Independent Podcast: Richard Blackford

There isn't an area of music where Richard Blackford has not exercised his craft.

His work in film and TV has been extensive and includes an Emmy win for the CNN/BBC series Millennium and a darkly lyrical score for the TV adaptation of Sarah Waters' Fingersmith. In musical theatre his collaboration with Maya Angelou on the life and testimony of Martin Luther King - King - took him deep into the heartlands of Soul and Gospel while big choral pieces like Mirror of Perfection and Voices of Exile are works of conscience with social and political resonances. His latest piece Not In Our Time - a centenary commission for the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus - is premiered at this year's Cheltenham Festival on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 and explores the concept of religion as a pretext for war with 21st century texts juxtaposed with those of the First Crusade, 1000 years before. In this exclusive audio podcast Richard Blackford talks to Edward Seckerson about his journey - his resistance of the musical radicalism of the Darmstadt school and his quest for an inclusive musical language that both entertains and raises awareness.

cheltenhamfestivals.com

blackford.co.uk

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