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Tom Service meets Nathalie Stutzmann, the celebrated contralto who is now forging a parallel career as a conductor. Mentored by Seiji Ozawa and Sir Simon Rattle, Stutzmann created her own chamber orchestra Orfeo 55 in 2009. She talks frankly about the attitude in the past to female conductors and about how her singing informs her conducting.

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To mark the 200th birthday of the Belgian inventor Adolphe Sax Tom looks at the saxophone's use in classical music with the composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and saxophonists Trish Clowes (Radio 3 New Generation Artist) and Martin Robertson. They discuss the problems the instrument can have blending in an orchestra and the influence its use in jazz has on the classical scene.

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The British Council and PRS Music Foundation have chosen five UK musicians to spend time in China, writing new music and building new international relationships. The six-week residencies are designed to enable British musicians to explore new musical territory, reach new audiences and write new material in the context of a changing international market. The composer Anna Meredith sends the first of a series of audio postcards from Hangzhou where she is involved in a project to create an audio tour of the city with local musicians. This week, just after arriving she gives her first impressions of this city of eight million people. See the gallery of photos from Anna's visit so far on theÌýtop right hand side of this page.

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Tom talks to Nikolai Lugansky, ahead of the Russian pianist's tour of the United Kingdom. He talks about his love of the piano repertoire - including a surprise in his list of favourite composers for the instrument, his education in Soviet Russia and why his children won’t be following him onto the concert platform.

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UK TOUR DATES 2014/15

Saturday 1 November 2014
Leeds Town Hall, 7.30pm

Sunday 2 November 2014
Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 7.30pm

Wednesday 5 November 2014
The Sage Gateshead, 7.30pm

Friday 7 November 2014
Royal Festival Hall, 7.30pm

Thursday 8 January 2015, 7.30pm
Saturday 10 January, 3.00pm
Symphony Hall

Friday 9 January 2015
CBSO Centre, 1.10pm

Wednesday 4 March 2015
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 7.30pm

Thursday 5 March 2015
Bridgewater Hall, 7.30pm

Saturday 7 March 2015
Leeds Town Hall, 7.30pm

Sunday 8 March 2015
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 2.30pm

Thursday 25 June 2015
Royal Festival Hall, 7.30pm