Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya

Psychotherapist and broadcaster Nemone Metaxas delves into our psychological relationship with music and talks to some of classical music’s brightest stars to untangle why music can be such a powerful presence in our lives.

This week, Nemone is joined by conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya who thinks deeply about the psychology of conducting and how she relates to the musicians of the orchestra. Lidiya talks about how fleeing Russia at the age of 9 has shaped her relationship to music, the distinctive power music has to communicate emotion, setting up the Refugee Orchestra Project and why we need music and empathy more than ever. Featuring music by Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Gorecki, Zoltan Almashi, Rachmaninov and Ricky Ian Gordon.

We'll also hear from our resident psychologist Dr Claire Renfrew who explains how musicians get into a state of flow, the nature of the communication between conductor and orchestra, and how opera singers juggle the many emotional and practical elements involved in operatic performance.

To listen to this programme on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Matters'.