In this podcast Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Chief Conductor discusses his view on leadership, the role he plays as a leader conducting an orchestra, and how he's developed that role in the 30 plus years of his career to date.
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195: Soprano Ana Beard Fernandez
30 minutes of chat with Manchester born soprano Ana Beard Fernandez ahead of her new album - Habanera including music by Villa Lobos, Ravel, de Falla, Shostakovich and Rameau on the SOMM label featuring the Endellion Cellists, Roderick Williams, and conductor William Vann. In addition ... because it worked so well in the last episode, a book, a film and a recipe.
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33:00
194: Pianist Emmanuel Despax
Pianist Emmanuel Despax reflects on his deep connection to music, the emotional power of performance, and his upcoming concerts with the Bechstein Trio at Bechstein Hall in Spring 2025
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193: Mezzo Soprano and Apollo5 Director Clare Stewart
This episode, the first of 2025, features vocal group Apollo5’s Director and mezzo soprano Clare Stewart director and mezzo-soprano of Apollo5 exploring the rich textures and emotional depth of the group’s latest album, Anam, set for release on the 24th of January, 2025.
The collection of music on the album is a personal project of Clare’s celebrating the groups 15th birthday. It’s a celebration too of Celtic heritage—Anam, means 'the soul' in Gaelic — a collection that reflects as well as nourishes it.
It also offers a profound sensory experience. The intricate arrangements and intimate harmonies that feature of the five-piece’s recording ushers listeners on a path of discovery, one decorated by a kaleidoscope of textures that combine a variety of stark and distinct lines into something fresh, luscious, and multi-layered. There is ancient and modern subtly infused throughout.
For me, this album has been more than just music. It’s resonated on a deeper level, prompting me to reflect on how my own listening has changed recently as a result of a recent bereavement. I have discovered that the senses can feel heightened after profound life events like grief. It’s like listening after a software upgrade. Anam is a soundtrack for moments of introspection, joy, and connection, touching on emotions we often can’t articulate in words.
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192: Pianist Tim Horton
Pianist Tim Horton is a busy chap. Always playing the piano and playing it a lot. Wigmore Hall, Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, Ensemble 360. All manner of places. So I consider it a considerable triumph that we arranged to meet in person a week or so ago to talk about his Wigmore Hall Chopin project -- there's a concert on December 11 and one in March 2025. Its not simply the programme that I was drawn to, but the way in which he suggests to audience members what they might listen out for in performance and, how that suggestion, might actually influence the way in which someone listens. In all truth, this suggestion about listening for ambiguity in music (instead of the predictable) doesn't simply extend to his concerts, but perhaps to all listening to classical. And if more people bought into, what impact might it have on how we appreciate live performance in the moment?
México