Creative Connections in music and architecture

How does art transcend national boundaries while remaining rooted in place? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, Tom Sutcliffe is joined by three guests whose work explores the creative connections that emerge when ideas, people and traditions travel across borders.

The writer Jonathan Coe discusses his new novel Lessons in Harmony, inspired by the friendship between the French composer Maurice Ravel and the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Set in the years before the First World War, the novel examines national identity, artistic exchange and the power of music to bridge cultural divides.

The music scholar Laura Tunbridge reflects on the enduring appeal of playing together in her ‘Chamber Music: A Very Short Introduction’. She also introduces a major new collection of manuscripts, letters and memorabilia connected to Edward Elgar, assembled by an American collector and now housed in Manchester. Through these materials she explores the journeys that music, musicians and musical heritage can take across continents and generations.

The architect Farshid Moussavi, this year’s winner of the Soane Medal, talks about a career that spans continents. Born in Iran and now dividing her time between London, Paris and Harvard, she has designed acclaimed buildings across Europe and North America while arguing for architecture as a discipline enriched by dialogue between cultures, histories and ideas.

Producer: Katy Hickman
Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez