Inspired Minds Podcasts

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Inspired Minds continues to bring you portraits of many of the world's great minds. Primary Format : Arts Language : German Also Listed as: City : Berlin State/Province : Unknown Country : Germany Region : EU User Tags: User Votes: RSS Feed Website People found this Podcast Searching for: View this Podcast on a Google Map. Podcast iTunes Link Text Only listing of Inspired Minds Podcasts Methings.com listings of Inspired Minds Podcasts If you like this podcast, you might also like:

Inspired Minds: Inspired Minds – Breandáin O’Shea This week in the final edition of "Inspired Minds," the man behind the series Breandáin O’Shea, talks to colleague Helen Seeney about some of the highlights of the 500 episodes. Over the last nine years, "Inspired Minds" guests have included, Jessye Norman, Joan Sutherland, Elliot Carter, Frank Mc Court, André Previn, Roddy Doyle, Susan Sonntag, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and Sting. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Murray Perahia – Pianist This week renowned pianist Murray Perahia talks about his special relationship to the music of Beethoven and Bach. The musician has embarked on an ambitious project to edit the complete Beethoven piano sonatas for the Henle Urtext Edition. Murray Perahia was a guest at this year’s Beethoven Festival, held in the city of Beethoven's birth, Bonn. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Jean-Guihen Queyras - Cellist Today we continue our conversation with Jean-Guihen Queyras, where the cellist tells us about the role of his instrument in chamber music. Jean-Guihen has been principal cellist of France's "Ensemble Intercontemporain" and he is today, a member of the "Arcanto Quartet," where he performs with renowned soloists Tabea Zimmermann, Antje Weithaas and Daniel Sepec. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Jean-Guihen Queyras - Cellist Queyras' recording of Bach's cello suites in 2008, turned out to be one of the turning points in the cellist career, after major publications declared it "CD of the month." The musician was solo cellist of the "Ensemble Intercontemporain," and has given several world premieres. Alongside his thriving solo career, Jean-Guihen is a member of the renowned "Arcanto Quartet." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Grover Crisp - film restoration expert Crisp has worked alongside cinematographers such as Conrad L. Hall and John Bailey and esteemed directors the likes of Dennis Hopper and Martin Scorsese. Titles restored under his direction include "Funny Girl," "On the Waterfront" and the Scorsese 1976 classic - "Taxi Driver." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Per Arne Glorvigen and the art of tango The bandoneon is best known through the music of tango. This week we continue our conversation with one of the world’s leading bandoneon players Per Arne Glorvigen. We find out more about what makes a performance of tango music authentic and why classical musicians the world over, now enjoy performing this very special repertoire. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Per Arne Glorvigen – Bandoneón player The bandoneón is similar to the concertina and particularly popular in Argentina, although it does have it’s origins in Germany. Glorvigen is one of the worlds leading players. He has performed with some of the world’s best musicians including the Alban Berg Quartet and Gidon Kremer. This week he tells us more about the unique qualities of this special instrument. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Violinist Sherban Lupu Lupu specializes in the music of his native Rumania and Eastern Europe, and is regarded as one of the world's leading performers of George Enescu's music. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Roddy Doyle – Author, playwright and screenwriter This week an Inspired Minds' classic, with the renowned Irish writer Roddy Doyle. His novels include "The Commitments," "The Woman Who Walked into Doors" and "Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha" which won the Booker Prize, Britain's highest literary award, in 1993. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Andrew Logan – Artist As one of Britain's principal sculptural artists, Logan’s work is renowned for its flair, fantasy and challenging convention. He has worked across the fields of sculpture, stage design, festivals and interior design. His message to the world is - "Art can be discovered anywhere." In 1972 he established the"Alternative Miss World," a beauty pageant not about beauty, but transformation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Jes Benstock – Film Director The Glaswegian filmmaker's credits include the documentaries "Orders of Love" and "The Holocaust Tourist." Benstock’s latest film "The British Guide to Showing Off" follows the mounting of the Alternative Miss World Show and is interwoven with the events history - the rise, fall and rediscovery - of both the event and the artist at its centre, Andrew Logan. Producer: Breandáin O'Shea Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Sameh Zoabi – Filmmaker Born and raised in a Palestinian village in Israel, Sameh Zoabi is a graduate of Tel Aviv University and New York's Columbia's School of the Arts. His short film"Be Quiet," was honoured by the Cinefondation at the Cannes Film Festival. His feature debut, "Man Without a Cellphone" is a humorous take on the social milieu of a Palestinian village inside Israel. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Sameh Zoabi – Filmmaker Born and raised in a Palestinian village in Israel, Sameh Zoabi is a graduate of Tel Aviv University and New York's Columbia's School of the Arts. His short film"Be Quiet," was honoured by the Cinefondation at the Cannes Film Festival. His feature debut, "Man Without a Cellphone" is a humorous take on the social milieu of a Palestinian village inside Israel. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Erez Kavel - Screenwriter Recently the Israeli film "Restoration" took out the top award at the Czech Republic's annual Karlovy Vary International Film festival. Prior to this, the film’s screenwriter Erez Kavel was awarded the prize for "Best Screenplay" at the Sundance Film Festival. "Restoration" is a moving portrayal of modern Israeli society through the eyes of an antiques restorer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Erez Kavel - Screenwriter Recently the Israeli film "Restoration" took out the top award at the Czech Republic's annual Karlovy Vary International Film festival. Prior to this, the film’s screenwriter Erez Kavel was awarded the prize for "Best Screenplay" at the Sundance Film Festival. "Restoration" is a moving portrayal of modern Israeli society through the eyes of an antiques restorer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Aaron Houston – Filmmaker Canadian Aaron Houston has written and directed several short films including the titles "Rousing Doug" and "Two theories, one stone," which have won him numerous accolades. He has just completed his first feature film as writer/director of the comedy "Sunflower Hour," which premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and won the Independent Camera Award. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Aaron Houston – Filmmaker Canadian Aaron Houston has written and directed several short films including the titles "Rousing Doug" and "Two theories, one stone," which have won him numerous accolades. He has just completed his first feature film as writer/director of the comedy "Sunflower Hour," which premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and won the Independent Camera Award. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: John Malkovich - Actor, Director, Designer Over the last 25 years, John Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures including, "Empire of the Sun," "The Killing Fields," "Dangerous Liaisons" and of course "Being John Mailkovich. " But it is about his role as a fashion designer, that he talks to Breandáin O'Shea in this week's Inspired Minds. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: John Malkovich - Actor, Director, Designer Over the last 25 years, John Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures including, "Empire of the Sun," "The Killing Fields," "Dangerous Liaisons" and of course "Being John Mailkovich. " But it is about his role as a fashion designer, that he talks to Breandáin O'Shea in this week's Inspired Minds. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Rolfe Ebehardt - South African water expert Is water a human right? One country that has already enshrined the right to water in its constitution is South Africa. Rolfe Ebehardt has had twenty years of experience in water policy, primarily in South Africa, but also in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Lesotho. Interview:Nathan Witkop/ Rolfe Ebehardt Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Rolfe Ebehardt - South African water expert Is water a human right? One country that has already enshrined the right to water in its constitution is South Africa. Rolfe Ebehardt has had twenty years of experience in water policy, primarily in South Africa, but also in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Lesotho. Interview:Nathan Witkop/ Rolfe Ebehardt Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: U Roberto Romano – Filmmaker Part II Deutsch Welle just hosted its annual Global Media Forum where the focus this year was on Human Rights. Among the guests was the documentary filmmaker, U Roberto Romano. His latest film "The Harvest," examines the lives of migrant children in America, a project that was strongly supported by renowned actor Eva Longoria. Producer: Breandáin O'Shea Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: U Roberto Romano – Filmmaker Part II Deutsch Welle just hosted its annual Global Media Forum where the focus this year was on Human Rights. Among the guests was the documentary filmmaker, U Roberto Romano. His latest film "The Harvest," examines the lives of migrant children in America, a project that was strongly supported by renowned actor Eva Longoria. Producer: Breandáin O'Shea Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: U Roberto Romano – filmmaker and human rights activist Part I Deutsch Welle just hosted its annual Global Media Forum where the focus this year was on Human Rights. Among the guests was the filmmaker, U Roberto Romano, one of the world’s most respected investigative documentary makers. Among his recent films are "Dark Side of Chocolate," a documentary on slavery in the West Africa cocoa trade, and "The Harvest," which is about migrant children in America. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: U Roberto Romano – filmmaker and human rights activist Part I Deutsch Welle just hosted its annual Global Media Forum where the focus this year was on Human Rights. Among the guests was the filmmaker, U Roberto Romano, one of the world’s most respected investigative documentary makers. Among his recent films are "Dark Side of Chocolate," a documentary on slavery in the West Africa cocoa trade, and "The Harvest," which is about migrant children in America. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Paul Badura-Skoda – Pianist and Musicologist This week the legednadry pianist Paul Badura Skoda remisies on his long and illustrious career. He recalls his performances with the conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler and Herbert von Karajan, his musical duo with celebrated violinist David Oistrach and his work with many contemporary composers, including the renowned Frank Martin, with whom he recorded his piano concerti. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Paul Badura-Skoda – Pianist and Musicologist This week the legednadry pianist Paul Badura Skoda remisies on his long and illustrious career. He recalls his performances with the conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler and Herbert von Karajan, his musical duo with celebrated violinist David Oistrach and his work with many contemporary composers, including the renowned Frank Martin, with whom he recorded his piano concerti. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Stephane Lafleur - Filmmaker The Canadian film director and writer, has contributed to the creation of more than 30 independent short films. His latest feature film "Familiar Ground" is a deceptively simple but powerful sibling drama, with plenty of laughs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Stephane Lafleur - Filmmaker The Canadian film director and writer, has contributed to the creation of more than 30 independent short films. His latest feature film "Familiar Ground" is a deceptively simple but powerful sibling drama, with plenty of laughs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Colin Cotterill – Author Cotterill's crime novels feature the reluctant hero Dr Siri, the National Coroner in the Republic of Laos after the Communist empowerment in 1975. The author has worked on various UNESCO projects teaching English, and one such project took him to Laos, a country that remains close to heart today and the setting for his books. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Colin Cotterill – Author Cotterill's crime novels feature the reluctant hero Dr Siri, the National Coroner in the Republic of Laos after the Communist empowerment in 1975. The author has worked on various UNESCO projects teaching English, and one such project took him to Laos, a country that remains close to heart today and the setting for his books. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Hélène Grimaud – Pianist PART II In this week’s Inspired Minds Hélène Grimaud talks about a project that has remained close to her heart - the Wolf Conservation Center she founded in the US. She also tells about the health hazards soloists face when constantly on the road and how sometimes she wishes music critics would focus more on her playing, then on the color of her concert outfit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Hélène Grimaud – Pianist PART II In this week’s Inspired Minds Hélène Grimaud talks about a project that has remained close to her heart - the Wolf Conservation Center she founded in the US. She also tells about the health hazards soloists face when constantly on the road and how sometimes she wishes music critics would focus more on her playing, then on the color of her concert outfit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Hélène Grimaud – Pianist PART I In Inspired Minds this week, the internationally-acclaimed soloist Hélène Grimaud, tells us about her special relationship to Beethoven's music, her frequent frustration as she tries to create the ultimate legato line on the piano and how she loves the independent qualities of the piano. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Hélène Grimaud – Pianist PART I In Inspired Minds this week, the internationally-acclaimed soloist Hélène Grimaud, tells us about her special relationship to Beethoven's music, her frequent frustration as she tries to create the ultimate legato line on the piano and how she loves the independent qualities of the piano. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Cathy Milliken – composer and oboist Part II A native of Australia, Cathy Milliken came to Europe in the late 70s for post -graduate studies in oboe. As a founding member of "Ensemble Modern", she worked alongside composers the likes of Peter Eötvös, Frank Zappa and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Cathy herself has been composing prolifically since 1990. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Cathy Milliken – composer and oboist Part II A native of Australia, Cathy Milliken came to Europe in the late 70s for post -graduate studies in oboe. As a founding member of "Ensemble Modern", she worked alongside composers the likes of Peter Eötvös, Frank Zappa and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Cathy herself has been composing prolifically since 1990. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Catherine Milliken - composer and oboist PART I As a founding member of "Ensemble Modern," Cathy worked with leading musicans the likes of Pierre Boulez, Frank Zappa and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Her own compositions include works for theatre and radio, operas and installations. Since 2007 Cathy Milliken has been the director of Zukunft@BPhil – the education department of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Catherine Milliken - composer and oboist PART I As a founding member of "Ensemble Modern," Cathy worked with leading musicans the likes of Pierre Boulez, Frank Zappa and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Her own compositions include works for theatre and radio, operas and installations. Since 2007 Cathy Milliken has been the director of Zukunft@BPhil – the education department of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Christian Ihle Hadland - Pianist The Norwegian pianist celebrated his debut with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra when he was just 15. Today Christian is renowned for his solo recitals and as a chamber music partner with musicians the likes of Janine Jansen, Truls Mørk and Clemens Hagen. Since 2010 he has been joint Artistic Director of the International Chamber Music Festival in Stavanger– the town where he was born in 1983. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Christian Ihle Hadland - Pianist The Norwegian pianist celebrated his debut with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra when he was just 15. Today Christian is renowned for his solo recitals and as a chamber music partner with musicians the likes of Janine Jansen, Truls Mørk and Clemens Hagen. Since 2010 he has been joint Artistic Director of the International Chamber Music Festival in Stavanger– the town where he was born in 1983. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Elizabeth George – Crime Writer Elizabeth George published her first novel "A Great Deliverance" after almost fourteen years in the teaching profession. Today she has completed a further twenty novels, among them many bestsellers and most have been filmed for television. George's accolades include the Anthony Award, the Agatha Award, and Germany's MIMI for her novel "Well-Schooled in Murder." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Elizabeth George – Crime Writer Elizabeth George published her first novel "A Great Deliverance" after almost fourteen years in the teaching profession. Today she has completed a further twenty novels, among them many bestsellers and most have been filmed for television. George's accolades include the Anthony Award, the Agatha Award, and Germany's MIMI for her novel "Well-Schooled in Murder." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Zubin Mehta - Conductor This month one of the world's great conductors, Zubin Mehta, celebrates his 75th birthday. A native of India, he has conducted many of the world's great orchestras and since his debut as an opera conductor, has conducted at the Met, the Vienna State Opera, Covent Garden and La Scala. Since 1977 he has been music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Zubin Mehta - Conductor This month one of the world's great conductors, Zubin Mehta, celebrates his 75th birthday. A native of India, he has conducted many of the world's great orchestras and since his debut as an opera conductor, has conducted at the Met, the Vienna State Opera, Covent Garden and La Scala. Since 1977 he has been music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Antje Weithaas - Violinist The violinist has appeared as soloist with orchestras the likes of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, with conductors such as Vladimir Askenazy and Sir Neville Marriner. But Antje Weithaas’s first love is chamber music and in particular her ARCANTO string quartet which she co-founded in 2002. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Antje Weithaas - Violinist The violinist has appeared as soloist with orchestras the likes of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, with conductors such as Vladimir Askenazy and Sir Neville Marriner. But Antje Weithaas’s first love is chamber music and in particular her ARCANTO string quartet which she co-founded in 2002. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Giora Feidman- The King of Klezmer turns 75 Be it in classical, jazz, tango or klezmer, Giora Feidman has developed a unique musical language. Indeed Leonard Bernstein once said "Long live Giora, his clarinet and his music! He builds bridges between generations, cultures and classes and he does it with perfect artistry" Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Giora Feidman- The King of Klezmer turns 75 Be it in classical, jazz, tango or klezmer, Giora Feidman has developed a unique musical language. Indeed Leonard Bernstein once said "Long live Giora, his clarinet and his music! He builds bridges between generations, cultures and classes and he does it with perfect artistry" Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Gregor Zubicky – Artistic Manager of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra Gregor Zubicky was an internationally renowned oboe soloist and principal cor-anglais with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, until medical problems with a hand, forced a change in his career path. Today he is artistic director of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. This week Gregor Zubicky talks to Breandáin O’Shea about this career change, establishing a chamber music festival and the challenges he faces in his new position within an orchestra. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Gregor Zubicky – Artistic Manager of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra Gregor Zubicky was an internationally renowned oboe soloist and principal cor-anglais with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra until medical problems with a hand forced a change in his career path. Today he is artistic director of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. This week Gregor Zubicky talks to Breandáin O’Shea about this career change, establishing a chamber music festival and the challenges he faces in his new position within an orchestra. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Thomas Dausgaard – Conductor Thomas Dausgaard appears regularly with all the major Scandinavian orchestras. He is Principal Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and since 1997 director of The Swedish Chamber Orchestra, which he has brought from a regional orchestra to an internationally acclaimed ensemble. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Guy Nattiv- Filmmaker The Israeli director's debut film "Strangers" participated in the 2008 official selection competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Guy Nattiv has completed three shorts and two feature films. "Offside" and" Mabul" received several awards at international film festivals including Berlin International Film Festival's "Crystal Bear" and Best Short at Sundance Film festival. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Pieter-Dirk Uys - entertainer and HIV/AIDS activist Pieter Dirk Uys has been involved in theatre since the mid 60s as both a writer and performer. He has written 20 plays and over 30 revues and one-man shows, which he has presented throughout South Africa and abroad. His most famous character creation is Evita Bezuidenhout - who was addressed by Nelson Mandela as "the most famous white woman in South-Africa." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Sandy Powell - Oscar winning Costume Designer The academy award winning costume designer's film credits include "Orlando," "The Aviator" and "The Crying Game." She has been nominated for 8 Academy Awards and received Oscars for "Shakespeare in Love," "The Aviator" and for "The Young Victoria" in 2010. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Dieter Kosslick - Director of the Berlin International Film Festival This week the head of Germany's most prestigious film event talks to Breandáin O'Shea about his first 10 years in office, the booming European Film Market and the themes that eternally provide inspiration for filmmakers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Jan Chapman – Film Producer and Jury member This week the Berlin International Film Festival continues with over 400 films to be shown during the 10 day event. Pre-eminent Australian film producer Jan Chapman is a member of the 2011 jury who decide who takes home the much-coveted Berlinale Bears. Jan Chapman's impressive list of producing credits include "Two Friends"(1986), "The Last Days of Chez Nous"(1992), and her 1993 film "The Piano" which won three academy awards and the Golden Palm at Cannes.This week in Inspired Minds � ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Constantine Giannaris Filmaker Giannaris is admired internationally for his lyrical films often set against the backdrop of modern cities. He draws on documentary modes of filmmaking, and frequently uses non-professional actors to map out the volatile space between cultural difference and sexual transgression.Films to date include, "Hostage," " Room for All," " From the Edge of the City" and "Caught Looking." His film "Trojans," features the life and work of Constantine Cavafy, a Greek poet who lived in Alexandria in the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Christoph Hartmann - oboe Berlin Philharmonic member Christoph Hartmann spends a great deal of time researching repertoire for the oboe. Indeed, he has discovered and enriched his own repertoire with the beautiful compositions of the nearly forgotten oboe virtuoso Antonino Pasculli. Christoph Hartmann began his career as an orchestral musician with the Stuttgart Philharmonic, and then moved to the Berlin Philharmonic. Since 1993 has also taught at the Berlin Philharmonic’s Orchestra Academy. In 1999, together wit ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Maike Mia Höhne - Curator Berlinale Shorts Berlin’s International Film Festival has awarded Golden and Silver Bears for the best short film since 1955. Maike Mia Höhne has worked as a freelance writer, curator, producer, photographer and director since 2001. In 2007 she took the reins of the short film section of Germany’s biggest film festival. In this week’s Inspired Minds Maike Mia Höhne talks to Breandáin O’Shea about the curious art of short film making, the particular qualities of short film makers and the type o ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Kathryn Stott – Pianist Kathy Stott is recognised internationally as one of Britain’s most versatile and imaginative musicians. She has recorded extensively and appears in a wide variety of chamber music ensembles and in duos with some of the world’s leading instrumentalists, as well as appearing on major international concert platforms in recitals and concerto performances. In this week’s Inspired Minds, Kathryn Stott speaks to Breandáin O’Shea about the intricate art of ensemble playing, the role of th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Kathryn Stott This season pianist Kathryn Stott celebrates a quarter-of-a-century partnership with the renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. A particular interest in contemporary music has led to several world premieres as well as performances of tango and other Latin dance music. Kathy Stott is recognised internationally as one of Britain’s most versatile and imaginative musicians. She has also recorded extensively and appears in a wide variety of chamber music ensembles and in duos with some of the world’s ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Christo, Joan Sutherland and Ernie Dingo In this the second of two special editions of Inspired Minds we will have the chance to hear some of the 2010 highlights. They include renowned Australian Aboriginal actor Ernie Dingo and the installation artist Christo. We also remember the sensational soprano Dame Joan Sutherland, who died in 2010. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Ian Rankin and Helénè Grimaud This week the first of two special editions of Inspired Minds featuring some of the 2010 highlights. Guests include the star crime-writer Ian Rankin, children's author Paro Anand and world-acclaimed pianist Helénè Grimaud. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Pavan Sukhdev The Special Advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme’s Green Economy Initiative, Pavan Sukhdev, pursues long-standing interests in environmental economics and nature conservation. Initially as a senior banker, Pavan Sukhdev founded and went on to join the board of Deutsche Bank's Global Markets Centre in Mumbai. Sukhdev has also held positions with Deutsche Bank as Head of Global Markets Finance for Asia-Pacific and later Chief Operating Officer of the Bank's Global Emerging Ma ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Opera Librettist Amanda Holden Mozart and da Ponte or Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal – just two of many great composer-librettist partnerships that come to mind easily. Yet, mostly we associate an opera entirely with its composer. Amanda Holden has written several libretti - her most recent triumph was for Brett Dean’s "Bliss" which opened Hamburg State Opera's current season. Amanda Holden has translated many works for the stage, including concert works, plays and about fifty opera libretti of varying r ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with composer Brett Dean Dean received the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for his violin concerto"The Lost Art of Letter Writing." Other works premiered recently include a string quintet, a sonata for violin and piano and his first full-length opera "Bliss" based on a novel by Peter Carey. Brett Dean studied in Brisbane before moving to Germany in 1984 where he was a member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for 15 years. He returned to Australia in 2000 to concentrate on his growing compositional activities, an ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Inspired Minds:Violist Maxim Rysanov The musician is considered one of the most exciting string players to emerge in the last decade. He has won several major international awards, including the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, the Guildhall Gold Medal, and most recently the prestigious Geneva Competition. Maxim Rysanov performed all over the world both as a soloist and as a chamber musician alongside renowned artists the likes of Marc-Andre Hamelin, Janine Jansen and Gidon Kremer. Originally from Ukraine, he is ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with author Tom Rachman Literary critics the world over have praised Tom Rachman’s first novel, "The Imperfectionists." The novel, already published in twenty countries, is built around the personal stories of staff members at an international newspaper, founded in Rome by an American businessman in the 1950s. Tom Rachman was born in London, but grew up in Vancouver, Canada. He studied cinema at the University of Toronto and journalism at New York’s Columbia University. Prior to writing his first book, he ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Composer Elliott Carter 102-year-old Elliott Carter is internationally recognized as one of the leading American voices of the classical music tradition. He has known all the great leaders of contemporary music, from Charles Ives, Edgar Varese, Aaron Copland, Stravinsky and many, many others. One of the extraordinary features of Carter’s career is his astonishing productivity and creative vitality as he embarks on his eleventh decade. His has written more than 130 works and over 40 of these in the past decade al ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Composer Elliott Carter 102-year-old Elliott Carter is internationally recognized as one of the leading American voices of the classical music tradition. He has known all the great leaders of contemporary music, from Charles Ives, Edgar Varese, Aaron Copland, Stravinsky and many, many others. One of the extraordinary features of Carter’s career is his astonishing productivity and creative vitality as he embarks on his eleventh decade. His has written more than 130 works and over 40 of these in the past decade al ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-one with Academy Award-winning director Adam Elliot Elliot's films "Uncle," "Cousin," "Brother" and "Harvie Krumpet" have been viewed by millions of people around the world. He presented his latest film "Mary and Max" at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. Adam Elliot grew up in outback Australia. After his father's business went bankrupt, the family moved to Melbourne. As a child he spent hours drawing and creating characters out of pipe cleaners and egg cartons. Elliot went on the study at The Victorian College of the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-one with Academy Award-winning director Adam Elliot Elliot's films "Uncle," "Cousin," "Brother" and "Harvie Krumpet" have been viewed by millions of people around the world. He presented his latest film "Mary and Max" at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. Adam Elliot grew up in outback Australia. After his father's business went bankrupt, the family moved to Melbourne. As a child he spent hours drawing and creating characters out of pipe cleaners and egg cartons. Elliot went on the study at The Victorian College of the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Remembering the late Dame Joan Sutherland Dame Joan’s opera career spanned four decades, encompassing some 1,800 performances. She sang more than 50 operatic roles in opera houses - from the Met in New York to La Scala in Milan. The Italians called her "La Stupenda," the adoring English dubbed her "The Incomparable." She died on October 10th, in Geneva, aged 83. Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1926, Joan Sutherland received her first lessons from her mother and at the age of 21, landed the title role in Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Remembering the late Dame Joan Sutherland Dame Joan’s opera career spanned four decades, encompassing some 1,800 performances. She sang more than 50 operatic roles in opera houses - from the Met in New York to La Scala in Milan. The Italians called her "La Stupenda," the adoring English dubbed her "The Incomparable." She died on October 10th, in Geneva, aged 83. Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1926, Joan Sutherland received her first lessons from her mother and at the age of 21, landed the title role in Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One–to-One with organist, conductor and composer Neithard Bethke To date Neithard Bethke has composed 77 works, including 30 works for organ, 1 Mass, 3 oratorios and 6 works for orchestra.The musician Neithard Bethke was born the eighth of 10 children. He father a Pastor and his mother a professional pianist and music professor. This meant from early in Neithard Bethke’s life, he was surrounded by music. In fact already at 7, he played the organ for church services and at just 13 years of age, he had a potion as a church organist. He went on to study c ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One–to-One with organist, conductor and composer Neithard Bethke To date Neithard Bethke has composed 77 works, including 30 works for organ, 1 Mass, 3 oratorios and 6 works for orchestra.The musician Neithard Bethke was born the eighth of 10 children. He father a Pastor and his mother a professional pianist and music professor. This meant from early in Neithard Bethke’s life, he was surrounded by music. In fact already at 7, he played the organ for church services and at just 13 years of age, he had a potion as a church organist. He went on to study c ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with violinist Henning Kraggerud Among Henning Kraggerud's recordings are the Grieg Violin Sonatas and the Sibelius and Sinding Violin Concerti. He is a Professor at the Barratt-Due Music Conservatoire in Oslo and from 2011 will be one of the Artistic Directors of the Risør Festival of Chamber Music in Norway. Born in Oslo in 1973, Henning Kraggerud studied with Camilla Wicks and Emanuel Hurwitz. He is a recipient of Norway 's prestigious "Grieg Prize" and today teaches at the Barratt-Due music conservatoire. He has per ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with violinist Henning Kraggerud Among Henning Kraggerud's recordings are the Grieg Violin Sonatas and the Sibelius and Sinding Violin Concerti. He is a Professor at the Barratt-Due Music Conservatoire in Oslo and from 2011 will be one of the Artistic Directors of the Risør Festival of Chamber Music in Norway. Born in Oslo in 1973, Henning Kraggerud studied with Camilla Wicks and Emanuel Hurwitz. He is a recipient of Norway 's prestigious "Grieg Prize" and today teaches at the Barratt-Due music conservatoire. He has per ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with author Stuart MacBride The Scotsman Stuart MacBride has successfully put the city of Aberdeen on the map of crime-writing. His first crime novel with Detective Sergeant Logan McRae and his slightly clumsy yet most endearing unorthodox superior, Detective Inspector Roberta Steel, came out in 2005, and he has been publishing a book a year ever since. In this week’s Inspired Minds Ulrike Sárkány talks to the author about his Aberdeen inspiration, the surprise of his success on the highly competitive crime fictio ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with author Stuart MacBride The Scotsman Stuart MacBride has successfully put the city of Aberdeen on the map of crime-writing. His first crime novel with Detective Sergeant Logan McRae and his slightly clumsy yet most endearing unorthodox superior, Detective Inspector Roberta Steel, came out in 2005, and he has been publishing a book a year ever since. In this week’s Inspired Minds Ulrike Sárkány talks to the author about his Aberdeen inspiration, the surprise of his success on the highly competitive crime fictio ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with pianist Hélène Grimaud – PART 2 Recent recordings by Hélène Grimaud include a disc of Bach’s solo works, transcriptions and the D minor Concerto, in which she directed the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen from the keyboard. At just 13 Hélène Grimaud was accepted into the Paris Conservatory where she won the first prize in piano in 1985. Today Hélène Grimaud works with conductors, orchestras and chamber musicians all over the world, and records extensively. In chamber music and lieder she has collaborated with Th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with pianist Hélène Grimaud – PART 2 Recent recordings by Hélène Grimaud include a disc of Bach’s solo works, transcriptions and the D minor Concerto, in which she directed the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen from the keyboard. At just 13 Hélène Grimaud was accepted into the Paris Conservatory where she won the first prize in piano in 1985. Today Hélène Grimaud works with conductors, orchestras and chamber musicians all over the world, and records extensively. In chamber music and lieder she has collaborated with Th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with pianist Hélène Grimaud – PART 1 Regarded as one of the leading pianists of her generation - Hélène Grimaud has appeared with many of the world’s most-renowned orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Concertgebouw Orchestra and all the London orchestras, alongside conductors the likes of Kurt Masur, Claudio Abbado and Andris Nelsons. At just 13 Hélène Grimaud was accepted into the Paris Conservatory where she won the first prize in piano in 1985. Today Hélène Grimaud works with conductors, orchestras a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with pianist Hélène Grimaud – PART 1 Regarded as one of the leading pianists of her generation - Hélène Grimaud has appeared with many of the world’s most-renowned orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Concertgebouw Orchestra and all the London orchestras, alongside conductors the likes of Kurt Masur, Claudio Abbado and Andris Nelsons. At just 13 Hélène Grimaud was accepted into the Paris Conservatory where she won the first prize in piano in 1985. Today Hélène Grimaud works with conductors, orchestras a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with theatre director Stephen Jameson In Germany the London director is well remembered for his acclaimed productions at the Shakespeare Festival at the Globe, Neuss, which have included "Hamlet," "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "Titus Andronicus." Director, actor, author and teacher Stephen Jameson has directed numerous productions for renowned institutions including the London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art – the Guildhall, The English Shakespeare Company and Music Dance Theater Hildesheim in the Netherlands - to nam ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with theatre director Stephen Jameson In Germany the London director is well remembered for his acclaimed productions at the Shakespeare Festival at the Globe, Neuss, which have included "Hamlet," "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "Titus Andronicus." Director, actor, author and teacher Stephen Jameson has directed numerous productions for renowned institutions including the London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art – the Guildhall, The English Shakespeare Company and Music Dance Theater Hildesheim in the Netherlands - to nam ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with clarinettist Martin Fröst Considered one of the world’s leading clarinet soloists Martin Fröst is renowned for his interpretations of the classical repertoire as well as contemporary works, jazz and Klezmar. Fröst appears regularly in leading music centres and with major orchestras through-out the world, including concerts with the Wiener Symphoniker, the Cincinnati Symphony, and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields - to name but a few. Among his most recent appearances was his performance in a televised gala c ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with clarinettist Martin Fröst Considered one of the world’s leading clarinet soloists Martin Fröst is renowned for his interpretations of the classical repertoire as well as contemporary works, jazz and Klezmar. Fröst appears regularly in leading music centres and with major orchestras through-out the world, including concerts with the Wiener Symphoniker, the Cincinnati Symphony, and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields - to name but a few. Among his most recent appearances was his performance in a televised gala c ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with theatre director Irina Brook The first play Irina Brook directed was Richard Kalinoski’s "Beast on the Moon."The production won six prestigious Moliere awards in Paris and opened the door to ten years of non-stop directing all over the world for Brook. Irina Brook was born in Paris. Her father is the renowned theatre director Peter Brook, and her mother is the actress Natasha Parry. Irina studied acting New York where she performed in various Off-Off Broadway productions and later returning to Europe to continued he ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with theatre director Irina Brook The first play Irina Brook directed was Richard Kalinoski’s "Beast on the Moon."The production won six prestigious Moliere awards in Paris and opened the door to ten years of non-stop directing all over the world for Brook. Irina Brook was born in Paris. Her father is the renowned theatre director Peter Brook, and her mother is the actress Natasha Parry. Irina studied acting New York where she performed in various Off-Off Broadway productions and later returning to Europe to continued he ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with violist Tabea Zimmermann As one of the most renowned musicians of our time, Tabea Zimmermann has inspired many contemporary composers to write for the viola and introduced many new works into the standard concert and chamber music repertoire. She has appeared as a soloist all over the world and recently established her own string quartet - the Arcanto Quartet. Tabea Zimmermann studied with Ulrich Koch at the Musikhochschule Freiburg and subsequently with Sandor Vegh at the Mozarteum Salzburg. Following her studie ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with violist Tabea Zimmermann As one of the most renowned musicians of our time, Tabea Zimmermann has inspired many contemporary composers to write for the viola and introduced many new works into the standard concert and chamber music repertoire. She has appeared as a soloist all over the world and recently established her own string quartet - the Arcanto Quartet. Tabea Zimmermann studied with Ulrich Koch at the Musikhochschule Freiburg and subsequently with Sandor Vegh at the Mozarteum Salzburg. Following her studie ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with psychotherapist Mark Brayne Mark Brayne is the founder of the European DART Center for Journalism and Trauma. A former journalist and foreign correspondent, he works today as a psychotherapist and trainer. When – after 30 years - Mark Brayne stopped his work in journalism as European Editor with the BBC World Service, he became a full-time as therapist and trauma trainer. A profession he has been practising since 2003. Mark Brayne has been a news correspondent with Reuters and the BBC and after postings throughout ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with psychotherapist Mark Brayne Mark Brayne is the founder of the European DART Center for Journalism and Trauma. A former journalist and foreign correspondent, he works today as a psychotherapist and trainer. When – after 30 years - Mark Brayne stopped his work in journalism as European Editor with the BBC World Service, he became a full-time as therapist and trauma trainer. A profession he has been practising since 2003. Mark Brayne has been a news correspondent with Reuters and the BBC and after postings throughout ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with flautist and music educator Margaret Crawford Australian musician Margaret Crawford studied with legendry flute players, the likes of Jean-Pierre Rampal and Marcel Moyse. Today she is "artist in residence" at Australia's most prestigious music institution - the National Academy of Music in Melbourne. As a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician Margaret Crawford has toured Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South East Asia. She has broadcast extensively in Australia and recorded a number of works by Australian composers. In her tea ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with flautist and music educator Margaret Crawford Australian musician Margaret Crawford studied with legendry flute players, the likes of Jean-Pierre Rampal and Marcel Moyse. Today she is "artist in residence" at Australia's most prestigious music institution - the National Academy of Music in Melbourne. As a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician Margaret Crawford has toured Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South East Asia. She has broadcast extensively in Australia and recorded a number of works by Australian composers. In her tea ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with art collector Harald Falckenberg His collection of 2,000 works is known both for their quality and diversity. Every year 200 works are on loan to museums around the world including New York's MoMA and the Whitney Museum. Harald Falckenberg has had a multifaceted life - he was a great sportsman, he has made a name for himself as a lawyer and he runs a successful company. But he also writes essays and books and often delivers speeches about psychological issues. Last and certainly not least - Harald Falckenberg is Germany's ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with art collector Harald Falckenberg His collection of 2,000 works is known both for their quality and diversity. Every year 200 works are on loan to museums around the world including New York's MoMA and the Whitney Museum. Harald Falckenberg has had a multifaceted life - he was a great sportsman, he has made a name for himself as a lawyer and he runs a successful company. But he also writes essays and books and often delivers speeches about psychological issues. Last and certainly not least - Harald Falckenberg is Germany's ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with theatre director Raz Shaw Shaw’s productions to date include Alan Ayckbourn’s "Woman in Mind" (Salisbury Playhouse) and Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet" for London’s Globe Touring Company. His production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for the Globe on Tour, has just finished a critically acclaimed season in Germany. Raz Shaw was the recipient of the 2006 Jerwood Directors Award at The Young Vic, and was recently awarded British Arts Council funding to develop his piece Gambling, fora production at Soho The ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with theatre director Raz Shaw Shaw’s productions to date include Alan Ayckbourn’s "Woman in Mind" (Salisbury Playhouse) and Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet" for London’s Globe Touring Company. His production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for the Globe on Tour, has just finished a critically acclaimed season in Germany. Raz Shaw was the recipient of the 2006 Jerwood Directors Award at The Young Vic, and was recently awarded British Arts Council funding to develop his piece Gambling, fora production at Soho The ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with author Jedediah Berry Berry's first book "The Manual of Detection" has won numerous prestigious accolades including Best New American Voices and Best American Fantasy. Raised in the Hudson Valley region of New York State, Jedediah Berry’s short fiction has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including “Best New American Voices” and “Best American Fantasy”. His first novel - “The Manual of Detection” – is a tightly plotted novel and tells the tale of an unlikely detective, armed only ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with author Jedediah Berry Berry's first book "The Manual of Detection" has won numerous prestigious accolades including Best New American Voices and Best American Fantasy. Raised in the Hudson Valley region of New York State, Jedediah Berry’s short fiction has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including “Best New American Voices” and “Best American Fantasy”. His first novel - “The Manual of Detection” – is a tightly plotted novel and tells the tale of an unlikely detective, armed only ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with photographer Christoph Bangert Bangert spent nine months in Iraq on assignment for the New York Times and his work from that period is published in two books. Other photos by him have appeared in Stern, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine and GEO -to name but a few. German born Christoph Bangert initially studied photography in Germany and later at the International Center of Photography, New York, from where he graduated in 2003. He has worked in many parts of the world including - Palestine, Darfur, Afghanist ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with photographer Christoph Bangert Bangert spent nine months in Iraq on assignment for the New York Times and his work from that period is published in two books. Other photos by him have appeared in Stern, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine and GEO -to name but a few. German born Christoph Bangert initially studied photography in Germany and later at the International Center of Photography, New York, from where he graduated in 2003. He has worked in many parts of the world including - Palestine, Darfur, Afghanist ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with counter tenor Michael Chance Chance is in demand all over the world for his interpretation of male alto parts in opera and as a recital, concert, and recording artist.Michael Chance's operatic roles include major baroque repertoire as well as contemporary works, the likes of Judith Wier’s A Night at the Chinese Opera, and Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Chance has performed all over the world under conductors such as Frans Brüggen, John Eliot Gardiner and Trevor Pinnock. In this week’s Inspired Minds Michael ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with counter tenor Michael Chance Chance is in demand all over the world for his interpretation of male alto parts in opera and as a recital, concert, and recording artist.Michael Chance's operatic roles include major baroque repertoire as well as contemporary works, the likes of Judith Wier’s A Night at the Chinese Opera, and Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Chance has performed all over the world under conductors such as Frans Brüggen, John Eliot Gardiner and Trevor Pinnock. In this week’s Inspired Minds Michael ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Christo The artist Christo turned 75 this month, less than a year after the loss of his wife and artistic partner Jeanne-Claude. Two museums in Germany - the Kunsthalle Wuerth and the Max Ernst Museum in Bruehl - are currently displaying some of his works. Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s huge, usually outdoor artworks are temporary, involve hundreds of assistants in their construction and are often seen by viewers who would not necessarily visit museums. In 1961 in the German city of Cologne, the ar ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Christo The artist Christo turned 75 this month, less than a year after the loss of his wife and artistic partner Jeanne-Claude. Two museums in Germany - the Kunsthalle Wuerth and the Max Ernst Museum in Bruehl - are currently displaying some of his works. Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s huge, usually outdoor artworks are temporary, involve hundreds of assistants in their construction and are often seen by viewers who would not necessarily visit museums. In 1961 in the German city of Cologne, the ar ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Christo The artist Christo turned 75 this month, less than a year after the loss of his wife and artistic partner Jeanne-Claude. Two museums in Germany - the Kunsthalle Wuerth and the Max Ernst Museum in Bruehl - are currently displaying some of his works. Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s huge, usually outdoor artworks are temporary, involve hundreds of assistants in their construction and are often seen by viewers who would not necessarily visit museums. In 1961 in the German city of Cologne, the ar ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with filmmaker Anna Ditges Anna Ditges visited Hilde Domin - one of Germany’s most renowned 20th century poets - frequently during the last two year’s of her life. The result of these encounters became Ditges’ unique film called – “I Want You – Meeting Hilde Domin.” A chance encounter in a bookstore turned out to be the catalyst for Anna Detges début film. She came across a small book entitled “Only a Rose for Support” – the first collection of poems by the renowned German poet Hilde Domin. Th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with filmmaker Anna Ditges Anna Ditges visited Hilde Domin - one of Germany’s most renowned 20th century poets - frequently during the last two year’s of her life. The result of these encounters became Ditges’ unique film called – “I Want You – Meeting Hilde Domin.” A chance encounter in a bookstore turned out to be the catalyst for Anna Detges début film. She came across a small book entitled “Only a Rose for Support” – the first collection of poems by the renowned German poet Hilde Domin. Th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with author Kamila Shamsie Sharmsie was born in Pakistan and today lives in both London and Karachi. She has received many accolades for her novels including the Prime Minister's Award for Literature in Pakistan. Kamila Shamsie is the author of five novels. Her first "In the City by the Sea," was shortlisted for the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, and her second, "Salt and Saffron," won her a place on Orange's list of '21 Writers for the 21st Century'. Shamsie is also a regular contributor to several newsp ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with author Kamila Shamsie Sharmsie was born in Pakistan and today lives in both London and Karachi. She has received many accolades for her novels including the Prime Minister's Award for Literature in Pakistan. Kamila Shamsie is the author of five novels. Her first "In the City by the Sea," was shortlisted for the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, and her second, "Salt and Saffron," won her a place on Orange's list of '21 Writers for the 21st Century'. Shamsie is also a regular contributor to several newsp ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with essayist Eliot Weinberger Weinberger became internationally renowned in 2005 after the publication of his essay-poem "What I heard about Iraq." In this work he lists all various statements politicians used in the process of preparing for and maintaining the military operation of the US army in Iraq. The essayist Eliot Weinberger is an American intellectual with a very unusual background. He is known for his very original texts about a wide range of subjects from ancient mythology to modern traffic. In his collect ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with essayist Eliot Weinberger Weinberger became internationally renowned in 2005 after the publication of his essay-poem "What I heard about Iraq." In this work he lists all various statements politicians used in the process of preparing for and maintaining the military operation of the US army in Iraq. The essayist Eliot Weinberger is an American intellectual with a very unusual background. He is known for his very original texts about a wide range of subjects from ancient mythology to modern traffic. In his collect ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with author Nadeem Aslam "The only time I'm ever fully alive is when I'm writing. When I'd finished this book, I felt like a cage from which the songbird is being removed. For a month I just didn't know what to do."Nadeem Aslam was born in Pakistan in 1966 and moved to the UK as a teenager. His first novel, "Season of the Rainbirds" (1993) won a Betty Trask Award and the Authors’ Club First Novel Award, and was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award. His second novel, "Maps for Lost Lovers" (2004), which ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with author Nadeem Aslam "The only time I'm ever fully alive is when I'm writing. When I'd finished this book, I felt like a cage from which the songbird is being removed. For a month I just didn't know what to do."Nadeem Aslam was born in Pakistan in 1966 and moved to the UK as a teenager. His first novel, "Season of the Rainbirds" (1993) won a Betty Trask Award and the Authors’ Club First Novel Award, and was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award. His second novel, "Maps for Lost Lovers" (2004), which ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with author Carlos Ruiz Zafón "I look at literature as one big thing. I never think of it as coming from the English tradition, or the French tradition, or the Catalan tradition, or the Russian tradition. To me, literature itself is a country, and that's what I am interested in."Carlos Ruiz Zafón was born in Barcelona in 1964. He is the author of six novels including “The Shadow of the Wind”, which is, according to his website, the most successful novel in Spanish publishing history after Don Quixote. His work has ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with author Carlos Ruiz Zafón "I look at literature as one big thing. I never think of it as coming from the English tradition, or the French tradition, or the Catalan tradition, or the Russian tradition. To me, literature itself is a country, and that's what I am interested in."Carlos Ruiz Zafón was born in Barcelona in 1964. He is the author of six novels including “The Shadow of the Wind”, which is, according to his website, the most successful novel in Spanish publishing history after Don Quixote. His work has ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Chemist, Author and Playwright Carl Djerassi Djerassi is best known as is the "father" (or as he prefers, the "mother") of the Pill. This month marks the 50th anniversary of America's Food and Drug Administration approval of the first oral contraceptive. But the Pill was actually born almost a decade earlier, in 1951, when young Carl Djerassi synthesized progestin norethindrone, a contraceptive that could be popped in the mouth and swallowed - a novel idea at the time. Syntex, the firm Djerassi worked for, paid him one dollar for ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Australian film director Rachel Perkins Perkins’ latest film "Bran Nue Dae" delivers messages of reconciliation and land rights, via toe-tapping tunes. As the daughter of Charles Perkins a renowned Australian aboriginal activist, Rachel Perkins grew up in a politically active family. She began her media career in Alice Springs working for the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association and was awarded the first Indigenous scholarship to study producing at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. Perkins' films incl ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Author Paro Anand Anand runs a programme called "Literature in Action" that trains children, teachers and parents on the use of literature for the holistic development of children. She has been a resource person with the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, where she has worked with children impacted by terrorist violence. The Indian author Paro Anand has written 18 books for children and young adults, including plays, short stories, novellas and novels. Anand headed India’s National Centre for Children’s Literatur ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Remembering the renowned singer Philip Langridge “I think it is our duty as an artist to help people feel emotions. I think many of us are becoming emotional cripples and I want to help to put that right. I truly think art is so important in our lives and I don’t think we should ever forget that.” The acclaimed tenor Philip Langridge died earlier this year after a short illness. Langridge was considered to be one of the leading talents in English opera and oratorio. Born in Kent in 1939, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music and ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Author Cody Mcfadyen Mcfadyen's tough LA detective Smoky Barrett has hunted down several serial killers in what are now four fat volumes. The last of these, "Abandoned," reached third place on Germany's bestseller list the week it was published.In 2005, a thriller appeared in bookstores which took the reading public by storm. "Shadow Man" was written Cody Mcfadyen - a young man in his mid-30s, born in Texas in 1968, living in California, who had never finished high school. What made this novel stick out from ot ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with film director Patrick Hughes Hughes' first feature film is a taut thriller, told as a modern-day Western. Set against the spectacular backdrop of high-country Australia, "Red Hill" made its European debut Berlin.Born in Sydney in 1978, Patrick Hughes graduated from the School of Film and Television at the Victorian College of the Arts, in Melbourne, Australia. Besides his many award-winning commercials, he has also made several short films that have garnered awards at international festivals. Hughes' much-acclaimed " ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with author Margaret Atwood "Anyone who writes a book is an optimist. No matter what the content. The optimistic thing about this is: It's a book. It hasn't happened yet. Keep it inside those covers." Margaret Atwood is Canada's most eminent novelist and poet. She also writes short stories, critical studies, screenplays, radio scripts and books for children and her works having been translated into over 30 languages. Atwood is perhaps best known, for her novels and the first of these called “The Edible Woman” was ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with crime writer Ian Rankin Rankin is the UK's bestselling crime author. He has been the recipient of many awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction and the Deutsche Krimi Prize, Germany’s most prestigious award for crime fiction.The literature festival - Lit.Cologne came to a close a few days ago and one of the big attractions this year was a reading by crime writer - Ian Rankin. He lives in Edinburgh and writes about the city in his award-winning 'Inspector Rebus' novels. Th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Australian Aboriginal actor Ernie Dingo The Berlin International Film Festival presented a new Australian film called "Bran Nue Dae." The film is based on the celebrated musical by indigenous playwright Jimmy Chi and utilizes toe-tapping tunes to deliver messages of reconciliation and land rights and stars Ernie Dingo. Ernie Dingo's television career is particularly significant for the way it has broken new ground in the medium's presentation of cultural difference. Initially taking roles scripted specifically for an Aboriginal ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Crime Writer Ruth Rendell The legendary crime writer celebrates her 80 birthday this year. Rendell was awarded a CBE in 1996 and a life peerage was conferred on her in 1997. Ruth Rendell is the author of a series of novels that feature Detective Chief Inspector Wexford, set in Kingsmarkham, a fictional English town. The first of these, "From Doon with Death," was also her first novel and was published in 1964. She also writes novels under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. Rendell was born in 1930 in London, and educated ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Inspired Minds: Nuruddin Farah One of modern Africa’s most important writers, Nuruddin Farah’s first novel “From a Crooked Rib”, published in 1970, made him internationally famous. This year he was part of the prestigious jury of the Berlin International Film Festival. Farah’s works, which often depict the search for social and family identity, have been translated into more than 20 languages. In 1998 he was awarded the prestigious Neustadt International Prize for Literature. His latest novel “Knots”, pu ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-one with film historian and author Peter Cowie Peter Cowie is the former international publishing director of Variety and the founder of the International Film Guide. He has also been working with the Berlinale Talent Campus since it was established. Educated at Cambridge, Peter Cowie began writing about film in the early sixties. He has contributed to many of the world's leading newspapers and periodicals, including the New York Times and London’s Sunday Times. Other aspects of his work include a great interest in Scandinavian cinema ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Dieter Kosslick, Berlinale Director Germany’s biggest film festival – the Berlinale celebrates it’s 60th anniversary this month. The festival is not only the city’s largest cultural event, but also one of the most important dates on the international film industry’s calendar. It was back in 2001 that Dieter Kosslick took over the creative direction and management of the Berlinale. He has been involved in the film industry since 1983, firstly as managing director of Hamburg's cultural film fund and later he became ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Maryanne Redpath director of the Berlinale's Generation section Since 1978 the Berlin International Film Festival has dedicated a special section to films for children and youth called "Generation". Since 2008 it has been directed by Maryanne Redpath. The New Zealander Maryanne Redpath has been living and working in Berlin since 1985. She has a diverse background with studies in art and drama and has worked as a multi-media performance artist, taught drama to handicapped and gave art lessons to Aboriginal children living in Central Australia. She has ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with composer Christian Jost "I think music theatre is the most subtle and complex way to describe human beings" Born in Germany in 1963, Christian Jost studied composition, analysis and conducting in Cologne and San Francisco. His workcomprises of a growing number of impressive concertos and operas. Some of his most significant pieces to date include TiefenRausch for violin and orchestra, Cosmodromion for percussion and orchestra and in 2009, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin premiered his CodeNine.Jost’s operas incl ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with composer Christian Jost - Part I "I never think about the abilities of a soloist in terms of if he can do this or that - I always have a structure in my mind and I want to fulfil this" Born in Germany in 1963, Christian Jost studied composition, analysis and conducting in Cologne and San Francisco. His work comprises of a growing number of impressive concertos and operas. Some of his most significant works include TiefenRausch for violin and orchestra Cosmodromion for percussion and orchestra and in 2009, the Konzerthauso ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Chorographer Lloyd Newson Newson has had a dynamic impact on contemporary dance and theatre. He has choreographed for many companies and in 1986 he formed his own company "DV8 Physical Theatre." Born in Australia, Lloyd Newson's first interest in dance started while he was studying psychology and social work at Melbourne University. This interest eventually led to a full scholarship at London Contemporary Dance School.Newson’s work incorporates dance, text, theatre and film, thus is difficult to define. He is in ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: The Best of Inspired Minds 2009 – Part 2 This week's programme is the second part of a compilation of highlights from 2009 Inspired Minds. Guests include: composer/trumpeter Markus Stockhausen, the best-selling crime author Robert Littell and the Rumanian violinist, Sherban Lupu. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: The Best of Inspired Minds 2009 - Part 1 A special edition of Inspired Minds with highlights from 2009. Guests include: 101-year-old renowned American composer Elliott Carter, we also remember the late author Frank McCourt and enjoy the remarkable mezzo-soprano Anne-Sophie von Otter. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-one with Pianist Charles Spencer PART 2 Spencer is renowned for his lied interpretation and has accompanied distinguished singers the likes of Jessye Norman, Thomas Quasthoff, and for over twelve years, was the pianist of Christa Ludwig. Charles Spencer is one of the world’s most sought-after accompanists. He is Professor of Lied Interpretation for singers and pianists at the Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt and gives regular masterclasses all over the world. The British pianist studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Londo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-one with pianist Charles Spencer "Playing for singers is something completely different to playing other chamber music – they demand a special way of being supported - this is instinctive and can’t be learnt. " Charles Spencer is one of the world’s most sought-after accompanists. He is renowned for his lied interpretation and has accompanied distinguished singers the likes of Jessye Norman, Thomas Quasthoff and Peter Schreier, and for over a decade, was the pianist of the renowned mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig, unti ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Pianist Lars Vogt Lars Vogt first came to public attention after he won second prize at the 1990 Leeds International Piano Competition. Since that time he has gone on to give major concerto and recital performances throughout Europe, Asia and North America. During the current concert season, Lars Vogt has performed Brahms at the BBC Proms and Mozart at the Salzburg Festival. In Germany he appeared twice with the Berlin Philharmonic and toured with the Czech Philharmonic and other concerto engagements inc ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Conductor Nicolaus Harnoncourt On December 6th, Conductor Nicolaus Harnoncourt celebrates his 80th birthday. Described by many as a musician's musician, he is one of the most profound and intriguing conductors of our time. Considered one of the world's leading specialists of Baroque music, he has long since turned his attention to Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and even to Jacques Offenbach and Johann Strauss. Regarded as a leading authority on "authentic" performance practice, Harnoncourt himself says, "I have always ha ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-one with writer Jason Star Jason Star first thriller "Cold Caller" came out in 1997, and he has been publishing about a book a year ever since. In his novels, Starr describes the everyday madness in urban life, often taking it to harrowing extremes. Jason Starr’s latest novel is called "The Follower." It tells the story of Katie Porter who has just started her first job after college in a PR firm in downtown Manhattan. She finds the dating circus in the city confusing and tiresome so running into an old friend from ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-one with violinist Sherban Lupu In this week’s Inspired Minds, Sherban Lupu talks to Breandáin O’Shea about Rumania’s very special violin school, the influence of the country’s folk music and his passion for the music of George Enescu. Sherban Lupu has performed as a soloist though-out the world. He is renowned both for his interpreatations of main-stream Western classics, and for his contemporary Rumanian repertoire. He has worked with leading Rumanian composers such as Theodor Grigoriu, Gheorghe Costinescu and ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Author Robert Littell Littell’s latest novel “The Stalin Epigram,” is based on a riveting historical episode and is a fictional rendering of the life of the great twentieth century Russian poet Osip Mandelstam, one of the few artists in Soviet Russia who daringly refused to pay creative homage to Joseph Stalin. A former Newsweek journalist, New York born Robert Littell has been writing about the Soviet Union and Russians since his first novel, the espionage classic The Defection of A.J.Lewinter. He is th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Cellist Sol Gabetta Sol Gabetta performs on one of the most rare and valuable cellos in the world built by G. B. Guadagnini in 1759. The cellist Sol Gabetta was born in Argentina, the daughter of French and Russian parents. She was only ten when she won her first competition in Argentina, and has received many more awards since then including the Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition and the ARD Competition in Munich and the Natalia Gutman Prize. In 2004 Sol Gabetta made her début with the Vienna Philharmonic under ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with author Colm Tóibín Tóibín’s latest novel “Brooklyn” portrays the immigrant experience and the complexities of what finally makes a place home. It tells a seemingly simple tale of a young girl and her immigration from Ireland to New York. The Irish novelist and journalist Colm Tóibín was educated at University College Dublin where he read History and English. The author of a number of fiction and non-fiction works, Tóibín is also a regular contributor to various newspapers and magazines. His nove ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with composer Krzysztof Penderecki "I am very lucky that artists the likes of Jean-Pierre Rampal, Anne-Sophie Mutter or Mstislav Rostropovich liked to play my music. I like to know who I am writing my music for." The Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki studied composition at the Krakow Academy of Music where he was subsequently appointed as professor in 1958. One year later, Penderecki won all three available prizes at the II Warsaw Competition for Young Composers. To date, Penderecki has composed over 130 works - some o ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Author A S Greer Greer's "The Confessions of Max Tivoli," was named a best book of 2004 by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune - while his latest book "The Story of a Marriage" has been described by The New York Times as ascending to the heights of masters. Andrew Greer initially studied writing at Brown University, and later worked in various jobs in New York before completing his studies at the University of Montana. His first novel," The Path of Minor Planets," was published in 2001. His ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Theodor Paleologu Rumania’s Minister of Culture Rumania has always had a strong cultural tradition and the month long George Enescu Music festival is just one example of the country’s vibrant cultural life. Theodor Paleologu has been Rumania’s Minister of Culture, Religious Affairs, and Cultural Heritage since 2008 and is a member of Rumania’s Democratic Liberal Party. Born in Bucharest, Paleologu completed his secondary schooling at the city's German High School. Tertiary studies took him to Paris where he obtained a masters degr ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Choreographer Royston Maldoom For the past 30 years, Royston Maldoom has been the initiator and leader of numerous dance projects around the world. His work was especially honoured with the project “Rhythm is it”- where 250 kids danced Stravinsky’s "The Rite of Spring", with Simon Rattle and the Berlin PhilharmonicMaldoom initially studied agriculture, but his passion for dance was ignited, after seeing a movie of the Royal Ballet. Although already in his twenties, he immediately joined a local Cambridge dance sc ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with conductor John Axelrod "Lenny (Bernstein) said to me – music is music! There is good music, there is bad music. Just do the good music and it doesn’t matter what it is!" John Axelrod was born in Texas and studied music initially at Harvard, with advanced studies with the renowned musicians Leonard Bernstein, IIlya Musin and Christoph Eschenbach. In 1996 he founded the Houston Orchestra X and has since been Conductor Laureate of that group as well as Principal Guest Conductor of Sinfonietta Cracovia and Mus ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Inspired Minds best of 2008 Part 2 with Thomas Quasthof, Minette Walters and Meow Meow This is the second special edition of Inspired Minds where we look back at some of the highlights of the programme in 2008. Thomas Quasthof is one of Germany’s most celebrated singers. He is particularly renowned for his interpretations of lied and oratorio. He has been the recipient of numerous international awards and appears regularly with the world’s leading orchestras under such renowned conductors as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim and Sir Simon Rattle, to name but a few. Crime ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Wieland Speck, Director of the Berlinale Panorama Section Germany’s biggest film festival, the Berlinale is underway this week. The event, which runs until the 15th of February features up to 400 films as part of the public programme, the vast majority of which are world or European premieres. Independent and art-house productions can be found in the Panorama section which is directed by Wieland Speck. Wieland Speck studied German Literature, Drama and Ethnology then started working on video and film projects and was a writer and publisher ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with the translator Ulrich Blumenbach This month an unusual piece of American fiction finally appears in German - the novel "Infinite Jest" by the late David Foster Wallace. Ulrich Blumenbach spent six years translating this work. For many years, David Wallace’s more than a thousand page novel, "Infinite Jest", first published in 1996, was generally deemed untranslatable. Over six years ago the well-versed literary translator, Ulrich Blumenbach, decided to take on the task of translating this much-acclaimed book. Initiall ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Composer/Conductor George Benjamin Benjamin’s first orchestral work was played at the BBC Proms when he was just 20 and his work," Antara" was a commission to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Pompidou centre in 1987. George Benjamin started to play the piano at the age of seven, and began composing almost immediately. In 1976 he entered the Paris Conservatoire to study composition with the renowned Olivier Messiaen and piano with Yvonne Loriod. From there he studied at King's College Cambridge, where he is today, the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-one with baritone Alan Titus After a four-year break Alan Titus returned to the Bayreuth Festival this year to sing Hans Sachs in Katharina Wagner’s staging of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Born in New York, Alan Titus studied voice at the Juilliard School. Among his earliest performances - a Leonard Bernstein's Mass under the direction of the composer. Titus’s opera debut was as Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème in Washington and this was followed by guest appearances in all the great American opera houses, i ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with the singer Michelle Breedt In the 2009 Bayreuth Wagner festival, Michelle Breedt may be heard as Fricka, the Ring cycle and as Brangäne in Tristan and Isolde. A graduate of the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Michelle Breedt started her training at the opera houses in Cape Town and Pretoria, and continued her studies at the Guildhall School in London. In 1990 she moved to Germany – initially as a member of the Opera Studio in Cologne, thereafter joining the Ensemble of the State Theatre in Braunschw ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with the late author Frank McCourt McCourt wrote his first book “Angela's Ashes” at 66. An international best-seller, the book won many top literary accolades including the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.The world acclaimed author, Frank McCourt, died on July 19th in New York.He was born in New York in 1931, to Irish immigrant parents. Unable to find work in the depths of the Depression, the McCourts returned to Ireland, where they sank deeper into poverty. It is this time, in Limerick Ireland that Frank McCourt describes ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with the singer Michael Chance The British countertenor Michael Chance is in demand all over the world for his interpretation of male alto parts in opera, and as a recital, concert, and recording artist. Chance was a choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge where he completed a degree in English. Chance is active in opera, oratorio and song recitals and is also a guest professor at London’s Royal College of Music. His operatic roles include major baroque repertoire as well as contemporary works, the likes of Judi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-one with the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard Aimard has championed the works of many contemporary composers the likes of Messian, Boulez and Elliott Carter and collaborated closely with György Ligeti for more than 15 years, recording his complete works The pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is widely acclaimed both as a key figure in the new music world and a uniquely significant musical voice in the performance of established repertoire. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Yvonne Loriod, and in London with Maria Curcio. Early car ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Composer Elliott Carter - Part 2 100-year-old Elliott Carter is internationally recognized as one of the leading American voices of the classical music tradition Elliot Carter has known all the great leaders of contemporary music, from Charles Ives, Edgar Varese, Aaron Copland, Stravinsky and many, many others. Carter was awarded the Pulitzer Prize twice and was the first composer to receive the United States National Medal of Arts, as well as Germany’s Ernst Von Siemens Music Prize.One of the extraordinary features of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Composer Elliott Carter - Part 1 100-year-old Elliott Carter is internationally recognized as one of the leading American voices of the classical music tradition Elliot Carter has known all the great leaders of contemporary music, from Charles Ives, Edgar Varese, Aaron Copland, Stravinsky and many, many others. Among his most vivid early memories, is the premier of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, where he sat next to George Gershwin. He has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize twice and was the first composer to receive the Uni ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to one with writer Nuala O'Faolain The late Irish author enjoyed much international success, and was particularly popular in Germany, where her books lingered for months on bestseller lists. “Best Love, Rosie,” her last novel written before her death, was published this month. The journalist, TV producer, book reviewer, teacher and author Nuala O'Faolain became internationally well-known for her two volumes of memoirs, “Are You Somebody?” and “Almost There”, and her novel, "My Dream of You". She also wrote a hi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with writer & filmmaker Scott Millwood Scott Millwood recently completed a feature documentary called “Whatever Happened to Brenda Hean?”. The film tells the story of one of the first leaders of an environmental political party in the world, whose fight to save Tasmania’s Lake Pedder, led to her mysterious disappearance in 1972. The Australian filmmaker Scott Millwood has been living in Germany for more than five years. He was born in Tasmania in 1973 and initially studied law at the University of Melbourne, specialisi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One–to–One with author Charlie Huston Author Stephen King described Huston’s writing as "one of the most exciting voices this century." Charlie Huston initially made a name for himself writing thrillers, before turning his hand to the supernatural with his series of vampire novels featuring “undead”(to use Huston’s own special terms) investigator Joe Pitt . Huston’s first two books – “ Caught Stealing” and “Six Bad Things,” along with his fourth, “ A Dangerous Man,“ follow the loveable anti-hero, Hank ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One–to–One with opera director David Pountney Part 1 Pountney has directed over ten world premieres, including two by renowned composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, for which he also wrote the libretto.Born in Oxford in 1947, David Pountney and was educated at Cambridge. It was a production of Janacek’s opera Katya Kabanova for the 1972 Wexford Festival that first brought his work as an opera director to world attention. From 1975 to 1980 he was Director of Production for Scottish Opera where, in collaboration with Welsh National Opera, his pr ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Australian Poet Robert Gray "I think I like to write because I discover what I think about things that way. I wouldn’t understand my own experience if I didn’t write about it." Robert Gray began writing poems while working as a journalist and, later worked in various jobs which included teaching and as a reviewer for the ABC and the Sydney Morning Herald. The recipient of numerous grants and Gray taught at various universities in Australia and at Tokyo’s Meiji University. He is regarded as an outstanding landsc ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with the pianist András Schiff – Part 2 In 1999 Schiff founded his own chamber orchestra, "The Cappella Andrea Barca," which consists of international soloists and chamber musicians. Hungarian born András Schiff started piano lessons at the age of five. Subsequently he continued his musical studies at the Liszt Academy with György Kurtág and in London with George Malcolm. Recitals and special cycles, i.e. the major keyboard works of J.S. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann and Bartók form an important p ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One–to–One with author Michael Connelly Connelly’s book "Blood Work" was adapted for a movie that was directed by Clint Eastwood The American writer Michael Connelly initially worked as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the US’s largest newspapers. After three years on the crime beat in L.A., he began writing his first novel that featured Detective Harry Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo - based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles - was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best F ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One–to–One with poet and actress Lebogang Mashile Lebogang Mashile is much more than South Africa’s most popular poet. Indeed, former South African President Thabo Mbeki, invited her to address the nation at his inauguration. The thirty year-old actress and community organizer studied law before she became a spoken word performer. Now, as South Africa prepares for its forthcoming election, Leboghang Mashile leaves all comfort zones behind to take stock of her country’s progress -- 15 years after Nelson Mandela was voted president of t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One–to–One with poet and actress Lebogang Mashile Lebogang Mashile is much more than South Africa’s most popular poet. Indeed, former South African President Thabo Mbeki, invited her to address the nation at his inauguration. The thirty year-old actress and community organizer studied law before she became a spoken word performer. Now, as South Africa prepares for it’s forthcoming election, Lebogang Mashile leaves all comfort zones behind to take stock of her country’s progress -- 15 years after Nelson Mandela was voted president of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One–to–One with crime writer Asa Larrson Åsa Larsson made her writing debut in 2003 with the novel "Sun Storm." The book was awarded the Swedish Crime Writers’ Association Prize for best debut novel and rights have now been sold to ten further countries. Swedish-born author Åsa Larsson is a fully qualified lawyer but stopped practicing that profession after her writing debut thriller in 2003. Her second book - " The Spilt" - was chosen as Best Swedish Crime Novel of 2004 and also enjoyed an immediate success. Born in an iso ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Conductor Osmo Vänskä "I had two dreams in my life – one was to become a clarinettist and the latter, to become a conductor… today, I’m pretty happy about my life " (Osmo Vänskä) Osmo Vänskä started his musical career as an orchestral clarinettist with the Turku Philharmonic and went on to become the principal clarinet of the Helsinki Philharmonic. Prior to winning France’s Besancon Young Conductor's Competition in 1982 he had studied conducting at the renowned Sibelius Academy. Particularly renowne ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One–to–One with Crime Writer Val McDermid This week one of Europe's biggest literature festivals, the LitCologne, gets underway. One of the star attractions at this year's event is renowned Scottish crime writer Val McDermid. Val McDermid grew up in Scotland and studied English at Oxford University. She trained as a journalist and worked on various national newspapers before becoming a writer. McDermid has written a large number of crime novels including The Lindsay Gordon Mystery series and The Kate Branningan Mystery series and ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with violinist Joshua Bell Joshua Bell is internationally renowned as a great performer of contemporary and classical repertoire. He is currently on a European tour with the Minnesota Orchestra performing the Samuel Barber Violin Concerto. Joshua Bell started playing the violin at an early age and by 14 he had made his professional debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra. After this performance he went on to study with the legendary Josef Gingold and from there his career took flight. Equally at home as a soloist, ch ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-one with Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick Germany’s biggest film festival – the Berlin International Film festival - came to a close a few days ago. In total 383 films were shown and approximately 270.000 tickets were sold – an audience record. Today we meet the event’s Director - Dieter Kosslick. It was back in 2001 that Dieter Kosslick took over the creative direction and management of the Berlin ale. Kosslick - who was born in 1948 - studied communication, politics and education. He worked as a research assistant, an ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One–to-One With Academy Award-Winning Director Adam Elliot Adam Elliot is one of the world's most celebrated animators. His films "Uncle," "Cousin," "Brother" and "Harvie Krumpet" have been viewed by millions of people around the world. This week he presented his latest film "Mary and Max" at the Berlinale in Berlin. Elliot grew up in outback Australia. After his father's business went bankrupt, the family moved to Melbourne. As a child he spent hours drawing and creating characters out of pipe cleaners and egg cartons. Elliot went on the study at ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Beki Probst, Director of the European Film Market This week the Berlin Film Festival, the Berlinale, gets underway and will run until Feb. 15. Alongside this mammoth film event is the European Film Market, which has been directed by Beki Probst since 1988. Born in Istanbul Beki Probst initially studied law and journalism. From 1981 to 1988 she was the Berlin International Film Festival's delegate for Turkey and Greece and also served on the selection board of the Locarno film festival until the mid-nineties. Under her management the Euro ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One-to-One with Trumpeter and Composer Markus Stockhausen (Part 2) As a trumpet soloist, improviser and composer of jazz, Markus Stockhausen feels as much at home in contemporary, as he does in classical music. But being the son of one of the world's most-renowned composers, wasn't always easy. Markus Stockhausen studied piano and trumpet at the Cologne Music Academy and was the winner of the German Music Competition in 1981. Since that time, he has appeared regularly as a soloist with orchestras around the world and is regular guest at international mus ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with the Trumpeter and Composer Markus Stockhausen Part 1 As a trumpet soloist, improviser and composer of jazz, Markus Stockhausen feels as much at home in contemporary, as he does in classical music. Markus Stockhausen studied piano and trumpet at the Cologne Music Academy and was the winner of the German Music Competition in 1981. Since that time he has appeared regularly as a soloist with orchestras around the world and is regular guest at international music festivals. Markus is the son of the renowned composer, Karlheinz Stockhausen who die ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Dancer/Choreographer Gregor Seyffert Gregor Seyffert is one of Germany’s most renowned dancer/chorographers. His productions are renowned for combining dance with acrobatics, theatre and music in some of the most unlikely performance venues. Already in 1986, while still a student at the Berlin State Ballet School, Gregor Seyffert won the Prix de Lausanne d'Or, one of the most coveted prizes for young dance students.After graduation, he proceeded directly to a solo engagement at the Comic Opera in Berlin—a great exception ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to one with mystery writer Simon Beckett „Whispers of the Dead“, Simon Beckett’s third novel appears this month – much to the relief of his fans around the world. After an MA in English, Simon Beckett spent several years as a property repairer and played percussion in several bands. Since 1992 he has been a freelance journalist, and more recently a renowned crime writer, who was has managed to thrill readers all over the world with his series of books that feature a forensic anthropologist Dr. David Hunter as their main ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: The Best of Inspired Minds 2008 Part 1 with Ken Follett and Giora Feidmann This is the first of two special editions of Inspired Minds where we look back at some of the 2008 programme highlights. We also remember one of the most influential composers of the 20th century, Mauricio Kagel who died in 2008.The composer Mauricio Kagel died on September 18th 2008. His compositions - from the noisiest to the rigorous and often beautiful solo piano works - universally demonstrated his deep awareness of musical history, the same considered engagement with music’s many me ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to one with the jazz musician Klaus Doldinger Klaus Doldinger is one of Germany’s most renowned jazz musicians and composers. He is best-known for leading the fusion band Passport for over three decades, and for his countless compositions for film and television. Doldinger’s musical career started back in 1947 and by 1961, he had become a modern tenor saxophonist, working with such top visiting and expatriate Americans as Don Ellis, Benny Bailey and Kenny Clarke and recording as a leader for Philips, World Pacific, and Liberty. In ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to one with Dianne Reeves The American jazz singer Dianne Reeves is a four-time Grammy award winner. Reeves has toured with Harry Belafonte and sang in Billy Childs' jazz band "Night Flight." More recently, Reeves starred in George Clooney�s film "Good Night and Good Luck" and won the Grammy for best jazz vocal for the film's soundtrack. In this week�s Inspired Minds, Dianne Reeves talks to Breand�in O�Shea about her latest album, why she chose the songs she has and her feelings about where jazz is heading in the 21 ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with countertenor and conductor Ren� Jacobs �You can not really understand any opera � Mozart even Wagner - without knowing the music of Claudio Monteverdi� - Ren� Jacobs Ren� Jacobs began singing as a choirboy at the cathedral of his native city of Ghent in Belgium. While studying Classics at the University of Ghent, he continued his musical training in Brussels, then at The Hague. There he met the great counter tenor Alfred Deller who encouraged him to become a counter tenor. In the space of a few years he became one of the mos ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with mystery writer Kate Mosse Kate Mosse�s �Labyrinth� was a New York Times best-seller and in 2006 the UK's biggest selling title. The British author Kate Mosse, not to be confused with the model, is making a name for herself around the world with her historical mystery novels. Mosse�s first novel, Eskimo Kissing, was published to great acclaim in 1996, followed in 1998 a time-travel thriller, called Crucifix Lane. Her short stories and articles have appeared in a range of magazines, newspapers and anthologies.Kate ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Author Gail Jones �My first identifications and interest in otherness, if you like, was with Asian and Aboriginal culture, and only later with European culture through reading. So there is a sort of layering effect there that I think many Australians feel, in terms of interest and dialogue and who we are in dialogue with� Gail Jones Gail Jones recently took up a position as professor within the Writing and Society Research Group at the University of Western Sydney. She is the author of two short-story co ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to one with composer/conductor Matthias Pintscher Pintscher is one of Germany�s most exciting young composers, whose awards include first prize in the Hitzacker Composition Competition, the Salzburg Easter Festival Composition Prize and the Hindemith Prize from the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival . Matthias Pintscher gained his early experience playing the violin in local youth orchestras and conducting them. He studied composition with Giselher Klebe and Manfred Trojahn and formative influences included encounters with the composers ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with the pianist Andr�s Schiff � Part Two "When I was a young man I rebelled against the music of Beethoven. I needed to reach the age of 50 to really appreciate it and now I really got the message. "Hungarian born Andr�s Schiff started piano lessons at the age of five . Subsequently he continued his musical studies at the Liszt Academy with Gy�rgy Kurt�g and in London with George Malcolm. Recitals and special cycles, i.e. the major keyboard works of J.S. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann and Bart�k form an ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with the pianist Andr�s Schiff � Part One Among the highlights at Bonn�s Beethoven festival this year were two concerts featuring Andr�s Schiff and his own chamber orchestra, the Cappella Andrea Barca. The ensemble, which consists of international soloists and chamber musicians, was founded by Schiff in 1999.Hungarian born Andr�s Schiff started piano lessons at the age of five . Subsequently he continued his musical studies at the Liszt Academy with Gy�rgy Kurt�g and in London with George Malcolm. Recitals and special cycles, i.e. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Frankfurt Book Fair Special � One to One with Author Moris Farhi This week the annual Frankfurt Book Fair is underway where the theme country Turkey. Moris Farhi was born in Turkey, and although he has been living in Britain for much of his life, his Turkish heritage is evident throughout his many novels, plays and poems. Alongside all this Moris Farhi has written extensively for film and television. His many poems have appeared in British, US and International publications and in the anthology of 20th Century Jewish Poets, Voices Within the Ark. Moris ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Author Ken Follett Around 100 million copies of Ken Follet�s books have been sold world-wide. His latest book "World Without End" is the long-awaited sequel to "The Pillars of the Earth." Ken Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales in 1949 and graduated from University College, London, with a degree in philosophy. Follet first worked as a journalist and then went to work for a small London publishing house, Everest Books, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director, but he continued to write novels in his spar ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Crime Writer Minette Walters Minette Walters latest thriller, �The Chameleon�s Shadow� has shot to the top of bestseller charts all over the worldCrime writer Minette Walters first book �The Ice House� became a worldwide best-seller just months after it�s publication. It won the Crime Writers' Association John Creasey Award in the UK for best first novel and was translated into several languages within six months of initial publication. Her second novel, �The Sculptress� won the Edgar Allen Poe Award and a further seve ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: Remembering the late Mauricio Kagel, one of the 20th century�s most influential composers In this special programme we remember the late composer Mauricio Kagel, who died on September 18th. His compositions universally demonstrate his deep awareness of musical history, the same considered engagement with music�s many meanings and its place in human life.Although born and educated in Argentina, Mauricio Kagel had been a long-time resident of Germany, and was for more than half a century one of the most inventive and wide-ranging figures in contemporary music. Kagel�s work defied ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to one with peace worker Alfons Schabarum The International Day of Peace provides an opportunity for individuals, organisations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. It was established by the United Nations in 1981 and since 2002 has been observed on September 21st. The tragic events of September the 11th, seven years ago shocked people around the world. While the American President waged a war on terror as a consequence, war seemed not to be the right answer for Alfons Schabarum. The management consultant ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to one with conductor Daniel Harding At just 33 Daniel Harding is already a well established name on the concert circuit. This week he appeared at Bonn�s Beethoven Festival at the helm of the London Symphony Orchestra, in a programme of Beethoven and Bruckner. Born in Britain in 1975 Daniel Harding initially attended the University of Cambridge, but after his first year there, Claudio Abbado named him his assistant with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Harding�s career had begun earlier when he assisted Sir Simon Rattle at ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Grete Pedersen conductor of the Norwegian Soloist's Choir The Norwegian Soloist's Choir occupies a unique position in the musical life of Norway. The ensemble has given over two hundred premier performances of which over seventy have been of works by Norwegian composers.Grete Pedersen studied at the Norwegian State Academy of Music in Oslo where she took her exam in choir conducting and since 1995 has also taught the same subject. She is the conductor of the Oslo Chamber Choir which she founded in 1984. In 1990, she succeeded Knut Nystedt as artis ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to one with Ilona Schmiel, Director of Bonn�s Beethoven Festival Bonn�s annual Beethoven Festival got underway a few days ago. The event which features 60 concerts, plus an extensive accompanying programme, has grown to become a musical highlight in the region.Ilona Schmiel initially studied music before completing further studies in arts and media management in Berlin and Oslo. Her career in arts management began as an assistant to the director of the Donaueschinger Musiktager. She has also worked in this field in Scandinavia, as a concert agent in Germ ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Singer Robert Dean Smith The critically acclaimed Heldentenor is currently performing the title role in the Bayreuth Wagner Festival production of �Tristan and Isolde�Heldentenor Robert Dean Smith studied singing at Pittsburgh State University and at New York�s Juilliard School of Music. Not unlike many other heldentenors, he began his career as a baritone. His first professional engagements were in Germany. In 1995 he joined the Wiesbaden National Theatre and since then has sung all the major heldentenor parts. 19 ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with the King of Klezmer Giora Feidman, Part Two �Klezmer, Jazz, Classic - all these labels for music don�t mean a thing to me � it�s all music!�This week we continue our conversation with the remarkable musician Giora Feidman.It is over fifty years since the clarinettist he started his legendary musical career. Born in Argentina in 1936, his parents were Bessarabian Jews. Feidman comes from a family of Klezmer musicians - his father, grandfather and great-grandfather performed for weddings, bar mitzvahs, and holiday celebrations in the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with the King of Klezmer Giora Feidman, Part One �Long live Giora, his clarinet and his music! He builds bridges between generations, cultures and classes and he does it with perfect artistry� conductor Leonard BersteinIt is over fifty years since the clarinettist Giora Feidman started his legendary musical career. Born in Argentina in 1936, his parents were Bessarabian Jews. Feidman comes from a family of Klezmer musicians - his father, grandfather and great-grandfather performed for weddings, bar mitzvahs, and holiday celebrations in th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Turid Birkeland, Director of the Ris�r Festival of Chamber Music The Ris�r Festival of Chamber Music was established in 1991 and is today one of the Norway�s most popular summer music events. For one week each summer, the sleepy seaside Norwegian village, becomes the stage for an international festival of chamber Music. Some of the biggest names in classical music make their way to Norway for the event. At the helm of the event are three directors � the musicians violist Lars Anders Tomter and the internationally acclaimed pianist Leif Ove Andsnes who ar ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to one with the pianist and composer Marc-Andr� Hamelin Hamelin is renowned for his exploration of unfamiliar piano repertoire and has performed all over the world. The Canadian Marc-Andr� Hamelin began his piano studies at the age of five and was just nine years old when he won the top prize in a Canadian music competition. His father, a pharmacist by trade who was also a pianist, introduced him to the works of Alkan, Godowsky and Sorabji when he was still young. Hamelin studied at the in Montr�al and then at Temple University in Philadelphi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Cory Doctorow - Author and Blogger Cory Doctorow is a Canadian blogger, journalist and science fiction author. Among his numerous occupations, he is a co-editor of the popular blog Boing Boing and an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a advocate of the Creative Commons organisation, using some of their licenses for his books. Doctorow was the former Director of European Affairs for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit civil liberties group that defends freedom in technology law, policy, standa ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Violinist Christian Tetzlaff Musical America named him �Instrumentalist of the Year� in 2005 and he is in demand as a soloist the world over. Christian Tetzlaff is renowned for his interpretations of the violin concertos of Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky as well as Berg, Ligeti and Shostakovich. Among his musical partners are the pianists Leif Ove Andsnes and Lars Vogt. He often performs at major festivals such as BBC Proms, Edinburgh and Lucerne Festival and all major US summer festivals. In this week�s Inspired ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with singer Thomas Quasthoff German bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff is recognised as one of the most remarkable singers of his generation.Quasthoff began his vocal studies with Professors Charlotte Lehmann and Huber-Contwig in Hannover, Germany and has to date been the recipient of numerous international awards. He appears regularly with the world�s leading orchestras under such renowned conductors as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim and Sir Simon Rattle, to name but a few, and is also a vocal professor at the Hanns Eis ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Ludwig Baumann Baritone and Festival Director Baumann established the Gut Immling Opera Festival 12 years ago. Today this event presents three major opera productions each summer. Ludwig Baumann grew up on a farm, surrounded by many animals. Indeed this early aspect of his life has continued to be an import part of his life today. After studying singing at Richard Strauss's Conservatoire in Munich, Baumann enjoyed a long career where he was engaged by many of the world�s most prestigious opera houses, including Los Angeles Rome, Pari ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with author Margriet de Moor Margriet de Moor's many acclaimed books include �First Gray, Then White, Then Blue,� �The Virtuoso,� �The Kreuzer Sonata� and �The Duke of Egypt.�The acclaimed Dutch writer Margriet de Moor initially trained as a singer and pianist. She achieved early recognition in the Netherlands with the publication of her first work of fiction, the 1988 short-story collection titled �Seen at the Back.� This was followed by �Three Novellas� for which she was awarded the Van der Hoogt Prize. In this week ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to one with composer/conductor Matthias Pintscher Pintscher is one of Germany�s most exciting young composers, whose awards include first prize in the Hitzacker Composition Competition, the Salzburg Easter Festival Composition Prize and the Hindemith Prize from the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival .Matthias Pintscher gained his early experience playing the violin in local youth orchestras and conducting them. He studied composition with Giselher Klebe and Manfred Trojahn and formative influences included encounters with the composers Han ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Author Christopher Moore Moore is the author of nine novels, including the international best-seller "Lamb."Christopher Moore�s biography is wide-ranging. Before publishing his first novel, �Practical Demon Keeping� in 1992, he worked as a roofer, a grocery clerk, a hotel night auditor, an insurance broker, a waiter, a photographer, and a rock and roll DJ. Moore has drawn on all of these work experiences to create the characters in his books. In this week�s Inspired Minds, Christopher Moore talks to Breand�in O�Sh ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with Performance Artist Meow Meow Meow Meow has wowed audiences with her own special brand of cabaret performance art around the globe. She has just appeared at David Bowie's High Line Festival in New York, and is currently appearing to sold-out houses in Berlin. It is difficult to find an exact description that fits the performance artist Melissa Madden Gray � known the world over as Meow Meow. She is quite careful to protect her true identity, but observing her on stage, it becomes quite evident that she is an experienced ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One–to-One With Academy Award-Winning Director Adam Elliot Elliot's films "Uncle," "Cousin," "Brother" and "Harvie Krumpet" have been viewed by millions of people around the world. He presented his latest film "Mary and Max" at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year.Adam Elliot grew up in outback Australia. After his father's business went bankrupt, the family moved to Melbourne. As a child he spent hours drawing and creating characters out of pipe cleaners and egg cartons. Elliot went on the study at The Victorian College of the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Inspired Minds: One to One with the pianist András Schiff – Part 1 "When I was a young man I rebelled against the music of Beethoven. I needed to reach the age of 50 to really appreciate this and now I really got the message." Hungarian born András Schiff started piano lessons at the age of five . Subsequently he continued his musical studies at the Liszt Academy with György Kurtág and in London with George Malcolm. Recitals and special cycles, i.e. the major keyboard works of J.S. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann and Bartó ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website