This Cultural Life Folgen

Víkingur Ólafsson tells John Wilson about the experiences and influences that have had a major impact on his life as one of the world’s foremost classical pianists. Víkingur traces his characteristically gentle style of playing right back to his earliest childhood lessons on his parents’ grand piano, and remembers angry struggles to learn a Mozart sonata. He explains why the Icelandic banking crash of 2008 had a huge impact on his work, and how the opening of the Harpa Concert Hall in 2011 helped launch his international career. Víkingur also reveals how a recent meeting with 95 year old Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtág made him reassess his cultural life.Producer: Edwina Pitman

Author Douglas Stuart talks to John Wilson about some of the aspects of his life that inspired him to write his multi award-winning debut novel Shuggie Bain. The book tells the story of a young boy growing up in poverty in Glasgow in the 1980s, and is based on Stuart's own childhood and relationship with his mother who struggled with alcohol addiction. He also discusses his career as a fashion designer and his latest work Young Mungo.Producer: Edwina Pitman

Kwame Kwei-Armah shares some of the influences that have had a significant impact on his career in the theatre. He became a household name playing paramedic Finlay Newton in BBC One's Casualty, while at the same time pursuing a career in writing. His award-winning plays including Elmina's Kitchen and Statement of Regret have been staged at the National Theatre. He tells John Wilson about his early years at stage school, how seeing a production of Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson changed the way he saw what theatre could do, and how Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave put him on a different path.Producer: Edwina Pitman