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As his new recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra of the complete symphonies of Anton Bruckner - all eleven of them - hit the record stores, Tom Service speaks to the German conductor Christian Thielemann. He tells Tom about what had, for him, been a burning desire to embark on the journey to record all of the composer\\u2019s symphonies, as well as the consolations of working with one of the world\\u2019s greatest orchestras. Thielemann shares his vision, too, for audiences in the German capital following the recent news he\\u2019ll succeed Daniel Barenboim as the General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera.

With preparations well underway for this year\\u2019s London Jazz Festival, Tom catches-up with the \\u2018Queen of African Music\\u2019 - Ang\\xe9lique Kidjo. She describes her first encounter with Beethoven among the vinyl records of classical music her father had collected before the disruption of Benin\\u2019s dictatorships, and speaks about her escape to Paris in the 1980s, as well as the joyous spirit of defiance and power of music in the conflicts she\\u2019s witnessed in Sudan and Uganda.

And as ensembles around the country gear up for the finals of this year\\u2019s National Brass Band Championships, Music Matters eavesdrops on the preparatory rehearsals of last year\\u2019s winner\\u2019s, Foden\\u2019s Brass Band. With contributions from principal cornet, Mark Wilkinson, principal trombone and Chairman, John Barber, flugel horn player, Melanie Whyle, and conductor, Russell Gray, Tom also speaks to the composer of this year\\u2019s test piece, Edward Gregson, about his \\u2018Of Men and Mountains\\u2019, which will be performed by twenty bands at this year\\u2019s championships.