Radio 3’s Composers’ Rooms

For the last Composers’ Rooms in the series, Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits sound recordist Chris Watson in his workspace, not an indoors studio but the acoustically rich environment of the Kielder Forest in Northumberland. As they walk through different sonic spaces Chris tells Sara about the art of listening, demonstrates his techniques for capturing birdsong, and talks about sharing his solitary experience with a wider audience.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits Hector Parra at IRCAM, the musical research centre in Paris established by Pierre Boulez, where he is composer in residence and teaches. In one of the famous underground studios, Hector tells Sara why the environment is perfect for creating electro-acoustic sounds.

In the first of two visits to composers based in Paris, Sara Mohr-Pietsch is in the home of Betsy Jolas. Jolas tells Sara what inspired her to buy the house where she lives and works, what drives her to write music, and why she composes only in the mornings.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, where the composer Errollyn Wallen chooses to do much of her writing. Errollyn tells Sara how she loves working in the non-descript teaching rooms and imagines the ghosts of the building's naval history.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits the Dutch composer Louis Andriessen in the Amsterdam townhouse he's worked in for over 40 years. In rooms which overlook one of the city's canals, Andriessen tells Sara about the inspiration of the Dutch paintings on his walls, and about the demands of his daily routine.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits the North London workspace of Jennifer Walshe. Jennifer explains how she divides her composing time between her flat in London and a house in Ireland, and how her work explores the everyday sounds and sights of her immediate environment.

On the last of her visits to composers based in Berlin, Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits the home workspace of young German composer Tom Rojo Poller. In his quiet, clean room, Tom tells Sara about the conditions he needs for working, and why he surrounds himself with references to composers from the past.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to Rebecca Saunders in the apartment she shares with her family in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin. Rebecca tells Sara about experimenting with the instruments and objects in her workspace, explains the significance of the colour white, and how the live acoustics of the room influences her work.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits the apartment of visual artist and composer Chris Newman, in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin. Chris takes Sara on a tour of his home where he works and lives, and talks about the inseparability of his painting, his music and his daily life.

In the first of four visits to composers living and working in Berlin, Sara Mohr-Pietsch is in the apartment of Charlotte Bray, a young British composer who moved to the city a few years ago. Charlotte tells Sara how living in Berlin has influenced her work, and the effect of particular spaces on her music.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to Liza Lim in her composing room at her home in Manchester. Liza explains the physicality of her music, how ideas come from the subconscious, and the inspiration she draws from aboriginal paintings on the walls.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits Larry Goves in his flat in South Manchester, drawing analogies between cooking and composing, talking to him about the custom made green desk in his composing room, and asking him about his fantasy studio.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to George Benjamin in the kitchen at his home in West London. He explains why he chooses to keep his composing room at the top of the house private, how he spends time in silence on a futon in his workspace when starting on a composition, and why he uses coloured pens in his sketches.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits Emily Hall's shared workspace, part of a new build development of flats and commercial units in South East London which has provided a temporary home for around 100 artists and musicians.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores the Cambridge home and workspace of Robin Holloway, from the opulent living room where he holds informal concerts using his two grand pianos, through the Art Deco styled hallway in his college lodgings, to the garden summer house where he does his composing.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to Howard Skempton in his workspace, a spare bedroom in his 70s semi in Leamington Spa. Howard talks to Sara about the creative process in what is a cluttered but ordered room, filled with storage boxes and neatly arranged collections of small objects.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits Alexander Goehr's cottage in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Sandy, as he's known, guides Sara around his composing room, from an old writing desk fashioned out of a square piano, to Chinese bells and pictures of Schoenberg among the objects filling the walls.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores the Brighton flat and workspace of composer-artist Claudia Molitor. Claudia tells Sara about playing with sound, the continual flow between her life and work, and her obsession with desks.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits the home of recently appointed Master of the Queen's Music, Judith Weir, who talks to Sara about the effects of her environment on the creative process, from windchimes in the garden, to the pictures on the walls and Grieg's frog.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch follows Laurence Crane on a cycle tour around London, from the rehearsal room with grand piano in Bloomsbury, where he explains how he explores material when starting to write a new piece, to his north London flat, and the table which has seen almost every piece of Laurence's over the last 20 years.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch joins the singer, composer and director Laura Bowler at the London cafe she regular uses as her composing space, and at her flat in Stoke Newington. Laura tells Sara how being surrounded by human interaction feeds into her music, and why buses and trains are her favourite places to write.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits Mark-Anthony Turnage in his 1930s Art Deco apartment in North London. Mark talks to Sara about the creature comforts which aid his compositional process, from his sofa to a bust of Beethoven, and about the inspiration of Francis Bacon paintings on his walls.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch travels to Wiltshire, and the home of Sir Harrison Birtwistle who celebrates his 80th birthday in 2014. In his bespoke garden shed, Harry, as he's known, talks to Sara about the writing process, sleeping on the sofa and the influence of John Wayne.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch is in the London home and garden composing shed of Roxanna Panufnik. Roxanna talks to Sara about the reality of life as a working composer, the importance of natural wood in her studio, and about the piano which belonged to her father, the composer Andrezej Panufnik.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch meets the Norwegian composer Rolf Wallin in his garden hut, at the Rochester home he shares with Tansy Davies (already featured in this series). Rolf explains how his purpose-built, clean white space provides the perfect inspiration for creating music.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits the Glasgow home of James MacMillan, where he has a purpose-built studio in his courtyard garden. MacMillan talks about the need for a quiet retreat from daily life, and the religious paintings on the walls which provide inspiration for his music.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to Hanna Tuulikki in her tenement flat in Glasgow. Hanna's practice is a seamless combination of visual artist, vocal improvisor, multi-instrumentalist and composer, and she tells Sara how she brings her passion for birdsong and outdoor landscapes into her urban studio

Sara Mohr-Pietsch takes a trip to the North Kent coast, home to electronic music pioneer Matthew Herbert. Sara catches Matthew trying to decide where to move his studio to next, and in his current office-like space as well as a potential new building, a fishing hut on the beach, they talk about the impact the immediate environment has on his music.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch takes a tour of Tansy Davies' Georgian townhouse in Rochester, Kent. From her spiral staircase, and what Tansy calls her Minstrel's Gallery, Sara finds out how Tansy organises her studio and keeps a sense of clarity about her working day, and how that feeds into the music she writes.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to composer Dai Fujikura in his studio, which he shares with the visual artist Tomoya Yamaguchi in a converted East London fire station. Dai tells Sara what makes it an uniquely creative space, how he draws inspiration from Yamaguchi's paintings, and about music as multi-sensory experience.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits the Leicestershire home of Gavin Bryars, where he composes in a converted garage in his garden. Bryars talks about the interaction between his work and family life, how he finds the mental space he needs to write music, and the inspiration he draws into his studio from places around the world.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits the East London studio of sound artist and electronic composer Kaffe Matthews. Kaffe shows Sara the bikes she uses for her bicycle operas, demonstrates the cube of speakers where she plays with sharks, and talks about the creative process in her constantly changing workspace.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch launches her Composers' Rooms series with an interview at the Suffolk home of Oliver Knussen, one of the most celebrated figures in contemporary music. Knussen explains why he works in the corner of his cottage kitchen, and talks to Sara about his fascination for miniature objects and how that translates into the music he writes.