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Tom Service talks to the pianist Roger Woodward. The Australian musician is a Professor of Keyboard Performance Practice at the College of Liberal and Creative Arts, San Francisco State University, but his love of music began in his childhood home in the Sydney suburbs in the 1940s and 50s. After studies in Sydney and in Poland, he pursued an international solo career devoted not only to the mainstream pianistic repertoire of Chopin, Bach, Beethoven and Debussy, but also to championing new music by composers including Xenakis, Barraqué, Cage and Stockhausen.

His close collaborations with many living composers, and his passion for the great composers of the past, are documented in his autobiography Beyond Black and White: My Life in Music.

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In the second of our Soapbox series, the cellist and composer Zoë Martlew laments a decline in opportunities for young people to experience live classical music, and praises the National Youth Orchestra’s Inspire project.

In this new regular feature on Music Matters, leading figures from the world of music – musicians, arts leaders, educators and commentators – step onto the Soapbox to give their personal opinions on as aspect of classical music today.

Let us know what you think about the issues raised on the Soapbox – email musicmatters@bbc.co.uk

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'Music Theatre in Britain 1960-75' is a new book by the late Michael Hall, based on his interviews with leading composers during his career as a 91Èȱ¬ music producer and broadcaster. With its roots in works by Monteverdi, Schoenberg and Weill, the genre of Music Theatre - distinct from traditional opera - flourished in Britain in the 1960s. Hall’s book provides insights into the pioneering work of Harrison Birtwistle, Alexander Goehr and Peter Maxwell Davies, but also sheds light on many other composers working in the genre, such as Alison Bauld, Cornelius Cardew, Anthony Gilbert, Nicola LeFanu and George Newson.

To review the book and talk about this defining period in British music history, Tom is joined by the music writer, novelist and librettist Paul Griffiths and the soprano Jane Manning, who is known for her work in Music Theatre and her collaborations with many of the composers featured in the book over her 50 year career.

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