Ep. 42: Charles Hazlewood

*All Talking Classical podcasts formerly from SoundCloud redirected to Anchor.*  This week is Anti-Bullying Week. It’s a week that aims to raise awareness of bullying among children and young people and to emphasise ways we can tackle it and respond to it positively. Over the last few years on Talking Classical, we’ve explored a range of issues that are affected by bullying such as mental health and racism. I felt that it was important to address these issues with regards to the classical music industry so last month, I spoke to distinguished British conductor, broadcaster and TV presenter Charles Hazlewood. In May 2020, Charles appeared as a castaway on the iconic Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs, where he took the opportunity to talk openly about his childhood experiences. Following an unprecedented response, he'll be hosting a special commission entitled Beethoven and Me, which will be shown on Sky Arts in December. This programme not only celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven but is a deeply personal look at the life of this composer through the lens of one of his signature works, the 5th symphony, exploring how this famous work reveals Beethoven’s experiences such as child abuse, deafness and potential autism. Charles will be talking to us about this documentary, his appearance on Desert Island Discs and recovering from childhood trauma. He talks about his experiences of the lockdown period and recent governmental debates and perceptions surrounding the creative industries and the viability of freelance musicians' work. He discusses the act of being vulnerable and open, and shares some encouraging and motivating advice for anyone who’s been through similar experiences. This podcast discusses themes that may be of a sensitive nature so if you are affected by any of the issues, please seek help or talk to someone - there are some links below for advice and support. Thanks so much to Charles for taking the time to talk to me amidst his busy schedule.  anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk. Charles' bio: charleshazlewood.com/about Interview with Charles recorded 22 Oct 2020; released 18 Nov 2020. Resources: Anti-Bullying Alliance anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/tools-information/if-youre-being-bullied/find-help-and-support National Bullying Helpline nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk 03003230169 (children's helpline) or 08452255787 Open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday YoungMinds youngminds.org.uk/find-help/feelings-and-symptoms/bullying YoungMinds Crisis Messenger 24/7 text support; free from EE, O2, Vodafone, 3, Virgin Mobile, BT Mobile, GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile and Telecom Plus. Text: YM to 85258 Bullying UK (Family Lives) [email protected] Online chat open 1:30pm to 5:30pm public.mc.hostedcc.com/familylives/forms/Chat/Family%20Lives%20Chat 08088002222 NAPAC napac.org.uk 08088010331 10am until 9pm Mondays to Thursdays, 10am until 6pm on Fridays [email protected] Article mentioned in the podcast: Ashley Fetters, Clara Chan and Nicholas Wu, "Classical Music Has A 'God Status' Problem," theatlantic.com/education/archive/2020/01/conservatories-sexual-harassment-abuse/604351 Music in this podcast: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1st movement "Allegro con brio" from Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op. 67. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "Ach, ich fuhls" from The Magic Flute, K. 620, Act 2. Both extracts sourced from the European Archive via Musopen (tracks licensed under the Creative Common License Public Domain Mark 1.0).