Meet Alasdair Beatson

Pianist, Alasdair Beatson performs Han Abrahamsen's Double Concerto for violin, piano and strings alongside Thomas Gould and Britten Sinfonia this March. He took some time out from his busy schedule to answer a few questions about himself;

What has been the highlight of your career so far? 
A few years ago I was Artist-in-Residence in the new concert hall in Perth, the Scottish town where I grew up.  It was for me a unique opportunity to tie two separate parts if my life together - to bring some of my favourite colleagues, including Pekka Kuusisto and the Doric String Quartet, to a truly excellent hall in my pretty and modest home town.   

When are you happiest? 
Playing the music of Fauré!  I've become quite obsessed with it - the beauty of his perfect scores, the adventure in his harmonies, and the ecstatic sweep of his passion - what joy! 

What is your greatest fear? 
I hate spiders and regularly hoover the ivy outside my kitchen window. 

What is your earliest musical memory? 
Of LPs the Beatsons listened to at home - Harry Nilsson's musical fable "The Point", or "Switched-On Bach" which has a magnificently camp album cover and rather sacrilegious electronic-baroque content. 

Which living person do you most admire, and why? 
I marvel at musicians who at the height of the profession retain their artistic integrity and maintain a balanced ego despite enormous pressures and seductions to the contrary - I might mention András Schiff or George Benjamin. 

What was your most embarrassing moment? 
Probably falling over on stage during a televised performance.   

What is your most treasured possession? 
My music scores, which are well-leafed, quite heavily marked, and companions to my continuing exploration of the repertoire. 

What would your super power be? 
To make spiders go weak at the knees. 

If you were an animal what would you be?
I'd hope to be an eagle, perhaps one of the Sea Eagles living on the Isle of Rùm. 

What is your most unappealing habit? 
I sleep indulgently and copiously, an average of nine hours, which seems so wasteful during waking hours. 

What is your favourite book? 
I love to read, mainly contemporary fiction - current favourites are Ned Beauman Boxer Beetle, John Williams Stoner, Salmon Rushdie Midnight's Children and Dave Eggers What is the What. 

What is your guiltiest pleasure? 
Extravagance with food - eating a bit too well or too often!  I live just a few streets away from Brixton Village - a wonderful indoor market with a vast number of talented, independent, friendly chefs who test my self control on a daily basis. 

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? 
Perhaps some composers who never met but might have much to talk about - Schumann and Fauré, Haydn and Stravinsky, Satie and John Cage.  One would wish to spend time on the seating plan. 

If you could go back in time, where would you go? 
1920's Paris, as lived by Hemingway in his memoir A Moveable Feast. 

How do you relax away from the concert platform? 
With friends, with books, with whisky, and with walking - around cities, through the countryside and in the hills. 

What do you consider your greatest achievement? 
I don't believe I've achieved anything truly great, but I do think I aspire to it and perhaps someday... 

What is the most important lesson life has taught you? 
That it is possible to strongly hold a belief or desire and simultaneously be open to alternatives.

In a nutshell, what is your philosophy? 
To try to be true to oneself, and true to the music.

Alasdair Beatson performs Han Abrahamsen's Double Concerto at London's Milton Court on Friday 20 March 2015,  Norwich's Theatre Royal on Saturday 21 March 2015 and Saffron Walden's Saffron Hall on Sunday 22 March 2015. Click here for more info and  to book tickets.

Tom Coult on composition

Composer Tom Coult is writing a new work for Britten Sinfonia, which will be premiered in March 2015 in London followed by performances in Norwich and Saffron Walden. Tom is on the rosta of composers individuals can support through the Musically Gifted campaign. In this blog Tom answers questions about himself and his music;

How would you summarise yourself in one sentence?
‘Tom writes music, lives in London, and is amazed at the difficulty of this opening question.’

What’s your earliest musical memory?
Being played Jimi Hendrix in the car by my dad.

What do you like most about composing?
The occasional bursts of feverish excitement and productivity. And hearing my music performed well, although by then all the ‘composing’ is hopefully done…

What inspires you?
At the moment I can’t stop gazing at Oliver Byrne’s 1847 edition of Euclid’s Elements – it’s a beautiful publication using beautiful coloured, proto-Mondrian diagrams instead of words. There’s something in the boldness, geometry and simplicity of the illustrations that I wish I could imitate in music.

When was the last time you experienced writers’ block, and how did you move on from it?
I experience writer’s block every day – still haven’t found a satisfactory remedy…

How do you feel about new music and what we’re trying to do with Musically Gifted?
A commitment to performing and commissioning music by living composers is one of the marks of an intelligent and relevant ensemble (Britten Sinfonia certainly comes under both of those categories). It’s also essential that composers’ considerable work be valued and remunerated. Any scheme that raises money for new work to be written (and repeated) is well worthwhile, and this type of funding hopefully creates an extra level of engagement with the piece for those that are able to contribute.

What would you like to be recognised for?
Excellent sideburns.

What advice would you give to other composers?
Try to compose every day, listen to several orders of magnitude more music than you write, and get some good pencils.

What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
Sentimental spoken-word verses in songs – cf. Porter Wagoner’s Green Green Grass of Home, Elvis Presley’s Are You Lonesome Tonight?, and the granddaddy of them all, the Everley Brothers’ Ebony Eyes.

If you turned your iPod on now, what would be playing?
The Everley Brothers’ Ebony Eyes.

Favourite five tracks of all time?
Interpreting ‘tracks’ extremely liberally; Bach’s Brandenburgs no.s 1, 2, 5, 6 and the Everley Brothers’ Ebony Eyes.

The last concert you saw?
Rachel Podger directing the English Concert at Wigmore Hall – doing Vivaldi 391 with its scordatura violin… mind-bendingly good piece.

If you hadn’t been a musician, what might have happened?
I’d be making and repairing clocks.

Which musical instrument do you wish you could play, and why?
The tenor viol – viols are far more beautiful instruments than anything in the modern symphony orchestra.

Is there anything else you want to share with the world?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQOjxA8rrks

Hear Tom Coult's new work on Friday 20 March 2015 at London's Milton Court and then on Saturday 22 March 2015 at Norwich Theatre Royal and Sunday 23 March 2015 at Saffron Walden's Saffron Hall. Click here for full information on the concerts and to book tickets.

Tavener's Kaleidoscopes - memories of the premiere

Britten Sinfonia Chief Executive describes the premiere and rehearsals of John Tavener's Kaleidoscopes back in 2006 which we once again perform in the coming weeks;

Over its relatively short history, Britten Sinfonia was fortunate to maintain a warm and productive partnership with John Tavener, one of this country’s most original and celebrated composers who so sadly died late last year.  Alongside performing his last major concert work, Flood of Beauty, at the Barbican on Sunday 28 September we were hugely honoured to take part in his memorial service at Westminster Abbey in June which was such an evocative and uplifting occasion.  These two events remind me that it was back in in 1994 - only the orchestra’s second year - that we first worked with John Tavener.   We premiered his large orchestral work Let’s Begin Again in Norwich Cathedral and from this point regularly commissioned and performed a good number of works over the years, including his oboe concerto Kaleidoscopes.  It’s one of my favourite pieces of John’s and written for our very own Nicholas Daniel, who is the inspiration and (literal) centre of the piece.  The premiere was back in 2007, and I recall the rehearsal well for a number of reasons: sitting next to John following the score with his publisher and close friend Gill Graham; hearing  the music for the first time (so obviously a special piece) with the opening transparent harmonies of the four quartets, so beautifully calibrated with the oboe rising to ever higher registers… and also being plunged into darkness towards the end of the piece, with Gill and I pooling our respective Nokias to shed light on the score, much to the amusement of the composer.

Kaleidoscopes is a piece which makes effective use of staging and movement to enhance the music, with the oboist circling around the four quartets placed like attendant planets at the far edges of the stage.  We’ve tried to continue these antiphonal, spatial and chamber music themes throughout the rest of the programme: The Mozart quartet, also a nod to Tavener’s musical inspiration; the thrilling Adams Shaker Loops in its original sextet form, but perhaps most notably in Kurtag’s two miniatures,  which has the musicians placed around the hall and the audience at the centre.  Many thanks to Georgy Kurtag and Thomas Adès who have allowed us to perform Tom’s arrangement tonight, originally written for a one-off private performance in Dartington, and is heard tonight for the first time in public.  

David Butcher

Chief Executive, Britten Sinfonia

Kaleidoscopes will be performed in London's Milton Court on Monday 29th September, Cambridge's West Road Concert Hall on Friday 3 October and Norwich's Theatre Royal on Sunday 5 October. Click here for full details.

Jacqueline Shave on Bach's St John Passion

This April, Britten Sinfonia's leader Jacqueline Shave directs unconducted performances of Bach's St John Passion. In this blog post she describes how she has immersed herself in the work and how she is preparing for the performances.

Capture
Betrayal
Denial
Interrogation
Flagellation
Condemnation
Crucifixion
Death
Burial

Having spent a great deal of time over the past year immersed in this great work, I am wondering if it should perhaps be presented with an X certificate rating, so extreme are the range of human emotions and behaviour found within it.

I first experienced the St John Passion as a mature student at the Britten Pears School in Snape, where Nicholas Daniel and I worked intensively on many of the arias with Peter Pears and a group of young singers and instrumentalists from around the world. It made a deep and everlasting impression on me, and it is particularly moving to be here thirty years on, again with Nick, shaping this work together.

It is of course a great privilege and responsibility to be at the helm, making decisions, as performances of Bach can vary enormously. I have spent many hours listening and feeling and I have come to the conclusion that there is no definitive way of performing Bach's music. Bach himself was always experimenting and making changes. He offers us a palette of many colours.

I have decided to use a harpsichord with the voice of the Evangelist throughout, as it seems to bring a human and expressive dimension for the listener, in contrast to the halo of the organ sound surrounding the voice of Christus. Britten does the same in his 1971 recording, but these days it is often performed with organ and no harpsichord. We are also using a lute, which brings an exquisite ancient timbre, and of course the plaintive gamba for "Es ist Vollbracht", one of the most unconventional and original arias that Bach ever wrote.

As soon as the music begins there is the pulsing human heartbeat of the bass line, the painfully beautiful dissonance of oboes and flutes, and the turmoil of the string semi quavers. Bach leaves us in no doubt that this is serious, strong and passionate. There is no gentle ' warm up'. He throws us directly into the emotion. Imagine hearing this at the first performance nearly three hundred years ago! I find it hard to listen to this opening without feeling greatly disturbed, almost angry, at this vision of a vast stirring soup of mankind. It is as if everything is revealed; the tragedy and beauty of the entire Passion.

It is masterful how Bach frames the work with the two great Choruses; the harrowing first, and the moving, loving "Ruht Wohl" at the end. We are also given the communal ‘commenting’ element of the exquisitely beautiful chorales and the vivid depiction of Christ's trial with the chorus almost shouting with hysterical intensity.

Amongst all this Bach gives us the ' freeze frame' emotions of the arias, when all action stops, and we have time to explore and reflect on what is happening. Time seems to stand still in "Betrachte Meine Seel", the intensely moving soul searching Bass aria where one hardly dares breathe for disturbing this precious place that Bach has created for us. In the next aria "Erwage", we have time to ponder on the battered, bruised and blood-stained back of Jesus. It is truly miraculous how, in the midst of the piece, Bach is able to evoke such introspection in the listener by this change of pace.

Ultimately we want to create a powerful shared experience by performing this work unconducted, and to show the directness, the unbridled immediacy, and the raw power contained in Bach's music.

Jacqueline Shave
Britten Sinfonia, Leader

Britten Sinfonia perform Bach's St John Passion on Wednesday 16 April at Cambridge's West Road Concert Hall, Thursday 17 April at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Friday 18 April at London's Barbican, Saturday 19 April at Saffron Walden's Saffron Hall and Sunday 20 April at Norwich's Theatre Royal. For more info click here

You can also hear Jacqueline Shave and Stephen Williams (Principal Double Bass) talk abuot the St John Passion in a previous podcast, SinfoniaCast 21

Meet Nicholas Mulroy

Many of our audiences were enthralled by Nicholas Mulroy's performance as part of Britten Sinfonia Voices in our recent At Lunch series feautring the part-songs of Schubert and Schumann. This Easter he returns to Britten Sinfonia to sing the role of the Evangelist in  Bach's St John Passion. He took sometime out from his busy rehearsal schedule to answer a few questions;

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I’m pretty excited about singing with Britten Sinfonia! But also, I’ve had the fortune to sing with some incredibly talented, dedicated and inspired musicians, so there are probably too many memorable experiences to mention.

When are you happiest?
Hanging around with my family.

What is your greatest fear?
That something awful might happen to them.

What is your earliest musical memory?
Singing ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ in school and crying at the sad ending. I had to pretend I had a headache.

Which living person do you most admire, and why?
My wife, Annie. She’s excellent in just about every way.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
I don’t embarrass very easily, but I took a pretty spectacular fall during a show in Scarborough a few years back. Alan Ayckbourn, who was in the audience, said it was one of the best prat-falls he’d seen. I wasn’t brave enough to admit it wasn’t deliberate.

What would your super power be?
Something that made traveling take less time.

If you were an animal what would you be?
I’m not sure I’m the best person to answer that.

What is your most unappealing habit?
Being glued to my phone.

What is your favourite book?
I’m reading One Hundred Years of Solitude at the moment.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Cadbury’s Biscuit Boost.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Assuming all my friends are busy, how about JS Bach, Picasso, William Byrd and my wife? I don’t think it would be boring.

If you could go back in time, where would you go?
At this time of year, I always find myself incredibly curious to know what those first performances of the John Passion would have sounded like, and how they would have been received.

How do you relax away from the concert platform?
I’m a fan of Liverpool FC, which isn’t always relaxing as such, and England cricket (ditto). I like watching TV and of course spending time with family and friends. Standard stuff.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I’m hoping it hasn’t happened yet…

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Listen.

In a nutshell, what is your philosophy?
Be kind, constructive, or quiet.

Nicholas Mulroy performs the role of the Evangelist in Bach's St John Passion with Britten Sinfonia at Cambridge's West Road Concert Hall on Wednesday 16 April, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw on Thursday 17 April, London's Barbican on Good Friday 18 April, Saffron Walden's Saffron Hall on Saturday 19 April and Norwich's Theatre Royal on Sunday 20 April. Click here for further information.

Reflections on the Serenade project

Earlier this year we worked with worked with seven Norfolk primary schools to compose and perform a brand new song cycle inspired by Britten's Serenade for tenor, horn and strings. The songs were performed by the children and Britten Sinfonia at Wymondham Abbey in June interspersed with Britten's own work, featuring tenor Robin Tritschler. The children then revived the songs for a performance during a pre-concert event at Norwich Theatre Royal in November. Here are some reflections on the project from two teachers;

"John who came to work with the class to compose the words and the music was brilliant. I saw children who would never give anything of themselves desperate to shout out a word they had thought of. The children were all engaged, focussed and keen to work.

Back in the classroom the children enjoyed learning to sing the songs, especially the piece that they had composed. Singing in Wymondham Abbey was inspiring. Most of the children had never been in the building before and were amazed at the structure. Working with the professional musicians was also very insightful. The children who play violins could see where all the practising would get them. Also the musicians were so approachable and seemed genuinely to enjoy working with the children. Singing together was inspiring and amazing for me and the children.

It is hard to quantify how the experience has impacted on the class. It is almost impossible to measure but I believe it will have a lasting impact on the children. The whole experience was inspiring, wonderful, creative, for some of the children it gave them an insight into what was possible, and what they could do in the future."
Class Teacher

"Most of the children that I work with have never had the chance to work with professional musicians in any long term project or large-scale performance.  The children were exposed to musicians in their classrooms and this was in itself an inspiration to them.  It made high quality musical professionalism accessible and very real and it showed to them that it is something that they can aspire to as well.  It is interesting to note that since the project some of the children have taken up tuition on string instruments including the double bass. 

The experience of taking part in a large-scale performance was invaluable in terms of building the children's confidence and inspiring them to do something they had never done before.  There were children in my particular group who were terrified when it came to the first performance.  One or two were so nervous they actually cried with fear.  They were inspired and encouraged in such a great way by the personnel from Britten Sinfonia and reached heights they never felt they could.  It is also interesting to note that when they performed in the Theatre Royal they were much more confident and did not exhibit the same fear."
Class Teacher

Photos from the Wymondham Abbey concert can be seen here.  A video of part of the concert can be seen on our media page.

This project was funded by South Norfolk Council, with additional support from Orchestras Live.

Pekka Kuusisto explains...

Have you see the programme for our Serenade concerts in November?  With no less than 12 works by nine different composers, there's a high chance that you'll be hearing some pieces of music for the first time.

The programme was jointly devised by Pekka Kuusisto and Britten Sinfonia and we thought it would be a good idea to ask Pekka about why and how the programme has taken shape.


In Pekka’s words the programme is a ‘voyage’ with Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings at the journey’s end. For Pekka, the programme should unfold as one interconnected string:

‘Since I am completely addicted to the Serenade and Les Illuminations, not to mention the Nocturne, I wanted to build a programme that would feel like an extended version of the voyage those pieces take the listener on, and have the whole concert be like a preparation, an approach, to the Serenade. Like Britten himself wanting to have the Fantasia Upon One Note by Purcell performed at the premiere of his String Quartet No. 2… I wanted to have pieces that would, in a concert situation, feel like they are connected, or that our way of performing them has to feel like we are stretching ropes from one musical bell-tower to another, or chains between stars... and then we will dance. Yes! That's what this concert must be.’

The programme journeys through works by Nico Muhly, Bartok, Erkki Sven-Tuur, Nordheim, Berg, Arvo Part, George Crumb and a new piece by Judith Weir. Pekka has requested that the audience refrain from clapping until the interval and end of the concert, as the works are designed to segue from one to the next.

He hopes the performance will take audiences to new and unfamiliar places: ‘I think we could afford to have some more concerts that don't follow the most common patterns. At the moment it doesn't take more than a violinist performing without shoes to create a stir, and that says a lot. I don't want to outlaw average programming, that's not it, but there's just so much we should try as well.’

The concerts take place at Norwich Theatre Royal on Sunday 17 November, Cambridge's West Road Concert Hall  on Friday 22 November (part of Cambridge Music Festival) and London's Milton Court Concert Hall on Sunday 24 November (part of Barbican Britten).
You can find full details here.

A 'Wacky' Piece - A Review from a SinfoniaStudent

Last week one of our Cambridge SinfoniaStudents, Rosie Ward, came along to our opening 2013-14 season concert in Cambridge and kindly wrote the following review;

‘What a wacky piece!’ I heard one audience member exclaim after Britten Sinfonia’s concert in Cambridge on Wednesday. The work we had just heard was not an avant-garde new commission; in fact, Haydn’s Symphony no. 60, ‘Il Distratto’, dates from 1774, making it the oldest piece in a programme that also included works by Stravinsky, Anna Clyne, Mozart and Nicholas Maw. This was a diverse selection not only in terms of chronology and style, but also because each work called for a different ensemble, from string quartet to full orchestra. The common thread running through the evening was the musicians’ chameleon-like flexibility, which made both the ensemble and the concert more than the sum of their parts.

Stravinsky’s Three pieces for string quartet (1914), which opened the programme, are just as worthy of the word ‘wacky’ as is the Haydn symphony. These brief, terse little pieces do not correspond in the slightest to the string quartet genre’s connotations of civilised Viennese classicism: as Paul Griffiths puts it, they are ‘determinedly not a “string quartet” but a set of pieces to be played by four strings.’ Rather than working either together or in opposition to one another, in the first two pieces the instruments seem to operate on completely separate rhythmic or harmonic planes.

In terms of tempo and texture, if not in terms of emotional atmosphere, the third and final piece in Stravinsky’s set provided something of a bridge to the next piece on the programme. Anna Clyne’s Within Her Arms (2008/9) is an elegy for fifteen stringed instruments written following the death of her mother. The wide spectrum of subtly changing sound qualities that Clyne creates, particularly enhanced by the centrally positioned double basses, was what made both the composition and this performance special. The instruments’ lines interweave and combine in a hypnotic rise and fall, so that the piece hovers in a fragile balance between an atmosphere of still contemplation and fluid movement.

The ensemble on stage grew again for the final piece of the first half, Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 12 in A major, K414, with soloist Paul Lewis. The subtle phrasing and timing (there were some perfectly judged, or instinctively allowed, moments of silence), and the balanced interaction both between orchestra and soloist and within the orchestra, combined to make this a beautifully integrated, smooth, but nevertheless dramatic performance. As if the strength of this collaboration was not clear enough from the music itself, it was highlighted during the applause by a light-hearted disagreement between Paul Lewis and leader Jacqueline Shave, each of whom seemed to think the other more deserving of the audience’s enthusiastic response.

The second half began with oboist Nicholas Daniel taking centre stage in Nicholas Maw’s Little Concert (1988), accompanied by the string section and two horns. According to the composer, a defining characteristic of the work is its ‘concentration on line – the presentation and development of melody, the acceptance of the primacy of song,’ and Nicholas Daniel certainly did sing. This was captivating playing from the slow bloom of his first note to the elegantly light, virtuosic ending.

The musicians visibly delighted in performing their final party piece – the ‘wacky’ Haydn symphony. Whilst they relished the work’s quirks and surprises of form, this did not come at the expense of beautiful balance and texture: in the presto fourth movement, for example, although much of it is marked forte, the whole orchestra played with the lightness and tightness of a small chamber group, and the finale was no less joyous, whether for the orchestra or the audience: a high-spirited send-off to an exciting and diverse but always excellent concert.

Rosie Ward

There is still a chance to hear this programme in the opening concert of our Norwich 2013-14 season (with pianist soloist Dejan Lazic) - further details.

If you're interested in becoming a SinfoniaStudent check out our website for details.

Britten Centenary - A Springboard

Benjamin Britten
1913-1976
by Colin Matthews

Britten’s centenary feels less like a retrospective than a springboard into the future. While many familiar works will be played, there’s the opportunity to look at some of the music which, while hardly neglected, is heard less often than it should. Britten’s remarkable versatility means that his music works well in unfamiliar contexts and in unexpected company. Britten Sinfonia is an ideal partner, bringing together opera, dance, song, choral music and music for children, performed by an inspiring new generation of musicians.

Nothing in the Sinfonia’s programming can be taken for granted. The Serenade is one of Britten’s best-loved and frequently played pieces, but doesn’t very often find itself in the company of 12 pieces chosen to contrast with it and show it off. The wondrous invention of Our Hunting Fathers, written when the composer was only 22, will be heard in the context of the rarely heard but brilliant concertino Young Apollo and the beautiful Suite ‘A time there was...’ from his last years; with Tippett’s magisterial Corelli Fantasia at the centre (Britten and Tippett were close friends in the 1940s and 50s). Dance did not play a major role in Britten’s output (The Prince of the Pagodas apart) but choreographers have increasingly been drawn to his music, Richard Alston prominent among them.

Curlew River’s restrained exoticism is offset by the earthiness of Saint Nicolas: both works have religious themes, but Britten’s attitude to religion was never a conventional one. And he would, I think, have been a little surprised, but wholly approving, of the unconventional approach that this series demonstrates. As he would have thoroughly approved the commissioning of 6 major works to mark his centenary, a collaboration between the Britten-Pears Foundation and the Royal Philharmonic Society (whose bicentenary it is), represented here by Judith Weir’s new work.

25-29 Sept
Britten: Contempories and Influences
Wiltshire Music Centre / Roman River Festival

6, 7 and 9 Nov
Richard Alston Dance Company
Barbican (part of Barbican Britten)

8 Nov
Our Hunting Fathers
Barbican (part of Barbican Britten)

14-16 Nov
Curlew River
Barbican (part of Barbican Britten)

17, 22 & 24 Nov
Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings
Norwich / Cambridge (part of Cambridge Music Festival) / Barbican (part of Barbican Britten)

26 Nov & 7 Dec
St Nicolas
Birmingham / Barbican

For more information on Benjamin Britten's centenary celebrations visit the Britten 100 website

Colin Matthews is a renowned composer who worked with Benjamin Britten and Imogen Holst. Find out more about Colin via his website

Wymondham Serenade

On the 26th June, 150 primary schools children from the area around Wymondham, Norfolk came together to perform a concert. It wasn’t a normal school concert however; the children were performing their own compositions, accompanied by a professional orchestra - string players from Britten Sinfonia alongside amazing professional soloists Robin Tritschler (tenor) and Stephen Bell (horn).

The concert was called Serenade, and was a celebration of the music of Benjamin Britten who came from the east of England, and who’s centenary year we’re currently celebrating. The professional musicians performed Benjamin Britten’s famous Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, but in between the movements of Britten’s songs, the children performed their compositions. Both Britten and the children were inspired by the theme of night time.

Students from  Barnham Broom, Barford, Spooner Row, Tacolneston, Wreningham and Mattishall schools certainly did themselves proud. Benjamin Britten used poems by famous poets such as Blake, Keats and Tennyson, but the children wrote their own lyrics as well as the music! One carried you away to a far away Dreamland, where "a dim light hypnotyses me". The Sky at Night talked about the stars and galaxies explode like "an eyeball staring into the darkness!" There was also a scary bone rattling song about nightmares, where "boneless hands reach into my mind!"  and featuring the catchy chorus lines "I was zombified!" The concert also featured an interlude, composed by A-level music students from Wymondham College and High School based on the poem Tiger, Tiger by William Blake, performed by the orchestra and Robin Tritschler.

The concert was performed at Wymondham Abbey, which is a beautiful old building, and was part of Wymondham Arts Festival. To fit all the children in, and so everyone could see properly we had to build a massive stage that was over 3 meters tall! The concerts were so popular that we had to perform it twice, at 6pm and 8pm. Both shows sold out, and although it was a long evening for the younger children, it was great fun, and very well received.  Back in the office, we’re now doing the most satisfying bit – reading the children’s feedback sheets, and writing the project evaluation. A big thank you to our fabulous music leaders and composers, John Barber and James Redwood. To our wonderful soloists, orchestra and workshop team – but the biggest thank you is to the teachers, for all their hard work, and to South Norfolk Council and Orchestras Live for funding the project.

You can hear the children’s songs here and see some photos of the event here.

There is another opportunity to hear the children's songs in a pre-concert event at Norwich Theatre Royal on Sunday 17 November 2013 - more details here

Meet Angela Hewitt

Acclaimed pianist, Angela Hewitt will be joining Britten Sinfonia in January 2013 for a tour featuring  works by Beethoven. Although currently touring abroad Angela found the time to answer a few questions about herself.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I suppose my 2007-2008 Bach World Tour in which I performed Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier in something like 110 concerts on six continents in 26 countries.

When are you happiest?

When a performance, either by myself or by a friend, goes beyond the very good level to the somehow very special. You know when that happens, and it’s the best thing there is.

What is your greatest fear?

I don’t really have any huge fears except not learning my notes in time for a concert. Everything else pales in comparison.

What is your earliest musical memory?

There are many—I have no idea which came first—but playing the toy trumpet I got as a present when I was two is one of them. I also got a toy piano at that age.

Which living person do you most admire, and why?

I admire a lady in Canada who is 95 years old and who still walks up eight flights of stairs every day and does sit-ups.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

When I was performing as a ballerina in the Polonaise from Eugene Onegin and my petticoat fell off. It was at a grand ball, and my ballet teacher was sitting at one of the tables. I remember to this day the look she gave me.

What is your most treasured possession?

My Fazioli concert grand piano on which I make my recordings.

If you were an animal what would you be?

I would rather be a bird so that I could sing.

What is your most unappealing habit?

I practise all the time.

What is your favourite book?

I don’t have a favourite book, just as I don’t have only one favourite piece of music. There are many. I love the programme notes of my friend, the late Michael Steinberg, who wrote “The Concerto”, published by OUP. When I read it, besides always learning something, he is once more in my company.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Listening to Laura Pausini’s “Strani Amori” at full blast.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

It would be nice to have Bach, Couperin, Handel, Scarlatti and Rameau all together at the one table. The five great Baroque keyboard composers. I would expect them all to play, of course!

If you could go back in time, where would you go?

To Beethoven’s house to hear him improvise at the piano.

How do you relax away from the concert platform?

I have regular Swedish deep tissue massage.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Passing my driving test in London, driving on the left with gears. I cried when the examiner told me I had passed (I was 43 years old).

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

Talent is nothing without work and discipline.

In a nutshell, what is your philosophy?

I don’t think I have any philosophy. I just try to do my work well, keep going, be positive, love my friends, and eat healthily.

Angela performs with Britten Sinfonia at the Theatre Royal Norwich on Tuesday 8 January, West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge on Friday 11 January, Birmingham Town Hall on Sunday 13 January and London's Barbican Hall on Wednesday 16 January.

An insiders view on Britten Sinfonia Academy

Imogen (Academy harpist) writes about her experience during the first ever courses with Britten Sinfonia Academy, our new ensemble for talented secondary school aged musicians from the east of England. The group was formed in September and has since made their debut at West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge, Norwich Theatre Royal and the Barbican Centre in London.

In early September, Britten Sinfonia Academy met for their first day together and spent the day at West Road improvising and getting to know each other. Since then we have worked with Britten Sinfonia players towards performances together in Cambridge, Norwich and London. Over the past few months we met up for a few weekends of rehearsals and started to prepare for the three Birthday concerts. The first concert was in Cambridge and it was great to be able to show all our hard work. Playing at Norwich was really relaxing as we had played the music before and it was interesting to play in a new acoustic. The performance at the Barbican was great! We rehearsed in the morning and spent the day together before playing in the evening. It was fantastic to play in such a prestigious venue and I had such a great time.

The Academy has been a really wonderful experience so far and I have learned many useful skills from the way Britten Sinfonia work. It has taught me how important it is to really think about crafting the music and paying attention to detail. Working without a conductor gave me a chance to have a direct influence on how the music was played. So often when you are playing in an orchestra you have to play the music the way the conductor wants you to play it so it was great to have the opportunity to find my own voice. The vibrant energy and wide musical knowledge of all the players from Britten Sinfonia has really inspired me in both my ensemble playing and my practice. Rehearsing in such detail made me realise how important every element of the music is whether it is the articulation of a single note or a simple lead into a phrase. It has taught me more about listening to others and the importance of communication between players whilst performing and rehearsing music. Working with members of Britten Sinfonia and Britten Sinfonia Academy has been brilliant as it has helped me to develop as a musician and as a player.

The positive energy and virtuosic playing of everyone is so exciting and I can’t wait to see what happens next with the Academy. I have enjoyed every minute of the Academy so far and am learning more and more every time we play together. Britten Sinfonia do not come together to play the music - they come together to be the music. It has made me love music even more which I didn’t realise was possible! Thank you to everyone involved with the Academy.

To find out more about Britten Sinfonia Academy click here