In conversation with... Eleanor Alberga

When Alim Beisembayev swept all before him in the Leeds International Piano Competition three years ago, part of his extensive first prize was the chance to play at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The 23-year-old Kazakh virtuoso duly appeared alongside the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra the following week. 

But what his Liverpool audience may not have realised was that not only did Beisembayev triumph in the final of the prestigious competition, but he also took home the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Prize for contemporary performance for Ligeti’s Études for Piano in his semi-final recital. The reward? A newly commissioned piece to be performed with the Orchestra in a future Liverpool season. 

Photo credit: Ben Ealovega

“He apparently mentioned that he wanted to ask me to write something,” says composer Eleanor Alberga. “And I really wanted to write a piano concerto.” 

The result is a return to Hope Street for the in-demand Beisembayev this month, to perform the world premiere of what – perhaps surprisingly – turns out to be the first piano concerto among the Jamaican-born British composer and pianist’s extensive catalogue of works. 

“I’ve chosen deliberately to stay away from writing very much for the piano until recently,” Alberga explains. “Precisely because I started out as a pianist myself, and I didn’t want to just fall into writing things that felt nice for me to play, and not really use my mind in a slightly different way, which is what I do with other instruments. I wrote quite a few very tonal and a lot of Afro-Caribbean piano pieces years ago, combinations of two pianos or piano duets. And one or two solo piano pieces, but not many. It’s only in the last ten years that I’ve decided it’s time to start. So, it seemed to come together beautifully.” 

The piano featured in Alberga’s life from an early age. She was five when, intrigued by the classical music on the radio – and keyboard lessons she heard going on at the high school her mother founded in the Jamaican capital Kingston – she announced to her parents that she would like to learn to play. Indeed, not just learn, but also to be a classical pianist. 

But composing went hand in hand with playing for her almost from the start, with early works including Andy written when she was ten and inspired by her pet dog. 

Alberga, an only child, was taken to classical music concerts by her parents which further fired her ambitions. 

“Apparently my father used to play the clarinet – this is before I came along,” she says. “And my mother used to play the piano and the violin, and also sang in choirs. So there was already a love of classical music, and we were very lucky we used to get some wonderful artists coming to Jamaica. I think my mother really wanted me to go to university and become a proper person, you know, like a doctor or a lawyer!” she adds, smiling. “She had been to university herself and was quite a scholar. But she loved the arts so she incorporated that as much as she could in her school.” 

Instead, in 1968 a teenage Alberga won the Royal Schools of Music scholarship for the West Indies, and two years later she found herself at the Royal Academy of Music studying piano and singing. She was one of three finalists in the Dudley International Piano Concerto Competition in 1974.  

But in the event, her childhood dream of becoming a concert pianist was impeded by circumstances beyond her control. 

She recalls: “I left the Academy and at the same time there was a political situation in Jamaica which meant that suddenly, the government stopped money going out of the country completely, so I just had to find work. I started working accompanying dance classes while still doing a few concerts.” 

Alberga joined the London Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1978, later becoming its musical director. And it was there, after initially being asked to improvise music for dance exercises, that she began to compose more extensively. 

“I feel that I’m now doing what I was meant to do,” she says of her compositional career. “And in some way, my only regret is that I haven’t discovered that earlier.” 

Although she has never had any formal training, Alberga reveals at the Royal Academy she did “sneak having a few composition lessons” with her keyboard harmony teacher, the late Richard Stoker, who encouraged her to write.  

Later, in 2001, she was awarded a NESTA Fellowship for composition, which enabled her to have two years of consultations with various teachers and fellow composers. One was Sir Harrison Birtwistle. “He didn’t really teach me!” she laughs. “But I had a lovely day with him. I went to his home, and he showed me his studio and just said: ‘well it looks as though you know what you’re doing’.” 

Her catalogue is broad – from opera (one being Letters of a Love Betrayed, premiered at the Royal Opera House in 2009) to chamber music, orchestral pieces including violin and trumpet concertos and a symphony, and vocal and choral works. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was commissioned by the Roald Dahl Foundation in 1994, while her choral work Arise, Athena! opened the Last Night of the Proms in 2015. In 2021 she was made an OBE for services to music. 

Liverpool audiences have been introduced to some of Alberga’s other pieces in concerts during the past 12 months – Tower, written in memory of David Angel (a friend and violinist in the London Mozart Players and Maggini Quartet), opened the A Child of Our Time concert last June, while Isata Kanneh-Mason performed Alberga’s 2007 Piano Quintet with members of the Orchestra at St George’s Hall Concert Room last May. And now the Piano Concerto receives its world premiere at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall this month. 

One of the earliest things Alberga did after receiving the commission was attend several of Beisembayev’s concerts to hear him play, and – in her words – “get a feel for how he expresses himself through music”. 

“Obviously, I have to write what I want to write, and to express what I want to express,” she says. “But I like to think that there is a certain amount of collaboration with the artist as well, and their mode of expression.” 

There were also discussions with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra about instrumentation being used in the wider concert programme.  

“I get the ideas in my head,” she explains of her creative process. “For the piano concerto, it took me a little while to decide how many movements. I eventually decided how many I wanted, and then I decided what sort of atmosphere each movement was to create, whether fast or slow, or that sort of thing. Then usually at that stage I start working on the structure in my mind, and how it’s going to unfold. And then the very last thing is the pitches and how those work, and with that comes the timbre of which instruments are playing what. Sometimes I might jot something down if I get a rough idea of a line or a rhythm or something. But not much goes down until I make those decisions.” 

Sometimes it also takes a walk in the countryside around the North Herefordshire home Alberga shares with her husband, the violinist Thomas Bowes. The couple decamped to the country from London two decades ago, finding peace in a rural idyll where a stream runs melodically, and soothingly, past their sitting room window and where they founded the Arcadia Music Festival, which ran for 12 years. 

“If you hit a wall, it’s good to just go outside and breathe and look around,” she smiles. 

Was there a lot of walking involved in this? 

“No actually. Well, maybe there was in one movement,” she admits, “and I won’t say which it is, that took a bit longer to find itself.” 

Structurally, the concerto is comprised of four movements – the first, in its composer’s words, being “big and fast, with contrasts, so bits of slow material as well.” It is followed by a scherzo second movement, a slow third, “and then another fast movement at the end with a recurring theme, so you could call it a rondo if you like.” 

Alberga adds: “Quite often I have an extra musical idea, some form of narrative or story idea, but there’s nothing like that in this. It’s completely abstract. I just work with certain pitches and lines; I haven’t deliberately interjected any particular cultural influence into it. I daresay people will hear things, they always like to. But it has no particular slant.” 

She is, she says, interested in audience reaction – “I’m always trying to communicate to people with what I’m writing. And if people are completely non-plussed and it just goes by, then I think I’ve failed really. I don’t know if it still applies, but there certainly used to be composers who seemed not to care. They just thought, this is my process, I’m going to write like this, and I don’t care if the audience gets it or not. And I just think – well, whether you like it or not, people are going to react to what they hear, and they are going to have some response to it. It’s language to me, which means it’s a form of communication, so I’d like to feel that I’ve communicated something.” 

Between commissions – including, she hopes, the chance to write more symphonies – Alberga communicates with the next generation through composition tutorials at her old alma mater, the Royal Academy. 

And, in a satisfying completion of the circle, she is also a member of the jury for the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition.  

Hear Alim Beisembayev perform the world premiere of Eleanor Alberga's Piano Concerto (25 April).

In conversation with... Joanna Marsh

Next month, our Youth Choirs will join the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra on stage to perform the world premiere of A Plastic Theatre – a brand-new work commissioned by Liverpool Philharmonic and a group of youth choirs from across the globe. We caught up with Joanna Marsh, the composer of this thought-provoking and powerful piece, to chat about the work, how it came about, and the role music can play in tackling the challenges our world faces today.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m a full-time composer, working out of a small studio in my house. I've been receiving numerous choral commissions lately, and while I love working with voices, I also write for orchestra, solo instruments, chamber music, and more. 

Your new piece, Plastic Theatre, involves voices and musicians from around the world – that’s pretty impressive! Can you tell us about how the commission came about?

I got an exciting email completely out of the blue in 2022 from the Artistic Planning department of Liverpool Philharmonic asking whether I would be interested in writing a 20-minute piece for their youth choirs and symphony orchestra. I replied, definitely yes! The commission has turned into a fascinating project, involving international partners from Norway, Australia, and the United States.

Tell us about the process behind writing the piece – where did you start?

When composing for voices, whether unaccompanied or with any ensemble, the key is to find an inspiring text that offers a strong theme for the commission. And when it is a piece for young people, I feel the text should feel relevant now, but also speak to the future in some way.

I found Katie Schaag’s A Plastic Theatre online.  I googled ‘sustainability, planet crisis, drama’ and it popped up. I found it immediately intriguing as the writing sits somewhere between experimental art poetry, activism and research. I wasn’t sure for a moment whether I was reading a mind-boggling analysis of plastic’s influence on cellular structures or a cartoon play-script where plastic is the central character, nattily strutting its stuff. But either way, I was gripped. I set to work on the vocal score first so the choir could start rehearsals with it last November before making a full orchestration at the end of last year.

We can’t wait to hear the work on stage next month! What can audiences expect?

Audiences can expect to hear a piece that gives the young singers quite a vocal workout! The music is written to stretch them musically and gives them moments that are by turn punchy, highly expressive and even riotous. For example, the work opens with slowly morphing brass chords melding into each other ‘In the end there is not nothing, in the end there is endless everything’ the voices slowly rise to become ‘a deafening roar’. The movement ends with the words ‘abandoned plastic objects longing for a home’ as the music tails off into the distance. But then we plunge straight into Act 2 which starts with ‘Plastic snaps its fingers. Plastic doesn’t have time for your considered reservations, your platitudes. Plastic has business to do’. So we now launch into something much more dynamic and sassy. It is this kind of contrast that typifies the musical style overall.

A side note - I’m personally really delighted that Jennifer Johnston is taking the mezzo role in the piece. I am a huge fan of her voice and it has been great to include a soloist in the work and to pick out the moments where text can be carried by her instead of the choir.

The piece considers environmental issues facing our planet. How do you think music can help in responding to what’s going on around the world today?

All art draws context from the present but as a composer you can turn your attention to a topic and highlight it. It isn’t a job requirement, but if you choose to do it, you do need to take care because preachy ‘worthy’ pieces can feel a bit tedious to perform and often do not have longevity. What I like about Katie Schaag’s libretto is that it doesn’t have a message, it simply presents the facts in a really unusual way. So we address the issues with plastic; but no actual solution is presented. We are left open and wondering, and this state is the perfect response to a piece of art.

As a composer, what’s it like to hear your work being performed?  

Rather nerve-racking! Obviously composers are generally pleased and relieved if things are going well. But if things are going badly there is the worry that perhaps something you wrote hasn’t been feasible or if it is a total disaster, you wonder did the musicians actually rehearse the piece?

I know the rehearsal schedule for Liverpool so I know that things won’t be in that latter category! There is also a thing about the composer life, where after the many, many months of work and preparation with a piece, to have got to the end of the world premiere, you reach a moment of finality. The piece is now out there in the world: you might feel a little bit of loss, and a bit of relief, but it definitely feels like it is time to move on.

Book now to hear the world premiere of Joanna Marsh's A Plastic Theatre ( 24 March).

In conversation with... Johan Dalene

Superstar violinist Johan Dalene is our 2023/2024 Young Artist in Residence, and before he takes to the Hope Street stage for the first time this season, we caught up with Johan about his career highlights and the phenomenal performances we can expect from him over the next few months…

Johan Dalene has a particular memory of his first visit to Liverpool last spring – and not just because he enjoyed a successful performance of Barber’s Violin Concerto in the city one of his favourite football teams calls home. 

It turns out it was also his first concert outing with the 1725 ‘Duke of Cambridge’ Stradivarius which was previously played by 19^th Century composer and violinist Louis Spohr among others. 

The young Swedish-Norwegian virtuoso had not long picked up the instrument – on generous loan from Oslo’s Anders Sveeas’ Almennyttige Fond – and had only spent a week or two practicing on it at home in Stockholm before he flew to Liverpool. 

“It takes time to get to know [an instrument] but it felt quite good already in the beginning,” he recalls. “And of course, you have to adjust a lot of things; I feel like I had to adjust my playing, in a good way, with this violin. I feel like this violin has so many opportunities, I’ve learned quite a lot from it, with where the sound comes for instance; it has a really sweet, soulful sound, a really interesting sound – in my opinion anyway. 

“It felt good. I was still unsure if I was going to play the concert [with it] or not, but felt it was best to start. And then in the Hall, it felt much better because I think the instrument opens up in a hall, more than when I was just in my room at home.” 

A year on, both Dalene and the ‘Duke of Cambridge’ are returning to Hope Street, with the violinist appearing twice on stage here as this season’s Young Artist in Residence. 

His first concert features Korngold’s glorious Violin Concerto in D major. The last time the work was played on the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall stage was in 2022 when, coincidentally, the soloist was this season’s Artist in Residence, Simone Lamsma. 

Dalene learned the concerto during the Covid pandemic, and before this spring had only given one public performance of it – with the Arctic Philharmonic in Tromsø. 

“I think it’s a fantastic piece,” he says on a Zoom call from a snowy Stockholm. “It’s very fresh, and it feels youthful. The whole thing is very difficult and demanding. But it should sound simple, even if it’s super difficult. It doesn’t sound like that when, for example, [Jascha] Heifetz [who premiered the work in 1947] plays it, it just sounds fun. So that’s the challenge with this music. 

“But also, the second movement is beautiful and quite intimate, although it has a bit of a weird middle section! It’s very romantic but also dramatic and I’m excited to play it in Liverpool.”

The son of a cellist father and pianist mother, when a four-year-old Dalene showed an interest in learning an instrument he was steered in the direction of the violin. 

He went on to make his debut as a soloist with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra at the age of seven, and three years later started studying with his current teacher, Professor Per Enoksson at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. 

Leaving aside a youthful dream of being a footballer, by the time he was 13 he had decided that he wanted to pursue a career as a violinist. 

A BBC New Generation Artist from 2019-21, in 2022 he was also chosen as an ECHO Rising Star for 2021-22. 

He says: “What I love about playing music, of course it’s not my own music that I’m playing but you still feel like you take the work and make it your own interpretation and your own thing. You try to develop your own style of playing, and that’s the thing I love most about playing the violin.” 

Still only 23, Dalene rose to prominence five years ago when he took first prize in the prestigious Carl Nielsen International Competition held in Odense. 

It was an intense week for the then teenager (who had still to graduate from high school), with four different pieces to perform in the competition, culminating in the final with Nielsen’s Violin Concerto itself.  

“That competition was the first time I played that piece with an orchestra,” he recalls. “But I’ve played it every season, or every half year, since.” 

He has also recorded the concerto, releasing it alongside his interpretation of the better-known Sibelius Violin Concerto on a CD which has garnered acclaim and awards including Classical Album of the Year at the Swedish Grammis.

“Of course, Sibelius is an extraordinary piece, but Nielsen is also an extraordinary piece,” he points out. “And while people know the Nielsen, it’s not as famous as a lot of other violin concertos. And it’s a nice way to promote the piece because I love it so much.” 

So much so, that when Dalene was discussing potential programmes for his Liverpool residency, he decided to include Nielsen’s 1911 work which he will perform with the Orchestra when he returns to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on April 11.

He explains: “What I love about the piece – and his music in general – is the humour that the music has. It’s humorous, it’s a sort of warm humour, it’s not totally weird or anything like that. My teacher always speaks about the Tivoli [Gardens] in Copenhagen. You could maybe say the concerto has some inspiration from rollercoasters, going down and up. But of course, the music still has seriousness, especially in the prelude. It’s also extremely elegant.” 

He grins: “And it also has two cadenzas.” 

Book now to hear Johan perform Korngold's Violin Concerto (29 February) and Nielsen's Violin Concerto (11 April).

In conversation with... Elizabeth McNulty

Elizabeth McNulty – sensational harpist in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – is one of our star soloists as we throw a show-stopping celebration for Mozart’s 268^th birthday later this month. We caught up with her to chat about all the preparations, her journey to joining the Orchestra and much more!

The harp has enjoyed a place at the heart of Irish culture and history for many centuries – Irish kings had their own personal harpists and today the harp symbol remains emblazoned on everything from passports to pints (of Guinness).

For Elizabeth McNulty, it was seeing the harp on the back of coins during childhood visits to her father’s family in Ireland that inspired her to take up the instrument herself. The desire was fuelled further when she spotted an Irish harp in a shop window, and by family visits to the ballet to see performances of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and Swan Lake.

“I just always knew I wanted to play; I was absolutely determined,” she recalls. “I told all my friends at school I was going to play the harp, even when I wasn’t sure I necessarily would. My mum got me put on a waiting list with the local music service [in Kent where Elizabeth grew up], because they had two harps to hire – and I had to wait for two years before having lessons because the harps they had were already out. So I finally had my first harp lesson when I was nine. And it was the best thing ever!”

At the age of 11, she graduated from the trad harp sized instrument she had begun learning on to her first full-size instrument, bought new for her by her parents. “It was really exciting – I still remember the day,” she smiles.

That passion for the instrument has endured, with Elizabeth studying at Trinity Laban – where she was awarded a Leverhulme Scholarship – after taking a music degree at Royal Holloway, University of London. She has also forged a busy recitalist, chamber and orchestral career, and teaches the next generation of young harpists.

She was living and working in London (where she played with the Kantanti Ensemble) when the Principal Harp position in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra became available in 2016. “Harp jobs in orchestras rarely come up,” she explains. “You’ll look on the internet and it will be ‘oh there’s one in the USA, one in Asia’. I saw it and got excited and applied and I was really overjoyed when I was offered a trial.”

Auditioning was the first time she had played in the city. In fact, she had only visited Liverpool once before, on a family trip to the docks when she was a child.

“When I came, I stayed on the Wirral for the first week,” Elizabeth recalls. “The person I was staying with worked for the Orchestra, so I followed her in in the car and we came through the Birkenhead Tunnel. I remember coming out and seeing these beautiful buildings and just thinking – wow, this is Liverpool! It’s so beautiful here in the Georgian Quarter. One of the things I really love, you always get a wonderful sunset. Whatever the weather is, there’s always a really interesting sky. I was living in London before – and I still can’t get over how you can live 10 minutes away from work!”

Eight years on, she is starting 2024 in a starring role – playing Mozart’s Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra with Cormac Henry as part of an all-Amadeus programme to mark the composer’s birthday.

It’s a piece she’s performed before, although not here in Liverpool. “Each time you come back to a piece you might decide to do things a bit differently to the time before, whether that’s interpretational or technical or fingering perhaps,” she says of her preparation for the concert. “Even this time around now, there’s a few different things in the preparation I’ll be trying out. It’s always good to try and look at it in a new way to keep things fresh. Or as you develop as a musician, you notice new things in a piece. And you learn from each performance.”

“But what’s nice is that Cormac and I have performed chamber music before a few times, so I guess you learn about each other’s playing a little more than when you’re in an orchestra. Because when you’re playing in an orchestra you’re listening to a whole wall of sound. But when you’re doing a chamber piece, is when you really get to see how someone works musically.”

Despite being such a prolific composer, the concerto was the only harp piece Mozart ever wrote. And the 246-year-old work remains a popular part of the canon – named as one of Classic FM’s top 10 pieces for harp. While it’s a great piece in great company, it turns out Elizabeth also has a soft spot for a work that doesn’t make the list – and would love to perform it for Liverpool audiences one day.

She reveals: “I’ve only had the chance to play it once, but I love the Ginastera Harp Concerto – every harpist will say they love it. It’s really meaty. It’s lyrical but percussive and has all those elements that a harp can do.”

In conversation with... Kathryn Rudge

We caught up with Liverpool-born mezzo-soprano Kathryn Rudge ahead of her appearance in this year’s Spirit of Christmas concerts.

You are joining us for the Spirit of Christmas concerts this year – have you worked with Ian Tracey before?
I can’t wait for the Spirit of Christmas concerts with Ian – I know how much the concerts are loved by so many people, and it’s a privilege and a dream come true to be a part of such a wonderful tradition and it will be lots of fun. I’ve known Ian for many years and admired the wonderful work he does, especially for Liverpool Philharmonic and in our city. We first performed together at Liverpool Cathedral for the Royal Liverpool Hospital Charity concert, and it is an honour to perform with him at Christmas.

What is the most rewarding part of being a professional singer? And the most challenging?
The most rewarding part is spending time doing something I love, and I never lose sight of what a gift it is to be able to be a part of it and to share and connect with people through music and words. The most challenging part is saying fond farewells so often to wonderful people, places and music – as one role/concert finishes and the next begins. I trust in it all and treasure the memories.

Talk us through the day of a performance – how do you prepare? Do you have any pre-concert rituals?
The day of a performance always begins waking up with a flurry of butterflies and the feeling of ‘it’s today!’ – and a quick check to see if my voice is doing OK. I try to have all my concert wear/music laid out the night before so there is hopefully nothing awry on the day. I keep hydrating and I’ll look through rehearsal notes and warm up before I set off to the venue, humming through the music as I travel. After rehearsal, I spend the countdown getting ‘concert ready’ and into the dress, until the call to the stage. I usually have a last-minute peek at the concert platform from offstage to double-check I know the route onto the stage, and I like seeing the audience settling into their seats – there’s nothing like the buzz of the atmosphere in the concert hall just before the performance. I have a habit of joining in humming the ‘A’ with the orchestra when they are tuning, and then when everything goes very quiet just before we walk out onto the stage, I smile, say a little prayer and wish everyone the very best time, to enjoy every moment – and it’s here!

Who or what are your greatest inspirations as a singer?
There are so many professional artists I love listening to, especially mezzos Janet Baker and Kathleen Ferrier. I enjoy reading musical biographies; Michael Kennedy’s composer books are brilliant – his Elgar book is great! The music teachers and singing teachers I’ve studied with; Polly Beck and Sue Roper – they helped me find my voice and dedicated hours to believing in me and guiding me on the path. I’ve worked with so many incredible colleagues, individuals and teams along the way, onstage and offstage – I’m forever grateful to the people that have gone the extra mile to give me an opportunity or to help me to learn. I often pinch myself and hope that I can be like them one day! Over more recent years, I have been working with younger singers in workshops and teaching in schools and universities. I’m so inspired by the students, their ideas and enthusiasm, and I learn so much from them. Also, my family, Mum and Dad and my husband Lee – their love, support and encouragement is in every note I sing. They are a special part of the audiences I love singing for. Audiences really inspire me – I love singing for them, they are the reason to keep giving all you’ve got and singing with your whole heart.

You always have such wonderful concert dresses – do you have a system for choosing what to wear for concerts?
I am very lucky to have a wonderful friend, Shelagh Routledge from Ormskirk, who has been making my concert dresses for nearly 20 years. She also made my wedding dress – she has devoted so much of her life to creating amazing gowns, and it’s always exciting to know people have enjoyed seeing them on stage. We have fun designing them together and choosing materials – we often have a concert or a theme in mind and choose colours or styles to suit the piece and occasion. For Elgar’s Sea Pictures, we chose blues/coral colours with lace swirls, like the sea!

As a soloist in something like the Bach St Matthew Passion that you sang recently, you have a few movements where you are not singing and looking forward into the audience. Do you find it daunting to have to do this when you are waiting to sing?
It’s an amazing feeling being a soloist in an oratorio and having the time during rehearsal and the concert to sit on stage with everyone – and to be physically in the heart of the amazing sound and energy of the orchestra, choir and conductor. I love looking up from the score during the performance when I can to just listen and see the audience – it’s an amazing feeling knowing that we’re all in it together. The daunting part is remembering to look back at the score and find your place before you stand up and sing.

And finally, if you were not a professional singer is there anything else you would like to have done as a career?
I can’t imagine what life would be like without singing and music - I feel so grateful that I had the chance to be a singer. I’ve always loved acting and theatre too, so I probably would have explored that a bit more. I’d love to have been an illustrator – I have collected nearly as many illustration books as I have music books, and I can happily spend hours drawing, painting and writing when I’m not singing, so I think that would be a great job.

Meet... Matthew Hamilton 

Matthew Hamilton joined Liverpool Philharmonic as Director of Choirs and Singing earlier this year, and we caught up with him about his new role, career and plans for Messiah…

What’s your earliest musical memory? When did you first realise you wanted to work in music?
My first exposure to music was really when my parents inherited a piano when I was about five years old and my brother and I started lessons. At about the age of 10 I started violin lessons too – I can’t really remember what it was that inspired my choice of violin, but there must have been something! Spending weekends and summers at youth orchestra was one of the best parts of my teenage years, and convinced me that I really wanted to work in music. 

Have you always been involved in choral music, or has that only featured later in your career?
I sang in a children’s choir for a year or two, but left that when I started playing violin. It was really at university where I got the choral bug. I arrived at Oxford as a violinist who was interested in doing a bit of singing – I’d never had singing lessons and didn’t have much of a voice, but I was a useful sight-reader and found myself singing four services a week in the college chapel. Suddenly I was discovering Byrd and Tallis and Palestrina for the first time, and the violin soon fell by the wayside. I spent a few years after graduating doing bits of singing and composing but without any real direction. In 2010 the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama established an MA in choral conducting, and I was in the first cohort of that course. That really set me up and gave me a career. Pretty much all of my conducting work has been with choirs – it’s a wide enough specialism and definitely the repertoire that I care about – though I will say that I think my background as a violinist has been useful when dealing with symphonic choral music. 

We’re very excited to have you work with us in Liverpool – what are you looking forward to most about your new role?
I’m so looking forward to getting stuck in – working with and developing the chorus of course and helping Domingo [Hindoyan, Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra] to fulfil his artistic vision on the concert platform. There are some exciting and unusual bits of repertoire on the horizon which should really give the choir a distinct identity and ability. I’m mostly looking forward to getting to know the members of the choir – I’ve found that the kind of people who dedicate so much of their lives to making these performances possible are usually energetic, interested and interesting individuals, and it will be great to get to know them.

Can you tell us anything about your plans for developing choral activity at Liverpool Philharmonic?
I think it’s really important that choral activity at all levels is celebrated and taken seriously. It is great art, of course, and it’s imperative that the chorus can play its role in making very special performances happen for Liverpool audiences. But it’s also a great social activity and communal good, for all ages and abilities, and can help us reach new audiences and develop relationships with different parts of the community. I’d love for choral music in Liverpool to be visible – and audible – from the Philharmonic outwards! 

Tell us about the highlights of your career.
I’m never sure what counts as a highlight, but some of the most fun and rewarding things I’ve done in the last few years have been: preparing the chorus for a performance of Stockhausen’s Donnerstag; singing the riotously bonkers music of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen in Norway; and getting the National Youth Orchestra to sing the choral parts of Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe at the Proms. 

What are your favourite choral works?
The aforementioned Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen deserves a second mention – his Madrigals from the Natural World are zany, fun and very beautiful. Bach’s unaccompanied motets are pieces I could just live inside for a very long time. John Adams’ Harmonium has to be one of my favourite choral-orchestral pieces, and I adore Berlioz’s symphonic pieces with choir - Romeo and Juliet and Le damnation de Faust in particular.

What is your favourite part of Messiah? Why?  
It’s so hard to single out a favourite bit of Messiah as it’s the whole that’s so wonderful, which I think is why a performance that gets the pacing right is really the holy grail! But I love the Christmas sequence, and the run of three “S” choruses - Surely, Stripes, and Sheep – is a moment where the choir really gets to shine. 

What’s the key to Messiah’s enduring appeal to audiences?
For me, the main reason for Messiah’s enduring appeal has to be the text. Why is it so much more beloved than his other English oratorios? Surely it’s because he sets the most beautiful, poetic and resonant words of the Old and New Testament, side by side. Whereas in, say, Israel in Egypt we have to make do with arias about the land bringing forth frogs. The music of Israel is very fine, but it’s no contest really!

In Conversation with Simone Lamsma

For the first time this season, Artist in Residence Simone Lamsma takes to the stage here at the Hall later this month – and we can’t wait. We caught up with Simone to talk about her year with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the works she’ll be performing, and her glittering career so far.  

Simone Lamsma was just a toddler at home in Friesland when she saw and heard her first violin – on the television.  

Despite not understanding what it was, she was captivated. And the die was cast.  

More than three decades on, Lamsma is one of classical music’s most sought-after young violin virtuosos with an expansive repertoire and a busy concert schedule. This season sees her criss-crossing Europe and North America, and taking to the stage in two performances in Japan, including at Tokyo’s prestigious Suntory Hall.  

In the midst of all that, she is also the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Artist in Residence, following in the recent footsteps of Roderick Williams, Pacho Flores, Jennifer Johnston, Stephen Hough and Sir Bryn Terfel.  

"It's really an honour to be asked to be artist in residence," she says, "because in this case it comes from our previous collaborations. So it’s a wonderful feeling. There is a great connection – not just with the Orchestra but with the whole team."  

Lamsma made her debut with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra when she was barely out of her teens, playing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.  

 She has returned to Hope Street many times since then, with recent appearances including the Bruch Violin Concerto in 2019, Korngold in 2021, and then – in July 2022 – stepping in at short notice to play Shostakovich in a White Nights concert alongside Vasily Petrenko.  

 “I think that there’s really a great mutual respect and admiration for each other,” she continues on her relationship with the Orchestra. “I always feel that the atmosphere is so warm and so collegial, and I really love that. I’m very sensitive to atmosphere and to people. 

 “Music making is all about connecting, so it’s a very personal thing for me. And with this orchestra it’s just always felt very natural, very open, and direct, and it really feels like I’m there making chamber music with the group.  

 “They are of course an orchestra of amazing quality, but they’re also so communicative and so quick. You feel they’re with you, it’s like they have instant reaction.  

 “Through the years we’ve been able to build a trust together, and that’s really special.” 

 In this first of two concerts this season, Lamsma is playing Brahms’ Double Concerto, appearing alongside cellist Victor Julien-Laferrière. It’s a work that was written from the heart (as a peace offering from Brahms to his good friend Joseph Joachim who had fallen out with him for reasons outlined later in these notes) and, she says, one that gives her a huge feeling of joy to play.  

 Lamsma explains: “Somehow, for me, this piece just radiates warmth and love. The friendship was actually finally restored when Brahms gave this manuscript to Joachim, and it had the inscription ‘to him for whom it was written’.  

 "There is a beautiful message behind the notes and I feel that this piece is just a perfect marriage between the cello, violin and orchestra.  

"All this wonderful dialogue, the singing melodies – it's so rich and passionate, and all this in the Late Romantic tradition. I always think of the opening theme of the second movement, and I just think ah, who cannot love this piece of music? It's so touching, so beautiful."  

Happily, then, for the violinist, the Orchestra is scheduled to perform the concert three times over three successive evenings – first here at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and then in Cardiff and Nottingham.  

Remaining within the Romantic canon, Lamsma will return to Liverpool early in the new year to play Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, written by a man who had wanted to be a virtuoso violinist himself, and which Lamsma calls “possibly the greatest Romantic violin concerto of all time.”  

"This concerto has such a unique intensity to it and evokes so much feeling but also so many images and colours and layers," she says. "You can feel in every note he put his whole heart and soul into this music.  

"You hear and feel his love for the instrument, and also his knowledge – combining this together with his mastery of symphonic writing, he has created an incredible masterpiece."  

The Sibelius is one of dozens of works in Lamsma’s wide-ranging repertoire, built over a career forged after spending her formative years studying in Britain, first at the Yehudi Menuhin School and then at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2019, she was awarded the prestigious accolade of becoming a Fellow of the Academy.  

 She was 11 when she first arrived at the Yehudi Menuhin School, travelling home to the Netherlands every few weeks. Juggling travel to music lessons and theory classes at home had become increasingly difficult, but it must still have been a big decision to make.  

Lamsma agrees: "It's a huge decision you make as a family. For me it was somehow a relief to be among people who were like me, who had the same passion for music and were so serious about it.  

“But was it difficult? Yes, for sure. I was very, very homesick. It’s a huge step to take. I was 11 and to be without my family was really difficult. The most important thing when you’re young is to have great support around you and I was lucky enough to have that.  

“My family saw that I had a passion and was serious about it and they just really tried to find what was out there, and what was the best for all of us – for the whole family.  

 “They always told me that if it didn’t work out, if it was not for me, that that was fine too. I could just come back and we’d find another way.”  

She has never, she says, mapped out a career path with specific goals and ambitions to appear in certain venues or work with certain people, concentrating instead on playing works that speak to her and on her own performance.  

She smiles: "I'm really grateful to be in a position that I can now work pretty much only with people and orchestras that I love working with and to play in beautiful concert halls.  

"But I am always searching to deepen my interpretations and I'm always striving to get the best out of the music. For me, hard work remains my top priority so that I can really do the music justice. That's always the most important – and this is a never-ending journey. It's a wonderful and rewarding one but it's also challenging and 24/7 so it's very intense.  

"But for me it's the only way I can do this. I feel that's a responsibility I have towards the music.  

"And of course, the repertoire is endless. That's a wonderful thing – there will always be things that I'd love to learn, and that will never end."  

In Conversation with Paul Lewis

Superstar pianist Paul Lewis has performed at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall many times since his debut with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra back in 1996.

But despite that, it appears the experience has never lost its lustre – or for that matter, he reveals, a frisson of nerves.

“Liverpool Philharmonic is a very special place for me,” he smiles. “It’s the concert hall that I have the longest connection with, and whenever I go back there it just feels very special. And in a way there’s something in there where I feel the nerves of that little boy, going for the first time to this huge and incredibly impressive space.”

His latest appearance, launching the new 2023/24 season alongside Chief Conductor Domingo Hindoyan, is set to be a rather different experience to his last visit in May 2021, when he performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 to a socially distanced audience as part of an hour-long concert staged within Covid restrictions.

While he seems happy to recall that occasion, he admits that he’s “blocked quite a lot of that time out really…playing to sparse audiences or worse, no audiences at all.”

Paul’s earliest pandemic performances were at Wigmore Hall in June 2020 – and the hall was empty.

“That was quite significant in a way,” he says. “Because it felt like a statement – OK, we’re still here. But it was after that really, continuing to [live] stream from empty halls. I remember there was one in particular where I just thought if I have to keep on doing this, I think I’ll just find another job. I hated it, it was just pointless really. Because that’s not where the experience is. You can go on YouTube and watch a video of a concert, or you can put on a CD if you want to listen to music that way. The experience is in the hall, it’s social interaction. It needs people to bounce off, you need the energy of having people in the space really, that’s how it thrives, that’s what live music is about. And I’m just so glad that we’ve got back to it.”

That is certainly the experience a young Paul got when he first started to attend Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra concerts with his parents in the early 1980s.

While he loved exploring the classical LP collection at his local library in Huyton, it seems nothing prepared him for the visceral experience of hearing those same pieces played live by a symphony orchestra.

“The first few times my parents took me to Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra concerts, the high lasted a week after coming home,” he recalls. “I struggle to explain what it felt like, but there was a high coming off that experience that was like nothing else. And it stayed with me, even now. I can remember Marek Janowski conducting the first bars of Beethoven’s Leonore No. 3 (Overture), and I was 11! It was electrifying and that was when it really struck me that there’s a huge difference in that experience and what it means to be in the space where it’s actually happening.”

It turns out, however, that those early concerts weren’t the first time Paul had been inside the Hall.

As an eight-year-old he made his debut on the Hope Street stage, not at the piano, but playing cello as part of the Knowsley Youth Orchestra.

Although he enjoyed it and had some early idea of being a cellist, he admits “I was rubbish so that was never going to happen”. He now leaves that to his wife, the acclaimed Norwegian cellist Bjørg Lewis.

Instead, Paul found his real affinity with the piano, albeit he only started learning the instrument properly at the age of 12.

During his professional career, he’s become particularly well-known for his performances of Beethoven and Schubert – he’s currently in the middle of a Schubert piano sonata series across 25 locations worldwide.

It’s his third Schubert ‘cycle’, with them coming every decade.

“I don’t consciously make it a ten-year journey,” he considers of the timing, “but when I was around 40 I spent two years with Schubert, and when I was 30 I did a very similar series to the one I’m doing now, with all the completed sonatas. So maybe ten years on I feel that there’s something different that I want to do, the music feels a little bit different, there are other things I can maybe express with it.”

In this latest appearance in Liverpool, he will play two pieces from the American classical canon, including the little performed Copland Piano Concerto – “it’s a fun piece and I imagine it will go down well – at least I hope it does!”

If lockdown had any positive side, it gave Paul the chance to explore and extend his already wide-ranging repertoire, including learning the American’s 1926 work. “When I was at Chetham’s School of Music in the 1980s they had this end of year concert, and one of the kids would play a concerto,” Paul explains. “At the end of my first year there, there was a pianist who was a bit older and who played the Copland Piano Concerto. So I’d known it and I’d wanted to play it since I was 15. I’m 51 now and I’ve finally got round to it!”

It was his idea to pair the piece with Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

He says: “They were written within a year or two in the mid-20s, they’re both American piano concertos influenced by the same thing, by jazz and blues, but sounding very different. Gershwin made that bridge from the popular music of the time to classical music, he created that connection, but Copland just took it and pushed it in a very modernist, cutting-edge direction. But you can still hear what binds these two pieces together.”

While Copland is new to his repertoire, Gershwin is an old friend that he played a lot in his 20s.

“About five years ago I decided to bring it back,” he says. “Rhapsody in Blue is just a piece that feels so right, in terms of what it is, it sits comfortably in its skin. It’s entirely its own language. And I do love playing it.”

The concert – and a repetition of the programme with the Orchestra in Gateshead on September 22 – sits in the middle of a busy time for the in-demand virtuoso.

In July, he opened the Proms season at the Royal Albert Hall playing Grieg’s Piano Concerto in a concert that attracted the attention of banner-unfurling Just Stop Oil protesters. The Oslo-based pianist completed his own performance without incident though.

From Gateshead, he’s off to Prague and Tampere, then continues his Schubert odyssey in a quartet of concerts in Britain and Europe. Then, he heads for the States to work his way through all five of Beethoven’s concertos.

First though, there is a return to the Hall where he fell in love with classical music – and 40 years after they took him to his first concerts, his parents will be in the audience once again.

“To keep coming back to the place I was born, and to play with the orchestra I grew up with, feels very special.”

Meet the Team: Chris

Today’s a big day for our Marketing Officer Chris, who is celebrating an impressive 25 years at Liverpool Philharmonic! For the last quarter of a century, he’s been the backbone of the Marketing team – anything he doesn’t know about the department just isn’t worth knowing. So to mark the occasion, we sat down to chat to Chris all about life at the Hall. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Well I joined the Marketing team in 1998, just as I was completing my MA in Tourism and Leisure Service Management. I was just finishing up a work placement elsewhere, I saw this job advertised, thought I’d go for it and I got it – never looked back since. I was finishing my dissertation as well, so it was quite a busy time!

What was your first day at Liverpool Philharmonic like?
It’s so long ago, I can’t recall my first day in too much detail! I remember everyone was really welcoming and friendly. It was a much smaller team than it is now – I think we only had a Marketing team of 5 then compared to 9 now. I remember thinking as soon as I came in that it was the right decision. There are a few people from that first day who are still here today too.

Tell us what your average day looks like.
Very varied – it’s quite a busy team. My day is quite flexible to meet the demands of the team. A lot of my work involves things such as sales and data reporting, direct mails, emails, social media – so there’s lots of different elements and it’s a cliché, but no two days are the same! And I probably enjoy every part of my day equally to be honest.  

Strangest or funniest story?
So I don’t know how I found myself in this situation… There was one evening when I was around the Hall, it was just before the opening concert of a new season and I was at front of house on the Information Desk. I was asked quite last minute, would I go and style Vasily Petrenko’s [our former Chief Conductor] hair, so I said OK, I’ll give it a go. I think before that he’d done some photo shoots with a local stylist, and as there was press in, they wanted to copy what the stylists had done. I’m definitely not a stylist, but I think he was happy enough – he went on stage with it anyway! But by the time I finished it was about twenty-five past seven, so he didn’t have too much choice really!

Most famous person you’ve run into at the Hall?
Being in the office you don’t tend to come across too many of the stars – maybe not as much as people in other positions. But it’s always quite exciting when you see some big stars arriving, and they’re rehearsing and sound-checking. It’s always a big event when Paul McCartney turns up for the LIPA graduations. I was stuck at Stage Door once trying to get out when he was being ushered in.  

Dream concert at the Hall – who do you want to see on that stage?
I’ve been lucky over the years to see some great concerts here, such as Morrissey, Last Shadow Puppets, Michael Kiwanuka, more recently Suede and James, as well as some fantastic Orchestra concerts too of course. For my own personal musical preferences, it would be great to see someone like Oasis, Blur or Pulp. We may be a little bit too small for them at the moment, but in the future, you never know…

You’ve been at Liverpool Philharmonic for 25 years – what’s kept you here so long?
I just really enjoy working here. You get an office with a live music venue attached to it.  Even when the Orchestra are just in rehearsing, it’s always quite a nice buzz, and it’s the same when there’s a big concert coming up.  And the people are great too – I’ve worked with some great colleagues, and made some good friends, over the years. It’s just always been a nice team to be part of. So yeah, I just still enjoy doing my job – but we’ll see about the next 25 years…

We’re deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Carl Davis. We had the pleasure of working with Carl over the years on a number of projects and we have so many fond memories of him. Our Artistic Planning Director Sandra Parr has shared some of hers with us today.

Carl Davis c. Mark McNulty

Since the early 1980s Carl has been associated with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra through his many concerts and particularly as he was the driving force behind the successful Summer Pops at the King’s Dock in the 1990s. His collaboration with Sir Paul McCartney led to the “Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio” first performed in Liverpool Cathedral in June 1991 for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir's 150^th Anniversary. The Orchestra then toured it internationally, including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra debut at Carnegie Hall in November 1991.

The range of programmes that Carl presented in the Summer Pops always involved him wearing his wonderful range of sparkly and highly decorated waistcoats and jackets. Over those years the Summer Pops saw Carl and the Orchestra working with many artists including names such as Michael Ball, Daniel O’Donnell and Honor Blackman, with programmes that included music from Beethoven to Beatles, Bond to Bach and thousands of pieces in between. He and his wife, Jean Boht, were known to thousands of Liverpool people as they mingled with audiences post-concert or shopping in town. Their generosity and dedication helped many people over the years.

Carl’s brain at work was something to marvel as I would sit and watch him writing the music to accompany so many silent films, with split second precision and painting colours in the music to match the mood of the story. Here at Liverpool Philharmonic we were treated to many “films with orchestra” including Ben Hur, City Lights, The Gold Rush, Safety Last as well as playing several of his own original scores.

Known for his ability to work fast, his brain was always so active - even when driving him to the Big Top tent, sitting at a red traffic light would provide an opportunity for me to quickly scribble down another idea he had just had. So many of those Summer Pops programmes were born whilst in transit to a rehearsal!

His American heritage meant he knew many musicals and one of the highlights of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra touring was the month-long USA tour with Carl when the Orchestra performed City Lights 19 times around the East coast with performances from Florida up to New York. It was a challenging tour to work with vintage projection equipment but we always found a way to get through and laugh about things. Nothing delighted Carl more than a good giggle.

Many of the recordings that Carl made with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in Liverpool and for Leeds Castle in Kent are still played today by Classic fm and they all bring back very fond memories of working with a musical giant who changed the face of concerts in Liverpool forever.

He leaves behind his wife, Liverpool-born Jean Boht, and daughters Hannah and Jessie. He departed so suddenly and they will miss him terribly. 

Meet the Team: Carol

Next up in our Meet the Team series is Carol, one of our Accounts Assistants. Before taking up a position in the Finance Department, she saw the organisation from another side, working on Stage Door. That means, of course, that she’s got plenty of stories to share… 

Tell us a little bit about yourself. 
I retired from HMRC in October 2019 and after about three months, I thought this isn’t for me. A friend told me about a position going for Stage Door, so I thought I’ll just apply for it. I didn’t think I’d have any chance given my age and the fact I was retired. In the interview, I was asked ‘what made you think about coming back to work?’ and I said ‘I’m absolutely bored and I know I’ve still got a lot to give. I want to come back to work.’  

 What was your first day like?   
It was quite hectic. I already knew quite a bit about customer service from my previous job in HMRC. I was mainly on late shifts, so I went through the guidance and the policy documents, and then I just started putting processes in place which made things a lot easier. Lost property was one of my favourite parts of the role – getting items back to their owners. Or if it wasn’t collected within a month, passing clothing on to Whitechapel so that people could make use of it. 

Tell us what your average day looks like.  
Stage Door, I absolutely loved working on Stage Door - one of the best jobs ever. You meet lots of exciting people, and get to know the people who work at the Phil. You’re talking to people and you keep yourself busy because there’s so much to do behind the scenes. It’s such an important role and I think people forget that. You can see when people’s moods have changed and you can talk to them and see what’s wrong. They tend to confide in you, because you’re not going to tell anybody – you’re on your own! I loved that, I loved the autonomy of working there too. 

I helped out in Finance when it was a bit slow during the summer months last year, and in the end they said, ‘well you’re not going back to Stage Door!’ And I love it. It’s different, and I love the fact that I’m working 9.30am to 2.30pm, and I don’t have to work my weekends or late nights anymore. I do miss my days off during the week but you can’t have everything, can you! I process the invoices, put them onto the system to ensure they get paid on time. I check accounts where we haven’t had invoices in or where companies owe us money. Chase any debts that we’ve got on file. I love it. It is quite hectic, I don’t stop – just got to keep on top of it.  

Who was the most famous person you met on Stage Door? 
Well I met Tony Hadley, I know he’s coming back soon, and he was lovely. We had a family come in, it was a husband and wife and their son, who was autistic. They followed him everywhere because their son idolises Tony Hadley. I got them to sit down at Stage Door and I asked the tour manager to ask Tony to sign a shirt their son had brought. Then Tony Hadley himself came out – the boy had never met him before! He signed the shirt, had his picture taken, talked to him – it absolutely made their night. They had seats right at the back of the Hall and I thought that might be a bit crowded for him because of his autism, so I asked if we could move them downstairs and luckily we had some seats in a box free. The mum kept in touch with me! So things like that I used to love doing.  

Anton du Beke, he was quite funny. Oh and Sandi Toksvig – she came in, and her wife Debbie came in with their dog. The dog was very well behaved, really lovely temperament. Sandi was lovely – quite funny off stage as well. She was trying to get back to her hotel quickly, so she literally came off stage and ran to the hotel before anybody had a chance to get out of their seats. And because of the way she was dressed, and she was with her wife and her dog, people just walked past her. And the Swinging Sixties – I absolutely love them. They’re so funny with all of their stories from when they played in the early days.  Every time I was on Stage Door they would say ‘oh come and watch us, come and watch us’, and I’d say ‘no I can’t, I’m working!’   

How is Liverpool Philharmonic different from other places you’ve worked?   
I think it’s more relaxed. It was quite disciplined when I worked in HMRC, just with the nature of the IT projects and programmes I was working on. And HMRC was massive compared to what we have here – we were 80,000 people spread right across the UK. So yeah it’s smaller and more relaxed. Lot of customer focus as well here, and I like that. 
Before HMRC, I worked at Mersey Bus paying the wages and the overtime. I’ve always had an engineering background, so coming to work in the arts was totally different!  

Dream concert at the Hall?   
I go to all the soul nights, I love them… Seventies nights too! I’ve seen Dionne Warwick, I loved her, she was gorgeous as well – really lovely woman. I would have loved to have seen Tina Turner – probably too small a venue for her – but I’d have loved to have met her coming in through Stage Door. It’s talking to the artists and their tour behind the scenes I like. I’d love our Orchestra to work with people like Michael Ball – the venue and the esteem we have at the Philharmonic, that would be a brilliant night.   

Favourite thing about working here?  
It’s like a big family, and my sister works here too, so it really is a family to me. And like I say, there’s a lot to do but it’s also relaxed. So, even though I’m under pressure, my manager will always say ‘it can wait until tomorrow’. Or if I say I’m getting really worked up about something, she’ll say ‘stop, take a breath, your health and wellbeing is more important’. And she’s right!  

Talking to people from all sorts of different backgrounds too. And the breadth of it as well. Sometimes I look across to the different departments and think ‘I’d love to do that’. I’d love to work in Artistic Planning or Orchestra Planning and see how that works. I’d like to work on the Learning side too. Oh and Box Office, I love them, I think they’re a brilliant team. But yeah, there’s just so many different things you can do here. 

You’d normally find him at the back of the stage, but it’s time to put Graham Johns, Percussion Section Leader of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, well and truly front and centre.

After an incredible 40 years with the Orchestra, the time has come for Graham to hang up his hi-hat and retire. Over the past four decades with us, he’s touched the lives of so many – through his music, his love for his craft and his friendship. So of course, when word of his retirement got out, it prompted an absolute flood of messages from conductors, musicians and supporters all over the world. Looking for the perfect retirement gift, his colleagues in the percussion section turned to Graham’s passion project – the Forever Bells – for inspiration. The occasion, plus the support of all those well-wishers, led to the commissioning of a new church bell to add to the Orchestra’s collection. This brand-new bell, engraved with Graham’s name, was presented to the man himself on the eve of his final concert in a truly touching celebration.

Now after all those years, Graham’s certainly got a few stories to tell, so here are his thoughts and reflections on a truly impressive career…

 “It’s often said that if you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life… Looking back over my 40 years in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra I feel that this well-known phrase applies firmly to me.

 There have, of course, been downs as well as ups – tiring rehearsals of challenging repertoire and the antisocial hours required of a concert-giving profession. I feel blessed, though, to have had an amazing career in a top-class symphony orchestra, with a back-catalogue of recordings that are testament to its world class status and its ability to stand comparison with the best.

 As a teenager in the 1970s in New Zealand, I began to realise there was an exciting world of classical music to discover, and I acquired an LP of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra playing the music of William Walton, conducted by Sir Charles Groves. It was, and still is, one of my favourites. Little did I know at the time that I would be joining the Orchestra just over a decade later.

Graham Johns

Sir Charles was a regular guest conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, so I was familiar with the large and affable character that welcomed me to Liverpool and the Philharmonic back in 1983. His first comment to me, with a knowing glint in his eye and a smile, was “you know a man by his shoes – I’d give them a polish if I were you”. I made sure they were always gleaming after that. I soon fell in love with the Orchestra and the city, and I’m proud to be considered an ‘Adopted Scouser’.

 My early years in the Orchestra were a baptism of fire, particularly where English repertoire was concerned. Here I must pay tribute to my dear predecessor, John Ward. From him I learned so much, not just about specific repertoire but also his love of music, his humanity – and the art of entertaining. John knew how to engage an audience, staging (almost) one-man shows in schools and hospitals. He was loved by all and I’m glad to have counted him as a great friend and colleague. I miss him dearly…

 The Orchestra has been fortunate to have had many tremendous conductors over the years. I’m lucky to have enjoyed some very special collaborations, particularly with Libor Pešek and Vasily Petrenko, two golden periods in the recent history of Liverpool Philharmonic.

 Libor was a favourite of the Orchestra and audiences alike. His genial and loveable character – and his decade of incredible music-making – endeared him to us all. We had so much fun with him, highlights including tours to his beloved Prague, the USA and around Europe, ending in Vienna’s Musikverein – all memories that I will treasure.

On an Orchestra tour in Spain in the 1980s 

Libor was also a gifted linguist (speaking numerous languages) and was a master of the understatement. Rehearsals were often sprinkled with quips and one-liners that would have the Orchestra corpsing with laughter, rendering futile our attempts to play with any control thereafter. “Colleagues,” he said to the brass in King George’s Hall Blackburn, “You are the only group that has the proper sound, balance and colour in this hall. Don’t worry, it’s not your fault...” And I’ll never forget his most generous donation to pay half the £5000 cost of the Zarathustra Bell in 1994, after having purchased it myself in a moment of pure madness.

Graham with the Zarathustra Bell, which was commissioned for Vienna’s Musikverein

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra can be proud to have ‘discovered’ Vasily Petrenko at a time when he was little known in the orchestral world. And what a discovery that turned out to be… His fifteen years with us put the Orchestra on a trajectory of excellence that has produced benchmark recordings and reviews that are up with the best in the world. Our recording of Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony is the Apple Music editor’s choice among a glittering selection. The second movement is a snare drummer’s dream and I’ll never forget our concert with Vasily at the London Proms.

The Orchestra at the Proms

The Orchestra has now embarked on a very exciting and different musical adventure with Domingo Hindoyan. Recent programmes have featured some fabulous works, including several from South America, which from a percussionist’s point of view are both challenging and exhilarating. Domingo’s creative and firm direction is inspiring the Orchestra to new heights of musical expression.

Other past Principal Conductors, including Marek Janowski, Peter Altrichter and Gerard Schwarz, directed many fabulous concerts. I will also remember some great concerts with several superb guest conductors, including Vernon Handley (especially in our Vaughan Williams series), Sir Charles MacKerras, Stanley Black, and later Carl Davis in our Classical Spectaculars at Leeds Castle and Liverpool’s King’s Dock. What special days they were...

A recording of the concert at Leeds Castle

In recent years we have had a very fruitful relationship with Andrew Manze, with whom I have particularly enjoyed revisiting the English repertoire. Again, our recordings with him – some of which feature our wonderful Choir, trained so beautifully by Professor Ian Tracey – rank among the finest. It is very satisfying to hear from many colleagues, both here in the UK and around the world, who say they listen to Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra recordings when learning repertoire because ‘they’re the best’.

Speaking candidly, orchestral percussion playing is a rather strange profession. There’s a huge variety of different instruments to master, all with their own specific techniques and skills. Some of them you may not actually play for many years, then all of a sudden, you’re on the spot and have to learn how to play them all over again. I’ve always maintained that the main role of the percussion section in the orchestra is to add colour and character to the music. To me, we are the salt and pepper, the ‘herbs and spices’ if you like. The real ‘meat and potatoes’ are the rest of the band, particularly the strings. We have to know how much or how little to contribute. The wrong balance of ingredients and that steak is ruined (many apologies to the vegetarians)!

Graham and Neil Hitt

The Forever Bells project is probably my proudest achievement. It would and could not have happened without the support of management and colleagues, and it has now become a huge national resource of church bells for the whole of the UK orchestral community. At any one time, one or more bells are on hire, bringing much-needed income to Liverpool Philharmonic. I will always be particularly thankful to our amazing donors, all of whom have made possible our unique collection of eighteen bells – there is no other such collection in the UK or Europe. We, and other orchestras, can now play repertoire exactly as composers envisioned, many of whom never actually got to hear their works performed with the ‘real thing’. And when we don’t need them, our sister orchestras and audiences can experience the same delight as us.

Graham and a few of the Forever Bells

I would like to pay tribute to all my colleagues, past and present, who have had to endure many a mad idea. Ian Wright, Henry Baldwin, Dawn Mace and Jean Webster, and currently Neil, Jo and Scott, the most genuinely sterling bunch of people, with whom playing has been a real joy. Not only are they the best musicians you could ever wish to work alongside, but they are real friends too. I will miss our teamwork but treasure the many memories.

I send the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra all my love and good wishes for the future, and look forward to seeing and hearing the Orchestra continue to excel and flourish under the direction of Maestro Domingo Hindoyan.”

Graham with Leonard Bernstein in 1983

Here’s just a handful of the messages left by Graham’s colleagues and friends…

“I remember when we first met in Luxembourg and all the passion you expressed to me about the bells in Pictures at an Exhibition. I have always enjoyed the concerts we have done together and all the music you give to the Orchestra, how every note means something to you and how you treat every instrument as a pearl. I have been fortunate to share with you two years as Chief Conductor of Liverpool Philharmonic. You will be missed, your legacy speaks for itself. I celebrate your career and am sad about not seeing you so often anymore, but your inspiration will be always with us.”
– Domingo Hindoyan, Chief Conductor, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

“Congratulations on all these extraordinary decades of work! And it was a big pleasure, and seriously scary, to join you in the section all those years ago... Much love.”
– Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director, London Symphony Orchestra

“What a privilege it has been to play alongside you for twenty years. Thank you for your great friendship and inspiring musicianship.”
– Jo Frieze, Associate Principal Percussion, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

“Graham, I’m full of admiration for you as a player and a genuinely warm-hearted human being. I’m extremely proud to have worked alongside you. We’ve been very lucky to have you!”
– Scott Lumsdaine, Principal (No.3) Percussion, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Graham with Pacho Flores and Domingo Hindoyan at his final concert, Fiesta!

Here at Liverpool Philharmonic, we’re proud to be so deeply rooted in our community, and that our Orchestra represents that community around the world. A huge factor in both those achievements is Ken Grundy, the Executive Director of Maestro! Touring.

Ken and Chief Conductor Domingo Hindoyan

For more than three decades, Ken has not only provided the (literal) roadmap for how to deliver the Orchestra to performances all around the globe, but he’s also supported Liverpool Philharmonic’s work much closer to home. “It’s been a great privilege to be involved in the Orchestra,” he says. “I’ve had the most glorious job because it really does combine my two passions – travel and music.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
So how did it all start? “I’ve been a travel person since I was nine years old – from getting on my first aeroplane in 1968, I was hooked and I knew that I wanted to be involved in flying.” Fast forward through 15 years of working in corporate travel, and a chance meeting in 1989 with the then Chair of Liverpool Philharmonic led to Ken taking the reins in planning the Orchestra’s 1992 US tour. “It was a very interesting immersion into this world, and it’s never stopped since really.” In 1994, he formed Maestro! Touring – a company that works on the logistics of getting artists and instruments around the globe, and also helps music fans to follow along with them.

With over 70 musicians, transporting a symphony orchestra is quite the challenge. Add instruments and visas and customs clearance into the mix, and it really becomes no mean feat. However, it’s something that’s second nature to Ken. Since the early 90s, he’s been criss-crossing the world with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – “we’ve been to Europe many, many times, North America several times and Asia twice at least…we’re back in Japan next May which is really exciting.” Touring the globe might sound glamorous, but he insists it’s anything but. “The Orchestra have to do a lot of long hours, with late nights and very early mornings, but I think it’s something musicians love to do – to get out there and experience new halls and venues.” And does he get to catch the odd Orchestra concert on the road? “My work is mostly done the day before travel, which is normally the day of the concert, so I can either end up working with cargo people or at the airport the night before dealing with stuff – but I don’t think I’ve been on a tour where I haven’t got to hear the concert at least once.”

One touring experience that stands out to Ken to this day took place on 12 May 1993 – the opening day of the Prague Spring Festival. “It was very soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall…and Libor [Pešek] took Liverpool to Prague.” That day, the Orchestra became the first ever non-Czech ensemble to open the iconic festival, and “it was really a marvellous experience.”

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra opening 1993's Prague Spring Festival

He’s there alongside virtuosos and maestros during these incredible musical milestones, but a huge part of Ken’s work is enabling others to share in them too. “We started this series of tours for supporters of the Orchestra right back with the first 1992 tour to the US with Libor, and that’s continued ever since.” Helping those who may not feel confident enough to travel alone, he’s taken groups to see the Orchestra and our conductors around the world, and this often brings about a few exclusive VIP perks – “Andrew [Manze] very kindly came and met with everybody, as Vasily has always done and Domingo has. I think it gives people a really special feeling of belonging to the whole organisation.” One particular supporter event – a visit to the bell foundry in Asten, Netherlands along with percussionist Graham Johns – brought about another of Ken’s favourite Philharmonic memories. “It was just an amazing experience… the sheer, almost Wagnerian feeling of this molten metal being poured by hand into these bells. That was really special.”  

Meanwhile, back in Merseyside, Ken’s support of Liverpool Philharmonic continues. A huge advocate for children’s music education, he’s passionate about In Harmony – “I think what the programme does is simply amazing, so I’m very pleased to back that.” Maestro! were part of Domingo’s latest CD launch, they supported one of the Forever Bells in their 25^th anniversary year, and of course they serve as sponsor for our Lunchtime Concerts series. Phew!

The Maestro! Touring bell (right)

And it’s a genuine admiration for Liverpool Philharmonic and the city that’s prompted all these years of generous support. “Coming from Liverpool, supporting this organisation is particularly important. The enthusiasm of the team has always been fantastic. And musically, hearing Libor…then Vasily in the run up to City of Culture, then now with Domingo’s tenure, I think it’s very exciting times ahead and to look back on.”

So, throughout a 30-year relationship with the Orchestra, how many concerts has Ken experienced? “I think 500 performances at least.” Then, of course, comes the inevitable question about favourites… “The In Harmony 10^th birthday concert was really, really great…and Simon Trpčeski performing Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto with Vasily in 2017. That was a really fantastic performance.”

In Harmony's 10th Birthday Concert

Looking ahead, it’s our Artists in Residence he’s excited to see next season. “I think Simone Lamsma is an astonishingly talented artist. And also Johan Dalene…to hear him now as a mature violinist is going to be really exciting.” And there’s another violinist on Ken’s 23/24 season bucket list – “Christian Li…I’m very exited that he’s going to be in Liverpool as I took a group to Geneva for the Menuhin Competition in 2018 when Christian became the youngest ever winner! Anything involving young musicians is really fantastic, because we desperately need it.”

Welcome to our brand-new Meet the Team series! We’re flinging open our doors and hearing stories – and maybe even a few behind-the-scenes secrets – about life here at Liverpool Philharmonic from the people who make it all happen. 

First up is Stage Door Receptionist, Jackie. Holding down the front desk, welcoming staff, artists, tours and visitors every day, she’s the eyes and ears of the Hall and she’s definitely got a few stories to tell. As she said herself, “I could go on for hours, you could be sat here listening to me all day…”  

When did you start working at Liverpool Philharmonic? What was your first day like?  
I started working here in December 2019. The first day at work was pretty traumatic because I came in to train and my sister trained me – she worked here and she expected more than I could deliver because it’d been a long time since I’d been behind a desk. I’d been retired you see and then came back because I didn’t like being retired!  

Tell us what your day looks like.  
The average day… I come in at 8am, earlier if I’m asked to. I come in, set up my computer and then sit back to have my happy space – this is my nice place, this is where I come to get away from life. To put it in a nutshell, this is the job I wish I’d have got when I was 16. If I did, I’d still be working here today – I enjoy it that much. I come in, I welcome people, I sign them in, I sort the post and parcels, and I am also the go-to person when someone wants to have a moan. Nothing gets past me – if I see someone walking in with cakes, I’ll know it’s a birthday so I’ll ask and I keep a little stash of birthday cards in this drawer just in case. I love it, it’s just a nice feeling being here. 

Strangest or funniest thing to have happened at Stage Door? 
Oh you’re asking now, aren’t you… Could be anything! Once, Wet Wet Wet were on, but it was just Marti Pellow and when I was a lot younger, I was convinced that I was going to be his wife, I loved him that much. So I got to know his tour and I said, “Nobody ever talks to me!” They do, but I said, “No one ever speaks to me”. I was saying I loved them and all this, and as luck would have it, that night they needed a shift covering and I put my hand up and said I’d do it. I got to go and sit in a box for 15 minutes on my break and listen to them. As he was leaving, there was a wall of women outside. He came out and he said to me “How are you?” and I nearly fell off my chair. I said, “Nobody ever speaks to me, Marti.” He went, “Why? You’re the face of the place!” And he stood there and had a conversation with me, I was delighted. Then he went and spoke to everybody outside, and he went right up in my estimation.  

Harry Hill once came in and I said “Hello, Mr Hill!” He said “Oh, aren’t you nice?”. He stood there and chatted to me. I like that kind of thing, they make your day.  

Most famous person you’ve met at Stage Door?  
Well Marti Pellow, I’ll say him again, Gerry Marsden I liked him. There’s been a few – Harry Hill was good, he was a gentleman. I wanted to meet Sparks, but they didn’t come in in time. Gabrielle was lovely, she was a sweetheart. And Holly Johnson was here the other week, but I don’t stand on ceremony and I went “Hiya Holly, you alright?” And he came right up and said, “Aw, I’m alright girl, I’m tired,” and I was like, “Holly, come on!” And I was chatting to him for a little bit before he got ushered through.  

Harry Hill stands out – one of his tour said to me, “I’ve got to tell you, this is the nicest welcome we’ve ever had coming into a theatre.” 

Dream concert at the Hall?  
Paul McCartney. I’d like him to come home and recognise the Hall. Will it happen? Never say never! He’d fill here twice and still have people on the roof – he performed in the Phil pub, so he could do it in the Hall? I would love, love, love to see him on that stage. And I’d talk to him beforehand – “Alright Paul!” 

Favourite thing about working here? 
Working here – just coming to work! The outside world can’t touch me when I’m in here, they’re told not to ring me or contact me unless it’s a dire emergency. Leave me to enjoy my hours working with people I really, really like – I really like the staff here. It’s like my other family, that my outside one can’t mix with.  

The Orchestra are like my kids, I know them all by name, and all the freelancers. I know when they have problems, and I’ll ask how they’re getting on. I’m like Mother Hen with them and the techies.  

Oh and Domingo is priceless. When he comes in, he brightens the place up. When he walks in, I go “Morning Maestro! How are you? Welcome back!” I love him, he always stops and chats.  

It's just different, every day is different.  

Musical reinventions: Jasdeep Singh Degun 

Jasdeep Singh Degun is bringing a new energy to Indian music. He ‘audaciously mixes styles from the subcontinent’ (Financial Times), merging and modernising traditional sounds, and coming away with works that are a true celebration of a whole range of genres.

Now, in partnership with Milap and The Tung Auditorium, we’re bringing his exquisite compositions back to Liverpool audiences. On 9 June he’ll take to the Tung Auditorium’s stage, showcasing his debut album, Anomaly. From sitar solos to cinematic journeying alongside a nine-piece ensemble, it’s music rooted in ancient repertoire, delivered with contemporary flair, and guaranteed to dazzle purists and newcomers alike.

Ahead of his show here in the city, Jasdeep spoke about his love and affinity not only for Milap, but for Liverpool Philharmonic too…

On Milapfest:  

"My history with Milapfest dates right back to before the beginning! I first got involved before I had started playing sitar, so I must have been about 13 or 14. Then I joined Samyo, Milap’s National Youth Orchestra for Indian Music, and through to my early 20s I was involved in all the annual summer schools in Dartington, in the Lake District and in Liverpool itself. I went on to join the senior ensemble, Tarang. 

When I was still in the process of creating my album, Anomaly, Milap worked with me on a concert in the Purcell Room in London’s Southbank Centre. It was the first time we’d brought the whole ensemble together. Anoushka Shankar, Sukanya Shankar and Nitin Sawhney were in the audience, and it sold out. It was a really important milestone on the way to realising the album, and Milap’s involvement was an acknowledgement of the support that they’ve given me throughout my career.” 

On Liverpool Philharmonic:  

"I’ve got a long history with Liverpool, and with Liverpool Philharmonic in particular, having performed there and at other venues around the city when I was growing up and involved in Milapfest. The most significant project that we worked on together was ‘Within You Without You’, a concert in 2017 that explored George Harrison’s discovery of Indian music and spiritual thought, and the effect it had on The Beatles. 

That was the first time I’d brought together Indian musicians to form an ensemble, and three of those musicians went on to play on my album Anomaly. Some of the music that we did in that concert actually inspired Anomaly: at the end of the show we did a big version of Within You Without You, and that became the precursor to the album’s closing track Redemption (reprise). So that was very much a formative project for me.  

Returning to Liverpool is going to be great. This will be our debut show at The Tung Auditorium, but it’s going to feel like familiar territory with all those associations, memories and friends from the past, and we’re really looking forward to performing Anomaly.  

It's the last concert of the tour for us, and the audience have got so much to look forward to: we have an ensemble of nine musicians, including some of the best Indian classical musicians in the country. It’s going to be a magical evening”.  

Jasdeep Singh Degun at The Tung Auditorium

Reed All About It

“It’s a bit geeky…” smiled our Executive Director of Finance Stephan Heaton as we sat down for the workshop. As well as managing the books here at Liverpool Philharmonic, Stephan is an oboist and he had invited a big name of the double reed world to come along to the Hall. Travelling all the way from Frankfurt, Germany, Udo Heng, the General Manager of Reeds ‘n Stuff, had arrived in Liverpool to deliver a masterclass – a personalised deep dive into crafting and perfecting those pieces of cane that can make or break the woodwind section. And assembled to soak up his wisdom and experience were players from the Orchestra – oboists and cor anglais players Ruth Davies, Anna Cooper and Drake Gritton, bassoonists Rebekah Abramski and Gareth Twigg, and Ruth’s oboist daughter, Ella.

So, a little context… Reeds ‘n Stuff is a company that designs and manufactures machines that help bassoonists et al. get their reeds just right. The passion project of Udo, the company came about as he (himself an oboist) grew frustrated with the old, inadequate equipment available to double reed players and began coming up with ideas to revolutionise the process of reed making. The business grew, and now Reeds ‘n Stuff produces impressive kits and machines to help musicians get their reed production down to a fine art.

Well, I say a fine art, but reed making seems to be an intricately complex mix of incredible scientific precision, an artistic touch… and also trial and error. If, like me, you’re completely new to the mystical world of reed production, here’s the low-down on the process.

A double reed player first takes a piece of cane. To the amateur eye, this looks identical to one you’d use in the garden, but don’t be fooled – the type and properties of the cane are key. Then the process begins by splitting the cane into three pieces. Next up, time for gouging – manipulating the cane until it’s the desired thickness. Then we have shaping, where the newly slimmed down cane is cut into the required shape. And finally, the reed undergoes profiling – the consuming (almost obsessive) process of shaving and scraping and cutting the reed until it’s completely perfect. This can happily take hours and hours.

So there’s a set method, but it’s certainly capable of inducing madness… It’s a process of so many variables – different types of cane behave and react differently, cane ‘grows’ as the fibres absorb water, different points on the reed affect different aspects of the sound it produces, and, ultimately, each player, instrument and piece require different shapes and styles of reed – and a millimetre of cane can make all the difference.

That’s where Udo steps in… Becoming the first orchestra in the UK to invest in double reed production, Liverpool Philharmonic has purchased some of Udo’s machines – helping musicians perfect the shaping and profiling of their reeds. Double reed players are taught to make reeds by hand, just using their instincts, experience and a Stanley knife to guide them – but Udo’s machines make the process a whole lot easier and quicker. So no wonder there was a real sense of excitement amongst the Orchestra musicians gathered at the workshop as Udo set out his machines and demonstrated the wonders they were capable of – for a double reed player, it was like Christmas had come early.

A font of knowledge, Udo fielded questions from the group over the next few hours, sitting down with every musician to help them adjust the machines and personalise their reeds. Conversation bounced from calibration to millimetre-perfect dimensions, virtuosos of the double reed community to varieties of cane. As a newcomer to this world, it was hard not to be impressed by the precision and craft behind the process, if not a little overwhelmed, and that feeling only increased as Udo leant over to show me a few fine shavings of cane taken by the shaping machine – “that right there is an entire world for an oboist”, he said.

Chatting to the players as they pored over cases of perfectly prepared canes, it became clear just how much of their practising time is spent tinkering with and finetuning their reeds. “There’s no point having the notes at the point of perfection if the reed isn’t – and vice versa. It’s so important to strike a balance between making reeds and practising the piece,” they say. “And always have a back-up practice reed.” It’s a process that’s different for everyone, varying from continent to continent (Americans are “obsessed with constant reed making”, says Udo, whereas Europeans “start the process way ahead of when the reed is needed – they know that things in life take time”), and player to player. Some are more scientific in their approach, knowing the exact measurements of different reeds, while others rely more on an artistic flair and general feel of the cane. And of course, it is a hugely personal thing – two players using the same reed on the same instrument can produce two totally different sounds.

As the workshop wrapped up, and instruments and machines were packed away, you could see just how passionate each person in that room was about their craft – and how grateful the players were to Udo for helping to make their reed-making (and therefore lives…) that little bit more straightforward.

A huge thank you to Stephan for arranging the day, and to Udo for sharing your knowledge and skills here at the Hall – hopefully you’ll see our players (and their perfect reeds) in Germany soon.

This March we welcome Sir Bryn Terfel to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall when he will join the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and singers from the European Opera Centre for dramatised performances of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. You’ll probably have heard the beautiful aria ‘O mio babbino caro’ sung in the opera by Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi’s daughter.

We spoke with Kenneth Baird, Chief Executive of the European Opera Centre, who gave us a backstage insight into the casting process for this performance:

Last summer we put out a call for singers to be considered for all the roles in Gianni Schicchi apart from the title role and the seven-year-old Gherardino – sung by a treble. This is our twelfth opera with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and our third with Sir Bryn.

When the European Opera Centre began in 1996, emails were hardly in use and websites were rarities for arts organisations. International travel was essential to find singers, as was an extensive operation to notify conservatoires, national music information points, artists’ agents, singing teachers and so on. Within Europe, there were then very few opera studios or opera training programmes.

A generation on, early career artists can be reached internationally through a couple of websites (although we still send out notifications to supplement these). So, for Gianni Schicchi several hundred singers applied to us from 46 countries. Each application, which includes biographical, audio and visual material, is considered meticulously by the Centre’s Artistic Advisor, Laurent Pillot. The quality of audio and visual electronic communication now readily available internationally makes this initial assessment through these means possible, which was certainly not the case in the 1990s.

As a conductor, Laurent Pillot has worked all his professional life in opera including at the Opéra National de Lyon and in Los Angeles where he was Associate Music Director working with the Centre’s President, Kent Nagano. He founded the Opera Studio at the Bavarian State Opera where his work was the subject of three one-hour documentaries made for television. He is highly skilled in hearing the potential in developing artists. A short-list of twenty to thirty singers is arrived at with selected candidates invited to Laurent Pillot’s home city of Lyon to work with him. The only criterion used is suitability for the role.

People have often asked whether the Centre is about finding stars. Stars tend to come to public attention purely through their outstanding talent. The Centre aims to help talented people wanting to pursue careers in opera from education to professional engagement. That is not to say that leading singers have not emerged. Anita Hartig – the fine soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony which launched Domingo Hindoyan’s first season as Chief Conductor – attended one of the Centre’s training programmes in Ireland: she came to Liverpool in 2021 before heading to the Metropolitan Opera, New York to sing Mimi in La bohème. She is one of many of the Centre’s alumni now pursuing careers at a high level around the world.

New Year, New Music?

Read more, spend less, move more, eat less: all the classic resolutions get rolled out every year… We’re three days into 2023 – have you managed to keep up with your self-imposed self-improvement promises?

Or how about doing something different this year… The staff here at Liverpool Philharmonic have put together a selection of musical New Year’s resolutions – a collection of tracks they believe everyone should add to their playlists in 2023. There’s old stuff in there, some new, some classics, a whole mix of genres – so why not expand your musical horizons with us this year? 

1. Light My Dart Up – Matt Corby: enchanting, calming, soulful
2. Harry and Stevie – By The Sea: nostalgic, joyful, melodic
3. In Your Eyes – Peter Gabriel: uplifting, motivating, catchy
4. 平安夜– Gigi Leung: dreamy, warm, nostalgic
5. Be More Kind – Frank Turner: optimistic – really necessary!
6. Across the Night – Silverchair: rock, orchestral, Australian
7. Don’t Lose Sight – Lawrence: funky muso fusion
8. 100% Endurance – Yard Act: wry but hopeful
9. Who Made Who – AC/DC: it’s so great
10. Comedy – Shack: Liverpool’s best band!
11. In My Life – The Beatles: Liverpool’s best band! (obviously)
12. Midnight Mischief (Tom Misch Remix) – Jordan Rakei: soulful, eclectic, chill
13. Hero Man – PVA: bangin!
14. Fantasy – George Michael & Nile Rogers: great tune!
15. Never Forget – Take That: big, big tune
16. Yes Sir, I Can Boogie – Baccara: classic party anthem
17. Joy – Samm Henshaw: funky positive vibes
18. Beautiful – Carole King: feel-good, soulful, pretty

Meet… Isata Kanneh-Mason

It’s clear that Liverpool means a lot to Isata Kanneh-Mason, and it’s easy to understand why. If you trace back through this young piano star’s career, the city, its cultural scene and our very own Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra have provided the soundtrack to some of her most memorable moments and milestones.   

“I love working with the Liverpool Philharmonic and I love going to Liverpool”, beamed Isata as we caught up with her recently. And the feeling goes both ways. Following show-stopping collaborations with the Orchestra in the past – so harmonious that one critic described it as “music-making between friends” – Isata has recently begun her second season as Young Artist in Residence here at Liverpool Philharmonic. “It’s just so nice to have that connection and to be able to go back often”, she says. “There’s a really special connection with the city and with the Orchestra – it’s just lovely to still have that.”



Isata’s link to the city goes beyond her tenure as Young Artist in Residence though. She recorded her chart-topping debut album, Romance, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra back in 2019, then returned two years later to record her album of American classics, Summertime, at the Hall. Those releases helped cement her status as a star of the classical world and a Liverpool Philharmonic favourite, but recording them was a rollercoaster through the highs and lows of life as a concert musician. “An album typically has a lot more time and detail put into it than anything else,” she explains. “When you see that it’s finally finished, that’s very rewarding because that’s something that’s there forever…but it’s challenging. It takes the most out of you.”

And it won’t be long until Isata is back in Liverpool, performing the first of her concerts this season. Later this month, she’ll be at the Hall to perform Dohnányi’s tour de force Variations on a Nursery Tune, again in April to take on Prokofiev’s powerful Piano Concerto No.3 and once more in May with a chamber concert featuring works by Germaine Tailleferre, Mendelssohn and Eleanor Alberga. As you can see, she’s bringing an eclectic mix of music with her, and it seems that every single work is a true favourite. “They’re pieces that I’ve loved for many years, pieces that I heard and was just instantly drawn to and excited by and listened to over and over again.” It seems that all her repertoire selections are motivated by a simple sense of passion and excitement – “that’s really how I choose all my pieces, just a feeling of loving the piece and wanting to play it.”

So with performances fast approaching, we asked what a typical concert day looks like. “Basically, I just try and be as relaxed as possible,” she says. Not over-practising is key – just a couple of hours earlier that day, then an hour or so at the venue trying out the piano. “I always stretch before I go on stage, have some water, then just get changed and go.” Seems simple, but then there’s the scary part – that walk to the piano under the lights. “There’s really no set thing I think about before I walk onstage,” she insists. “If I’m feeling particularly nervous about a certain bit, I might be thinking about that, or if there’s someone that I know in the audience, then I might be thinking about that, or I could just be thinking about something random that happened earlier on in the day.”

Regardless, Isata says that that buzz of adrenaline is always there and always the same. It’s best to limit that nervous energy and excitement as much as possible though: “I think psychologically hanging around in the venue before the concert just doesn’t feel good,” says Isata. So where does she escape to when she’s here at the Hall? “I actually love Liverpool Cathedral. I go there most times and just sit in the gardens that are near there. I just think that whole part of the city is really beautiful.”

Isata Kanneh-Mason is our 2022/23 Young Artist in Residence. She’s performing with us on 17 & 20 November, 27 & 30 April and 19 May – book your tickets here.

Beyond the Baton

The conductor can be a rather mysterious player in an orchestra. They appear on stage as our guide through musical landscapes, holding in their expressive hands every sound and every silence, peeling back scores familiar and unknown to reveal the tiny details hidden within. But what makes a conductor? What skills, practices and experiences allow them to lead an orchestra with such expertise and conviction? We sat down with our Chief Conductor, Domingo Hindoyan, to find out more about him and the ins and outs of life as a conductor.

So to start at the very beginning – how does our Chief Conductor begin his day? “Concert days, rehearsal days, recording days, days off – all the same,” Domingo tells us. “Most importantly, I have breakfast. A very important part of the day and I love them – especially the English breakfast in Liverpool!” After some nourishment, it’s time to turn to the music. And for a conductor, that means studying scores. “Not just the scores for the music that week, but they may be scores of concerts I am doing in a few weeks’ time. I prefer to work with paper scores, though I do also carry music on my iPad. I would need several suitcases to be able to transport all the music I have to learn at any one time – the opera scores can be very heavy!”

For Domingo, studying a score is much more than just memorising a composition – it’s the beginning of endless possibilities. “I love the smell of the paper in a new score,” he says, “opening the book and flicking the pages through – then slowly enjoying each page.” Beyond the notes themselves, Domingo also spends time studying the background of a piece – “the context of compositions, why they were written and when, what was the inspiration.” Together, all of this information synthesises into his own original approach to a score. “I analyse so many things before I even think about bringing it to a first rehearsal.”

Of course, Domingo cannot spend his whole day buried in scores. It is orchestra sessions that allow the conductor to realise his musical vision for a piece. “Each session, whether recording or concert or rehearsal, is the same for me,” he insists. “We try our best. We think about what we could do differently or better.” This meticulous approach allows Domingo to really refine his ideas collaboratively alongside his fellow musicians.

On live performance days, the time in the run up to a concert is crucial. “Generally I try to stay focussed on the music which I am about to conduct,” Domingo explains. “Usually just reading the scores with a coffee…and [I] try not to be distracted by emails that are constantly arriving on my phone.” Ever-studious, Domingo must also ensure he doesn’t lose track of time – “I must remember to allow time to get dressed ready for the concert too!” Depending on the score or the music being performed, the conductor’s approach can vary. Sometimes he has friends and family with him in his dressing room, in which case he likes to “chat about something totally different” to clear his head. Once out on stage in front of an audience “anything can happen, but we just carry on playing”.

Now in his second season with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Domingo has many great memories of concerts performed alongside our musicians. His first time conducting the Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall last year springs to his mind – “[it was] live on the radio and the excitement – wow – something I will never forget!” Other performances stand out – “Bluebeard’s Castle and Tchaikovsky 6 and Beethoven 9 and Bruckner…oh, how can I choose!” As a conductor, what difference does developing an ongoing relationship with an orchestra make?  “We are growing every day and understand each other more and more each week. We now know each other very well,” Domingo says warmly. “The musicians do things before I even ask!” And this growing trust does not just go one-way. “We share ideas too.” He recalls a rehearsal for Boléro earlier in the week where he allowed the ‘solo’ instruments to freely play without his direction, following their lead. Certainly, we see this deep trust and understanding between the musicians play out beautifully when they take the stage.

When he is not with us at the Hall, Domingo travels globally, taking his talents to many diverse orchestras. “I have been lucky to be able to work all over the world, with many musical friends,” he says. However, for all the excitement this profession brings, the travelling can take a toll. For Domingo it’s the most challenging part of the role. “Too many queues at airports. Too many suitcases to pack and unpack. And too many very early morning flights…”, which also means no time to have his beloved English breakfast!

We are talking to Domingo at an exciting time for the conductor. He has recently released his very first CD, and his first CD with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, a compilation of French classics that are close to his heart – “I am very happy with it,” he says modestly. While any performance is made of the same elements, there are some unique challenges to recording with an orchestra. Recording sessions are “intense” with a focus on being “very time efficient. We have to have a plan.” Performing must be balanced with short breaks to listen back, deciding whether to move on or go back and record again.  “We must watch that the players do not get tired too early.” This can mean alternating louder sections with less demanding ones. How does Domingo himself keep his energy up? “A colleague backstage knows me well…there are always cookies lying around in the recording room!”

Welcome, folks!

It’s the most exciting time of year here at Liverpool Philharmonic – the Orchestra kicks off a new season, the Music Room hosts its first concerts after the summer break, our Learning programmes get ready for the start of the school term... With all these new beginnings happening around us, we thought we’d get in on the act, so here we are – welcome to the brand-new, official Liverpool Philharmonic blog!

We’ll be posting regular updates about everything that’s going on at Liverpool Philharmonic: taking you behind-the-scenes of events, showcasing different parts of our programme, chatting to artists, sharing playlists, exploring musical works and the people, places and stories behind them – it’ll be everything you’ll need to get your fill of the Philharmonic.

So new blog, new season – it makes sense to start by exploring a theme and genre that will be popping up in many of our 2022/23 concerts. When putting the programme together this year, our Chief Conductor Domingo Hindoyan was keen to pack the season with pieces inspired by folk music. A genre that celebrates diversity, the sharing of stories and histories and the coming together of communities, it seems to carry a special relevance and poignancy in our world today – and to set the tone for the season, our very first concert is infused with flavours of folk. Both composers featured in this concert recognised the power and significance of the folk tradition, building it into their works with differing motivations and effect.

Let’s look at the first piece the Orchestra will take on – Janáček’s mighty Sinfonietta. Leoš Janáček was many things: a composer, a tutor, a critic, a conductor. He was also an avid collector of national folk songs and a hugely patriotic Czech, and these two traits really come to the fore in Sinfonietta. Composed in the 1920s, when nationalist feeling was growing throughout Europe, and in the wake of Czech independence, the piece was to open ‘Sokol’ festival – an event celebrating sport, youth and Czechoslovakia’s nationhood. Janáček normally turned down commissions, but this one was right up his street. Quite literally. He named movements after locations in his hometown of Brno and dedicated Sinfonietta to the Czech army, opening and closing the work with brazen, floor-shakingly powerful military brass fanfares. Of course, a piece recognising his nation’s culture and spirit was also the perfect place for Janáček to indulge in his passion for Czech folklore. He peppered the work – and the second movement in particular – with rhythms and melodies from traditional dances. Five-note pentatonic themes (i.e. the black notes on the piano), common in Czech/Moravian folk and perhaps reflecting tones made by the traditional instruments shepherds played, crop up in Sinfonietta’s opening. More orchestral passages are interrupted by folk motifs, traditional Czech/Moravian melodies and rapid, free folk-inspired strings. What we’re left with is a mix of orchestral grandeur and melodic national pride – a lovingly crafted musical portrait of his beloved homeland’s identity and traditions.

Then we have Gustav Mahler. A composer known for masterful symphonies, expansive in scope and force, Mahler’s Fourth Symphony seems different. It’s lighter and shorter, more childlike – perhaps Mahler getting back to ‘basics’, getting back to his roots… See where we’re going with this? The symphony celebrates nature and youth, and Mahler thought that the folk tradition was the perfect match for this. He liked its simplicity, how it was familiar, down-to-earth and served as a kind of cornerstone of human experience, so it’s woven deep within the fabric of the symphony. He introduces Freund Hein – a figure in German folklore who represents death – in the second movement and nods to folk melodies appear throughout the work. The biggest infusion of folklore, however, comes from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Published early in the nineteenth century, this was a set of German traditional poems and songs, compiled by Clemens Brentano and Achim von Armin.  Containing texts that focused on love, bravery, children’s songs and wandering in nature, the collection painted a romanticised picture of folklore, and its editors saw it as a celebration of German culture. The work impressed many famous cultural figures and it served as lasting inspiration for Mahler – he wrote a song cycle which borrowed the collection’s name, and, in fact, over half the songs Mahler ever composed incorporated lyrics from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Having explored Earth, wonder and the universe in the course of his Fourth Symphony, Mahler closed the work with a return to his favourite folk poetry. He used the song ‘Das himmlische Leben’, which portrays a child’s view of heaven and whose words were taken from, you guessed it, Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Mahler set this folk poem to relatively relaxed and unsophisticated music, perhaps aiming to reflect the humble origins of the text. Mahler’s nods to folk didn’t seem to sit well with critics at the time – some found them ‘unoriginal’ and jarring alongside ‘high’ musical styles. But Mahler’s Fourth grew in popularity, seen as accessible yet bursting with colour and character – much like folklore itself.



After a start like that, it’s little surprise that folk sounds echo throughout the entire season, appearing in different guises, from different cultures and interpreted by different composers. We’re bringing you works by former Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor Max Bruch, including his Scottish Fantasy – a piece absolutely overflowing with references to traditional Scottish folk melodies. Dvořák was another composer who frequently drew inspiration from Czech folklore. His New World symphony appears in programmes in November and contains themes which evoke the character and rhythms of Czech folk dances. The Orchestra also take on Dvořák’s The Wood Dove – a piece that tells a murderous and scandalous tale from a Czech folk poem of the same name. Vaughan Williams’ Running Set – a work named after a traditional British folk dance – appears in an October concert. He wrote this lively piece to feature at the 1934 National Folk Dance Festival, and Celtic fiddle tunes and traditional folk dance melodies make up its very core. And how could we leave out Bela Bartók – the true master of folk songs. A great collector of Hungarian folk music, Bartók infused his score for the ballet The Wooden Prince with many elements of the genre. Folk motifs which hark back to traditional Hungarian dances are used to represent certain characters within the music, and as the ballet’s story comes to an end, the Hungarian folk tune Fly, Peacock can be heard. In the concert where the Orchestra take on music from that ballet, our Young Artist in Residence Isata Kanneh-Mason also performs Dohnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Tune. That piece opens with perhaps one of the most famous folk tunes of all – Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

It's clear that folk represents different things to many. It can evoke a sense of place, a past, a future, a people, a story – or perhaps a combination of all. Music has helped allow folk traditions to live on, helped the genre continue to captivate and bring people together – as it will do in the Hall this season.

 Season Opening Concert

All images from Wikimedia Commons