Classic FM Guestlist

On The Guest List this week the Welsh Soprano Katherine Jenkins tells Anne-Marie about her new album ‘Rejoice’ and what her year has been like…. Also on the show is writer and broadcaster Ian Hislop who describes the Private Eye Annual as ..”It’s a bit like The Beano or Shoot for those who are slightly older and can’t have that annual in their stocking anymore. We hope you’ll get the Private Eye Annual – it’s about the same intellectual level !’ Anne-Marie also talks to writer Ben Schott who has just released the 3rd Edition of ‘Schott’s Almanac’......

On The Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to 007 himself Daniel Craig about appearing in this year’s Xmas blockbuster “The Golden Compass” alongside Nicole Kidman… Also on the show is a rare interview with “La Stupenda Dame” Joan Sutherland. Dame Joan tells The Guest List why The Royal Opera House , Covent Garden holds a very special place in her heart….Anne-Marie also chats to one of the world’s leading actors , writers and directors Sir Kenneth Branagh about his new adaptation of Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’...

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to British born Hollywood Legend Sir Michael Caine about re-making his classic movie ‘Sleuth’ which also stars Jude Law and how he has never been more successful and in demand than in the last few years… Also on the show is Norwegian born cellist Truls Mork and the ‘Boys from the Valley’...The Fron Male Voice Choir

On the Guest List this week Mezzo soprano Cecilia Bartoli on why she’s been investigating the life and music of a 19th century opera singer who scandalised Europe .. We'll also hear from the Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody who stars in Wes Anderson's new movie all about India .. brothers and trains .. The Darjeeling Ltd .. And Annie also chats Alfi Boe about his new album of Neopolitan songs – La Passione ..

This week British adventurer extraordinaire, Sir Rannulph Fiennes talks about his auobiography, Mad, Bad And Dangerous To Know .. He’s been described as “the world’s greatest living explorer” .. He was the first man to reach both poles by surface travel and the first to cross the Antarctic unsupported. Three months after a near-fatal heart attack, he ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. And just this year, he conquered his fear of heights by cllimbing the North Face of the Eiger (as you do..) and in doing so, raised millions for charity. We’ll also hear how the composer Barrington Pheloung used Inspector Morse to bring classical music to a new audience and the Guest List talks to a new boy band brought together by the social online network – Facebook – Blake talk about fusing classical music and pop ..

On the Classic FM Guestlist this week, Gordon Ramsay tells Annie what he really thinks about food critics. Plus composer James MacMillan and actor Charles Dance.

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to Hollywood actor Christian Slater about his return to London’s West End in the new production of ‘Swimming with Sharks’..... Also on the show is movie composer Patrick Doyle who is behind a star-studded charity concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall at the end of the month in aid of Leukaemia Research , and features Dame Judi Dench, Alan Rickman, Sir Derek Jacobi, Robbie Coltrane and Richard E. Grant.

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to Hollywood superstar Michelle Pheiffer about her new star-studded romantic fantasy movie ‘Stardust’ directed by Matthew Vaughan.. Also on the show is Baritone Sir Thomas Allen who tells the Guest List about directing a new production of Rossini’s ‘The Barber of Seville’ with Scottish Opera.

On The Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to actor Colin Firth about his new movie ‘And When Did You Last See Your Father’ based on the award winning book by Blake Morrison… Michael Palin tells The Guest List all about travelling around the world in eighty days , going from pole to pole and his latest venture of travelling to more than twenty countries in Eastern Europe.. Also on the show is one of the world’s leading violinists Sarah Chang who’s new recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons was released this week.

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to rock legend Jon Lord who tells the Guest List about recreating a bit of musical history from 1969 when Malcolm Arnold conducted the world premiere of Lord’s Concerto For Group and Orchestra…The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will be doing a one-off performance of the work as part of the Second Arnold Festival in Northampton at the beginning of October…. Also on the show is Vasily Petrenko who is the principal conductor with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and tells Annie what the RPLO have lined up for 2008 to celebrate Liverpool being the European Capital of Culture…. we also chat to best selling crime author Mark Billingham about his new book ‘Death Message’..

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall will be talking to actor and director Kenneth Branagh about his new movie of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It…. We talk to one of the best selling crime authors in the UK Ian Rankin about the 20th anniversary of his Edinburgh based character Inspector Rebus….. Also on the show is Academy Award winning actress Juliette Binoche who is currently starring in the movie A Few Days In September and one of world’s leading pianists John Lenehan.

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to Hollywood superstar Keira Knightley about her latest movie ‘Atonement’ which is set in Britain during the Second World War and also stars James McAvoy… Also on the show is movie composer Nigel Hess (Ladies in Lavender)..who tells Annie about his latest CD of music for Shakespeare plays by the RSC and singer James Gilchrist on his new CD called ‘The Cloud of Unknowing’ by Francis Pott

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie talks to one of Britain’s best loved sopranos Dame Felicity Lott who is appearing at this year’s Windsor Festival with the London Conchord Ensemble where she will perform songs by Poulenc and De Falla…..Also on the show is Sir Charles MacKerras who is conducting The Philharmonia in a series of recorded live concerts especially recorded for Classic FM’s 15th birthday next month.

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to soprano Kate Royal about her new album and how Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Paul McCartney have played a part in her rise to fame . Also on the show is one of the world’s leading countertenors Andreas Scholl who is appearing in Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater at this years Edinburgh Festival.

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to the Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes about his new CD of the music of Edvard Grieg to coincide with the centenary anniversary of the composers death. Also on the show is the movie director and writer Paul Schrader , the man behind such films as Taxi Driver, American Gigolo and Raging Bull ,whose new film ‘The Walker’ starring Woody Harrelson has just been released…Mark Forrest will also review the movie later on in the show.

This week we tak to the Grammy Award-winning violinist, Hilary Hahn, and find out why she’s being collaborating with a guitarist and songwriter for her latest live performance at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. We’ll also hear from the world-renowned bass baritone, Thomas Quasthoff, on why he loves giving masterclasses to budding singers. Ahead of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, which opens on 10th August, The Guest List meets the new Artistic Director behind the event, Jonathan Mills. Discover why Monteverdi’s opera, L’Orfeo, is at the heart of the Festival this summer. Plus, why a new film starring Richard Gere, based on a major con that actually happened, shouldn’t be missed and the last offering from a much-loved crime writer is the recommended new read.

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall reports back from the Verbier Festival in Switzerland where she spoke to pianist Lang Lang about his love of Classic Fm and about performing the world premiere of the Prince of Wales’s commission for the Queen Mother which has been composed by Nigel Hess….Annie also manages to grab an exclusive interview with American soprano Barbara Bonney and finds out what bought her back to singing after a year away from the concert platform…Also on the show are Hayley Westenra and Vittoria Grigolo who tell Annie all about their latest recording of Bernstein’s West Side Story which celebrates it’s 50th Anniversary this year.

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to renowned conductor Andrew Litton about being the first American music director of Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic….Also on the show is Buckingham Palace’s Choirmaster Andrew Gant and curator Caroline De Gee Toe who tell Annie all about the exhibition at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the marriage of Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ winner Paul Potts about his meteoric rise to fame from car phone salesman to reality TV star…..Also on the show is one of the world’s leading choreographers Matthew Bourne , whose production of Car Man has just opened at Sadler’s Wells. Anne-Marie also talks to Laura Michelle Kelly , the star of the new musical based on JRR Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings at the Theatre Royal , Drury Lane.

On the Guest List this week Anne-Marie Minhall talks to legendary singer Andy Williams about life on the road and how he’s still pulling in the crowds on his current UK tour….Also on the show are Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers who tell Annie all about bringing Italian cuisine to London with their Riverside Cafe and the phenomenal success of their series of books. We also talk to Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra about stepping into the shoes of the great Luciano Pavarotti at the Met for a performance of Tosca , a role he is currently undertaking at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden…Also the composer of the new soundtrack to the latest Harry Potter movie , Nicholas Hooper talks to the Guest List.