Front Row Folgen

After weeks of speculation, we heard today that the 2021 Glastonbury festival is to be cancelled amidst uncertainly due to Covid. Tom talks to the Chairman of the Department of Culture Media and Sport parliamentary select committee, the Conservative MP Julian Knight, who today issued a strong statement condemning the government for not stepping in to assist the industry.Russell T Davies' hotly anticipated new Channel 4 series It’s A Sin begins tomorrow night. Set in the 1980s, it follows the story of the Aids crisis and charts the joy and heartbreak of a group of friends over 10 years in which everything changed. Critic David Benedict reviews. We’ll also be exploring depictions of the Aids crisis and its impact across the decades on stage, screen and other artforms with David and journalist Juliet Jacques. The London International Mime Festival started this week, online only this year, and as part of that they’ve commissioned five original short films – between three and 10 minutes each – which are available to view free. Critic Sarah Crompton reviews the five very different works.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Simon Richardson

Singers Roderick Williams and David Webb discuss Schubert’s celebrated 1827 song-cycle Winterreise, about a man dealing with rejection and loneliness who journeys through the winter snow. Roderick has recorded a new CD of Winterreise and David is about to perform it at the Wigmore Hall in London, having cycled 500 miles to raise money for mental health charities.More than 100 music stars including Elton John, Sting, Ed Sheeran Brian May, Nicola Benedetti and Roger Daltrey have signed a letter saying performers have been “shamefully failed” by the post-Brexit travel rules and that there is a “gaping hole where the promised free movement for musicians should be”. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has been meeting today with music industry representatives and we speak to Jamie Njoku Goodwin of UK Music about what he told them. Anya, diligently studying for a doctorate and Luke, a committed environmental scientist, get engaged on holiday in Provence. They begin to plan their wedding in Cornwall. Anya escaped from Sarajevo as a child during the Balkan War and when she takes Luke to meet her family there her carefully contained uncertainties surface. Relationships and identities begin to unravel. Olivia Sudjic talks to Samira Ahmed about her new novel Asylum Road.As Joe Biden becomes the next President of the United States, Front Row asks what the new administration will mean for arts and culture, with the help of critic Matt Wolf. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Julian May Studio Manager: Matilda MacariMain image above: Franz Schubert portrait Image credit: Imagno/Getty Images

John is joined by composer, vocalist, violinist and producer Caroline Shaw – the youngest ever winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, winner of a Grammy in 2018 for her album Orange with Attaca Quartet. Caroline Shaw talks about her new album Narrow Sea featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw, Sō Percussion ensemble and the pianist Gilbert Kalish, as well as writing for unusual instruments, unconventional approaches to composing, and the difference between writing for an orchestra and collaborating with Kanye.Today (19 Jan) is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Patricia Highsmith, author of the classic thrillers The Talented Mr Ripley and Strangers on a Train and of The Price of Salt, later published as Carol. Several of her books have been made into successful films and continue to be adapted: Deep Water starring Ben Affleck is expected later this year and the making of a new TV series based on Ripley starring Andrew Scott has been announced. To mark the anniversary, a new collection of her short stories has been published, Under a Dark Angel’s Eye, and a new biography, Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires: The Life of Patricia Highsmith by Richard Bradford. Bradford and the writer Joanna Briscoe discuss Highsmith’s compelling, dark writing and the troubled – and troubling - life behind it.Comedian Rose Matafeo stars in New Zealand comedy film Baby Done as a woman who finding herself unexpectedly pregnant attempts to fulfil a bucket list of adventures before the baby arrives. The film is exec produced by Taika Waititi and co-stars Matthew Lewis, best known for playing Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter franchise. Critic Hannah McGill reviews. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Jerome Weatherald