First Person
First Person: horn player Alec Frank-Gemmill on authenticity and enlightenment in lockdownSaturday, 14 November 2020
The UK’s music industry is in dire straits and my heart goes out to friends and colleagues in financial need. For a proper discussion of the current situation, I refer you to Sophia Rahman’s excellent article for theartsdesk. What I have written... Read more... |
First Person: Jessica Duchen on writing about Beethoven's Immortal BelovedTuesday, 10 November 2020
The identity of Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved” is one of the biggest cans of worms in musical history. I hadn’t the slightest intention of writing a novel about it. At first I thought I’d create a narrated concert for the anniversary year... but... Read more... |
'Josquin has defined our career': The Tallis Scholars’ Peter Phillips on the end of a major recording projectSaturday, 07 November 2020
I have never been a fan of recording “Complete Works”. These projects almost inevitably include music that one would not normally spend time and money on, just to claim that one has done it all. For this reason the Gimell catalogue, from the... Read more... |
First Person: Cellist Alban Gerhardt on why concert-hall life must go onSaturday, 31 October 2020
With horror I heard on Wednesday that the proud cultural nation of Germany, which invests probably more money per capita in its concert, opera and theatre life than any other country in the world, had decided to close down what I as a German citizen... Read more... |
First Person: harpsichordist Chad Kelly on reimagining Bach's Goldberg VariationsThursday, 15 October 2020
As musicians took tentative steps into the unfamiliar world of PPE, socially-distanced rehearsals and audiences watching from home on a computer screen, a common water-cooler question was, “What did you do during lockdown?”. I am grateful to... Read more... |
First Person: composer Brian Elias on the Music@Malling Festival's retrospective of his worksTuesday, 13 October 2020
It is my very good fortune to be offered by Music@Malling what is, in effect, a retrospective of my work. The music that will be performed was written between 1969 and 2019, exactly half a century. Inevitably, such a survey makes me think about the... Read more... |
First Person: tenor Nicky Spence on working with Blackheath locals on screen StravinskyFriday, 09 October 2020
As patron for a community organisation, I see clearly how opera is the biggest collaboration going. Between stage, orchestra pit, school liaisons, chorus leaders, make-up bays and the magicians of the technical team, every cog is of equal... Read more... |
First Person: Gregory Batsleer on choirs for the 21st centurySaturday, 03 October 2020
Choral music is one of the UK’s oldest and most-loved art forms. It has been at the centre of my life ever since I started singing in primary school and has grown to become a crucial part of my identity as both a musician and artist. I am a signed-... Read more... |
First Person: pianist Danny Driver on teaching online and the importance of music educationSaturday, 26 September 2020
There’s an old saying that goes: if life deals you lemons, make lemonade. To say that the COVID-19 pandemic is a lemon would be a huge and trivial understatement – it has had a massive effect on people’s way of life across the globe, it has cost... Read more... |
'Masses of performers are still grounded': pianist Sophia Rahman on a UK music scene in crisisSunday, 06 September 2020
Have you ever tried watching a film, programme or even an advert without the soundtrack? If so, you’ll know that music is a cornerstone of all the culture you enjoy, not only Strictly or the Proms. From the grandest of ceremonies to the everyday... Read more... |
'Rehearsing Beethoven with Barenboim felt like an historical moment': Vienna Philharmonic trombonist Kelton Koch on a new normalMonday, 03 August 2020
Joining the Vienna Philharmonic as a student and young professional was an absolute thrill. I had begun to play with the orchestra as an academist in October 2019 and as a full-time member in the Opera in January 2020. I was experiencing many “... Read more... |
First Person: Antonia Bain on directing a short kitchen opera for filmWednesday, 29 July 2020
The Narcissistic Fish is a brand new opera specifically created to be filmed. Set in Leith and written in Scots, it tells the story of restaurant owner and chef, Angus, and his brother Kai who are arguing over the death of their father, while the... Read more... |
