Composer Thomas Adès—whose GRAMMY-winning Dante, performed by Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, was released on Nonesuch in 2023—is on BBC Radio 4's This Cultural Life to discuss his life and work with host John Wilson, who calls his guest "one of the most revered and prolific British classical musicians." They talk about the influence of Adès's art historian mother, an expert in surrealism, and grandmother, who introduced him to the work of T.S. Eliot; getting to the semi-finals of the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year; and going regularly to the English National Opera. You can hear their conversation via Spotify and Apple Music here:

Thomas Adès’ Dante—a ballet score in three acts based on Dante Alighieri’s La Divina Commedia—was recorded by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel in concert at Disney Hall for the premiere recording, which went on to win the GRAMMY Award for Best Orchestral Performance. Dante was first performed at the Royal Opera House as part of Wayne McGregor’s The Dante Project for the Royal Ballet, with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and with designs by visual artist Tacita Dean. “In any new shortlist of great ballet scores by Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Bartók, Ravel, Prokofiev, Britten, and Bernstein, Dante must newly be included for its musical invention alone,” exclaims the Los Angeles Times. “There is not a second in its 88 minutes that doesn’t delight. All of it is unexpected and wanted.” The collectable limited vinyl two-LP edition includes artwork by Dean and photography from the Royal Ballet’s performance. You can get it and hear it here.