire Cross and Harry Cook's debut album for ABC Jazz, Dialect, melds her electric bass with his genre-bending piano. They join Andy from Berlin to talk about an album firmly rooted in the Australian landscape. 

Gelareh Pour and Brian O'Dwyer have been playing music together for over 10 years and have just released their debut full-length album under the project name ZÖJ. They describe the ZÖJ as an "ongoing conversation" that combines Gelareh's Persian music background and Brian's experimental percussion to create new Australian music. Their album Fil O Fenjoon was recorded in the Primrose Potter Salon of the Melbourne Recital Centre.Cellist Anthony Albrecht is co-director of The Bowerbird Collective alongside Simone Slattery, a project "crossing the arts/science divide" in blending music and conservation. As they gear up for the inaugural Lyrebird Festival, Anthony talks about historical performance, finding music in nature, and whether frogs sing quite so beautifully as birds.

Robyn Archer has spent the past year touring An Australian Songbook – it’s not The Australian songbook but it takes a swathe of Australian songwriting from household singalongs to new art song and weaves a wry and touching portrait of the continent. She spends an hour with Andy looking at the songbook as it has taken shape: from First Nations folksong, to yodelling, to the menstruation blues.

‘So much of traditional jazz is about romantic love,’ says saxophonist Holly Moore. ‘I feel like there’s never really that much on friendships and the other relationships in our lives”. Her debut album for ABC Jazz, Reunion, is a five-part suite about those bonds, from adolescence to adulthood.   We catch up with 2022 Classical Freedman Fellow Katie Yap about the project she undertook with the prize. Multitudes has seen Katie improvising, composing and performing with four unique collaborators. We talk about birds, words and get an update on what's cooking in Katie's kitchen. And we get a glimpse into The Journey Down - a project that took a car wreck-turned-sonic sculpture on the road from Kununurra to Perth.

Good times and bum times, she’s seen them all and she’s here: Geraldine Turner, lynchpin of the Australian music theatre scene from 1970s repertory to the current run of Wicked, reflects on her massive career (so far), her love of Sondheim, and Judy Garland.

The Music Show catches up with Lance Ferguson and Kylie Auldist from funk/soul stalwarts The Bamboos in between their month-long Melbourne residency and a multi-city European tour, to hear about the new album This Is How You Do It, featuring Kylie's son Reginald AK.  In Song Circle at the upcoming Clancestry festival, Troy Cassar-Daley celebrates the life of his late mother and the sharing of songs and stories that got him through the grieving process of Sorry Business. With his daughter Jem joining him for this performance and on recent tours, he tells Andrew about the intersection of music and family. And Sarah Blasko on writing music for Shakespeare’s most musical play, Twelfth Night, which is underway at Bell Shakespeare.

Conor Oberst and his trio Bright Eyes are by many accounts the group most responsible for the indie-folk boom of the mid-2000s. Bright Eyes is touring the country and Conor swings by The Music Show to talk about revisiting and reworking his old songs after the band’s return from a long hiatus. Vanessa Perica’s second album, The Eye Is The First Circle, builds on the lush foundations of her first. In a time when the big band seems somewhat nostalgic she joins Andy to prove that the Vanessa Perica Orchestra has its feet firmly planted in the present. And she remembers Carla Bley, the unique bandleader who died last week.

Two musically different Australian outfits in Melbourne and Adelaide join The Music Show with live performances. Hand to Earth grew out of a musical conversation started by vocalist Sunny Kim and Yolŋu Songman Daniel Wilfred during an Australian Art Orchestra residency in the remote highlands of Tasmania. Since that first collaboration, Hand to Earth has become an ensemble involving Aviva Endean, David Wilfred and Peter Knight, and they are on the cusp on a new record release and performance at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Joined by Polish violinist Amalia Umeda, their show The Crow is a new commission that follows the songline of the crow (waak waak) in Arnhem Land.  And ahead of their second appearance at OzAsia Festival, Hyoshi in Counterpoint drop by our the studio in Adelaide to give us a taste of their music. They're an ensemble of six women from different musical backgrounds, bringing together the sounds of Shamisen, Guzheng, strings, keyboard and a rather quirky drum-kit to create musical responses to visual artworks.

New Zealand composer Annea Lockwood has become a staple in the American experimental community over the last 60 years. Her extensive body of work includes Piano Transplants – a series that includes her well-known Piano Burning and Southern Exposure – the premiere of which went awry when the piano went AWOL in Perth…  The Music Show goes to the art gallery, where Annea is rehearsing for the premiere of a new piece, created with Brisbane composer and percussionist Vanessa Tomlinson at the AGNSW’s Volume Festival. We chat about her career, listening to rivers and her latest release – Tête-à-tête – a record made with her late partner Ruth Anderson.

Jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant's latest album Mélusine brings together the high-concept dreaminess of her lockdown album Ghost Song with the powerful band leadership of her earlier work. Cécile joins Andy ahead of her tour to Australia to draw a line from her Kate Bush covers to her 12th Century Occitan folk song renditions. Author Stephen Downes reveals the strange and shortened life of the American pianist William Kapell, who died in a plane accident seventy years ago. Violist Henry Justo is the 2023 recipient of one of Australia’s major instrumental prizes, the Freedman Classical Fellowship, which gives him a grant towards a major performance project. Henry stops by The Music Show studio to reveal his plans for the fellowship and how Debussy clinched the final competition for him.

No-No Boy is a project conceived by academic and musician Julian Saporiti that channels his research on Asian-American histories into song. His music is built on samples he has recorded at Japanese-American interment camps, in national parks, and with museum archives. Julian has just released his third album, Empire Electric, which is a melting pot of American folk, field recordings and a melange of English, French and Vietnamese languages.  And The Music Show takes a trip to Art Gallery New South Wales to meet some of the artists performing at their new festival of sound and vision, Volume. We speak to Japanese sound artist FUJI||||||||||TA who has travelled to Australia with his hand-fabricated Pipe Organ for his southern hemisphere premiere. We also get a sneak peek of his performance at his sound check in the Oil Tank Gallery of Sydney Modern, the new wing of the Art Gallery of NSW.  

Iranian composer and pianist Shervin Mirzeinali’s opera Panbe Zan recreates the process of preparing cotton to be turned into cloth, featuring traditional Persian music interleaved with the rhythms and timbres of the Panbe Zani’s ritual. He’s also set to open the inaugural Iranian Music Festival in Sydney, and brings in the co-founder and setar player Ehsan Kachooei to demonstrate some of the music the audience will get to hear at the Festival. Christopher Sainsbury’s new opera The Visitors is the latest in a series of interpretations of Jane Harrison’s play of the same name. Christopher tells Andy how the score is inspired not only by the play text but by the sound world of Eora and Dharug Country, from the echoes of sandstone gullies to the song of the butcherbird.

“When you’re singing Byrd’s music today, you’re just taking his instructions from four hundred years ago, but you’re making contemporary music with them”. William Byrd was a composer of sacred – and secret – Catholic music in Protestant England. To mark 400 years since his death, Andy talks to Early Music specialist Christopher Watson, who is gearing up to perform his work with the Song Company, and we’ll hear Byrd’s biographer Kerry McCarthy from the Music Show archives.

South African vocal group the Soweto Gospel Choir consider Australia to be a kind of second home. They’re on a mammoth four month tour of the continent, performing at venues across NSW and Victoria across October, via a stop to sing for us live in the Music Show studio. The baryton is a small character in the history of music – you’d be forgiven if you’d never heard of the instrument, let along heard it played. Melbourne-based Laura Vaughan is a specialist early music performer who plays the baryton in the Gryphon Baryton Trio, alongside Katie Yap on Viola and Joesphine Vains on cello. They are presenting a concert of pieces for baryton trio by the instrument’s most prolific composer Joseph Haydn, and join us in the studio to give us a taste of music from the Esterházy court. And we remember Australian opera singer Jacqueline Dark who has died at the age of fifty five.

Can The Music Show do an entire decade in an hour? We’re certainly going to give it a go with the help of Tony Wellington, former Mayor of Noosa, current bird photographer, and author of Vinyl Dreams: How The 1970s Changed Music. From the collapse of the 1960s dream with the end of the Beatles, the deaths of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, to the arrival of rap and the Walkman at the end of the decade, it was a time of change, prompting at least one 70s artist to ask: What’s Going On?

Jim Denley and the natural environment have been longtime collaborators, in fact, he is perhaps one of the very few musicians who has played outdoors more than inside. Over the past few years, he’s been documenting those collaborations across various locations, including the Budawangs and the city of Sydney, and recently released two albums.  Sydney Chamber Opera stages a triple bill of one act operas for single singer in a program called earth.voice.body. Director Clemence Williams and soprano Celeste Lazarenko join Andrew to reveal their treatment of works by Francis Poulenc and Kaija Saariaho that pull apart the operatic form and the human psyche.

Author Oliver Soden tackles the public and private personas of Noël Coward in his autobiography Masquerade: The Lives of Noël Coward. He joins Andy on to unpack the way that life yielded one of the most productive artistic careers of the 20th century.

Led by husband and wife Mohamed and Anna Camara, Jarabi Band fuses West African instruments with jazz to explore stories of contemporary African and Australian musical culture. They are releasing their debut album Duniama, which features songs written in Guinean languages Malinke and Susu. And the Alma Moodie Quartet, featuring violinists Kristian Winther and Anna da Silva Chen, take their name from one of Australia’s great historical violinists. They perform live in studio ahead of gigs at the Sydney Opera House and Baroque Hall Adelaide, revealing how Moodie’s legacy feeds into what and how they play.

Saskia Rao-de Haas took her Dutch cello to India, learnt the complex raga system and stayed. She’s modified the instrument whose ‘voice’ sits curiously well in the world of Indian classical music. With her musical partner and husband Shubhendra Rao they’re in Australia performing ‘jugalbandi’, blending the music of northern and southern India. And they pay respects to their musical gurus Pandit Ravi Shankar and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. Mark Isaacs is impossible to pigeon-hole as one of Australia’s most talented musicians. Once he was a jazz pianist.  But things change.  He’s written three symphonies,  conducts, composes film music and he fiddles impressively with standards.  Mark sits down at the piano to preview his latest work Sonata.  And he gives us a bonus rumination on Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now which is part of a forthcoming concert re-imagining songs by Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, and others.

Screen composer Hildur Guðnadóttir is becoming a household name, having written the music to films such as The Joker, Tár and series Chernobyl. Most recently, she has crafted an eerie score to accompany the latest instalment in Kenneth Branagh's film series based on Agatha Christie's Poirot. In the soundtrack for the new film, A Haunting in Venice, Guðnadóttir incorporates plainchant-like themes and darkly jarring melodies. She brings us into the world of screen music and different ways in which she has worked with directors to bring these stories to life. Melbourne-based new music outfit Rubiks Collective join forces with choreographer and dancer Gerard van Dyck, visual artist Sal Cooper and composer Kate Neal for the premiere of A Book of Hours. We speak to co-Artistic Directors of Rubiks Collective Kaylie Melville and Tamara Kohler about the expanded forms of music they commission, as well as brushing their teeth; and Kate Neal looks at time through the music of Scarlatti, Rameau and Couperin. 

for the conductor, the rehearsal is the gig... Umberto Clerici’s CV lists principal cellist, chamber musician, educator, soloist and now conductor, as the newly appointed Chief Conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra It’s an unusual trajectory from orchestra to podium, a post usually inhabited by soloists, not former orchestral musicians. He says the physicality of the cello lends itself to conducting as well as playing at the bottom of the orchestra.  He also credits COVID to his break with the baton and tells us how he needs to balance being a ‘traffic controller with inspirer’.

We spend the hour with two of Australia's award-winning woodwind musicians. ABC Classic’s Young Performer of the Year Eliza Shephard, plays repertoire that's not for the faint-hearted. A talented flautist, she calls on singing, acting and an extraordinary technique to perform extremely ambitious music which ranges from Cage and Takemitsu to Hindson and Vine. Eliza plays live on The Music Show with percussionist Alexander Meagher and discusses her uncompromising concert programming and the enigmatic glissando head joint. Clarinets were once a mainstay of jazz but less so these days. Phillippa Murphy-Haste received a gong this week for her clarinet work and a nice swag of money to match, taking out the Freedman Jazz Fellowship. Equally ambitious in playing and programming as her colleague above, Phillippa writes for and performs in a multitude of bands and this week heads to Sweden to complete her large work-in-progress Kairos, as part of her Freedman prize.

The Cat Empire strikes back with a new line-up and sound. In 2021, The Cat Empire announced that they were disbanding after more than 20 years and played their final show with the original line up at Bluesfest in 2022. Fast forward a year and The Cat Empire's new crew has released Where the Angels Fall which takes us to a re-energised sound world where Cuba meets Mexico via Mauritius and the Seychelles.  London-based Australian pianist Rob Hao drops in to chat about his project Schubert Overwritten which he is presenting in Melbourne and Sydney. Schubert is known for his lasting influence on the music that came after him, but also for his incomplete music - both of which come into question when new composers attempt to write endings to those works. 

Kurt Elling is probably best known as a purveyor of vocalese, having inherited the mantle from Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross. But Elling is scratching a whole new itch with his SuperBlue project. Electro- funk meets hip-hop beats. Is this jazz?  Find out when Mr Elling is in the house paying his respects to jazz greats that came before. Laura Murphy is the composer and lyricist for a new musical The Dismissal. It takes audiences back to that fateful day in November 1975 and a constitutional crisis that overshadowed the Whitlam years. This world premiere is seen through the eyes of that famous satirical character in these events, Norman Gunston.

An hour in the company of music writer James Gavin whose biographies include George Michael, Chet Baker and Peggy Lee. Gavin discusses ‘ravaged’ voices;  singers whose voices became utterly wrecked in old age like Billie Holiday and Alessandro Moreschi. Or in the case of Marianne Faithful where age wearied the voice in a new and haunting way. We hear high voices that never dropped like Jimmy Scott and Peter Pears and Joan Baez whose technique only improved with age. And not forgetting the drama that became the hallmark of Johnny Cash’s late singing.

Friends of the show Fanny Lumsden and Georgia Mooney join Andrew to play songs from their new albums live in The Music Show studio.  One quarter of All Our Exes Live in Texas, Georgia Mooney, has released her long-awaited debut solo album called Full of Moon. Made in the times of travel restrictions with musicians in London, Brighton, Bonn, Los Angeles, New York and Sydney, the album is a collage of lush musical landscapes and melodies with a certain nostalgic touch.  We catch up with Australian country singer-songwriter Fanny Lumsden, who was previously on the show with her album Fallow. Hey Dawn is Fanny's fourth studio album, threaded together by her memories of growing up in the Snowy Mountains. Fanny chats to Andrew about the new world of Hey Dawn, and the characters and muses that have inspired the songs on the album. 

Principal Horn of the Berlin Philharmonic, Stefan Dohr visits the studio to talk about working within that orchestra, Strauss’s second horn concerto, and Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. Composer and dramaturg Meta Cohen says they approach their music like a dramaturg and their theatre like a musician. It’s a creative combination that’s led to their choral and vocal writing being a finalist in the 2023 Art Music Awards, as well as being the first non-male composer to be performed in a UK Orthodox Synagogue. They join Andy to talk about all that plus their ABC-commissioned song cycle a love is a love is a love. And pioneering electronic composer Beverly Glenn Copeland on his recently rediscovered classic album Keyboard Fantasies and his new album The Ones Ahead.

Irish singer-songwriter Hozier’s third studio album Unreal Unearth takes Dante’s Divine Comedy and its circles of hell as its inspiration. Drawing from blues, soul and Celtic traditional music, he’s known for taking his time releasing new music and this is no exception. He joins Andy to talk about singing in the Irish language, finding a limit to his capacity for solitude, and finding new heights to his exceptional voice. Franz Liszt certainly kept himself busy, as we learn from pianists Michael Kieran Harvey and Paavali Jumppanen. A child prodigy paraded around by his father, he came to create the recital format as we know it today. After whipping up what has been termed Lisztomania, Liszt took a step back from the spotlight at the age of 38, and instead committed himself to conducting, composing, teaching and womanising.  Michael Kieran Harvey contemplates what Liszt might be doing if he were alive today through a program that includes pieces by Liszt, Harvey's own compositions and music that has come in between. He will be performing these programs along Jumppanen, Timothy Young, and pianists from the Australian National Academy of Music.  Franz Liszt certainly kept himself busy, as we learn from pianists Michael Kieran Harvey and Paavali Jumppanen. A child prodigy paraded around by his father, he came to create the recital format that resulted in concert halls packed to the rafters, and what has now been termed Lisztomania. After taking a step back from the spotlight at the age of 38, he took on a variety of different roles - conducting, composing, teaching and womanising.  In a two-concert series, Michael Kieran Harvey contemplates what Liszt might be doing if he were alive today through a program that includes pieces by Liszt, Harvey's own compositions and music that has come in between. He will be performing these programs along Jumppanen, Timothy Young, and pianists from the Australian National Academy of Music.

As ABC Science Week asks Australia what the nation’s favourite animal sound is, The Music Show looks at the unique musical relationship between humans and birds. From Olivier Messiaen’s trio of birds written when he was in a Polish concentration camp, to English folkie Sam Lee, Muruwari and Filipino rapper DOBBY, and zoomusicologist (dream job) and violinist Hollis Taylor’s duets with birds, and David Lumsdaine’s composition-by-dawn-chorus.

As ABC Science Week asks Australia what the nation’s favourite animal sound is, The Music Show looks at the unique musical relationship between humans and birds. From Olivier Messiaen’s trio of birds written when he was in a Polish concentration camp, to English folkie Sam Lee, Muruwari and Filipino rapper DOBBY, and zoomusicologist (dream job) and violinist Hollis Taylor’s duets with birds, and David Lumsdaine’s composition-by-dawn-chorus.

Karen O'Connor is a long-time friend of Joan Baez, and one of the directors for the new documentary Joan Baez I am a Noise, which tells the story of the iconic American singer, songwriter and activist. It follows her in the lead up to her last tour. With a career that has spanned over 60 years, Joan has accumulated a lifetime of joy and heartbreak, and a trove of diaries, tape letters and paintings that have captured her own private moments that have run parallel, and at times intersected with major historical events.  Karen talks about the unique journey that unfolds throughout the film as Joan candidly reflects on her career. As a reflection of his Butchulla, Garrwa, South-Sea Islander and Tongan backgrounds, Fred Leone's music is captivating cocktail of Language, collaboration and storytelling. He speaks to Andrew about his own musical upbringing and how he works with other musicians including trials (A.B. Original), Birdz and Samuel Pankhurst. And we remember the legendary musicians - Robbie Robertson of The Band, and Sugar Man Rodriguez.

Karen O'Connor is a long-time friend of Joan Baez, and one of the directors for the new documentary Joan Baez I am a Noise, which tells the story of the iconic American singer, songwriter and activist. It follows her in the lead up to her last tour. With a career that has spanned over 60 years, Joan has accumulated a lifetime of joy and heartbreak, and a trove of diaries, tape letters and paintings that have captured her own private moments that have run parallel, and at times intersected with major historical events.  Karen talks about the unique journey that unfolds throughout the film as Joan candidly reflects on her career. As a reflection of his Butchulla, Garrwa, South-Sea Islander and Tongan backgrounds, Fred Leone's music is captivating cocktail of Language, collaboration and storytelling. He speaks to Andrew about his own musical upbringing and how he works with other musicians including trials (A.B. Original), Birdz and Samuel Pankhurst. And we remember the legendary musicians - Robbie Robertson of The Band, and Sugar Man Rodriguez.

Kalkadunga composer and musician, William Barton will be awarded the Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music at the 2023 Art Music Awards. He’s back in The Music Show studio to talk about his Distinguished Service, and his working relationship with the late Richard Gill. And the Stiff Gins are 24 years into what they hope is a lifelong partnership. Yuwaalaraay woman Nardi Simpson and Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri woman Kaleena Briggs look back at their almost quarter century and the changing landscape of music and language with live performance in The Music Show studio.

Kalkadunga composer and musician, William Barton will be awarded the Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music at the 2023 Art Music Awards. He’s back in The Music Show studio to talk about his Distinguished Service, and his working relationship with the late Richard Gill. And the Stiff Gins are 24 years into what they hope is a lifelong partnership. Yuwaalaraay woman Nardi Simpson and Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri woman Kaleena Briggs look back at their almost quarter century and the changing landscape of music and language with live performance in The Music Show studio.

Originally from Melbourne, Ziggy and Miles Johnston are the next generation of brother/guitar duos. They are currently based in New York and studying together at The Juilliard School, and have returned to Australia on tour for their new album Sidekick.   Australian violist Tahlia Petrosian is a member of the oldest Symphony orchestra in the world, the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig. Named after their original concert hall, the Gewandhaus started in 1743 and has had three homes since, the most recent hall built after the second Gewandhaus was damaged in the second World War. They're known for the warm, dark colours they can conjure under the batons of Kapellmeisters (music directors/chief conductors) including Felix Mendelssohn, Herbert Blomstedt, and currently Andris Nelsons. An octet of Gewandhaus musicians, including Tahlia, are currently in the country to collaborate with emerging Australian musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and tour a program of Schubert's chamber music.

Originally from Melbourne, Ziggy and Miles Johnston are the next generation of brother/guitar duos. They are currently based in New York and studying together at The Juilliard School, and have returned to Australia on tour for their new album Sidekick.   Australian violist Tahlia Petrosian is a member of the oldest Symphony orchestra in the world, the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig. Named after their original concert hall, the Gewandhaus started in 1743 and has had three homes since, the most recent hall built after the second Gewandhaus was damaged in the second World War. They're known for the warm, dark colours they can conjure under the batons of Kapellmeisters (music directors/chief conductors) including Felix Mendelssohn, Herbert Blomstedt, and currently Andris Nelsons. An octet of Gewandhaus musicians, including Tahlia, are currently in the country to collaborate with emerging Australian musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and tour a program of Schubert's chamber music.

György Ligeti (1923 – 2006), the avant-garde Hungarian composer, celebrates his 100th anniversary this year. He was one of the most unique composers of the 1950s and 60s, and then kept pushing his musical language so that in the 1990s he was still one of the most radical composers working. His music education was interrupted by the Holocaust: he was Jewish and he was sent to a forced labour brigade whilst his brother and parents were sent to Mathausen-Gusen and Auschwitz. His mother was the only family member to survive. Despite the darkness he experienced, his music became more complex and beautiful, developing a sound he called “micropolyphony” – a precise series of musical lines that change slowly,  blurring together like clouds moving across the sky. We hear from Dr Amy Bauer, Professor in the Music Department at the University of California Irvine. Her writing on Ligeti includes the monograph Ligeti’s Laments and co-editing Ligeti’s Cultural Identities. And from The Music Show archives, Ligeti’s late biographer Richard Toop, and conductors Clark Rundell and Elgar Howarth. 

György Ligeti (1923 – 2006), the avant-garde Hungarian composer, celebrates his 100th anniversary this year. He was one of the most unique composers of the 1950s and 60s, and then kept pushing his musical language so that in the 1990s he was still one of the most radical composers working. His music education was interrupted by the Holocaust: he was Jewish and he was sent to a forced labour brigade whilst his brother and parents were sent to Mathausen-Gusen and Auschwitz. His mother was the only family member to survive. Despite the darkness he experienced, his music became more complex and beautiful, developing a sound he called “micropolyphony” – a precise series of musical lines that change slowly,  blurring together like clouds moving across the sky. We hear from Dr Amy Bauer, Professor in the Music Department at the University of California Irvine. Her writing on Ligeti includes the monograph Ligeti’s Laments and co-editing Ligeti’s Cultural Identities. And from The Music Show archives, Ligeti’s late biographer Richard Toop, and conductors Clark Rundell and Elgar Howarth. 

Opera is full of mad scenes, particularly those written in the 19th century in Italy, but there's a trend - none of the men ever go mad, only the women. In fact, the preoccupation with "mad women" in opera and throughout a range of art forms during this era is telling of how 19th-century society viewed mental health and the role of women - mostly written by men.  By exploring these operas and portrayal of women, coloratura soprano Jessica Pratt has become quite fond of characters like Amina from Bellini's La sonnambula and the perhaps more recognisable, Lucia from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, a character that Jessica has played over 100 times. She has distilled five operas from Italy's Bel Canto composers into a concert program of "Mad Scenes," that not only has challenging vocal acrobatics, but also unpacks how and why these characters go mad, which, when you hear their stories, will make a lot of sense. Shellie Morris is a singer and songwriter working with remote communities to preserve some of the worlds oldest languages through music. Most recently, she has been working with the Groote Eylandt Language Centre to write songs in their language, Anindilyakwa. Shellie speaks about the collaborative process of writing an album of songs with the translators at the Language Centre and being able to ordering a strong coffee on the island. And we remember two distinctive voices of of our time, Tony Bennett who has died at the age of 96, and Sinéad O'Connor, at the age of 56. 

Opera is full of mad scenes, particularly those written in the 19th century in Italy, but there's a trend - none of the men ever go mad, only the women. In fact, the preoccupation with "mad women" in opera and throughout a range of art forms during this era is telling of how 19th-century society viewed mental health and the role of women - mostly written by men.  By exploring these operas and portrayal of women, coloratura soprano Jessica Pratt has become quite fond of characters like Amina from Bellini's La sonnambula and the perhaps more recognisable, Lucia from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, a character that Jessica has played over 100 times. She has distilled five operas from Italy's Bel Canto composers into a concert program of "Mad Scenes," that not only has challenging vocal acrobatics, but also unpacks how and why these characters go mad, which, when you hear their stories, will make a lot of sense. Shellie Morris is a singer and songwriter working with remote communities to preserve some of the worlds oldest languages through music. Most recently, she has been working with the Groote Eylandt Language Centre to write songs in their language, Anindilyakwa. Shellie speaks about the collaborative process of writing an album of songs with the translators at the Language Centre and being able to ordering a strong coffee on the island. And we remember two distinctive voices of of our time, Tony Bennett who has died at the age of 96, and Sinéad O'Connor, at the age of 56. 

In 1993, Mike Nock recorded one of his most iconic solo albums, Touch in the Eugene Goosens Hall at the ABC studios in Ultimo, Sydney. 30 years on from his last solo album, Mike has returned to same hall for his newest release, Hearing. Through its 13 tracks, this album showcases Mike's musical artistry as both a pianist and composer, featuring a range of his own compositions, improvisations and some tunes from some other of his favourite musicians including Bryce Rohde and Jonathan Zwartz.  Sat where he's most at home, in front of the piano, Mike chats to Andrew Ford about the moods and colours that he is still able to evoke from the piano keys. In between some spontaneous improvisations throughout the interview, Mike reflects on the making of Hearing, the various emotional threads that tie the tracks together and tributes to friends, family and collaborators old and new. 

In 1993, Mike Nock recorded one of his most iconic solo albums, Touch in the Eugene Goosens Hall at the ABC studios in Ultimo, Sydney. 30 years on from his last solo album, Mike has returned to same hall for his newest release, Hearing. Through its 13 tracks, this album showcases Mike's musical artistry as both a pianist and composer, featuring a range of his own compositions, improvisations and some tunes from some other of his favourite musicians including Bryce Rohde and Jonathan Zwartz.  Sat where he's most at home, in front of the piano, Mike chats to Andrew Ford about the moods and colours that he is still able to evoke from the piano keys. In between some spontaneous improvisations throughout the interview, Mike reflects on the making of Hearing, the various emotional threads that tie the tracks together and tributes to friends, family and collaborators old and new. 

Singing forbidden fruit with Benjamin Appl, and live music from Rockhampton duo Busby Marou. Rockhampton duo Busby Marou have been making music together for sixteen years. They say they’re better live but their fifth studio album, Blood Red, doesn’t sound too bad either. Combining Tom Busby’s singer-songwriter sensibilities and Jeremy Marou’s guitar chops and Torres Strait islander musical culture, their sound has a breezy optimism that they’ve worked hard to achieve, as they demonstrate live in The Music Show studio. German-British baritone Benjamin Appl reinvents the German Romantic Liederabend – “evening of song” – for a new era with his Australian recital program entitled Nocturne. His latest album, Forbidden Fruit, contains another swathe of songs, and Benjamin joins Andy to talk about both, as well as his time as the last student of the legendary baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Plus new music from Kate Pass's Kohesia Ensemble where Persian instrumentalists teaming up with jazz artists for Sand, Sea and Sky. 

Singing forbidden fruit with Benjamin Appl, and live music from Rockhampton duo Busby Marou. Rockhampton duo Busby Marou have been making music together for sixteen years. They say they’re better live but their fifth studio album, Blood Red, doesn’t sound too bad either. Combining Tom Busby’s singer-songwriter sensibilities and Jeremy Marou’s guitar chops and Torres Strait islander musical culture, their sound has a breezy optimism that they’ve worked hard to achieve, as they demonstrate live in The Music Show studio. German-British baritone Benjamin Appl reinvents the German Romantic Liederabend – “evening of song” – for a new era with his Australian recital program entitled Nocturne. His latest album, Forbidden Fruit, contains another swathe of songs, and Benjamin joins Andy to talk about both, as well as his time as the last student of the legendary baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Plus new music from Kate Pass's Kohesia Ensemble where Persian instrumentalists teaming up with jazz artists for Sand, Sea and Sky. 

Australian pianist, Aura Go plays Chopin - both the character, and all 24 of his Preludes - in the stage production of Paul Kildea's book Chopin's Piano. Combining live musical performances with theatre, the production brings to life the story of the piano made by the local Majorcan craftsman, Juan Bauza in Palma. Threaded together by Chopin's 24 Preludes, the story follows the piano from its time with Chopin during that historic winter in Majorca, to its new life in Paris with Wanda Landowska, and through the hands of Nazis during World War II.  Leaning into a bit of a method-acting scenario, Aura joins us on one of the ABC's most quirky pianos in the Melbourne live music studio to play some of the Preludes that Chopin wrote on Bauza's eccentric piano. We speak to Aura about her take on Chopin as the pianists' composer and her acting debut, and contemplate the music of Chopin with some guests from The Music Show's archive, featuring interviews with Paul Kildea in 2018, Ruth Slenczynska in 2020, Roger Woodward in 2010, and Susan Tomes in 2021.  Chopin's Piano is now on tour around Australia.

Australian pianist, Aura Go plays Chopin - both the character, and all 24 of his Preludes - in the stage production of Paul Kildea's book Chopin's Piano. Combining live musical performances with theatre, the production brings to life the story of the piano made by the local Majorcan craftsman, Juan Bauza in Palma. Threaded together by Chopin's 24 Preludes, the story follows the piano from its time with Chopin during that historic winter in Majorca, to its new life in Paris with Wanda Landowska, and through the hands of Nazis during World War II.  Leaning into a bit of a method-acting scenario, Aura joins us on one of the ABC's most quirky pianos in the Melbourne live music studio to play some of the Preludes that Chopin wrote on Bauza's eccentric piano. We speak to Aura about her take on Chopin as the pianists' composer and her acting debut, and contemplate the music of Chopin with some guests from The Music Show's archive, featuring interviews with Paul Kildea in 2018, Ruth Slenczynska in 2020, Roger Woodward in 2010, and Susan Tomes in 2021.  Chopin's Piano is now on tour around Australia.

Fifty years after her debut recording Marcia Hines reflects on a life and career full of stories, and Evelyn Ida Morris finds their voice through improvisation on the piano.  Marcia Hines marks fifty years since her debut recording this year, but her life in music started long before that. Raised with gospel in Boston, she was at Woodstock when she was 16 and then shortly after on her way to Australia to star in the local production of Hair. And then she stayed. After Hair came touring in a jazz band with B.B. King, then Jesus Christ Superstar, before being crowned Queen of Pop. A huge career across pop, jazz, disco and more followed and is still going with Marcia on tour across her adopted Australia now. Evelyn Ida Morris’ most recent release is a record of a single long improvisation on solo piano, which they performed in response to the artwork of Elizabeth Newman. Titled Extended Time, the music is inspired not only by the paintings themselves but by the people looking at them in the gallery, an intimate portrait of experiencing art. It’s a new point in the journey for Morris, who started as a drummer in punk bands before recording looping synth pop under the moniker Pikelet for many years before settling into their own identity with their 2018 self-titled album on Milk! Records.

Fifty years after her debut recording Marcia Hines reflects on a life and career full of stories, and Evelyn Ida Morris finds their voice through improvisation on the piano.  Marcia Hines marks fifty years since her debut recording this year, but her life in music started long before that. Raised with gospel in Boston, she was at Woodstock when she was 16 and then shortly after on her way to Australia to star in the local production of Hair. And then she stayed. After Hair came touring in a jazz band with B.B. King, then Jesus Christ Superstar, before being crowned Queen of Pop. A huge career across pop, jazz, disco and more followed and is still going with Marcia on tour across her adopted Australia now. Evelyn Ida Morris’ most recent release is a record of a single long improvisation on solo piano, which they performed in response to the artwork of Elizabeth Newman. Titled Extended Time, the music is inspired not only by the paintings themselves but by the people looking at them in the gallery, an intimate portrait of experiencing art. It’s a new point in the journey for Morris, who started as a drummer in punk bands before recording looping synth pop under the moniker Pikelet for many years before settling into their own identity with their 2018 self-titled album on Milk! Records.

Bach is indestructible. Jazz singer Michelle Nicolle is the latest in a line of musicians to take the music of J.S. Bach and do things to it. Her jazz ensemble pops by The Music Show studio to play live selections from her new album The Bach Project, in which her acrobatic vocals draw closer and further from Bach’s original music. As an improviser himself, Bach’s music is fertile ground for reinterpretation, and we’ll hear from the late Jacques Loussier, the Brodsky Quartet’s Paul Cassidy, composer Brett Dean and the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble, amongst others, on how Bach has been transformed.

Bach is indestructible. Jazz singer Michelle Nicolle is the latest in a line of musicians to take the music of J.S. Bach and do things to it. Her jazz ensemble pops by The Music Show studio to play live selections from her new album The Bach Project, in which her acrobatic vocals draw closer and further from Bach’s original music. As an improviser himself, Bach’s music is fertile ground for reinterpretation, and we’ll hear from the late Jacques Loussier, the Brodsky Quartet’s Paul Cassidy, composer Brett Dean and the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble, amongst others, on how Bach has been transformed.

In 2019, Freya Josephine Hollick travelled to the famed Rancho de la Luna studio in Joshua Tree to record her most recent album titled The Real World. Growing up in regional Victoria, her music education mainly stemmed from Black Swan Record Store in the heart Ballarat, wihch eventually sparked her passion for music by the likes of Gram Parsons, Townes Van Zandt, and other giants of the Cosmic and Outlaw Country scene. Ahead of her appearance at the Adelaide Guitar Festival, Freya joins Andrew to talk about her evolving sound and the stories and musicians she encountered in Joshua Tree.  Longtime Music Show mate, Matt Davis, stops by with some musicians he's met while on the road filming his new documentary Changing Tides. Following Dharug artist and surfer Billy Bain on a trip up the coast of NSW, Matt talks to us about First Nations communities he met who live on the coast and their connections with the land and the ocean, and musicians from these nations who use their songs to explore their identities as saltwater people.  And producer Ce speaks to Acholi musician and singer, Otim Alpha who started his career in traditional wedding music, but has ended up on the dancefloor. Dubbed "Acholitronix," Otim's music combines the tunes and instruments of traditional wedding songs with electronic beats that still capture the soul of the rhythmic grooves at the heart of Acholi traditonal music. He talks to The Music Show before landing in Adelaide for the Illuminate Festival. 

In 2019, Freya Josephine Hollick travelled to the famed Rancho de la Luna studio in Joshua Tree to record her most recent album titled The Real World. Growing up in regional Victoria, her music education mainly stemmed from Black Swan Record Store in the heart Ballarat, wihch eventually sparked her passion for music by the likes of Gram Parsons, Townes Van Zandt, and other giants of the Cosmic and Outlaw Country scene. Ahead of her appearance at the Adelaide Guitar Festival, Freya joins Andrew to talk about her evolving sound and the stories and musicians she encountered in Joshua Tree.  Longtime Music Show mate, Matt Davis, stops by with some musicians he's met while on the road filming his new documentary Changing Tides. Following Dharug artist and surfer Billy Bain on a trip up the coast of NSW, Matt talks to us about First Nations communities he met who live on the coast and their connections with the land and the ocean, and musicians from these nations who use their songs to explore their identities as saltwater people.  And producer Ce speaks to Acholi musician and singer, Otim Alpha who started his career in traditional wedding music, but has ended up on the dancefloor. Dubbed "Acholitronix," Otim's music combines the tunes and instruments of traditional wedding songs with electronic beats that still capture the soul of the rhythmic grooves at the heart of Acholi traditonal music. He talks to The Music Show before landing in Adelaide for the Illuminate Festival. 

This is the story a song written by Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly around a campfire in 1988. What started off as a casually recorded folk number has become what Carmody calls “a kind of cultural love song”: a foundational entry in the Australian songbook. This year’s NAIDOC Week theme is “For Our Elders”, so RN’s Rudi Bremer went to speak with Kev Carmody at his studio on Kambuwal Country to gather his recollections of From Little Things Big Things Grow as it started, the story of the Gurindji Walk Off that inspired it, and the many different iterations he’s performed and heard in the last thirty years. Wik and South Sea Islander rapper Ziggy Ramo, Electric Fields vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands and Adelaide producer Michael Ross, and Zillmere State School Year 7 Class of 2003 student Tonii-Lee Betts join Craig Tilmouth to talk about their interpretations of the song that Carmody says “belongs to everyone now”.   From Little Things Big Things Grow, as performed by: Kev Carmody, Paul Kelly and the Tiddas from the 1993 album Bloodlines Paul Kelly & the Messengers from the 1991 album Comedy Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly live at the national memorial service for Gough Whitlam, 2014 The Waifs, from the 2020 album Cannot Buy My Soul: The Songs of Kev Carmody Electric Fields from the 2020 album Cannot Buy My Soul: The Songs of Kev Carmody Ziggy Ramo, from the 2021 single From Little Things Zillmere State School Year 7 Class of 2003 Paul Kelly & Jess Hitchcock live in 2019 on the album People You also heard Kev Carmody’s song Thou Shalt Not Steal from the 1988 album Pillars of Society, and the opening of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (‘Choral’), performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Wilhelm Furtwängler.

This is the story a song written by Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly around a campfire in 1988. What started off as a casually recorded folk number has become what Carmody calls “a kind of cultural love song”: a foundational entry in the Australian songbook. This year’s NAIDOC Week theme is “For Our Elders”, so RN’s Rudi Bremer went to speak with Kev Carmody at his studio on Kambuwal Country to gather his recollections of From Little Things Big Things Grow as it started, the story of the Gurindji Walk Off that inspired it, and the many different iterations he’s performed and heard in the last thirty years. Wik and South Sea Islander rapper Ziggy Ramo, Electric Fields vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands and Adelaide producer Michael Ross, and Zillmere State School Year 7 Class of 2003 student Tonii-Lee Betts join Craig Tilmouth to talk about their interpretations of the song that Carmody says “belongs to everyone now”.   From Little Things Big Things Grow, as performed by: Kev Carmody, Paul Kelly and the Tiddas from the 1993 album Bloodlines Paul Kelly & the Messengers from the 1991 album Comedy Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly live at the national memorial service for Gough Whitlam, 2014 The Waifs, from the 2020 album Cannot Buy My Soul: The Songs of Kev Carmody Electric Fields from the 2020 album Cannot Buy My Soul: The Songs of Kev Carmody Ziggy Ramo, from the 2021 single From Little Things Zillmere State School Year 7 Class of 2003 Paul Kelly & Jess Hitchcock live in 2019 on the album People You also heard Kev Carmody’s song Thou Shalt Not Steal from the 1988 album Pillars of Society, and the opening of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (‘Choral’), performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Wilhelm Furtwängler.

Robbie speaks to Electric Fields -  Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross about the perspectives that have been infused into the music through collaborative songwriting and Zaachariaha's upbringing in Mimili (APY Lands). After noticing their undeniable creative spark back in 2015, they have been making music together that hark back to the days watching Rage on the weekends, while adding their own individual sounds and stories to the mix. Electric Fields made their orchestral debut last year with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Hamer Hall, where the show ended with the audience dancing in the aisles of the concert hall. Following the success of that show, they're returning to the stage with the MSO again for NAIDOC Week this year. Bouncing off the her explorations in Blak Mass, Naretha Williams' new release Into Dusk We Fall shifts the focus from the grand organ to soft synthesisers and the voice. Written and produced with her husband, Cyrus Williams, this album was made throughout intensive lockdowns, with access to MESS restricted and both Naretha and Cyrus stuck in different timezones. She talks us through their remote collaborative process and how the restrictions helped her hone the music on the album.  And an excerpt of Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, a cinematic portrait of Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter and their relationship and collaboration captured in the run-up to their iconic performance with Paul Grabowsky and the Australian Art Orchestra in 2004.

Robbie speaks to Electric Fields -  Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross about the perspectives that have been infused into the music through collaborative songwriting and Zaachariaha's upbringing in Mimili (APY Lands). After noticing their undeniable creative spark back in 2015, they have been making music together that hark back to the days watching Rage on the weekends, while adding their own individual sounds and stories to the mix. Electric Fields made their orchestral debut last year with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Hamer Hall, where the show ended with the audience dancing in the aisles of the concert hall. Following the success of that show, they're returning to the stage with the MSO again for NAIDOC Week this year. Bouncing off the her explorations in Blak Mass, Naretha Williams' new release Into Dusk We Fall shifts the focus from the grand organ to soft synthesisers and the voice. Written and produced with her husband, Cyrus Williams, this album was made throughout intensive lockdowns, with access to MESS restricted and both Naretha and Cyrus stuck in different timezones. She talks us through their remote collaborative process and how the restrictions helped her hone the music on the album.  And an excerpt of Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, a cinematic portrait of Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter and their relationship and collaboration captured in the run-up to their iconic performance with Paul Grabowsky and the Australian Art Orchestra in 2004.

ANOHNI & the Johnsons return with My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, a kind of reunion-rebirth for the band after frontwoman Anohni Hegarty devoted over a decade to her solo work. Famed for her soulful voice that bridges an extraordinary range of intimacy and power, My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross is an album that takes ANOHNI’s lifelong preoccupations with the self and the natural world into a new space with a new vocabulary. Robbie talks to her about the album, her friendship with the late Lou Reed who inspires a new song, and Marsha P Johnson, who inspired her band name and graces the cover of the new album. And a previous Freedman Jazz Fellow, Novak Manojlovic, brings his band HEKKA into studio to give us a sneaky preview of their new album everywhere i go my body goes with me, cementing their ill-at-ease relationship with traditional jazz as they move towards their own sound.

ANOHNI & the Johnsons return with My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, a kind of reunion-rebirth for the band after frontwoman Anohni Hegarty devoted over a decade to her solo work. Famed for her soulful voice that bridges an extraordinary range of intimacy and power, My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross is an album that takes ANOHNI’s lifelong preoccupations with the self and the natural world into a new space with a new vocabulary. Robbie talks to her about the album, her friendship with the late Lou Reed who inspires a new song, and Marsha P Johnson, who inspired her band name and graces the cover of the new album. And a previous Freedman Jazz Fellow, Novak Manojlovic, brings his band HEKKA into studio to give us a sneaky preview of their new album everywhere i go my body goes with me, cementing their ill-at-ease relationship with traditional jazz as they move towards their own sound.

Arushi Jain is adamant that she’s not a “classical Indian musician.” Leaning on her roots in Hindustani musical tradition, she weaves together ethereal soundscapes that feature melodies and moods based on traditional Indian ragas swirling around an electronically generated soundscapes. Previously releasing music under the monikers Modular Princess and ose | ओस, she draws on her studies in computer sciences at Stanford, and gravitates towards the electronic DIY, working mostly with modular synthesisers when she’s not programming her own instruments. We spoke to trumpeter Tom Avgenicos last year when he won the Freedman Jazz Fellowship, and now the project idea that he won it with has become a reality. Tom and members of his band Delay 45 - Rohan Kumarage on keys and Dave Quinn on bass - are live in The Music Show studio to offer us a peek behind the curtain of Ghosts between Streams. And we listen to the final single of Afar woman, Yanna Momina, who died this week at the age of 76. Known for her powerful vocal and thrilling vibrato, Momina made a name for herself as both a singer and a songwriter - defying the expectations of women within the Afar community. 

Arushi Jain is adamant that she’s not a “classical Indian musician.” Leaning on her roots in Hindustani musical tradition, she weaves together ethereal soundscapes that feature melodies and moods based on traditional Indian ragas swirling around an electronically generated soundscapes. Previously releasing music under the monikers Modular Princess and ose | ओस, she draws on her studies in computer sciences at Stanford, and gravitates towards the electronic DIY, working mostly with modular synthesisers when she’s not programming her own instruments. We spoke to trumpeter Tom Avgenicos last year when he won the Freedman Jazz Fellowship, and now the project idea that he won it with has become a reality. Tom and members of his band Delay 45 - Rohan Kumarage on keys and Dave Quinn on bass - are live in The Music Show studio to offer us a peek behind the curtain of Ghosts between Streams. And we listen to the final single of Afar woman, Yanna Momina, who died this week at the age of 76. Known for her powerful vocal and thrilling vibrato, Momina made a name for herself as both a singer and a songwriter - defying the expectations of women within the Afar community. 

Writer Dr. Leah Broad's book Quartet charts the transition from the Victorian era to mid-20th century modernism through the lives and works of four significant female composers: Ethel Smyth, Rebecca Clarke, Dorothy Howell and Doreen Carwithen.

Writer Dr. Leah Broad's book Quartet charts the transition from the Victorian era to mid-20th century modernism through the lives and works of four significant female composers: Ethel Smyth, Rebecca Clarke, Dorothy Howell and Doreen Carwithen.

Pop music is an art, it’s a science, it’s an industrial complex. Two experts, musicologist Jadey O’Regan and psychologist Tim Byron, have joined forces to write the book on Hooks in Popular Music and they're going to tell us about the mechanics behind the music that gets in our head, from Beethoven to Britney. And producer Ce tells the story of Ethel Smyth, the Suffragette composer, and the music she wrote for her beloved Emmeline Pankhurst.

Pop music is an art, it’s a science, it’s an industrial complex. Two experts, musicologist Jadey O’Regan and psychologist Tim Byron, have joined forces to write the book on Hooks in Popular Music and they're going to tell us about the mechanics behind the music that gets in our head, from Beethoven to Britney. And producer Ce tells the story of Ethel Smyth, the Suffragette composer, and the music she wrote for her beloved Emmeline Pankhurst.

The Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho died over the weekend at the age of 70. Eschewing hardcore serialism and hardcore spectralism, her music found a way of describing colour and light with the orchestra and on the opera stage. Jack Symonds is the artistic director of Sydney Chamber Opera and an advocate for Saariaho’s music. Ahead of his performance of her choral work Tag de Jahrs with The Song Company Jack remembers Saariaho and her music. Melbourne-based Speak Percussion are using music to invite audiences into the Melbourne Recital Centre and listen to the architecture. Producer Kez dropped by a rehearsal of Thomas Meadowcroft’s March Static in the foyer spaces of the recital centre to have a chat to some members of the 80-person-strong ensemble, and to their AD and assistant AD Eugene Ughetti and Kaylie Melville about the relationships between music, space and movement, and what it’s like to be a part of a community created through music.

The Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho died over the weekend at the age of 70. Eschewing hardcore serialism and hardcore spectralism, her music found a way of describing colour and light with the orchestra and on the opera stage. Jack Symonds is the artistic director of Sydney Chamber Opera and an advocate for Saariaho’s music. Ahead of his performance of her choral work Tag de Jahrs with The Song Company Jack remembers Saariaho and her music. Melbourne-based Speak Percussion are using music to invite audiences into the Melbourne Recital Centre and listen to the architecture. Producer Kez dropped by a rehearsal of Thomas Meadowcroft’s March Static in the foyer spaces of the recital centre to have a chat to some members of the 80-person-strong ensemble, and to their AD and assistant AD Eugene Ughetti and Kaylie Melville about the relationships between music, space and movement, and what it’s like to be a part of a community created through music.

Internationally renowned composer Max Richter is in the studio for his Music Show debut. On tour in Australia to perform at VIVID in Sydney and Dark Mofo in Hobart, Max speaks to Robbie about his "protest music" and how he the moon remains a generous source of inspiration. Perhaps best known for his extensive project SLEEP, Max also talks us through some of the thoughts behind the music to doze off to.  And we are joined in the live music studio by musicians from two Melbourne groups - Firetail, an electro-jazz fusion outfit, and Gamelan DanAnda, a Balinese gamelan group. They've been brought together by The Boîte to join forces and ask the question "Does Balinese gamelan meeting electro-jazz fusion sound like Australia?" 

Internationally renowned composer Max Richter is in the studio for his Music Show debut. On tour in Australia to perform at VIVID in Sydney and Dark Mofo in Hobart, Max speaks to Robbie about his "protest music" and how he the moon remains a generous source of inspiration. Perhaps best known for his extensive project SLEEP, Max also talks us through some of the thoughts behind the music to doze off to.  And we are joined in the live music studio by musicians from two Melbourne groups - Firetail, an electro-jazz fusion outfit, and Gamelan DanAnda, a Balinese gamelan group. They've been brought together by The Boîte to join forces and ask the question "Does Balinese gamelan meeting electro-jazz fusion sound like Australia?" 

Pianist Leigh Harrold returns to the stage of Tempo Queer - a series of concerts run by Coady Green at Brunswick's Tempo Rubato. With oboist Dafydd Camp, Leigh presents "In Praise of the Vulnerable Man," a program of music by queer male composers.  And clarinettist from the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, Nicole van Bruggen gives us some insight into what it might have been like to be a female composer and pianist in mid-19th Century Paris through the eyes of Louise Farrenc.  The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra are playing Farrenc's Nonet on their current tour.  Click here to vote for your favourite musical instruments for Classic 100. 

Pianist Leigh Harrold returns to the stage of Tempo Queer - a series of concerts run by Coady Green at Brunswick's Tempo Rubato. With oboist Dafydd Camp, Leigh presents "In Praise of the Vulnerable Man," a program of music by queer male composers.  And clarinettist from the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, Nicole van Bruggen gives us some insight into what it might have been like to be a female composer and pianist in mid-19th Century Paris through the eyes of Louise Farrenc.  The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra are playing Farrenc's Nonet on their current tour.  Click here to vote for your favourite musical instruments for Classic 100. 

Director Lisa Cortés’s new documentary Little Richard: I Am Everything traces the conflicts and contradictions of one of the pioneers of Rock n’ Roll. Lisa talks about Richard’s battles with his queerness and his religiosity with a particular gentleness, as well as revealing what made him one of the era’s greatest performers. And Joy Oladokun is another American artist whose music balances her queerness and her faith. Raised in a charismatic church community in Arizona, she was inspired to become a musician after watching Tracy Chapman play the guitar. Joy picked up the guitar herself, and now four studio albums later she talks to Robbie about the latest, which is called Proof of Life.  

Director Lisa Cortés’s new documentary Little Richard: I Am Everything traces the conflicts and contradictions of one of the pioneers of Rock n’ Roll. Lisa talks about Richard’s battles with his queerness and his religiosity with a particular gentleness, as well as revealing what made him one of the era’s greatest performers. And Joy Oladokun is another American artist whose music balances her queerness and her faith. Raised in a charismatic church community in Arizona, she was inspired to become a musician after watching Tracy Chapman play the guitar. Joy picked up the guitar herself, and now four studio albums later she talks to Robbie about the latest, which is called Proof of Life.  

Shirley Collins was a cornerstone of the English folk revival, releasing twenty something albums, travelling, and cataloguing traditional tunes with Alan Lomax between the 1950s and the 1970s. Then, after a tide of personal misfortune, she lost her voice. She sustained herself working clerical jobs until her pension came through, at which point she moved back to her native Sussex and reconnected with music. After a 38 year gap between albums, 2016’s Lodestar cemented her place as one of the genre’s most significant voices. Now her third – and possibly final – album in her era as an “octogenarian folk singer”, Archangel Hill, is released, featuring traditional songs as well as a handful of originals.

Shirley Collins was a cornerstone of the English folk revival, releasing twenty something albums, travelling, and cataloguing traditional tunes with Alan Lomax between the 1950s and the 1970s. Then, after a tide of personal misfortune, she lost her voice. She sustained herself working clerical jobs until her pension came through, at which point she moved back to her native Sussex and reconnected with music. After a 38 year gap between albums, 2016’s Lodestar cemented her place as one of the genre’s most significant voices. Now her third – and possibly final – album in her era as an “octogenarian folk singer”, Archangel Hill, is released, featuring traditional songs as well as a handful of originals.

After arriving late to the music scene via a pub in Nottingham, Yazmin Lacey brings a fresh outlook to the world of British soul. After finding her voice through an open-mic-night, Yazmin has taken the little moments from her life that she captured as short voice notes to realise her debut album, aptly named Voice Notes.  East of West brings a taste of the Balkans and the Mediterranean to the Music Show's live music studio. The trio (Goran Gajić, Malindi Morris and Philip Griffin) transport us to the other side of the world with their intertwining melodies and complex yet catchy rhythms that are emblematic of the music from Southeastern Europe.  And we remember the late Tina Turner and the special space that she was able to carve out in the hearts of many Australians, whether it's singing along to The Best in the NRL finals, or dancing along to Nutbush City Limits at an aunt's wedding. Tina Turner died this week at the age of 83.

After arriving late to the music scene via a pub in Nottingham, Yazmin Lacey brings a fresh outlook to the world of British soul. After finding her voice through an open-mic-night, Yazmin has taken the little moments from her life that she captured as short voice notes to realise her debut album, aptly named Voice Notes.  East of West brings a taste of the Balkans and the Mediterranean to the Music Show's live music studio. The trio (Goran Gajić, Malindi Morris and Philip Griffin) transport us to the other side of the world with their intertwining melodies and complex yet catchy rhythms that are emblematic of the music from Southeastern Europe.  And we remember the late Tina Turner and the special space that she was able to carve out in the hearts of many Australians, whether it's singing along to The Best in the NRL finals, or dancing along to Nutbush City Limits at an aunt's wedding. Tina Turner died this week at the age of 83.

Behind Pinchgut Opera's production of Legrenzi's neglected military epic Giustino, and Polish pianist composer Hania Rani pulls apart the piano. 

Behind Pinchgut Opera's production of Legrenzi's neglected military epic Giustino, and Polish pianist composer Hania Rani pulls apart the piano. 

Ali McGregor talks about falling into opera and cabaret (and a mixture of both!) And we take a trip into the Pear Garden with Li Fuhua, Li Mingliang and Lulu Liu as we chat about Chinese Opera. 

Ali McGregor talks about falling into opera and cabaret (and a mixture of both!) And we take a trip into the Pear Garden with Li Fuhua, Li Mingliang and Lulu Liu as we chat about Chinese Opera. 

Madison McFerrin on her debut album  I Hope You Can Forgive Me. Released almost 7 years after her first EP Finding Foundations Volume 1, Madison chats to Robbie about her musical journey, from acapella to self-producing her own tunes.  And Victoria Falconer talks about being the music director for the unique musical Once, and musical theatre across the UK, the US and Australia. 

Madison McFerrin on her debut album  I Hope You Can Forgive Me. Released almost 7 years after her first EP Finding Foundations Volume 1, Madison chats to Robbie about her musical journey, from acapella to self-producing her own tunes.  And Victoria Falconer talks about being the music director for the unique musical Once, and musical theatre across the UK, the US and Australia. 

Will Gregory and Hazel Mills open up the world of the synthesiser, and conductor Karina Canellakis on Bartok, broadcast orchestras and the future of classical music in the age of streaming.

Will Gregory and Hazel Mills open up the world of the synthesiser, and conductor Karina Canellakis on Bartok, broadcast orchestras and the future of classical music in the age of streaming.

Australian artists talk about how they use music to tell stories.  David Arden is a Kokatha/Gunditjmara musician who has been writing and performing songs that tell stories of his family and spark conversation in the wider community. He tells Robbie about his career as a musician and his new album,  MEERTA: The Ballad of James Arden, which tells the story of his Great-Grandfather, James.  And Andrée Greenwell drops by the Music Show studio ahead of the premiere of her new opera Three Marys at the Sydney Opera House.

Australian artists talk about how they use music to tell stories.  David Arden is a Kokatha/Gunditjmara musician who has been writing and performing songs that tell stories of his family and spark conversation in the wider community. He tells Robbie about his career as a musician and his new album,  MEERTA: The Ballad of James Arden, which tells the story of his Great-Grandfather, James.  And Andrée Greenwell drops by the Music Show studio ahead of the premiere of her new opera Three Marys at the Sydney Opera House.

Two of Australia’s best songwriters share their newest offerings. 

Two of Australia’s best songwriters share their newest offerings. 

Lots of live music in The Music Show studio, from Japanese festival music, to Buddhist punk. Musician and composer Shogo Yoshii joins us in the studio while he is in Australia to perform with Taikoz and Buddhadatta on Japanese punk and Buddhist mantras.  And Happy Birthday Willie Nelson! Willie turns 90 this week. 

Lots of live music in The Music Show studio, from Japanese festival music, to Buddhist punk. Musician and composer Shogo Yoshii joins us in the studio while he is in Australia to perform with Taikoz and Buddhadatta on Japanese punk and Buddhist mantras.  And Happy Birthday Willie Nelson! Willie turns 90 this week. 

Why is the string quartet one of the most consistent, persistent, and beautiful ensembles in classical music?  And British composer Daniel Kidane on poetry, scale and the array of cultures that ground his music. 

Why is the string quartet one of the most consistent, persistent, and beautiful ensembles in classical music?  And British composer Daniel Kidane on poetry, scale and the array of cultures that ground his music. 

We're joined by local Melbourne Minimal Wave legend, Karen Marks who is about to have her debut performance at the Melbourne Town Hall. Lisa Illean drops by for a chat ahead of the premiere of a new work at the Melbourne Recital Centre.  And Hau Latukefu on his new show on Radio Australia, In the Fale.

We're joined by local Melbourne Minimal Wave legend, Karen Marks who is about to have her debut performance at the Melbourne Town Hall. Lisa Illean drops by for a chat ahead of the premiere of a new work at the Melbourne Recital Centre.  And Hau Latukefu on his new show on Radio Australia, In the Fale.

The Brodsky Quartet return to Australia with Britten, Schubert, Bach... and Ford. And a Country-flavoured celebration of The Rolling Stones in the tribute album Stoned Cold Country.

The Brodsky Quartet return to Australia with Britten, Schubert, Bach... and Ford. And a Country-flavoured celebration of The Rolling Stones in the tribute album Stoned Cold Country.

Tracing the life and music of Margaret Sutherland with author of Inner Song, Jillian Graham

Tracing the life and music of Margaret Sutherland with author of Inner Song, Jillian Graham

From heavy metal to jazz pipe organs, find out more about how celebrated musician Kit Downes makes up musical worlds on the spot, and find out about how Heavy Metal has become a driving force for resistance and change in the Muslim world. 

From heavy metal to jazz pipe organs, find out more about how celebrated musician Kit Downes makes up musical worlds on the spot, and find out about how Heavy Metal has become a driving force for resistance and change in the Muslim world. 

How do you do something new with very old film? Silent film composer Phillip Johnston explains. 

How do you do something new with very old film? Silent film composer Phillip Johnston explains. 

Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952 - 2023) remembered; and a little bit of rebetika in our lives from Greek/Aussie band Apodimi Compania

Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952 - 2023) remembered; and a little bit of rebetika in our lives from Greek/Aussie band Apodimi Compania

A lush soundscape for the National Museum of Australia with composer and collaborator Genevieve Lacey, plus countertenor James Bowman (1941-2023) from the Music Show archives. 

A lush soundscape for the National Museum of Australia with composer and collaborator Genevieve Lacey, plus countertenor James Bowman (1941-2023) from the Music Show archives. 

Owain Park is a composer, conductor, singer, and director of the vocal group The Gesualdo Six. Taking their name from the 16th century composer and Italian nobleman, Carlo Gesualdo, the G6 (as Owain has given us full permission to call them) are leading performers of music from the Renaissance to the Baroque and keen commissioners of new music from living composers today. Owain discusses the interesting character of their namesake, as well as how they sing in acoustically varied locations.  Embarking on a national tour, Jen Cloher drops by for a chat with their old friend Robbie to talk about their newest release I am the River, the River is Me. Speaking about their deeply personal album that explores language and culture, Jen talks to us about their authentic approach to navigating the landscape of identity and politics in their songwriting.  And we remember the life and music of "The Honky Tonk Nun," Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou. Guèbrou died this week in Jerusalem at the age of 99.

Owain Park is a composer, conductor, singer, and director of the vocal group The Gesualdo Six. Taking their name from the 16th century composer and Italian nobleman, Carlo Gesualdo, the G6 (as Owain has given us full permission to call them) are leading performers of music from the Renaissance to the Baroque and keen commissioners of new music from living composers today. Owain discusses the interesting character of their namesake, as well as how they sing in acoustically varied locations.  Embarking on a national tour, Jen Cloher drops by for a chat with their old friend Robbie to talk about their newest release I am the River, the River is Me. Speaking about their deeply personal album that explores language and culture, Jen talks to us about their authentic approach to navigating the landscape of identity and politics in their songwriting.  And we remember the life and music of "The Honky Tonk Nun," Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou. Guèbrou died this week in Jerusalem at the age of 99.

Ethel Smyth, Rebecca Clarke, Doreen Carwithen and Dorothy Howell are the four protagonists of Leah Broad’s musical biography.

Ethel Smyth, Rebecca Clarke, Doreen Carwithen and Dorothy Howell are the four protagonists of Leah Broad’s musical biography.

Getting to know the cornetto (the instrument, not the ice cream), PNG singer songwriter Danielle, and Matt Davis from Foreign Correspondent shares his chat with singer, activist and ex-battlefield nurse Sahra Halgan in Hargeisa.

Getting to know the cornetto (the instrument, not the ice cream), PNG singer songwriter Danielle, and Matt Davis from Foreign Correspondent shares his chat with singer, activist and ex-battlefield nurse Sahra Halgan in Hargeisa.

Oud virtuoso and Music Show regular Joseph Tawadros stops by to perform live and about his collaborative album with William Barton, his adventures performing at Davos and in the UK, and returning to The Four Seasons with Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. On her debut tour of Australia, Irish singer-songwriter, Niamh Regan drops by the studio to play a couple of songs and chat to Robbie about growing up with the Irish musical tradition and how she draws on a range of influences to weave new and old stories through her music. 

Oud virtuoso and Music Show regular Joseph Tawadros stops by to perform live and about his collaborative album with William Barton, his adventures performing at Davos and in the UK, and returning to The Four Seasons with Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. On her debut tour of Australia, Irish singer-songwriter, Niamh Regan drops by the studio to play a couple of songs and chat to Robbie about growing up with the Irish musical tradition and how she draws on a range of influences to weave new and old stories through her music. 

Mo'Ju's album Oro, Plata, Mata explores their Filipino heritage and The Three Seas explore dub and electronica alongside Bengali folk in their cross-cultural ensemble. 

Mo'Ju's album Oro, Plata, Mata explores their Filipino heritage and The Three Seas explore dub and electronica alongside Bengali folk in their cross-cultural ensemble. 

Live from WOMADelaide, music from Macedonia, Tibet, and Far North Queensland

Live from WOMADelaide, music from Macedonia, Tibet, and Far North Queensland

Two banjo virtuosos, a six person vocal group from Southern France and a Canadian fusion ensemble join us on stage.

Two banjo virtuosos, a six person vocal group from Southern France and a Canadian fusion ensemble join us on stage.

Matthias Schack-Arnott and Cédric Tiberghien on the philosophies and sounds of John Cage; Wayne Shorter remembered with an interview from The Music Show archives.

Matthias Schack-Arnott and Cédric Tiberghien on the philosophies and sounds of John Cage; Wayne Shorter remembered with an interview from The Music Show archives.

David Harrington on five decades revolutionising the string quartet, artist Christian Thompson reflects on his sound art, and the partnership between John Cage and Merce Cunningham. 

David Harrington on five decades revolutionising the string quartet, artist Christian Thompson reflects on his sound art, and the partnership between John Cage and Merce Cunningham. 

WOMADelaide headliner,  Vieux Farka Touré joins Robbie in the studio to talk about finding space for tradition, his collaboration with Khruangbin, and honouring the memory of his father.  Rainbow Chan takes us through her practices as a musician and visual artist and the processes and explorations that emerge from her various artistic projects. She joins us ahead of her Chunyin performance coming up at Phoenix Central Park.  Producer C shares another great queer love story from 20th century music. 

WOMADelaide headliner,  Vieux Farka Touré joins Robbie in the studio to talk about finding space for tradition, his collaboration with Khruangbin, and honouring the memory of his father.  Rainbow Chan takes us through her practices as a musician and visual artist and the processes and explorations that emerge from her various artistic projects. She joins us ahead of her Chunyin performance coming up at Phoenix Central Park.  Producer C shares another great queer love story from 20th century music. 

Battles, fantasias and dances with early music stalwart Jordi Savall, and improvising into a wall of sound with Party Dozen live in studio. 

Battles, fantasias and dances with early music stalwart Jordi Savall, and improvising into a wall of sound with Party Dozen live in studio. 

You just can't get us out of your head. 

You just can't get us out of your head. 

American composer Nico Muhly at MONA FOMA, and Throat Pleats pushing the boundaries of music

American composer Nico Muhly at MONA FOMA, and Throat Pleats pushing the boundaries of music

A story of music, dance and culture seeding and flourishing in seemingly disparate lands.

A story of music, dance and culture seeding and flourishing in seemingly disparate lands.

Celebrating one of the world's most prolific melody makers, composer Burt Bacharach who has died at the age of 94. Plus Andrew Bird's Inside Problems, and Freyja Garbett's surfing jazz.

Celebrating one of the world's most prolific melody makers, composer Burt Bacharach who has died at the age of 94. Plus Andrew Bird's Inside Problems, and Freyja Garbett's surfing jazz.

A father and son find solace in music in a time of exile, and a Cameroonian singer songwriter's anti-colonial dance show.

A father and son find solace in music in a time of exile, and a Cameroonian singer songwriter's anti-colonial dance show.

The future of live music in Australia and New York based composer and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. 

The future of live music in Australia and New York based composer and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. 

A violinist championing diverse composers, and a singer songwriter on his critically-acclaimed album twenty years on.

A violinist championing diverse composers, and a singer songwriter on his critically-acclaimed album twenty years on.

Kutcha Edwards and Bumpy on connection to Country, community and new music. 

Kutcha Edwards and Bumpy on connection to Country, community and new music. 

A musical call to action to protect Country and water from a rapper, composer and songwriter.

A musical call to action to protect Country and water from a rapper, composer and songwriter.

Peter Gabriel on the genesis of world music festival WOMAD, and Monique Clare on writing songs on the cello for her debut album.

Peter Gabriel on the genesis of world music festival WOMAD, and Monique Clare on writing songs on the cello for her debut album.

How a city has shaped, and been shaped by, jazz.

How a city has shaped, and been shaped by, jazz.

The music in an actor's voice. And a former Sapphire reflects on a life enriched by music.

The music in an actor's voice. And a former Sapphire reflects on a life enriched by music.

Just who are The Folk in folk music?

Just who are The Folk in folk music?

South London wordsmith Kae Tempest on The Line is a Curve and violinist Jack Liebeck on the Australian Festival of Chamber Music

South London wordsmith Kae Tempest on The Line is a Curve and violinist Jack Liebeck on the Australian Festival of Chamber Music

What makes a song suitable to become a jazz standard?

What makes a song suitable to become a jazz standard?

After a debut and a break-up album, Marlon Williams is back with his third solo offering My Boy, and the uncategorisable Zither marks Isobel D'Cruz-Barnes' first solo release as Hantu.

After a debut and a break-up album, Marlon Williams is back with his third solo offering My Boy, and the uncategorisable Zither marks Isobel D'Cruz-Barnes' first solo release as Hantu.

An hour with the late works of the late Elliott Carter and musicologist John Link. 

An hour with the late works of the late Elliott Carter and musicologist John Link. 

Montaigne on making it! and Kristin Berardi on life between Switzerland and Australia. 

Montaigne on making it! and Kristin Berardi on life between Switzerland and Australia. 

The dark art of writing music for kids, and science meets music in Mary Finsterer's latest opera.

The dark art of writing music for kids, and science meets music in Mary Finsterer's latest opera.

Self reflection in songwriting with Kerryn Fields, and the intellectual and emotional greatness of Brahms with Martin Bresnick. 

Self reflection in songwriting with Kerryn Fields, and the intellectual and emotional greatness of Brahms with Martin Bresnick. 

Author James Wierzbicki on America in the 1960s, a decade defined by social and musical upheaval

Author James Wierzbicki on America in the 1960s, a decade defined by social and musical upheaval

An epic solo album from Magic Dirt's frontwoman, Michael Sheen on musical rivals Mozart and Salieri, and a new vocal consort previews their concert live in the studio.

An epic solo album from Magic Dirt's frontwoman, Michael Sheen on musical rivals Mozart and Salieri, and a new vocal consort previews their concert live in the studio.

Courtney Barnett and Hachiku on 10 years of artist-run indie label Milk!, and Elliott Gyger and longtime collaborator Jenny Duck-Chong on their latest (scientific) musical endeavour.

Courtney Barnett and Hachiku on 10 years of artist-run indie label Milk!, and Elliott Gyger and longtime collaborator Jenny Duck-Chong on their latest (scientific) musical endeavour.

Camp Cope's Georgia Maq on her new EP Live from the Sydney Opera House, Gyan remembers Christine McVie, and Alastair McKean on the madness and marginalia of being a music librarian. 

Camp Cope's Georgia Maq on her new EP Live from the Sydney Opera House, Gyan remembers Christine McVie, and Alastair McKean on the madness and marginalia of being a music librarian. 

Aristea Mellos and Stephanie McCallum on a new book of piano Preludes, and Tim Rutherford-Johnson on the music of Liza Lim

Aristea Mellos and Stephanie McCallum on a new book of piano Preludes, and Tim Rutherford-Johnson on the music of Liza Lim

One of Australia's most versatile violinists performs live, and we learn about the dark art of opera surtitling. 

One of Australia's most versatile violinists performs live, and we learn about the dark art of opera surtitling. 

Minnie Hill goes from strength to strength with There Is Light, a follow up to 2020's The Remarkable Dave Brubeck. And Malyangapa Barkindji matriarch BARKAA on political rap.

Minnie Hill goes from strength to strength with There Is Light, a follow up to 2020's The Remarkable Dave Brubeck. And Malyangapa Barkindji matriarch BARKAA on political rap.

The Cat Empire frontman on his solo musical identity.

The Cat Empire frontman on his solo musical identity.

A new electric violin concerto from American composer Samuel Adams, and new insights into French art song from Emily Kilpatrick.

A new electric violin concerto from American composer Samuel Adams, and new insights into French art song from Emily Kilpatrick.

Two pianists, four hands and a world premiere.

Two pianists, four hands and a world premiere.

The remarkable story of violinist Alma Moodie in the 1920s & 30s, and soprano and composer Jane Sheldon.

The remarkable story of violinist Alma Moodie in the 1920s & 30s, and soprano and composer Jane Sheldon.

A saxophone that was all the rage in the 1920s is being championed by composer and performer Nick Russoniello, and Melbourne-based vocalist Merinda Dias-Jayasinha lets us into her creative process. 

A saxophone that was all the rage in the 1920s is being championed by composer and performer Nick Russoniello, and Melbourne-based vocalist Merinda Dias-Jayasinha lets us into her creative process. 

Singing the news, and an exhibition of 1990s alternative rock.

Singing the news, and an exhibition of 1990s alternative rock.

The Beatles' seventh album has been remastered and includes alternate takes and candid studio moments.

The Beatles' seventh album has been remastered and includes alternate takes and candid studio moments.

Two writers reveal the folk music and mysticism behind English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams on the 150th anniversary of his birth.

Two writers reveal the folk music and mysticism behind English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams on the 150th anniversary of his birth.

Singer-songwriter and cellist Monique Clare, and Peter Phillips, director of the renowned vocal ensemble The Tallis Scholars.

Singer-songwriter and cellist Monique Clare, and Peter Phillips, director of the renowned vocal ensemble The Tallis Scholars.

Riley Lee on shakuhachi and Hildegard, and singer-songwriter Alana Jagt.

Riley Lee on shakuhachi and Hildegard, and singer-songwriter Alana Jagt.

Viola virtuoso Roger Benedict talks about collaborating with pianist Simon Tedeschi and a special live performance from the old-time country duo from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.

Viola virtuoso Roger Benedict talks about collaborating with pianist Simon Tedeschi and a special live performance from the old-time country duo from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.

Songwriter, singer, saxophonist and proud Guguyelandji and Woppaburra woman Marlene Cummins performs live and talks to Andy about her Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival show. 

Songwriter, singer, saxophonist and proud Guguyelandji and Woppaburra woman Marlene Cummins performs live and talks to Andy about her Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival show. 

Two Australian composers on their latest projects: Peter Knight goes solo with Shadow Phase and Anne Boyd finds a flawed character as inspiration in her new opera Olive Pink. 

Two Australian composers on their latest projects: Peter Knight goes solo with Shadow Phase and Anne Boyd finds a flawed character as inspiration in her new opera Olive Pink. 

Enigmatic singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alex G headed into a studio for album number nine, and Sonya Holowell and Elizabeth Sheppard reveal their musical reactions to the Uluru Statement.

Enigmatic singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alex G headed into a studio for album number nine, and Sonya Holowell and Elizabeth Sheppard reveal their musical reactions to the Uluru Statement.

Makaya McCraven on fusing the past and future of jazz, and Kristian Winther on building an orchestra from the ground up. 

Makaya McCraven on fusing the past and future of jazz, and Kristian Winther on building an orchestra from the ground up. 

June Jones on writing, performing and producing her third album Pop Music For Normal Women, and Sydney Chamber Opera’s Jack Symonds and composer Luke Styles on framing Benjamin Britten’s five canticles for the stage

June Jones on writing, performing and producing her third album Pop Music For Normal Women, and Sydney Chamber Opera’s Jack Symonds and composer Luke Styles on framing Benjamin Britten’s five canticles for the stage

Tracing the journey of 18th and 19th century Scottish music in Australia.

Tracing the journey of 18th and 19th century Scottish music in Australia.

Saturday 17 September: Pianist Olli Mustonen returns to Australia to play with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Andrew Tuttle reflects on interpreting his electronic folk for live performance. 

Saturday 17 September: Pianist Olli Mustonen returns to Australia to play with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Andrew Tuttle reflects on interpreting his electronic folk for live performance. 

Sunday 11 September: After a debut and a breakup album, Marlon Williams is back with My Boy, and the uncategorisable Zither marks Isobel D'Cruz-Barnes' first solo release as Hantu.

Sunday 11 September: After a debut and a breakup album, Marlon Williams is back with My Boy, and the uncategorisable Zither marks Isobel D'Cruz-Barnes' first solo release as Hantu.

Saturday 10 September: Composing, dancing and performing with Eric Avery, rapping and singing with Elsy Wameyo and big visions with Freedman Jazz Fellow Tom Avgenicos.

Saturday 10 September: Composing, dancing and performing with Eric Avery, rapping and singing with Elsy Wameyo and big visions with Freedman Jazz Fellow Tom Avgenicos.

Sunday 4 September: Nigel Butterley is posthumously awarded the Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music at the Art Music Awards

Sunday 4 September: Nigel Butterley is posthumously awarded the Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music at the Art Music Awards

Saturday 3 September: Julian Belbachir and Nora Brown offer fresh interpretations of old musical traditions.

Saturday 3 September: Julian Belbachir and Nora Brown offer fresh interpretations of old musical traditions.

Sunday 28 August: Hitting the high notes with Venezuelan soprano Samuel Mariño, and a lifetime of writing songs with Irish musician Gilbert O'Sullivan.

Sunday 28 August: Hitting the high notes with Venezuelan soprano Samuel Mariño, and a lifetime of writing songs with Irish musician Gilbert O'Sullivan.

Saturday 27 August: Eurovision-minted indie artist Montaigne is back on stage and on a new album, and tenor Robert Macfarlane is mixing Baroque and physical theatre… again.

Saturday 27 August: Eurovision-minted indie artist Montaigne is back on stage and on a new album, and tenor Robert Macfarlane is mixing Baroque and physical theatre… again.

Sunday 21 August: violinist Sarah Curro and her violin maker husband Paul Davies put the timber in timbre, Mark Simeon Ferguson's new album is inspired by the Ikara-Flinders mountains, and Matt Davis tells us how music is helping the resistance in Myanmar. 

Sunday 21 August: violinist Sarah Curro and her violin maker husband Paul Davies put the timber in timbre, Mark Simeon Ferguson's new album is inspired by the Ikara-Flinders mountains, and Matt Davis tells us how music is helping the resistance in Myanmar. 

Saturday 20 August: Pianist Yeol Eum Son on repertoire and recitals, and The Teskey Brothers' guitarist on going solo.

Saturday 20 August: Pianist Yeol Eum Son on repertoire and recitals, and The Teskey Brothers' guitarist on going solo.

Sunday 14 August: Remembering two great Australian voicesJudith Durham and Olivia Newton-John. And Tabatha McFadyen is our guide to Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire.

Sunday 14 August: Remembering two great Australian voicesJudith Durham and Olivia Newton-John. And Tabatha McFadyen is our guide to Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire.

Saturday 13 August: Documentary maker Brett Morgen on his new David Bowie film Moonage Daydream and violinist Ray Chen on his discipline and his instrument.

Saturday 13 August: Documentary maker Brett Morgen on his new David Bowie film Moonage Daydream and violinist Ray Chen on his discipline and his instrument.

Sunday 7 August: We celebrate the golden age of pop music recording with interviews from artists on the Motown Records label including the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes, the Miracles and Stevie Wonder.

Sunday 7 August: We celebrate the golden age of pop music recording with interviews from artists on the Motown Records label including the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes, the Miracles and Stevie Wonder.

Vale Archie Roach, the Gunditjmara (Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung) singer and songwriter, who has died at the age of 66.

Vale Archie Roach, the Gunditjmara (Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung) singer and songwriter, who has died at the age of 66.

Sunday 31 July: Life as a punk in 1970s and 80s Australia, and Liz Stringer's personal songwriting revolution.

Sunday 31 July: Life as a punk in 1970s and 80s Australia, and Liz Stringer's personal songwriting revolution.

Kristin Berardi on jazz standards and Joni Mitchell; Jack Liebeck on the Australian Festival of Chamber Music

Kristin Berardi on jazz standards and Joni Mitchell; Jack Liebeck on the Australian Festival of Chamber Music

Sunday 24 July: 300-year-old Yiddish songs get reworked by family trio The Bashevis Singers, and virtuoso soloist Hilary Hahn on expanding the repertoire and audiences.

Sunday 24 July: 300-year-old Yiddish songs get reworked by family trio The Bashevis Singers, and virtuoso soloist Hilary Hahn on expanding the repertoire and audiences.

Saturday 23 July: George Michael biographer James Gavin joins Andrew Ford for a deep dive into the music and troubled life of the legendary singer, songwriter and pop superstar; plus we meet 23-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

Saturday 23 July: George Michael biographer James Gavin joins Andrew Ford for a deep dive into the music and troubled life of the legendary singer, songwriter and pop superstar; plus we meet 23-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

Sunday 17 July: A sneak peek at the Sydney Opera House's new acoustics, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra's new Chief Conductor Simone Young takes to the podium.

Sunday 17 July: A sneak peek at the Sydney Opera House's new acoustics, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra's new Chief Conductor Simone Young takes to the podium.

Saturday 16 July: Isle of Wight duo Wet Leg join Andrew Ford to reflect on their meteoric rise and play a couple of songs live in the studio, plus we meet celebrated British tenor Allan Clayton.

Saturday 16 July: Isle of Wight duo Wet Leg join Andrew Ford to reflect on their meteoric rise and play a couple of songs live in the studio, plus we meet celebrated British tenor Allan Clayton.

Sunday 10 July: marking NAIDOC Week 2022 with established First Nations artists who have led political and personal music making across the years.

Sunday 10 July: marking NAIDOC Week 2022 with established First Nations artists who have led political and personal music making across the years.

Saturday 9 July: NAIDOC Female Elder of the Year Dr Lois Peeler reflects on a life enriched by music - from being in the Sapphires, to the importance of the arts at Worawa Aboriginal College. And we hear about the powerful collaboration between Kamilaroi Elder Bob Weatherall and Brisbane band Halfway.

Saturday 9 July: NAIDOC Female Elder of the Year Dr Lois Peeler reflects on a life enriched by music - from being in the Sapphires, to the importance of the arts at Worawa Aboriginal College. And we hear about the powerful collaboration between Kamilaroi Elder Bob Weatherall and Brisbane band Halfway.

Sunday 3 July: celebrating NAIDOC Week with Noongar conductor Aaron Wyatt and Yorta Yorta hip hop artist Neil Morris aka DRMNGNOW

Sunday 3 July: celebrating NAIDOC Week with Noongar conductor Aaron Wyatt and Yorta Yorta hip hop artist Neil Morris aka DRMNGNOW

Saturday 2 July: A celebration of radio, sound & music as the national broadcaster turns 90.

Saturday 2 July: A celebration of radio, sound & music as the national broadcaster turns 90.

Sunday 26 June: the late works of Elliott Carter, the composer who worked until he was 103

Sunday 26 June: the late works of Elliott Carter, the composer who worked until he was 103

Saturday 25 June: Jenny Duck-Chong on putting words to music from Purcell to Kate Bush, Alon Ilsar on inventing a new instrument, and Ben Pask on keeping George Harrison’s records

Saturday 25 June: Jenny Duck-Chong on putting words to music from Purcell to Kate Bush, Alon Ilsar on inventing a new instrument, and Ben Pask on keeping George Harrison’s records

Sunday 19 June: A survey of the state of music education and musical culture with Anna Goldsworthy, and Lakota Vella on her pioneering guitar hero Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Sunday 19 June: A survey of the state of music education and musical culture with Anna Goldsworthy, and Lakota Vella on her pioneering guitar hero Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Saturday 18 June: Perfume Genius stretches the definition of art pop in new album Ugly Season, and Major Zulu’s journey to Australia from Zambia via London, Paris, gospel, soul, jazz and rock and roll.

Saturday 18 June: Perfume Genius stretches the definition of art pop in new album Ugly Season, and Major Zulu’s journey to Australia from Zambia via London, Paris, gospel, soul, jazz and rock and roll.

Sunday 12 June: A history of jazz, and Jazz Fest, in New Orleans.

Sunday 12 June: A history of jazz, and Jazz Fest, in New Orleans.

Saturday 11 June: new music from singer-songwriter-siren Sharon Van Etten, Noongar bangers from Maatakitj, and a new symphony in 8 days with Dean Stevenson

Saturday 11 June: new music from singer-songwriter-siren Sharon Van Etten, Noongar bangers from Maatakitj, and a new symphony in 8 days with Dean Stevenson

Sunday 5 June 2022: The avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson at 75

Sunday 5 June 2022: The avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson at 75

Saturday 4 June: Composer and multi-instrumentalist Rhyan Clapham's call to action to protect water, and celebrate culture and Country.

Saturday 4 June: Composer and multi-instrumentalist Rhyan Clapham's call to action to protect water, and celebrate culture and Country.

Sunday 29 May: Jono Ma on Vangelis and the age of analogue, and marking Xenakis’ 100th anniversary with the musicians who love to play his work.

Sunday 29 May: Jono Ma on Vangelis and the age of analogue, and marking Xenakis’ 100th anniversary with the musicians who love to play his work.

Saturday 28 May: ACO's principal violinist Satu Vänskä on curating an underground program, and Japanese percussionist and composer Midori Takada reflects on Through The Looking Glass forty years on.

Saturday 28 May: ACO's principal violinist Satu Vänskä on curating an underground program, and Japanese percussionist and composer Midori Takada reflects on Through The Looking Glass forty years on.

Sunday 22 May: Leyla McCalla’s tapestry of Haitian history and music; film composer Danny Elfman on working within the Marvel machine

Sunday 22 May: Leyla McCalla’s tapestry of Haitian history and music; film composer Danny Elfman on working within the Marvel machine

Saturday 21 May: The music in an actor's voice, and the art of making electronic dance music.

Saturday 21 May: The music in an actor's voice, and the art of making electronic dance music.

Sunday 15 May: We hear from three composer/musicians partnerships involved in the ANAM Set about how the pieces were tailored to the musicians and their instruments.

Sunday 15 May: We hear from three composer/musicians partnerships involved in the ANAM Set about how the pieces were tailored to the musicians and their instruments.

Saturday 14 May: The Music Show broadcasts live from the Australian National Academy of Music - hearing from the Set Festival's curator and chief matchmaker, as well as composers Deborah Cheetham and Lilijana Matičevska.

Saturday 14 May: The Music Show broadcasts live from the Australian National Academy of Music - hearing from the Set Festival's curator and chief matchmaker, as well as composers Deborah Cheetham and Lilijana Matičevska.

The Music Show is broadcasting live from the Australian National Academy of Music on Saturday 14 May 2022.

The Music Show is broadcasting live from the Australian National Academy of Music on Saturday 14 May 2022.

Sunday 8 May: Simon Tedeschi on the piano, Prokofiev, and his intensely personal Fugitive. Foreign Correspondent’s Matt Davis on music and change in Hawai’i.

Sunday 8 May: Simon Tedeschi on the piano, Prokofiev, and his intensely personal Fugitive. Foreign Correspondent’s Matt Davis on music and change in Hawai’i.

Saturday 7 May: live music from the King Curly trio, and diving into Aphir's electronic choral project.

Saturday 7 May: live music from the King Curly trio, and diving into Aphir's electronic choral project.

Sunday 1 May: singer and composer Sunny Kim tackles motherhood and migration in her newest work, and an unlikely collaboration between Philip Glass and Leonard Cohen hits the operatic stage

Sunday 1 May: singer and composer Sunny Kim tackles motherhood and migration in her newest work, and an unlikely collaboration between Philip Glass and Leonard Cohen hits the operatic stage

Saturday 30 April: Horomona Horo takes us through the revival of taonga pūoro, Māori traditional instruments, and how they are grounded in Māori cultural practice today.

Saturday 30 April: Horomona Horo takes us through the revival of taonga pūoro, Māori traditional instruments, and how they are grounded in Māori cultural practice today.

Sunday 24 April: Vale Harrison Birtwistle (1934-2022).

Sunday 24 April: Vale Harrison Birtwistle (1934-2022).

Saturday 23 April: Bassist Jonathan Zwartz on musical innovator Charles Mingus, and an audiologist on Beethoven's hearing loss and his Symphony No 9.

Saturday 23 April: Bassist Jonathan Zwartz on musical innovator Charles Mingus, and an audiologist on Beethoven's hearing loss and his Symphony No 9.

Sunday 17 April: Who are The Folk in folk music? With Ross Cole.

Sunday 17 April: Who are The Folk in folk music? With Ross Cole.

Saturday 16 April: Tasmania's Van Diemen's Band explore the porous musical and cultural borders of the European baroque, and Malyangapa, Barkindji woman BARKAA talks about finding strength in rapping and community.

Saturday 16 April: Tasmania's Van Diemen's Band explore the porous musical and cultural borders of the European baroque, and Malyangapa, Barkindji woman BARKAA talks about finding strength in rapping and community.

Sunday 10 April: An exploration of the great 20th century jazz canon with music writer James Gavin.

Sunday 10 April: An exploration of the great 20th century jazz canon with music writer James Gavin.

Saturday 9 April: English wordsmith Kae Tempest on their new album The Line is a Curve and young Gubbi Gubbi singer Layla Barnett on singing with Archie Roach.

Saturday 9 April: English wordsmith Kae Tempest on their new album The Line is a Curve and young Gubbi Gubbi singer Layla Barnett on singing with Archie Roach.

Sunday 3 April: The wunderkind pianist who became one of the great interpreters of the Romantic repertoire is still performing at 97.

Sunday 3 April: The wunderkind pianist who became one of the great interpreters of the Romantic repertoire is still performing at 97.

Saturday 2 April: Jude Perl on their musical comedy awakening, and Chloe Lankshear on Monteverdi and the legacy of Taryn Fiebig

Saturday 2 April: Jude Perl on their musical comedy awakening, and Chloe Lankshear on Monteverdi and the legacy of Taryn Fiebig

Sunday 27 March: The art of curating an accessible and multi-generational jazz festival, and The New Statesman's Tom Gatti on writers' favourite albums.

Sunday 27 March: The art of curating an accessible and multi-generational jazz festival, and The New Statesman's Tom Gatti on writers' favourite albums.

Saturday 26 March: Benjamin Northey on Korngold's underplayed Symphony in F-Sharp, sound artist Mara Schwerdtfeger on improvisation and sonic spaces.

Saturday 26 March: Benjamin Northey on Korngold's underplayed Symphony in F-Sharp, sound artist Mara Schwerdtfeger on improvisation and sonic spaces.

Sunday 20 March: Wattleseed Ensemble's Katie Yap drops by to talk about the difference between a baroque viola and a modern one, plus an archive interview with jazz vocalist Barbara Morrison who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Ron Carter and the Count Basie Orchestra.

Sunday 20 March: Wattleseed Ensemble's Katie Yap drops by to talk about the difference between a baroque viola and a modern one, plus an archive interview with jazz vocalist Barbara Morrison who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Ron Carter and the Count Basie Orchestra.

Saturday 19 March: Norwegian singer, songwriter and novelist on the selflessness of singing. And Chilean tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana talks about her Blue Note album 12 Stars.

Saturday 19 March: Norwegian singer, songwriter and novelist on the selflessness of singing. And Chilean tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana talks about her Blue Note album 12 Stars.

Sunday 12 March: rejuvenating Eastern European folk with Balkan Ethno Orchestra, the songs of the Americas with Gaby Moreno, and the songlines belonging to the Yorta Yorta and Barkindji rivers with Dhungala Baarka.

Sunday 12 March: rejuvenating Eastern European folk with Balkan Ethno Orchestra, the songs of the Americas with Gaby Moreno, and the songlines belonging to the Yorta Yorta and Barkindji rivers with Dhungala Baarka.

Saturday 12 March: Ethiopian groove with Chikchika, Kreol soul with Grace Barbé & Qawwalis with Farhan Shah and Sufi-Oz.

Saturday 12 March: Ethiopian groove with Chikchika, Kreol soul with Grace Barbé & Qawwalis with Farhan Shah and Sufi-Oz.

Sunday 6 March: Peter Gabriel on the genesis of music festival WOMAD, plus highlights from The Music Show's live broadcasts from there.

Sunday 6 March: Peter Gabriel on the genesis of music festival WOMAD, plus highlights from The Music Show's live broadcasts from there.

Saturday 5 March: Chi-Chi Nwanoku on Britain’s Chineke! Orchestra; and Inni-K’s new interpretation of the sean-nós tradition.

Saturday 5 March: Chi-Chi Nwanoku on Britain’s Chineke! Orchestra; and Inni-K’s new interpretation of the sean-nós tradition.

Sunday 27 February: Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard on love, frustration and the music of Yoko Ono, and WA composer Olivia Davies on pendulum waves and analogue synthesis.

Sunday 27 February: Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard on love, frustration and the music of Yoko Ono, and WA composer Olivia Davies on pendulum waves and analogue synthesis.

Saturday 26 February: Vale Nigel Butterley (1935-2022)

Saturday 26 February: Vale Nigel Butterley (1935-2022)

Sunday 20 February: Fretwork’s Richard Boothby on 17th century composer Matthew Locke and Kym Pitman’s new album Stones Mumma Kissed.

Sunday 20 February: Fretwork’s Richard Boothby on 17th century composer Matthew Locke and Kym Pitman’s new album Stones Mumma Kissed.

Saturday 19 February: Jaime Martín on his new gig at the MSO and why his previous life as an orchestral player sets him up well, and composer Jamie Perera on how he turns reams of climate and sociological data into musical soundscapes.

Saturday 19 February: Jaime Martín on his new gig at the MSO and why his previous life as an orchestral player sets him up well, and composer Jamie Perera on how he turns reams of climate and sociological data into musical soundscapes.

A neglected Australian composer gets pianist Tonya Lemoh’s attention and we celebrate John Adams’ 75th birthday in sound and colour.

A neglected Australian composer gets pianist Tonya Lemoh’s attention and we celebrate John Adams’ 75th birthday in sound and colour.

Saturday 12 February: A versatile singer on switching characters and musical styles, an unheard interview with American composer George Crumb who died this week, and Simon Rickard brings a musette (baroque bagpipe) into the studio.

Saturday 12 February: A versatile singer on switching characters and musical styles, an unheard interview with American composer George Crumb who died this week, and Simon Rickard brings a musette (baroque bagpipe) into the studio.

Remembering English folk singer Norma Waterson, looking to the future with Deutsche Grammophon President Clemens Trautmann, and a spacious electroacoustic album from drummer Maria Moles.

Remembering English folk singer Norma Waterson, looking to the future with Deutsche Grammophon President Clemens Trautmann, and a spacious electroacoustic album from drummer Maria Moles.

Saturday 5 February: Split Enz's back catalogue gets a makeover from Tim Finn and Eddie Rayner, and Melbourne songwriter Grace Cummings on her second album Storm Queen.

Saturday 5 February: Split Enz's back catalogue gets a makeover from Tim Finn and Eddie Rayner, and Melbourne songwriter Grace Cummings on her second album Storm Queen.

Sunday 30 January: doing the Argentinian tango with accordionist James Crabb and uncovering pioneering female screen composers with Felicity Wilcox.

Sunday 30 January: doing the Argentinian tango with accordionist James Crabb and uncovering pioneering female screen composers with Felicity Wilcox.

Saturday 29 January: Elvis Costello and The Imposters' blistering new album, and answering 'the call' to conduct Girl From The North Country with a few hours' notice.

Saturday 29 January: Elvis Costello and The Imposters' blistering new album, and answering 'the call' to conduct Girl From The North Country with a few hours' notice.

Sunday 23 January: Kate Fagan listens closely to one of the best albums of 1971, and Nai Palm from Melbourne’s Hiatus Kaiyote shares the band's creative process.

Sunday 23 January: Kate Fagan listens closely to one of the best albums of 1971, and Nai Palm from Melbourne’s Hiatus Kaiyote shares the band's creative process.

Saturday 22 January: Ziggy Ramo's powerful reworking of Little Things and 50 years of love for Carole King's Tapestry.

Saturday 22 January: Ziggy Ramo's powerful reworking of Little Things and 50 years of love for Carole King's Tapestry.

Sunday 16 January: Jazz singer and cabaret artiste Mama Alto talks about community, connection and voice. And NYC composer Caroline Shaw on working with soprano Dawn Upshaw, pianist Gilbert Kalish and Sō Percussion.

Sunday 16 January: Jazz singer and cabaret artiste Mama Alto talks about community, connection and voice. And NYC composer Caroline Shaw on working with soprano Dawn Upshaw, pianist Gilbert Kalish and Sō Percussion.

Saturday 15 January: Fela Kuti's son and grandson continue the family legacy of writing political songs you can dance to. And a singer songwriter who's inspired by Randy Newman and Emily Dickinson.

Saturday 15 January: Fela Kuti's son and grandson continue the family legacy of writing political songs you can dance to. And a singer songwriter who's inspired by Randy Newman and Emily Dickinson.

Sunday 9 January: Traditional songs brought into the 21st Century by Northern Ireland's TRÚ and Buryat band Namgar.

Sunday 9 January: Traditional songs brought into the 21st Century by Northern Ireland's TRÚ and Buryat band Namgar.

Saturday 8 January: Perth electropop band Alter Boy blend sound, movement and activism to create music that is accessible to Deaf and hearing audiences alike. And why concert pianist Mahani Teave returned to Rapa Nui to open a music school.

Saturday 8 January: Perth electropop band Alter Boy blend sound, movement and activism to create music that is accessible to Deaf and hearing audiences alike. And why concert pianist Mahani Teave returned to Rapa Nui to open a music school.

Sunday 2 January: Uncle Bunna Lawrie shows us the coastline and whales of Mirning Country, we hear the sea shanties of the 19th Century and find out why they are still sung in pubs today.

Sunday 2 January: Uncle Bunna Lawrie shows us the coastline and whales of Mirning Country, we hear the sea shanties of the 19th Century and find out why they are still sung in pubs today.

Saturday 1 January: k.d. lang looks back on her career and Charlie Parr talks about his album of poetry and Piedmont blues.

Saturday 1 January: k.d. lang looks back on her career and Charlie Parr talks about his album of poetry and Piedmont blues.

Sunday 26 December: Folk singer and environmentalist Sam Lee's musical affinity for the nightingale, and Helen Svoboda pushes the boundaries of the double bass with experimental techniques, vocals and overdubs.

Sunday 26 December: Folk singer and environmentalist Sam Lee's musical affinity for the nightingale, and Helen Svoboda pushes the boundaries of the double bass with experimental techniques, vocals and overdubs.

Saturday 25 December: Víkingur Ólafsson rethinks Mozart, and country star Warren H. Williams and music manager Laurie May on the importance of Aboriginal-owned label CAAMA.

Saturday 25 December: Víkingur Ólafsson rethinks Mozart, and country star Warren H. Williams and music manager Laurie May on the importance of Aboriginal-owned label CAAMA.

Sunday 19 December: Percussionist and educator Greg Sheehan on what numbers and symbols can teach us about rhythm. And Alina Pash is a Ukrainian musician blending traditional beats with electronic music, hip-hop and pop.

Sunday 19 December: Percussionist and educator Greg Sheehan on what numbers and symbols can teach us about rhythm. And Alina Pash is a Ukrainian musician blending traditional beats with electronic music, hip-hop and pop.

Saturday 18 December: Rita Moreno’s big 90th birthday, and remembering Frederic Rzewski, Louis Andriessen, and Mikis Theodorakis

Saturday 18 December: Rita Moreno’s big 90th birthday, and remembering Frederic Rzewski, Louis Andriessen, and Mikis Theodorakis

Sunday 12 December: the international treasure hunt for lost ‘60s Vietnamese rock and roll records, and are two fortepianos better than one?

Sunday 12 December: the international treasure hunt for lost ‘60s Vietnamese rock and roll records, and are two fortepianos better than one?

Saturday 11 December: Pat Jaffe and Callum Mintzis's A Sanctuary of Quietude explores stillness, and one of Australia's finest on a lifetime of teaching and playing violin.

Saturday 11 December: Pat Jaffe and Callum Mintzis's A Sanctuary of Quietude explores stillness, and one of Australia's finest on a lifetime of teaching and playing violin.

Sunday 5 December: A collection of essays from writers like Deborah Levy, George Saunders, Ben Okri and David Mitchell on personally significant LPs, and how composer Georgia Scott uses music to break down stigmas around disability.

Sunday 5 December: A collection of essays from writers like Deborah Levy, George Saunders, Ben Okri and David Mitchell on personally significant LPs, and how composer Georgia Scott uses music to break down stigmas around disability.

Saturday 4 December: Remembering a giant of music theatre and learning how a Braille music score works

Saturday 4 December: Remembering a giant of music theatre and learning how a Braille music score works

Sunday 28 November: Ellie Lamb on their Melbourne International Jazz Festival commission Between Worlds, and Composer Liza Lim on writing operas

Sunday 28 November: Ellie Lamb on their Melbourne International Jazz Festival commission Between Worlds, and Composer Liza Lim on writing operas

Saturday 27 November: Strange Tenants' Bruce Hearn on the politics and music in the Australian ska scene, and Joseph Nolan talks choral music at St George's Cathedral ahead of carol season.

Saturday 27 November: Strange Tenants' Bruce Hearn on the politics and music in the Australian ska scene, and Joseph Nolan talks choral music at St George's Cathedral ahead of carol season.

Sunday 21 November: storied Australian singer Jeannie Lewis on her life in music, and electroacoustic composer Fiona Hill on writing for dancers.

Sunday 21 November: storied Australian singer Jeannie Lewis on her life in music, and electroacoustic composer Fiona Hill on writing for dancers.

Saturday 20 November: How Terence Blanchard's roots as a jazz trumpeter come through in his Metropolitan Opera debut Fire Shut Up In My Bones. And The Waifs' Vikki Thorn on going solo and exploring what 'home' means.

Saturday 20 November: How Terence Blanchard's roots as a jazz trumpeter come through in his Metropolitan Opera debut Fire Shut Up In My Bones. And The Waifs' Vikki Thorn on going solo and exploring what 'home' means.

Sunday 14 December: We hear from a composer and arranger who's hitting his stride, and a stalwart of Canberra's underground music scene.

Sunday 14 December: We hear from a composer and arranger who's hitting his stride, and a stalwart of Canberra's underground music scene.

Saturday 13 November: Sudanese-Australian song woman Ajak Kwai and MONA’s composer in residence, Dean Stevenson

Saturday 13 November: Sudanese-Australian song woman Ajak Kwai and MONA’s composer in residence, Dean Stevenson

Sunday 7 November: Liyah Knight’s dreamy EP Travellers Guide, and the Adelaide Chamber Singers legacy and future.

Sunday 7 November: Liyah Knight’s dreamy EP Travellers Guide, and the Adelaide Chamber Singers legacy and future.

Saturday 6 November: Australian rock legend Tex Perkins on his creativity and longevity, percussive soundscapes from the icy continent, and a postcard from a Summer of concerts in Europe.

Saturday 6 November: Australian rock legend Tex Perkins on his creativity and longevity, percussive soundscapes from the icy continent, and a postcard from a Summer of concerts in Europe.

Sunday 31 October: The surprising ubiquity of an ancient chant in spooky soundtracks, and a significant Australian composer has a significant birthday.

Sunday 31 October: The surprising ubiquity of an ancient chant in spooky soundtracks, and a significant Australian composer has a significant birthday.

Saturday 30 October: Toby Martin’s folk album I Felt the Valley Lifting and the pop music of Shakespeare’s plays

Saturday 30 October: Toby Martin’s folk album I Felt the Valley Lifting and the pop music of Shakespeare’s plays

Sunday 24 October: Billy Bragg returns to the show for his covid album and a collaboration with his son.

Sunday 24 October: Billy Bragg returns to the show for his covid album and a collaboration with his son.

Saturday 23 October: Screen composer Caitlin Yeo on creating her soundtrack to SBS gold rush mystery New Gold Mountain, and James Mangohig on his ARIA-nominated debut album, the role of a producer and how to throw a street party.

Saturday 23 October: Screen composer Caitlin Yeo on creating her soundtrack to SBS gold rush mystery New Gold Mountain, and James Mangohig on his ARIA-nominated debut album, the role of a producer and how to throw a street party.

Sunday 17 October: the story of a uniquely American art form and where it came from.

Sunday 17 October: the story of a uniquely American art form and where it came from.

Saturday 16 October: Paddy Moloney on taking traditional Irish music to all sorts of new places, and Gil Scott-Heron's collaborator on jazz, politics and his Fender Rhodes piano.

Saturday 16 October: Paddy Moloney on taking traditional Irish music to all sorts of new places, and Gil Scott-Heron's collaborator on jazz, politics and his Fender Rhodes piano.

Sunday 10 October: We celebrate the golden age of pop music recording with interviews from artists on the Motown Records label including the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes, the Miracles and Stevie Wonder.

Sunday 10 October: We celebrate the golden age of pop music recording with interviews from artists on the Motown Records label including the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes, the Miracles and Stevie Wonder.

Saturday 9 October: Exploring George Martin’s Air Studios Montserrat with documentary makers Gracie Otto and Cody Greenwood, and retro sci fi meets experimental jazz with Reuben Lewis & I Hold the Lion’s Paw

Saturday 9 October: Exploring George Martin’s Air Studios Montserrat with documentary makers Gracie Otto and Cody Greenwood, and retro sci fi meets experimental jazz with Reuben Lewis & I Hold the Lion’s Paw

Sunday 3 October 2021: a beginner’s guide to Indian classical music.

Sunday 3 October 2021: a beginner’s guide to Indian classical music.

Saturday 2 October: Mindy Meng Wang's exploratory approach to the ancient Chinese guzheng, and two film loving musicians write a suite of songs based on Hellraiser III, Bring It On Again and Silence of the Lambs.

Saturday 2 October: Mindy Meng Wang's exploratory approach to the ancient Chinese guzheng, and two film loving musicians write a suite of songs based on Hellraiser III, Bring It On Again and Silence of the Lambs.

Sunday 26 September 2021: A portrait of the legendary trumpeter on the 30th anniversary of his death courtesy of bandmates Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Gunther Schuller and many more.

Sunday 26 September 2021: A portrait of the legendary trumpeter on the 30th anniversary of his death courtesy of bandmates Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Gunther Schuller and many more.

Saturday 25 September: Víkingur Ólafsson rethinks Mozart, Lady Blackbird finds her sound, & Diana McVeagh introduces us to Finzi

Saturday 25 September: Víkingur Ólafsson rethinks Mozart, Lady Blackbird finds her sound, & Diana McVeagh introduces us to Finzi

Sunday 19 September: how the piano became the centre of our musical universe with Susan Tomes

Sunday 19 September: how the piano became the centre of our musical universe with Susan Tomes

Saturday 18 September: Perth eletropop band Alter Boy blend sound, movement and activism to create music that is accessible to Deaf and hearing audiences alike. And Helen Svoboda pushes the boundaries of the double bass with experimental techniques, vocals and overdubs.

Saturday 18 September: Perth eletropop band Alter Boy blend sound, movement and activism to create music that is accessible to Deaf and hearing audiences alike. And Helen Svoboda pushes the boundaries of the double bass with experimental techniques, vocals and overdubs.

Sunday 12 September: Sean Shibe tackles the musical borderlands of Spain and France, and Punjabi and Australian influences blend beautifully on Parvyn's debut album.

Sunday 12 September: Sean Shibe tackles the musical borderlands of Spain and France, and Punjabi and Australian influences blend beautifully on Parvyn's debut album.

Saturday 11 September 2021: Remembering the 9/11 attacks through musical memorials; shamisen player Noriko Tadano performs live

Saturday 11 September 2021: Remembering the 9/11 attacks through musical memorials; shamisen player Noriko Tadano performs live

Sunday 5 September 2021: An unearthed concert of an Americana musician at the height of her powers. And 'Kalyakoorl, ngalak warangka (Forever, we sing)'—a Noongar language songbook from Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse.

Sunday 5 September 2021: An unearthed concert of an Americana musician at the height of her powers. And 'Kalyakoorl, ngalak warangka (Forever, we sing)'—a Noongar language songbook from Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse.

Saturday 4 September: Greek composer and politician Mikis Theodorakis remembered, Brisbane festival goes local with 190 suburban gigs, and Diane Warren on her songwriting career.

Saturday 4 September: Greek composer and politician Mikis Theodorakis remembered, Brisbane festival goes local with 190 suburban gigs, and Diane Warren on her songwriting career.

Sunday 29 August 2021: Two books about two very different composers—from Elizabethan England to the birth of New York City.

Sunday 29 August 2021: Two books about two very different composers—from Elizabethan England to the birth of New York City.

Saturday 28 August 2021: An oral history of the New Romantics, from Eurythmics to Soft Cell, Adam Ant to The Human League.

Saturday 28 August 2021: An oral history of the New Romantics, from Eurythmics to Soft Cell, Adam Ant to The Human League.

22 August 2021: Versatility is the key to Jess Hitchcock's success, plus the complicated legacy of one of the great twentieth century conductors.

22 August 2021: Versatility is the key to Jess Hitchcock's success, plus the complicated legacy of one of the great twentieth century conductors.

Saturday 21 August: Irish muso Conor O’Brien aka Villagers, preparing the piano for Tabula Rasa, and R Murray Schafer remembered

Saturday 21 August: Irish muso Conor O’Brien aka Villagers, preparing the piano for Tabula Rasa, and R Murray Schafer remembered

Sunday 15 August: How does classical music reckon with the horrors of WWII and the Holocaust?

Sunday 15 August: How does classical music reckon with the horrors of WWII and the Holocaust?

Saturday 14 August 2021: From Isaac Hayes to Marvin Gaye—the legacy of Blaxploitation film soundtracks, and Charlie Parr's new album of poetry and Piedmont blues.

Saturday 14 August 2021: From Isaac Hayes to Marvin Gaye—the legacy of Blaxploitation film soundtracks, and Charlie Parr's new album of poetry and Piedmont blues.

Sunday 8 August 2021: Uncategorisable music from Melbourne’s Hiatus Kaiyote and British composer Param Vir

Sunday 8 August 2021: Uncategorisable music from Melbourne’s Hiatus Kaiyote and British composer Param Vir

Saturday 7 August: Vika & Linda's new album The Wait - after 19 years of waiting - plus The Who's Who's Next and Victorian Opera's Tommy

Saturday 7 August: Vika & Linda's new album The Wait - after 19 years of waiting - plus The Who's Who's Next and Victorian Opera's Tommy

Sunday 1 August: Is Richard Meale and David Malouf's Voss the great Australian opera?

Sunday 1 August: Is Richard Meale and David Malouf's Voss the great Australian opera?

Saturday 31 July: Strength in vulnerability with a Wergaia and Wemba Wemba singer songwriter. And a versatile Australian composer at 80.

Saturday 31 July: Strength in vulnerability with a Wergaia and Wemba Wemba singer songwriter. And a versatile Australian composer at 80.

Sunday 25 July 2021: Two sets of Melbourne artists tell Andrew about finding community and connection in music during lockdown

Sunday 25 July 2021: Two sets of Melbourne artists tell Andrew about finding community and connection in music during lockdown

Saturday 24 July 2021: Traditional songs brought into the 21st Century by Northern Ireland's TRÚ and Buryat band Namgar.

Saturday 24 July 2021: Traditional songs brought into the 21st Century by Northern Ireland's TRÚ and Buryat band Namgar.

Sunday 18 July 2021: Yiddish poetry given an electronic soundtrack and the late Mary Wilson on being a Supreme.

Sunday 18 July 2021: Yiddish poetry given an electronic soundtrack and the late Mary Wilson on being a Supreme.

Saturday 17 July: Hope in an Empty City - a new album from Joseph Tawadros, and First Nations opera singer Marcus Corowa on singing for his community

Saturday 17 July: Hope in an Empty City - a new album from Joseph Tawadros, and First Nations opera singer Marcus Corowa on singing for his community

Sunday 11 July 2021: Composer Louis Andriessen remembered by Lyndon Terracini and Damien Ricketson, plus Katia Beaugeais on composing for sax.

Sunday 11 July 2021: Composer Louis Andriessen remembered by Lyndon Terracini and Damien Ricketson, plus Katia Beaugeais on composing for sax.

Saturday 10 July 2021: Reggae superstars UB40 keep it fresh after four decades, an emerging songwriter on how music can heal Country, and 50 years since the world lost Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong.

Saturday 10 July 2021: Reggae superstars UB40 keep it fresh after four decades, an emerging songwriter on how music can heal Country, and 50 years since the world lost Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong.

Sunday 4 July: Uncle Bunna Lawrie shows us the coastline and whales of Mirning Country, we hear the sea shanties of the 19th Century and find out why they are still sung in pubs today.

Sunday 4 July: Uncle Bunna Lawrie shows us the coastline and whales of Mirning Country, we hear the sea shanties of the 19th Century and find out why they are still sung in pubs today.

Saturday 3 July: Remembering Frederic Rzewski and Louis Andriessen, Richard Piper on Bartók, and Wiradjuri and Gadigal singer Akala Newman

Saturday 3 July: Remembering Frederic Rzewski and Louis Andriessen, Richard Piper on Bartók, and Wiradjuri and Gadigal singer Akala Newman

Sunday 27 June: How Nelson Riddle transformed the sound of Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. And remembering the pioneering slide guitarist and blues singer Ellen McIlwaine (1945 - 2021).

Sunday 27 June: How Nelson Riddle transformed the sound of Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. And remembering the pioneering slide guitarist and blues singer Ellen McIlwaine (1945 - 2021).

Saturday 26 June: Joan Armatrading’s one woman band and one of the world’s most famous operas revealed.

Saturday 26 June: Joan Armatrading’s one woman band and one of the world’s most famous operas revealed.

Sunday 20 June: Kate Fagan listens closely to one of the best albums of 1971, and the Scattered People band who performed for asylum seekers in detention.

Sunday 20 June: Kate Fagan listens closely to one of the best albums of 1971, and the Scattered People band who performed for asylum seekers in detention.

Saturday 19 June: The Art of Protest charts the history of the protest song and composer Samuel Barber’s musical life beyond his Adagio

Saturday 19 June: The Art of Protest charts the history of the protest song and composer Samuel Barber’s musical life beyond his Adagio

Sunday 13 June: Celebrating women composers across centuries, and the veteran singer songwriter on her protest hit 'The Universal Soldier'.

Sunday 13 June: Celebrating women composers across centuries, and the veteran singer songwriter on her protest hit 'The Universal Soldier'.

Saturday 12 June: Ziggy Ramo's powerful reworking of Little Things and pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk

Saturday 12 June: Ziggy Ramo's powerful reworking of Little Things and pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk

Sunday 6 June 2021: Joan Baez revisited, and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra's professionals side-by-side with amateur players.

Sunday 6 June 2021: Joan Baez revisited, and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra's professionals side-by-side with amateur players.

Saturday 5 June 2021: Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile on his new album Laysongs, ABC Illawarra's Nick Rheinberger responds to bushfires through music.

Saturday 5 June 2021: Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile on his new album Laysongs, ABC Illawarra's Nick Rheinberger responds to bushfires through music.

Sunday 30 May: country star Warren H. Williams and music manager Laurie May on the importance of Aboriginal-owned label CAAMA. Plus Chris Latham's most ambitious work to date, with a focus on the plight of Vietnamese Boat People.

Sunday 30 May: country star Warren H. Williams and music manager Laurie May on the importance of Aboriginal-owned label CAAMA. Plus Chris Latham's most ambitious work to date, with a focus on the plight of Vietnamese Boat People.

Saturday 29 May 2021: k.d. lang looks back on her career and Jack Buckskin talks about Adelaide Symphony Orchestra's new Acknowledgement of Country

Saturday 29 May 2021: k.d. lang looks back on her career and Jack Buckskin talks about Adelaide Symphony Orchestra's new Acknowledgement of Country

Sunday 23 May: Marvin Gaye's seminal 1971 album What's Going On turns fifty, and Sir John Eliot Gardiner's life in music, from Bach to Weill.

Sunday 23 May: Marvin Gaye's seminal 1971 album What's Going On turns fifty, and Sir John Eliot Gardiner's life in music, from Bach to Weill.

Saturday 22 May: Runa Cara's multi-instrumental folk fusion, and Elizabeth Llewellyn sings the forgotten songs of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Saturday 22 May: Runa Cara's multi-instrumental folk fusion, and Elizabeth Llewellyn sings the forgotten songs of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Sunday 16 May: Folk singer and environmentalist Sam Lee's musical affinity for the nightingale; composer Jessica Wells' song cycle The Night Parrot and a new work inspired by MC Hammer and the Nokia ringtone.

Sunday 16 May: Folk singer and environmentalist Sam Lee's musical affinity for the nightingale; composer Jessica Wells' song cycle The Night Parrot and a new work inspired by MC Hammer and the Nokia ringtone.

Saturday 15 May: A singer songwriter who's inspired by Randy Newman and Emily Dickinson. And music for Alison Lester's beloved children's book Are We There Yet?

Saturday 15 May: A singer songwriter who's inspired by Randy Newman and Emily Dickinson. And music for Alison Lester's beloved children's book Are We There Yet?

Sunday 9 May: An oral history of the New Romantics, from Eurythmics to Soft Cell, Adam Ant to The Human League. And a final word from producer Penny Lomax who's finishing up a 30 year career with The Music Show.

Sunday 9 May: An oral history of the New Romantics, from Eurythmics to Soft Cell, Adam Ant to The Human League. And a final word from producer Penny Lomax who's finishing up a 30 year career with The Music Show.

Saturday 8 May: Konstantin Koukias's fossilised soundscape Primordial is premiered in remote South Australia, and Paavali Jumppanen looks back at his music education as he takes over the Australian National Academy of Music.

Saturday 8 May: Konstantin Koukias's fossilised soundscape Primordial is premiered in remote South Australia, and Paavali Jumppanen looks back at his music education as he takes over the Australian National Academy of Music.

Sunday 2 May: The long road to Liz Stringer's sixth album of personal, profound songwriting. And we meet one of Australia's 19 carillonists ahead of a bell ringing festival in Bathurst.

Saturday 1st May: Australian jazz supremo Sandy Evans has taken Gandhi's words as her latest musical inspiration and Robert and Clara Schumann's take on 19th women courtesy of Carolyn Sampson

Sunday 25th April: Didg and guitar virtuosos back at work.

Saturday 24 April: Gretchen Parlato's new album Flor takes us from Bach to Bowie to bossa nova, and Irish guitarist Kevin Shields on how 'shoegazing' fits between grunge and Britpop.

Sunday 18 April: How Percy Grainger's chance meeting with physicist Burnett Cross changed him and his Free Music experiments. And countertenor Russell Harcourt on that magnificent voice.

Saturday 17 April: composer, conductor, suffragette; all in a Dame's work. And East meets East in today's Taiwanese music.

Sunday 11 April: The 20th century's most famous composer

Multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens has sought comfort from traditional songs during the pandemic, and they form her new album with Francesco Turrisi. And how Matt Keegan's great grandfather's journey of survival inspired a programmatic jazz suite.

Sunday 4th April: From The Music Show's 30th anniversary collection, Laurie Anderson's enduring appeal and Ross Bolleter's love affair with ruined pianos