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A rare and exclusive interview with the British composer Thomas Adès on his life, his music and his creative process. Recorded in 2010

Born in London in 1971, Adès studied piano at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and music at King’s College, Cambridge. His first opera, Powder Her Face has been performed all round the world and his second – based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest - has already become one of the most performed new operas of the 21st century. Adès is also a virtuosic pianist and conductor and as Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival for a decade he was a programmer of dazzling imaginative flair.

Despite being one of the most publically prominent musical figures around he has zealously guarded his privacy and doesn’t give up the secrets of his music easily.

Tom Service takes on the challenge of getting to the heart of Adès and his engaging and moving music, hearing how his musical preoccupations were formed in his childhood and how he seeks to transport his audience through his music.

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