Main content

Ivo van Hove

Michael Berkeley's guest is theatre director Ivo van Hove. His musical choices include pieces by Brad Mehldau, Webern and Ligeti, plus songs by Rufus Wainwright and Joni Mitchell.

Michael Berkeley talks to the award-winning theatre director Ivo van Hove about his musical passions.

The director of Amsterdam's prestigious Toneelgroep theatre, Ivo works all over the world, notably with the New York Theatre Workshop and at the Barbican in London. Equally at home with Sophocles, Shakespeare and contemporary American drama, he won huge acclaim for his stripped-back production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America, and his recent A View From The Bridge with the Young Vic won, among many other awards, two Oliviers and two Tonys.

Ivo talks to Michael Berkeley about working with David Bowie on his musical Lazarus; about the close working and personal relationship with his partner, the designer Jan Versweyveld; and the dramatic decision he made to leave law school at the age of 20 to pursue a life in theatre.

His musical choices reflect the emotional intensity and sparse aesthetic of his directing style, with pieces by Brad Mehldau, Webern and Ligeti, as well as songs by Rufus Wainwright and Joni Mitchell.

Producer: Jane Greenwood
A Loftus production for 91Èȱ¬ Radio 3.

Available now

39 minutes

Last on

Sun 25 Feb 2018 12:00

Music Played

  • Brad Mehldau

    Bard

    Performer: Brad Mehldau.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Pedal-exercitium in G minor, BWV.598

    Ensemble: Bl!ndman.
  • Joni Mitchell

    Blue

    Singer: Joni Mitchell.
  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Prelude and Fugue in C major, Op.87 no.1

    Performer: Keith Jarrett.
  • Anton Webern

    String Quartet, Op.28 (1st mvt: Massig)

    Ensemble: LaSalle Quartet.
  • Rufus Wainwright

    Going to a Town

    Singer: Rufus Wainwright.
  • György Ligeti

    Sonata for solo cello (1st mvt: Dialogo: Adagio, rubato, cantabile)

    Performer: Matt Haimovitz.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 4 Jun 2017 12:00
  • Sun 25 Feb 2018 12:00

What makes Boogie-woogie piano legend Jools Holland tick?

What makes Boogie-woogie piano legend Jools Holland tick?

For Private Passions, Jools Holland revealed his piano history to Michael Berkeley.

11 things we learned from Harry Enfield’s Private Passions

11 things we learned from Harry Enfield’s Private Passions

Harry doesn't usually give interviews – but he couldn't say no to Michael Berkeley.

Archive Unlocked: Two Decades of Private Passions

Michael Berkeley introduces memorable interviews from Private Passions' archives.

Podcast