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First this week, Petroc Trelawny talks to the soprano Natalie Dessay. With regular appearances in Europe at the Royal Opera House and La Scala Milan, and in the US at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and in San Francisco, Dessay is noted for roles including Violetta in La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor and the Queen of the Night. 

Since her last appearance in the UK in 2012 though, Dessay has stepped away from the opera stage and devoted herself to acting and art song. She’s formed close partnerships on the stage and in the recording studio with the pianist Philippe Cassard, to explore French and German lieder, and with the French pianist and musical theatre composer Michel Legrand.

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As the Philharmonia celebrates its 70th anniversary this season, Petroc talks to its managing director David Whelton about the orchestra's foundation by the legendary producer Walter Legge as a recording orchestra under Herbert von Karajan.

Karajan left the Philharmonia for the Berlin Philharmonic in the 1960s, to create a recording partnership which resulted in the first classical music CD in 1982. Today, the landscape is complex, with major labels competing with budget producers, niche recording companies, and a growing number of orchestras with their own labels and digital platforms. To discuss the current state of the orchestral recording business, Petroc is joined by the CEO of Berlin Phil Media, Robert Zimmermann, the record producer Michael Haas, and classical music journalist Rebecca Schmid.

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Music Matters profiles the composer La Monte Young who turns 80 this month. Often described as the father of minimalism, Young was key to the American minimalist movement's emergence along with Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass, and his influence still resonates today. He’s best known for his distinctive use of static music and drones, his development of an alternative tuning system as heard in his 6½ hour work, The Well Tuned Piano, and the creation of the Dream House, a meditative sound and light installation, with his wife and long-time collaborator Marian Zazeela.

With contributions from the conductor Richard Bernas, the trumpeter Ben Neill, and the music writer Richard Witts, along with extracts from the interview Witts recorded with La Monte Young at his New York home for the 91Èȱ¬ in the 1990s.

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Photo: © Betty Freeman/Lebrecht Music & Arts