Tom Service talks to one of the most versatile jazz musicians of his generation, Chick Corea. Musician and artist Bill Drummond, who came up with the idea of a No Music Day, and pianist David Owen Norris discuss living a life without music.
In this programme
David McVicar
David McVicar is currently directing Britten's 'The Turn of the Screw' at English National Opera, a production first seen last year at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, which went on to win McVicar and the cast Russia's most prestigious prize for opera. In our exclusive interview, McVicar talks about the personal sensitivity which lies at the heart of his work; this is a director who cannot help but take the reactions of audiences, casts, and critics, to heart, perhaps this goes someway to explaining the passionate theatrical drive of his productions. But how does this ex-actor get such compelling performances from his singers? And why has the world of opera eclipsed that of straight theatre for this controversial director?
'No Music Day'
Could you go 24 hours without music? Conceptual artist Bill Drummond thinks you should certainly be giving it a try. Drummond is notorious for burning £1, 000, 000 worth of earnings from his anarchistic pop act KLF, also celebrated for their controversial performance at the 1992 Brit awards which prompted conductor George Solti to make an early exit from the ceremony.
Drummond is a man on a mission to ensure that every year on the 21st of November, the day before St Cecilia's Day, we observe No Music Day, and he joins Tom in the studio to garner some support.
We also hear from pianist David Owen Norris, who made an audio diary of his attempt to survive a day without music, and violinist Pekka Kuusisto tells us how his No Music Day went in Helsinki.
Chick Corea
Legendary pianist and composer Chick Corea is playing at the London Jazz Festival next week, in duo with banjo player Bela Fleck. Tom spoke to him about a career defined by his creative relationships with fellow musicians, from Gary Burton to Miles Davis and Bobby McFerrin. His musical partnerships have been as varied as the audiences he has reached - we hear what it is like to flit between the worlds of hard-core jazzers with his avant-garde trio Circle, pop fans with the Elektric Band and classical aficionados with his Mozart recordings and self penned concerto.
