LISTENING TO TCHAIKOVSKY: Béla Hartmann uses his knowledge of Eastern Europe to argue against the banning of all Russian culture following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
SPONSORED: An Outstanding Evening - Bill Newman listens to American pianist Rorianne Schrade.
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VIDEO PODCAST: Slava Ukraini! - recorded on 24 February 2022, the day the world woke up to the news that Vladimir Putin's Russian forces had invaded Ukraine. A fifty minute video which also features Caitríona O'Leary and Eric Fraad discussing their new film Island of Saints, and pays tribute to Joseph Horovitz, Malcolm Troup and Maria Nockin.
German composer Gene Gutchë was born in Berlin on 3 July 1907 as Romeo Maximilian Eugene Ludwig Gutschë. He received little musical encouragement from his parents, and so he emigrated to the USA and studied composition at the Universities of Iowa and Minnesota, finally settling in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, where he began his career. He didn't teach and wasn't affiliated with any music schools - he was able to make his career solely from composing.
Gutchë had works performed across the USA and won the Guggenheim Prize, although very little of his output was recorded during his lifetime. He died aged 93 in White Bear Lake on 15 November 2000.