The Magazine for the Royal College of Music I Summer 2014
Treasures beyond Measure Reimagining the Museum
What’s inside... Welcome to upbeat... The cover of this issue shows the amazing transformation of the RCM Museum of Music, courtesy of celebrated artist Hugo Dalton. The previously grey walls have been white washed and adorned with colourful paint and you can find out more about the project and the artist himself on page 13. The treasures in the Museum, alongside many manuscripts, books and programmes housed in the RCM Library, form part of the RCM collections – one of the UK’s most wide-ranging and substantial resources relating to the history of music. In recent months both departments have been involved in a reorganisation of the collections as Museum Curator Gabriele Rossi Rognoni and Librarian Peter Linnitt explain on page 10. And, if you’ve never heard of a tenoroon or contrabassophon turn to page 12 for details of a very special donation to the Museum. As usual Upbeat is also packed full with news from around the RCM including pianist Martin James Bartlett’s spectacular performance and win at BBC Young Musician 2014 and the premiere performance of a lost song by Mendelssohn on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. We’re always keen to hear from students past and present so if you have anything you’d like us to feature in the next issue of Upbeat, please send your news and pictures to news@rcm.ac.uk by Monday 22 September. NB: Please note that we cannot guarantee to include everything we receive and that we reserve the right to edit submissions. Upbeat online Did you know that Upbeat is available to read online at www.rcm.ac.uk/upbeat If you’d prefer to read it in this way, do contact us at news@rcm.ac.uk and we’ll stop sending you a paper copy. If you’d like us to send you an email notification when Upbeat is published, let us know your email address too.
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In the news Updating you on recent RCM activities including Junior Department pianist Martin James Bartlett’s spectacular win at BBC Young Musician 2014 and our annual visit from HRH The Prince of Wales
10 Changing the Guard
Explore the RCM collections with Librarian Peter Linnitt and Museum Curator Gabriele Rossi Rognoni
12 New Arrivals
Find out about two rare woodwind instruments – a tenoroon and a contrabassophon – which have been donated to the RCM Museum of Music
13 Reimagining the Museum
Artist Hugo Dalton and Museum Curator Gabriele Rossi Rognoni discuss the transformation of the Museum in the space of a few weeks
14 Meeting the supporters
Upbeat meets Andrew Morgan, the Prime Warden of The Fishmongers’ Company, at their grand headquarters on the banks of the River Thames
16 Student notes…
Current student success stories
18 Staff notes… News from professorial, academic and administrative staff
20 Alumni notes…
Updates from RCM graduates RCM harpists with professor Ieuan Jones and guest artist Jana Boušková after a concert in February featuring arrangements and original works for harp ensemble
22 Obituaries and births
Front cover – The RCM Museum of Music with new artwork by Hugo Dalton Inside front cover – A selection of images from ‘The Soldier’s Tale’ featuring Edward Fox Inside back cover – Images of the RCM Symphony Orchestra in rehearsal with Sir Roger Norrington All photography © Chris Christodoulou
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In the news... Pianist Martin James Bartlett is BBC Young Musician 2014 Martin studies piano at the RCM Junior Department with Emily Jeffrey, who also taught Lara Melda, and for the last two years he has also been receiving mentorship and lessons from RCM Head of Keyboard Professor Vanessa Latarche. This September Martin will be joining Lara at the senior RCM, continuing his studies with Vanessa on the RCM’s BMus programme, supported by a full scholarship. Vanessa commented: “I am delighted for Martin and for us all at the RCM. It is so exciting to see someone we have nurtured since the age of eight achieve this coveted title. His performance was just outstanding and I was thrilled to be there.”
RCM student Martin James Bartlett has been crowned BBC Young Musician 2014. He was awarded the trophy in Edinburgh following a superb performance of Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
Martin is the third RCM student in a row to pick up the award, following in the footsteps of pianist Lara Melda and of 2012 winner cellist Laura van der Heijden, who presented Martin with the trophy.
Professor Colin Lawson, Director of the RCM, commented: “All of us at the Royal College of Music are extremely proud that three times in a row an RCM Junior Department student has won BBC Young Musician of the Year! This is a great tribute to our teachers here and we are all very proud of pianist Martin James Bartlett, this year’s winner. No wonder the RCM Junior Department is a natural first choice for ambitious and talented young musicians.” You can next hear Martin perform on Sunday 20 July, when he is appearing with his piano trio at the Royal Albert Hall Classical Coffee Morning series.
ROSL success Saxophonist Huw Wiggin, a recent RCM graduate, has won the Gold Medal and First Prize of £10,000 in the Royal Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition 2014. This is the second year in a row that an RCM musician has won the prestigious top prize, following RCM baritone Morgan Pearse’s triumph last year. The final was held on Tuesday 6 May at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. The evening also included a performance by RCM ensemble Block4, winners of the ROSL Ensemble Prize. Formed in 2012, the recorder quartet features RCM musicians Emily Bannister, Lucy Carr, Katie Cowling and Ria Smith.
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Huw Wiggin
Huw studied with Kyle Horch at the RCM on a Ruth and Michael West scholarship, winning the RCM Concerto Prize before graduating in 2012. His other prizes and awards include a ‘Star Award’ from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, a Music Education Award from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, and a Martin Musical Scholarship Award. In 2012 he was selected to be a Park Lane Group Artist.
Block4
ROSL ARTS is the arts division of the Royal Over-Seas League, and for more than 50 years has developed a diverse portfolio of arts activities in music, visual arts and literature, devoted to the career development of talented young professional artists and musicians from the UK and the Commonwealth. With a prize fund in excess of £60,000, the ROSL Annual Music Competition is one of the UK’s most financially rewarding major classical music competitions.
Mendelssohn Premiere RCM mezzo-soprano Amy Williamson and professor Christopher Glynn have given the first performance of a lost song by Felix Mendelssohn on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. It is the first public hearing of the song – entitled Das Menschen Herz ist ein Schacht or The Heart of Man is Like a Mine – since it went missing 140 years ago, having been recently re-discovered in a private collection in America. The 29-bar song subsequently sold for £60,000 in a sale of Valuable Manuscripts and Printed Books at Christie’s in London. The existence of the song was known to scholars as it had been sold at auction in 1862 and again in 1872 but it was
never published, and the whereabouts of the manuscript has since been something of a musical mystery. It is not known how it came to be in America. The song is accompanied by an autograph letter by Mendelssohn to the man who commissioned the song, theatre manager Johann Teichmann, dated 3 May 1842. The manuscript has the composer’s customary signature at the bottom. Thomas Venning, senior specialist in manuscripts from Christie’s, said: “This is a very exciting re-discovery: the song was only ever a private commission and we know that even in Mendelssohn’s lifetime he deliberately prevented its circulation. The manuscript has been lost for 140 years, so it seems likely that we have here music by one of the great composers that no living person has ever heard.”
Amy Williamson, Christopher Glynn, Peter Ward Jones (Mendelssohn scholar) and Margaret Ford (Head of Christie’s London Books & Manuscripts department) with the manuscript
Scholarship Bequest Former RCM student, Margaret Dewey (née Pitt), has bequeathed a generous legacy in support of students’ tuition. Margaret, who died last year aged 86, was a Dove Exhibitioner at the RCM from 1945–1948. She studied under Thomas Fielden and Herbert Howells, whom she cited as her musical heroes and after whom she chose to name the scholarships.
After graduating, Margaret became a highly respected and much loved teacher, inspiring others to follow in her footsteps and study at the RCM. She was passionate about music and about supporting her students. Scholarships transform the lives of young, gifted people in a profound way and we are immensely grateful to Margaret for her decision to support future RCM students. For further information about making a gift in your will to the RCM, please contact Development Officer Isabelle Tawil on 020 7591 4336.
Ashley Solomon made Chair of Historical Performance
Ashley Solomon has been appointed to a Chair of Historical Performance at the Royal College of Music. This personal chair was created especially for Professor Solomon in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the RCM. Professor Solomon has played a major role in securing the reputation of the RCM as the natural first choice for students from around the globe. Since being appointed the RCM’s first Head of Historical Performance in 2006, he has led an astonishing number of artistic and academic projects, including: a recreation of the “24 Violons du Roi” in collaboration with the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, culminating in an acclaimed performance with Sir Roger Norrington at the BBC Proms; the RCM’s annual International Festival of Viols; a new Masters programme in Historical Performance; and RCM student performances at festivals across the UK. Outside the RCM, Professor Solomon is an internationally renowned and multi-award-winning soloist and ensemble performer on both recorder and baroque flute. He co-founded the critically acclaimed ensemble Florilegium in 1991, and has been its Director since 2001. His work helping to edit, interpret and promote an extraordinary collection of Baroque music preserved by indigenous Indians in the Bolivian jungle has won praise around the world.
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In the news... New website for Alumni We’re delighted to announce the launch of the Royal College of Music Alumni Network. The network has been created with the purpose of bringing together our international and diverse alumni community, who are leading successful careers across the globe in a wide range of disciplines. In coming months we’ll be holding alumni reunions, allowing former students to reconnect with old friends and classmates. The alumni network also offers professional development and networking opportunities, as well as a weekly jobs e-bulletin and the chance to support current and future RCM students. To find out more, visit www.rcm.ac.uk/alumni
Woodhouse at 15 The RCM’s Woodhouse Centre for Professional Development is celebrating its 15th birthday this year with a unique series of events. The Centre is recognised internationally as a world-leader in professional development for musicians, offering a huge range of services that help budding musicians develop successful careers. These services include managing a range of external performance opportunities, offering advice on professional skills for musicians, and mentoring for innovative artistic projects. All of these services are available to RCM students not only during their period of study but also for five years after they graduate. In 2014, the Woodhouse Centre is celebrating 15 years of success with a programme of 15 events throughout the year. Visit www.rcm.ac.uk/ rcmwoodhouse for more information about the Centre and its projects.
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K491 to SW7 A jewel in the Royal College of Music’s extensive collection of historic manuscripts has been published as a high-quality facsimile by Bärenreiter. The facsimile is of the autograph score of Mozart’s Piano Concerto no 24 in C minor K 491, housed in the RCM’s Library. Its preface – which describes the journey made by Mozart’s autograph manuscript following its sale in 1800 by the composer’s widow to its eventual resting place in London SW7 – is written by Director of the RCM Professor Colin Lawson, and its illuminating commentary by the renowned Mozart scholar and pianist Robert Levin. The Piano Concerto in C minor is one of Mozart’s greatest Piano Concertos, not least because of its dramatic character (it is one of only two piano concertos he composed in minor keys). It also has the largest orchestra Mozart
RCM and the BBC Proms This summer the RCM once again plays a big part in the BBC Proms, the world’s greatest classical music festival. Almost every Prom will be preceded by a Proms Plus event in the RCM’s Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall. In addition, RCM Sparks Summer Music runs alongside the BBC Proms season and offers a range of events for participants of all ages and levels of ability.
ever used in a piano concerto and is his only piano concerto to use both oboes and clarinets. Written in 1786 during a period of almost feverish activity, it was completed only 22 days after the A major concerto K 488 and during the composition of The Marriage of Figaro. Christopher Jackson of Bärenreiter says: “The autograph is exceptional in that Mozart records sketches that he later enlarged and extensively revised for the score, thus allowing us an insight into his creative process. Mozart’s work appears here for the first time in a colour facsimile, making it possible to easily recognise the contrasting colours of ink. [It] truly is a fascinating insight into Mozart’s art of composition.” The facsimile is available to purchase from the RCM Library and is priced at £166. This year the series includes fun family workshops in the RCM Museum of Music and an exciting three-day course for young people aged 10 to 12. For teenagers, a five-day composition course sees participants create an eclectic new ensemble and compose a new piece. Finally, hands-on workshops for children aged 6 to 9 offer the chance to delve deeper into the music at the Proms. For more information about the RCM Sparks Summer Music programme please visit www.rcm.ac.uk/summermusic
2014 Rod Williams Memorial Concert The RCM was pleased to welcome Nigel Woolner and Jeremy and Keith Pickering, representatives of the Mills Williams Foundation, to a concert by the RCM Classical Orchestra led by violinist Matthew Truscott. The current Mills Williams Junior Fellow, pianist Maksim Štšura, was delighted to attend the event and be presented with the Mills Williams Medal. Many other Junior Fellows and their donors also attended the concert and a special reception celebrating the scheme in the Donaldson Room. Peter Mills established the Mills Williams award on the death of his life-long partner Rod Williams in 1995. To date the award has endorsed 18 Mills Williams Junior Fellowships and continues to fund an annual concert at the RCM.
Maksim Štšura
Patrons Abroad
The Boconnoc Music Award The Laefer Quartet has been named as the recipients of the third annual Boconnoc Award. Comprising RCM saxophonists Amy Green, Ruth Hayes, Jessamy Holder and Stephen Shepherd, the ensemble will be in residence at Boconnoc from 21 to 26 July. They will present two recitals at Boconnoc House on 22 and 24 July as well as a public concert in the estate’s 14th-century parish church on 25 July. The award was established in 2012 thanks to the generosity of Anthony and Elizabeth Fortescue, owners of Boconnoc in Cornwall.
Results for the RCM’s Performance Simulator
Circles for Excellence Patrons often have the opportunity to meet students and professors at special events at the RCM. Most recently Patrons attended a special reception after a performance of Stravinksy’s The Soldier’s Tale, featuring Edward Fox and Simon Butteriss. In the autumn, Patrons will have the opportunity to travel to Paris for a weekend of events with RCM students. The trip includes an intimate concert at the British Ambassador’s residence and other bespoke concerts in unusual spaces. If you are interested in joining this trip, or a subsequent Patrons’ trip to Salzburg planned in 2015, please contact Development Officer Isabelle Tawil for more information on 020 7591 4336.
The RCM’s ground breaking Performance Simulator – developed by the Centre for Performance Science – allows students to practise their performance in front of a “virtual audience”. But does performing in front of a video wall really feel like the real thing? A new study suggests that it does, providing evidence that performing in the simulator evokes similar physical and psychological responses to those produced in real performance situations. Published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, the study looked at two scenarios: a solo recital with a small virtual audience and an audition situation with three expert virtual judges. In each
The prize constitutes a week’s residency on the estate, providing a valuable opportunity for the musicians to work intensively on repertoire and technique in a private and unique environment. To find out more about Boconnoc and the Laefer Quartet, and tickets for the concerts, please visit www.boconnoc.com situation, performers were given key visual, auditory and other environmental cues commonly found backstage and on stage at performance venues. The results showed that their cardiovascular reactivity and performance anxiety levels were similar for performances in front of simulated and real audition panels. Furthermore, the RCM violinists performing in the experiment rated the experience as highly realistic and accurate and, with repeated use, saw strong potential for enhancing their learning and performance skills. Building upon this work, the Centre for Performance Science has received a substantial one-year grant from the Peter Sowerby Foundation to enhance the current simulations and develop further performance simulations, including chamber performance and public speaking. We are most grateful for this support, which will expand the availability of this resource to RCM musicians through the appointment of a full-time Peter Sowerby Research Associate in September 2014. The scientific report is available to download at bit.ly/1hH8IcN For more information about the Performance Simulator, including an introductory video, visit the Centre for Performance Science website at www.rcm.ac.uk/cps or email Head of Performance Science Aaron Williamon at aaron.williamon@rcm.ac.uk
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In the news... Introducing Prince Consort Village
around the needs of music students. It includes 24-hour practice rooms and acoustically treated bedrooms, as well as a gym, cinema room and performance space.
Alumni Reunion 2014 – Save the Date!
The new name of Prince Consort Village was announced at the RCM’s annual Open Day, where visitors were given a sneak preview of a sample bedroom.
We’re delighted to announce that the name for the RCM’s brand new £44 million hall of residence will be Prince Consort Village. This state-of-the-art new hall, which will open in September 2015 and replaces the current facility on Goldhawk Road in London, is being designed specifically
The RCM is delighted to announce it will be holding an Alumni Reunion on Sunday 14 September. The Reunion is an opportunity for graduates from 1975–1985 to reconnect at the RCM.
To build and manage the hall, the RCM has engaged student accommodation specialists Campus Living Villages (CLV). CLV are providing investment and managing the build programme, and will operate the accommodation once complete in 2015.
The afternoon event will include a buffet reception and an opportunity to re-visit favourite ‘haunts’ in the RCM, with plenty of time to meet old friends. If you wish to receive further information about this event, please get in touch with Elspeth Coates on 020 7591 4331 or alumni@rcm.ac.uk
WW1 Composers The Royal College of Music has featured in two short BBC films exploring the legacy of World War One composers.
The UpbeaT ReadeR SURvey Tell us your views!
‘World War One’s Forgotten Composers’ was part of the BBC’s World War One Centenary Season, marking 100 years since the outbreak of the War. In the two films presenter Sara Mohr-Pietsch explored the music composed during WW1, with particular reference to RCM composers Ivor Gurney and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Visit www.rcm.ac.uk/upbeatsurvey or fill in the form on the back of the magazine cover sheet
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Photos © Chris Christodoulou
The President’s Visit 2014
HRH The Prince of Wales honoured a number of outstanding figures in international musical life on Wednesday 14 May at the RCM’s Annual Awards ceremony. These included Andrew Lloyd Webber – the world’s best-known composer of musical theatre – and internationally acclaimed pianist Murray Perahia, who both received their Honorary Doctorate. His Royal Highness, who is President of the RCM, conferred Fellowship of the Royal College of Music (FRCM) upon nine outstanding figures in international musical life: Russian pianist and RCM professor Dmitri Alexeev, conductor Martin André, violinist Nicola Benedetti, former RCM Director of Programmes & Research Amanda Glauert, Artistic Director at the RCM Stephen Johns, Assistant Head of Keyboard and professor of piano at the RCM Ian Jones, RCM vocal professors Patricia Rozario and Russell Smythe, and Rector of the Moscow Conservatory Alexander Sokolov.
Honorary Membership of the Royal College of Music (HonRCM) was presented to six individuals in recognition of their outstanding contribution to music and to the RCM: Tri-borough Music Hub manager Jean Carter, philanthropist Linda Hill, Head of Estates at the RCM Matthew Nicholl, RCM Research Fellow in Performance Practice Ingrid Pearson, manager of the RCM’s Woodhouse Professional Development Centre Diana Roberts and Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Tim Walker. Andrew Lloyd Webber, who received an Honorary Doctorate said: “I am overwhelmed to receive this award from the Royal College of Music, an historic British institution with close links to my family.” Nicola Benedetti said: “I am thrilled to receive a Fellowship from the Royal College of Music, where so many highly esteemed and talented musicians have studied. It’s a real privilege to be recognised in this way.”
His Royal Highness also presented awards to three of the RCM’s most exceptional recent graduates: violinist Benjamin Baker – who received the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Rosebowl – and soprano Louise Alder and pianist Poom Prommachart, who were both awarded the Tagore Gold Medal. They all also performed at the ceremony. The President’s Award was instituted in 2013 by HRH The Prince of Wales in celebration of his 20th year as President of the RCM to honour a student for outstanding work in the community. This year it was presented to violinist Joo Yeon Sir who has passionately shared her musical gift with residents at St Wilfrid’s Care Home and others across the capital. Colin Lawson, Director of the RCM, said: “I am delighted that the Royal College of Music continues to honour such illustrious and diverse musicians with our annual awards. HRH The Prince of Wales continues to be a wonderful advocate for the Royal College of Music and the musical lives that we so carefully nurture. It is very special to be able to honour the most extraordinary and established musical figures alongside a new generation of ferociously talented RCM graduates.” 9
Changing the Guard “We also found a set of medals and a couple of beautiful books belonging to the conductor Sir August Manns” added Gabriele. “He was a prominent conductor in the 19th century and was closely involved in the Crystal Palace concert series. The Library already has a volume of letters written to Manns by a number of composers and musicians so it was lovely to find these additional items. We’ve put them all on display in the Museum now.” Many of the paintings, which were previously stored at College Hall, have now been re-hung at the RCM. Gabriele commented that “Many members of staff have requested specific portraits – for example Ingrid Pearson [Research Fellow in Performance Practice] wanted one of the Italian baroque composer Giovanni Bononcini as she is working on a project about him. It shows the relationship with our paintings goes much deeper here than in most places of work. There’s a real interest in the musicians depicted.” Museum Curator Gabriele Rossi Rognoni, former Museum Curator Elizabeth Wells, Museum Administrator Lydia Cracknell, Museum Volunteer and doctoral student Fiona Gibbs, Librarian Peter Linnitt, Museum Assistant and doctoral student Erin McHugh
The past few months have been a period of great change for the RCM collections. We’ve said farewell to long-standing members of staff and hello to new members and a few new instruments... Naming their favourite item from the RCM’s collections proved difficult for Museum Curator Gabriele Rossi Rognoni and Librarian Peter Linnitt. “It has to be the clavicytherium as it’s the most important instrument in the collection” was Gabriele’s initial response “…oh, but I do also love the Celestini Virginal!” For Peter, it was a choice between Thomas Hardy’s portrait of Haydn and the autograph manuscript of Mozart’s masterful Piano Concerto in C minor. It is a hard choice – the RCM’s collections form an astonishingly wide-ranging and substantial resource relating to the history of music. The impressive collection includes 25,000 prints and photographs, 600,000 concert programmes from 1680 to the present day, 340 original paintings and sculptures and more than 1,000 instruments dating from the late 15th century. 10
Over the past few months the Museum and Library have been involved in a major reorganisation. With the closure of College Hall, the RCM’s Hall of Residence, for redevelopment (see page 8), many items which were previously housed there have been moved back to the RCM. All paper-based items (including programmes and books) are now stored in the Library, while all portraits and instruments are looked after by the Museum. “We’re really pleased the collections have been brought together in this way”, said Peter. “Now if anyone wants to find out about anything, they can just get in touch with either the Museum or the Library.” Transporting all the items back to Prince Consort Road was no mean feat and took many days, while special wooden crates were constructed to carry the most fragile objects. Among the treasures brought back was a box full of medals given to Ralph Vaughan Williams. “They were all music-related medals he had been given over his career. I’d read that his wife Ursula had given us these medals but I’d never seen them before”, said Peter.
Back in the Museum, Gabriele – who has only been Curator since January – has many plans for the space. As we speak, a sheet of flexi-glass is being put up on the mezzanine balustrade to make the upper level safe for children in preparation for a new ‘Children’s Corner’. “We want the Museum to be full of noise!” explains Lydia Cracknell, the Museum Administrator. “This new corner will not only feature exhibits specifically for children, but there will also be various activities they can do, and activity sheets they can take around with them. At the moment we have two exhibitions: the first one is called “Carnival of Animals” and features a selection of instruments – including Chinese dragon bells and bird flutes – that either look or sound like animals. The second one, appropriately enough, focuses on small instruments and their sounds. The renovation of this space has been made possible by RCM Friend and museum volunteer Tania Chislett, and we’re very grateful for her donation.” Another project to look forward to is a collaboration with University College London to develop an audio-visual guide to the Museum. Funded by a grant from Arts Council England and Share Academy, a tablet app will lead visitors around the Museum on three possible paths, and will allow them to hear as well as see the instruments. Currently under development with Dr Nicolas Gold of UCL, the app should be up and running by September – details will appear in the next issue of Upbeat.
Angela Escott For nearly forty years, Angela Escott made an enormous contribution to RCM life in a number of ways. Having studied piano and oboe at the RCM, she returned as Assistant Librarian in 1973 and then completed an English degree, externally, at London University. Soon afterwards she assumed the role of Orchestral Librarian, a position which she held until her retirement in 2013. Angela was proud to provide materials for RCM performances with conductors such as Norman del Mar, Adrian Boult, Lorin Maazel, Georg Solti, Marin Alsop and Sian Edwards. She particularly enjoyed corresponding with conductors such as Sir Roger Norrington and Sir Charles Mackerras
Next door in the RCM Library, Peter is excited about the recent publication by Bärenreiter of the autograph score of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C minor K 491 (see page 6). “We’re really thrilled about this publication. The preface and introduction by RCM Director Colin Lawson and Robert Levin are so interesting and show such an in-depth knowledge of the score. It’s definitely the most important publication that will be published during my time here as Librarian.” With these and other initiatives, more people than ever before are enjoying the RCM’s unique collection of priceless musical treasures. So next time you’re at the RCM, why not pay a visit to the Museum and Library, and discover them for yourself? For information about items in the RCM collections, please contact either the Museum or the Library:
RCM Museum of Music
www.rcm.ac.uk/museum • Instruments • Paintings, engravings and sculptures
RCM Library
www.rcm.ac.uk/library • Manuscripts • Printed music & books • Programmes • Archives
regarding their choice of edition. For Mackerras, she once had to source not only the correct edition of Mozart’s C minor Mass, but also the precise markings from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Of the many hundreds of events she contributed to, one has pride of place in her memory: Berlioz’s Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall in celebration of the RCM’s centenary, directed by David Willcocks, in collaboration with the Bach Choir, and – most importantly of all – with Angela’s violinist sister, Sarah Whelan, leading the orchestra. Beyond South Kensington, Angela represented the RCM internationally at conferences in New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Russia and Scandinavia, often delivering papers shedding light on the RCM collections and on the life of an orchestral librarian.
In recent years Angela completed her PhD in English Literature and published a book focusing on Hannah Cowley, a woman dramatist of the 18th century. Now that she has retired, Angela is looking forward to continuing her research. Angela told Upbeat she just felt lucky to have been given the opportunity by the RCM to do so many different things. The RCM is just as lucky to have benefited from her enormous expertise, and she will be missed.
Paul Banks After more than 15 years at the RCM, Head of Special Collections Paul Banks has left to pursue his research into musical life in Vienna. After joining the RCM as the Research Development Fellow, he took on responsibility for the RCM’s Department of Portraits and Performance History in 2004, devoting much of his energy to the organisation and documentation of these important collections. Between 2004 and 2007 he was closely involved in the establishment of a national database of concert programmes, funded by the AHRC. Work on the database continues, with discussions about international collaboration; a new website will be launched later this year. Paul was also responsible for the RCM’s contribution to the Public Catalogue Foundation’s project to provide an online catalogue of every original oil painting in a public collection in the UK. As a result, all of the RCM’s paintings are available to view online on the Your Paintings website at www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings
Paul’s interest in the history of the RCM came in particularly useful when the BBC programme Who Do You Think You Are contacted the RCM about the Fox family. Paul featured on the programme as he explained to the actress Amelia Fox the role her great-great-grandfather, Samson Fox, played in the founding of the RCM – a donation of £45,000 which paid for the building of the iconic Blomfield Building. One of his favourite discoveries was the Bradley Bulletins – hand written reports by music-loving librarian Lionel Bradley on the performances he attended or heard on the radio. This remarkable collection of documents provides an unusual insight into what ordinary members of the audience made of the classical music scene in mid 20thcentury London. We wish Paul all the best.
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New arrivals
Museum Curator Gabriele Rossi Rognoni, Jane Wilson with the tenoroon and RCM Director Colin Lawson
When retired Bostonian bookseller Jane Wilson went online to order new bassoon reeds she didn’t also expect to find two rare woodwind instruments. But having seen a tenoroon and a contrabassophon advertised on Jim’s Trading Post, an online store run by professional bassoonist James Kopp, she couldn’t bear to let these rarities go to another buyer. And she knew the perfect place for them – the RCM Museum of Music. “It was a total fluke really. When I clicked on the link and saw the instruments he was advertising I was so excited as I knew how rare they were”, Jane told Upbeat. “Initially I was very interested in the Savary tenoroon as I knew this was a very sought-after make and didn’t pay too much attention to the contrabassophon. But after writing to American organologist Albert Rice I took more interest as he thought it was even rarer than the tenoroon!” Jane first came across the Royal College of Music through listening to CDs recorded by period clarinettist and RCM Director Colin Lawson. On a previous visit to London last November she visited the RCM to meet Professor Lawson and talk about his recordings. She also had the opportunity to see the museum and kindly donated an Albert system clarinet. Colin Lawson commented: “It’s very kind of Jane to donate these exquisite instruments to the RCM. I hope they will be a source of interest and inspiration for many students for years to come.” The instruments were previously owned by John Miller, principal bassoon in the Minnesota Symphony since 1971. 12
RCM Museum of Music Curator Gabriele Rossi Rognoni explains why he’s so excited about these new acquisitions: “Our collection is very strong on bassoons so I’m keen to build on this strength and our international reputation for woodwind instruments. We already have a beautiful Savary instrument in our collection so I’m hoping to create a specific display of his instruments in the museum. “These two instruments will form part of an exciting project over the next four years dedicated to studying how playing early instruments affects their condition. Each European institution will be focusing on a different instrument family but as far as I’m concerned studying woodwind instruments is the most interesting field as there is so little research in this area and it’s also the most restrictive – you’ll hardly find a museum in the world that will let you play old woodwind instruments.” The idea that old woodwind instruments shouldn’t be played comes from research done in the 1960s and 1970s when instruments inexplicably split after they were played. Gabriele explains: “Much of the problem came from recorders. One famous Dutch recorder player declared that he would stop playing old instruments after he destroyed the 16th recorder in a museum collection. But we are in a stronger place to scientifically address this issue today and will make sure the instruments are properly preserved and survive.” The two instruments are on display in the RCM Museum of Music, which is open Tuesday to Friday from 11.30am to 4.30pm. Find out more at www.rcm.ac.uk/museum.
Tenoroon by Jean Nicolas Savary from Paris, dated 1835
The maker of this instrument was known as the “Stradivari” of the bassoon and only eight Savary tenoroons are reported in the world. It’s likely the tenoroon – similar to a bassoon but in a higher register – would have been played in a marching band as it is much lighter than a bassoon and its sound is more piercing making it effective in the open air.
Contrabassophon by H J Haseneier from Coblenz, ca 1850-80
During the 19th century there were many experiments to develop a more powerful woodwind instrument in the contra-bass register. In this instrument, the maker widened the bore and gave it large finger holes and keys to achieve a strong, loud sound.
Reimagining the Museum The RCM Museum of Music has been given a dramatic facelift, courtesy of celebrated artist Hugo Dalton. During the Easter vacation, Hugo and his team created a brand new artwork on the north and west walls of the museum. Museum Curator Gabriele explained how and why this came about: “The museum is such a wonderfully vibrant and active place! In addition to hosting the collections, we also host a huge number of concerts, workshops, rehearsals, outreach events. However the building didn’t reflect what we were, and what we wanted to be. I was introduced to Hugo by RCM Director Colin Lawson, and admired his wonderful painting in the Royal Albert Hall, so I talked to him about this problem and he said ‘well, why don’t we transform it completely?’ It’s really amazing that an artist would commit so much of his time, effort and enthusiasm to the institution.” In creating his artwork, Hugo was inspired by performances by RCM students, and in particular by a performance of Dario Castello’s Sonata Secunda for recorder and harpsichord. He described his working methods: “The idea was to try and convey the momentary and intangible experience of listening to music. The work represents the quest for a perfect note, thus some marks on the wall are refined and complete whilst others are in the process of emerging. Visitors I hope will get a strong visual feeling that the architecture and museum exhibits have been animated though the wall painting.” Not only did Hugo give his time and energy without any fee, but he also secured the support of Little Greene paints. As an environmentally and socially responsible company, Little Greene were only too happy to support the project, and kindly agreed to supply all of the paint free of charge. Gabriele is absolutely thrilled by the end result: “It gives you a sense of energy, of wanting to be here. You feel invigorated, and that is what you want to feel not only if you are a visitor, but also if you are a musician performing here.” To witness the artwork yourself, visit the RCM Museum of Music, open Tuesday to Friday 11.30am to 4.30pm.
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Meeting the supporters... Eventually I became more involved and was elected onto the Court in 2000. And 13 years later here I am as Prime Warden. I have quite an unusual background – you don’t get many from the arts profession, most come from the city.
The Fishmongers’ Company One of the twelve great livery companies of the City of London, and among the most ancient of the city guilds, The Fishmongers’ Company has supported the fisheries industry for more than 700 years. As well as upholding standards in the trade of fish and shellfish they also devote significant resources to supporting education and charitable causes, including two scholarships at the Royal College of Music. Upbeat talks to Prime Warden Andrew Morgan at their grand headquarters on the banks of the River Thames. How did you become the Prime Warden of The Fishmongers’ Company? My family have been Fishmongers since the 1730s. They had a fish shop near the old Billingsgate market and used to import dried fish from the Far East and so it’s been going down through the family since then. My grandfather Ben Travers was the Prime Warden here just after the war and we had a very close relationship when I was growing up. My grandfather was not only Prime Warden but also a playwright, and I actually studied at RADA and became an actor for a few years before working for the BBC. I came here for the occasional dinner and became a Liveryman in 1965. 14
How did you first hear about the RCM? While I was at RADA in the 1960s I shared a flat with a student at the Royal College of Music. His name was William York and he was a clarinettist from Scotland. We used to have parties full of actors and musicians in our flat – we had such a good time! – and I used to come along quite frequently to the RCM. I kept in touch with Bill after our studies and he became a composer – he lived all over the place first in South Africa, then Amsterdam and ended up in Prague – but sadly he died a couple of years ago. He was a little off-the-wall – he once wrote an opera on the common European sausage! So we had a great time together and I’ve always been very fond of the RCM and enjoyed visiting the College. How do The Fishmongers support the RCM? Through The Fishmongers we give scholarships to three conservatoires including the RCM. We have a concert here at the Hall every January where the Prime Warden asks scholars to perform. Each year we ask a different conservatoire and this year it was the Guildhall’s turn. But we asked our RCM scholars – pianist Kausikan Rajeshkumar and soprano Natasha Day – to come along to another dinner, as we were so impressed with them when we heard them sing and play. I hope they enjoyed it and found it a good opportunity. We’ve supported students from the RCM as far back as the 1970s, and we started to sponsor scholarships from 1976. Back then we gave £150 a year – that wouldn’t go very far today! What other areas do The Fishmongers support? We have two committees which are responsible for giving money to various organisations. One is the Fish and Fisheries committee and the other is our Education and Grants committee which gives money to various educational establishments, including the RCM, and local charities. We try to balance our giving so 50% goes to fish charities and 50% to other causes. We like to keep a wide range of interests going.
We try to give money to organisations where it will make a real difference. For example, recently we gave a small amount of money for a mussel bed for a lock in Somerset. Lo and behold it made its way to Farming Today at 5.45am on BBC Radio 4 with people thanking us for our support. How often to do you see your current scholars? Kausikan and Natasha have actually just been here today for our annual scholars’ lunch. Natasha has also sung for us here at the Hall and I heard Kausikan play a beautiful Scarlatti piece a while ago. It really means a lot to us to meet with our scholars and we’re hoping to build up a network of past scholars. It would be lovely to have a concert here one day and invite many of them back to perform. Why is it important to support students at the start of their career? There are so many talented young people around, but I do worry about their futures. Particularly with a background in theatre I know how hard it is, so I’m so keen on anything we can do to support them at the beginning of their career. I’m only too pleased that The Fishmongers and other Livery companies support organisations like the RCM and help promote these young musicians.
Welcome to new Friends and Supporters We are delighted to welcome the following people who have recently made their first donation to the RCM Ms Carol Baker Mrs Rachel Brooks Mrs Deanna Brostoff Mrs Barbarina Digby-Jones Mrs Ursula Gibbons Ms Anne Gill Mr Kenneth Goodwin Ms Jo Hamlyn Mrs Caroline Jackson Mrs Virginia Luce Ms Elizabeth Lydekker Mr Sasa Mandic Mr John Mcvittie Mrs Emmy Nash Mr Christopher Pease Mr Francis Roos Mr David Shreeve Ms Jane Thompson Mr Anthony Thornton Mr Keith Tranmer
Supporting the future of music... Music has the power to transform lives. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, generations of gifted students from around the world have been guided and inspired at the RCM. We would like to thank in particular those who have made donations of £1,000 or more in the last 12 months. Gifts are listed in descending order. Supporters of named scholarships, bursaries and Junior Fellowships Estate of Dr Neville Wathen Estate of Fiona Searle ABRSM Leverhulme Trust Soirée d’Or Scholarships The John and Marjorie Coultate Scholarship Estate of Roselyn Ann Clifton Parker The Richard Carne Charitable Trust Laurie Barry and the John Barry Scholarship for Film Composition Estate of Dr John Birch FRCM The Wolfson Foundation H R Taylor Trust H F Awards Andrew and Karen Sunnucks John Lewis Partnership Scholarships The Tsukanov Family Foundation Richard and Rosemary Millar The Worshipful Company of Musicians Hester Laverne Award Charles Napper Award Lydia Napper Award The Michael Bishop Foundation The Big Give Trust The Reed Foundation Croucher Hong Kong Charitable Trust The Hon Ros Kelly Opperby Stokowski Collection Trust The Lee Abbey Award Stephen Catto Memorial Scholarship The Worshipful Company of Drapers The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers The Estate of Mr Charles Knoll Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust Ian Stoutzker CBE FRCM Ian and Meriel Tegner The Ernest Hecht Charitable Foundation The Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation UK Gilbert and Eileen Edgar Junior Fellowship Phoebe Benham Junior Fellowship The Mills Williams Foundation The Dasha Shenkman Scholarship The Derek Butler Trust Monica and Guy Black Scholarship The Boltini Trust Scholarship The Charles Peel Charitable Trust The Ackroyd Trust The Richard Toeman/Weinberger Opera Scholarship The Wyseliot Charitable Trust The Wall Trust The Stanley Picker Scholarship Professor Lord Winston Lark Insurance Scholarship Steinway & Sons The Gary & Eleanor Brass Scholarship The Estate of Betty Brenner The Robin Ritzema Scholarship (Lady Harrison) Richard and Debbie Ward David Laing Foundation Scholarship The Greenbank Scholarship Independent Opera Artist Scholarship South Square Trust The Tait Trust Scholarship The Radcliffe Trust
Sir Peter and Lady Walters Edward Brooks FRCM Sir Gordon Palmer Scholarship Douglas and Kyra Downie Mark Loveday Scholarship Knights of the Round Table Arthur Wilson Trombone Award Else and Leonard Cross Charitable Trust Yehudi Menuhin Award Midori Nishiura Scholarship Bell Percussion Kirby Laing Foundation Peter Granger Paul Booth The Donald Paterson Award The Nicholas Hunka Fund The Bliss Trust Norman Reintamm Supporters of RCM Sparks J Paul Getty Jr Charitable Trust John Lyon’s Charity Universal Music John Lewis Partnership The Stanley Foundation Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians Anonymous The Oldhurst Trust Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation Members of the RCM Chairman’s Circle Philip Carne HonRCM and Christine Carne* Michael and Ruth West* Linda and Tony Hill John and Catherine Armitage* Dr Leonard Polonsky and Dr Georgette Bennett* Jane Barker* Sir Roger and Lady Carr HonRCM* Karina Choudhrie+* Guy Dawson and Sam Horscroft+ Gisela Gledhill* James and Clare Kirkman* Dr Mark Levesley and Christina Hoseason* John Nickson and Simon Rew* Emma Rose (deceased 12 November 2013) and Quentin Williams* Victoria Sharp* Alethea Siow and Jeremy Furniss* Members of the RCM Director’s Circle Sir Peter and Lady Middleton FRCM Judy and Terence Mowschenson Vivien McLean Tania Chislett Charles and Kaaren Hale The Vernon Ellis Foundation Terry Hitchcock Metherell Family Richard and Sue Price Peter and Dimity Spiller Joanna Kaye + Louisa Treger Sir Sydney and Lady Lipworth Sir Robert and Lady Wilson Members of the RCM Patrons’ Circle John Ward Russell Race * Jane Wilson Mrs Piffa Schroder Ellen Moloney Rhoddy Voremberg Dimity and Kerry Rubie Mr and Mrs Charles Robinson Mrs Victoria Moore-Gillon David and Sue Lewis Mrs Isla Baring Halina and John Bennett Lorna and Christopher Bown
Mrs Lorraine Buckland Lillemor Gardener Sir Anthony Cleaver FRCM and Lady Cleaver Anonymous Mary Godwin Carol J. Hagh Ms Greta Hemus John and Sue Heywood Mrs R Rothbarth Barbara Simmonds Betty Sutherland Dr Yvonne Winkler Mr Victor and Mrs Lilian Hochhauser Sir Peter and Lady Gershon Sir David Lees Corporate Partners Royal Garden Hotel Hatch Mansfield Little Greene Other generous donors Georg and Emily von Opel Foundation+ Mr Paul Brewer Bouygues UK Bob and Sarah Wigley The Henry Wood Trust The Robert Fleming Hannay Memorial Charity The Amaryllis Fleming Foundation Karen Cook The Hon Richard Lyttelton The Seary Charitable Trust St Marylebone Educational Foundation John Hosier Music Trust Roland Rudd The Sharp Foundation Centrica plc Daniel Chapchal The Rothermere Foundation Geoffrey Richards HonRCM Dasha Shenkman HonRCM The Leche Trust Mark Messenger FRCM Ann Driver Trust Fidelio Trust Mr Douglas Flint Serena Fenwick Anonymous Dr Franz Humer Mark Wood Paul Wayne Gregory Webster and Davidson Mortification for the Blind Sir David Cooksey The Derek Hill Foundation Professor Colin Lawson FRCM Janis Susskind HonRCM Blair Wilson Award Moira D Witty David D Sieff Irisa Frankle Edward Mandel/Jacques Samuel Pianos Bursary Michael Steen OBE HonRCM The Nicholas Branston Foundation Mrs Terry Collins-Tveter Helena Morrissey Nicola Jones Richard Davey Friends of the National Libraries Brian and Hana Smouha * also support a named award + also support RCM Sparks For more information about supporting the RCM, visit www.rcm.ac.uk/supportus Alternatively, contact Joanne Hodson on 020 7591 4861 or joanne.hodson@rcm.ac.uk
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Student notes
Student notes
String successes Cellist Jamal Aliyev has been awarded the 2014 Muriel Taylor Scholarship, a prize set up in memory of Muriel Taylor by Yehudi Menuhin and Maurice Gendron among others.
Vocal achievements Keyboard Junior Department singer Meg Griffiths accomplishments has been selected to join Genesis Sixteen, the young artists’ scheme run by The Sixteen which aims to nurture the next generation of talented ensemble singers… Tenor Peter Kirk has been invited to join the Opera National du Rhin’s prestigious Young Artist Programme in Strasbourg for the 2014/2015 season… Soprano Soraya Mafi has won the 2013 Maggie Teyte Competition and a Licette Award.
Jamal Aliyev
Violinist Olivia Scheepers has won the Brighton & Hove Springboard Festival Concerto Competition. Her prize includes a concerto performance with the Brighton Youth Orchestra next year… Violinist Joo Yeon Sir has been selected for the 2014 Making Music Award for Young Concert Artists, supported by Philip & Dorothy Green… Guitarist Laura Snowden has won First Prize in the Worshipful Company of Musicians Ivor Mairants Guitar Competition 2014. She received a cash prize, a Manuel Rodriguez guitar, the complete Rodrigo guitar works, and recital opportunities with leading UK guitar societies… ‘Mainly Two’, comprising violinist Marie Schreer and alumnus John Garner, has performed at the Norfolk House Music Room at the V&A and at Zaha Hadid’s architecture gallery.
Dinara Klinton and Pavel Kolesnikov have been awarded 2014 Yamaha Scholarship awards. Dinara Klinton has also won the Concerto Prize and the opportunity to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no 5 with the Milton Keynes City Orchestra… Pianist Alexander Krichel has given a sold-out recital in Tokyo. Following the concert he was signed by the Japanese agency Pacific Concert Management for local representation… Pianist Samon Tsoy, an award-winner of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, has performed a programme of Beethoven, Schumann and Mussorgsky at the Purcell Room… Pianist Hin Yat Tsang has been awarded the Gold Medal and First Prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition in Tokyo.
Anna Rajah
Soprano Anna Rajah has been awarded a Help Musicians UK Licette Scholarship. She has also been awarded a place at the Bayerische Staatsoper Opera Studio from September 2014… Tenor Gyula Rab has been selected to sing the role of Louis in Angels in America by Péter Eötvös at the opening night of the World Music Days Festival 2014 in Poland in October… Soprano Marie Jaermann has been awarded a place on the Dutch National Opera Academy. She has also been selected to take part in the Georg Solti Accademia in July 2014 where she will give two performances in Castiglione della Pescaia in Italy and a concert at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.
Hin Yat Tsang
Composition congratulations
Mainly Two
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Marie Jaermann
Steven Daverson has received the prestigious Staubach Honoraria from the Darmstadt Summer Course. He has been commissioned to write a piece for Ensemble Decoder, based in Hamburg, and their unusual set up of female voice, clarinet, cello, percussion, keyboards, electric zither and live electronics, which will be performed at the course in August.
Works by Nicholas Moroz, Joanne Sy and Dani Howard, specially composed for the Royal Academy of Art’s Sensing Spaces exhibition, have been played by Nick Luscombe on BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction… New works by Michael Taplin and Nicholas Moroz have been performed by the Britten-Pears Ensemble at Aldburgh… A new work by Benjamin Woodgates has been performed by the John Armitage Trust at St Bride’s Fleet Street.
Raquel García-Tomás’ opera Go, Æneas, Go has been premiered at the Russisches Haus and Neuköllner Oper in Berlin. She has also been selected as Guest Composer at the Dresden Music Festivals’ project Bohème 2020 – an initiative to bring together artists from a variety of countries and disciplines to present their work and connect with industry professionals… Lillie Harris’ vocal piece Qinah has been shortlisted for the National Centre of Early Music Composers’ Competition Final… Adam Kornas’ string quintet Paradise Regained has been performed at the Salzburg Chamber Music Festival… Johannes Marmen’s Waiting for violin and piano, commissioned by Hugo Ticciati, has been released on a CD entitled Sonic Philosophy: Colour and Affect by Orchard Classics.
Lisa Illean has been awarded a New Work Grant from the Australia Council for the Arts. The grant will support the creation of a new chamber work in collaboration with Australian flautist Laila Engle and guitarist Ken Murray, for premiere in late 2014.
Woodwind triumphs Isobel Clarke, Elspeth Robertson, alumna Mary-Jannet Leith and Janet Forbes have completed a highly successful tour of Scotland with their recorder quartet Audite Nova. The ensemble performed at venues in Aberdeen, Perth, St Andrews and Edinburgh with three different programmes.
RCM baritone Morgan Pearse has been selected as a member of the 2014–15 Houston Grand Opera Studio (HGO) programme.
Doctoral successes Doctoral student David Kirby has been invited by Professor DiLutis to give a lecture at Baton Rouge University, Louisianna in August. Part of an international conference, his talk is provisionally titled The Genesis of the Clarinet Sonata. Ballo Baroque, directed by doctoral student Randall Scotting, has presented the modern-day premiere of an oratorio by Caldara. The little-known Italian composer’s work Le Gelosie is based on the historical account of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael. The ensemble featured a number of RCM musicians including countertenor Tai Oney. Randall has also sung the title role in Handel’s Orlando at the Theatre Royal in Hobart, Australia.
Randall Scotting
Photo © Hastie Photography
Raquel García-Tomás
Spotlight on…
The Australian baritone is one of just six new artists to be awarded positions in the Houston Grand Opera Studio for the 2014–15 season out of 552 performers that applied from all over the world. HGO Studio Director Laura Canning commented “These extraordinary individuals will make major contributions to the musical life of Houston and to the field of opera as a whole”. Morgan is the RCM’s inaugural Dame Joan Sutherland Scholar, studying with Simon Lepper and Russell Smythe. This outstanding achievement comes not long after his success in last year’s prestigious Royal Over-Seas League Competition, in which he won the Gold Medal. One of the most respected and highly competitive young artist programmes in the world, the HGO Studio provides comprehensive career development during a residency of up to three years for young artists who have demonstrated potential to make major contributions to the field of opera. Founded in 1977, the Studio was established to help young artists make the transition from their academic training to careers in opera, with Studio artists being often cast in major and supporting roles in mainstage HGO productions.
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Staff notes The world premiere of Kenneth Hesketh’s work for string quartet Sisyphus’ Punishment (commissioned by the Britten-Pears Foundation and given by the Haba Quartet) and a performance of his orchestral work Knotted Tongues (performed by the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra), have been given at the 2014 Beijing Modern Music Festival in China.
Kenneth Hesketh
Vocal professor Janis Kelly has sung the role of Mrs Julien in Britten’s opera Owen Wingrave. This new production at the Aldeburgh Festival by Neil Bartlett featured David Matthews’ chamber version of the score, conducted by Mark Wigglesworth. Piano professor Ian Jones has given a number of recitals and masterclasses in the USA. He performed a programme of Chopin and Schumann in various concert series, including the Steinway Piano Series in Tampa, and gave classes at several institutions including Northwestern University, University of South Florida and the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Professors Norbert Meyn and Terence Charlston have recorded a CD of works by C P E Bach. Released by Toccata Classics to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the composer’s birth, C P E Bach: Spiritual Songs features religious songs that have never been recorded with their complete texts. 18
Professor Ashley Solomon and RCM Ensemble in Association Florilegium have released a CD of music by François Couperin and Jean-Fery Rebel on the Channel Classics label. The ensemble has performed widely across the UK, including at St David’s Hall, Wigmore Hall and Kings Place, as well as further afield at the Philharmonie in Berlin. They have also continued their collaboration with The Bach Choir and David Hill in their annual performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion at the Royal Festival Hall. Peter Stark
Conducting professor Peter Stark has been appointed Rehearsal Director for the European Union Youth Orchestra. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the orchestra’s rehearsal period and is deeply involved in the audition process, making visits to many of the 28 member states. Director of Opera and ETO Music Director Michael Rosewell attended the 2014 Olivier Awards ceremony to accept the award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera. The award was given to English Touring Opera for its ‘brave and challenging’ spring productions of two operas by RCM alumni: Michael Tippett’s King Priam and Benjamin Britten’s Paul Bunyan. Michael accepted the award with ETO General Director James Conway.
Guitar professor Carlos Bonell has performed at the Isle of Jersey’s Liberation Arts Festival. His programme included music by Russian masters Koshkin, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Vassiliev. Cello professor Natalie Clein has performed Elgar’s Cello Concerto at St David’s Hall in Cardiff. Accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra and conducted by Edward Gardner, the programme also featured Elgar’s Symphony no 1 and Wagner’s Rienzi overture.
Michael Rosewell
Vocal professor Justin Lavender has been appointed Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Opera at Bearwood in Berkshire. Since taking on the role, Justin has conducted Bizet’s Carmen and Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld. He is currently rehearsing Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet for performances in July. The production features many RCM singers including Rachel Bowden, Craig Jackson, Oscar Castellano, William Wallace Morgan, Ben Smith and Katie Coventry.
Natalie Clein
Piano professor Ashley Wass has performed with violinist Matthew Trusler at the Isle of Arts Festival on the Isle of Wight. Commemorating the centenary of the First World War, the concert included sonatas by Elgar, Janáček and Debussy as well as readings from Wilfred Owens’ letters and poems by actor Timothy West.
Photo © Sussie Ahlburg
Professor of Advanced Piano Dmitri Alexeev has performed at Le Petit Trianon Theatre in San Jose, USA, as part of the Steinway Society Bay Area concert series. His programme included a selection of Mazurkas by Chopin, Schumann’s Sonata no 1 op 11 and Liszt’s Die Loreley.
Dr Katy Hamilton and Dr Natasha Loges have attended the 18th Biennial International Conference on 19thCentury Music in Toronto, where they took part in a panel session on the evolution of public German song performance in the late 19th century. Katy is also attending the annual conference of the International Association of Music Librarians in Antwerp in July, where she will present a paper about a series of entertainment concerts held for veteran soldiers at Wigmore Hall after the First World War. Piano professor Sofya Gulyak has performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no 1 at Leeds Town Hall, accompanied by the Hallé Orchestra and conducted by Sir Mark Elder. She has also released a CD on Champs Hill Records of works by Russian masters Medtner, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev.
Academic professor Jonathan Pitkin, assisted by Performance Science students Sogol Shirazi and George Waddell, has given a presentation on the theme of misbehaving instruments at a ‘Lates with Mastercard’ event at the Science Museum. His talk focused on a digital piano, which visitors were invited to try out, only to find out it had its own ideas about the music it wanted to play. Horn professor Roger Montgomery has released a recording of Mozart’s Horn Concertos with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. As well as lesserknown gems of Mozart’s horn repertoire, the CD features the popular fourth Concerto (K 495) with its unforgettable hunting call and brilliant dialogue between the horn and orchestra.
RCM Research Fellow in Composition Mark-Anthony Turnage’s orchestral magnum opus Speranza has been performed in Stockholm, following performances in London and Boston and a CD release on LSO Live. The fourmovement work grew from reflections on the post-Holocaust poetry of Paul Celan, and the music is coloured by lamenting melodies – Palestinian, Jewish and Israeli – supplemented by the use of the Armenian duduk and Eastern European cimbalom. Junior Department piano teacher Yekaterina Lebedeva has set up a new summer school for pianists and singers. Musical Odyssey runs from 22 to 29 July in Nafplio, Greece. For further details please visit www.musical-odyssey.com or email Yekaterina at info@musical-odyssey.com Scholarships are available.
Harpsichord professor Robert Woolley has made video and audio recordings at Kew Palace of a harpsichord commissioned in 1740 by Frederick Prince of Wales from Burkat Shudi, which is featured in an exhibition on the Georgians at Buckingham Palace. The recordings were also featured in an interview with Sean Rafferty on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune.
Spotlight on…
Research professor Richard Langham Smith has published two new publications on Bizet’s opera Carmen. A vocal score of his new edition of the work, styled a ‘Performance Urtext’, was published at the end of last year and is available from Peters Edition (EP7548a) and music shops. Based on the first Opéra-Comique performances, and including much new material from the staging books and a new scene mocking an English traveller in Spain, it has French and English texts and an illustrated preface aimed at performers. Previously only on hire, it has already been used worldwide, most notably by Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s period-instrument Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique for a run at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. Carmen is also the latest addition to the new Overture Opera Guides, produced in association with ENO by Alma Publishing. Given a five-star rating in the March 2014 BBC Music Magazine, it includes a complete original libretto and a literal translation and articles by Richard, as well as other essays. Alma Publishing are offering a special discount to the RCM on this volume (£9 instead of £12) as well as all the other books in the series, which currently amount to 13 Opera Guides. For details see www.almaclassics.com/overture. To order any of these either enter the code ‘RCM’ on the website or phone 0208 948 9550 quoting the code.
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Alumni notes Guitarist Steven Joseph has won the Westbourne Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. His prize includes the opportunity to perform Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the orchestra as part of their summer season.
Countertenor Tim Mead has performed with baroque ensemble La Nuova Musica at the London Handel Festival at St George’s, Hanover Square. The programme showcased the virtuosic piece Salve Regina by Porpora and some of Handel’s greatest arias. Soprano Louise Alder has performed at Wigmore Hall as part of the Park Lane Group Young Artists season. Her programme featured songs by early 20th-century composers including Britten’s “Nocturne” from On this Island and Strauss’ “Der Stern”. Anna Meredith
Three tracks by composer Anna Meredith have been used in Prada’s spring advertising campaign. The video is available to watch on the fashion label’s website at bit.ly/1kvZu52 Steven Joseph
Composer Simon Coleman’s music has featured in a new series of Ade at Sea on ITV. The six-part show followed comedian and presenter Ade Edmondson as he set sail to explore Britain’s maritime past and discover how it continues to influence the lives of the people who depend on the sea today.
Liz Armour has joined Clowns Without Borders, a humanitarian organisation in South Africa which aims to promote the psychosocial wellbeing of children. Over a period of three weeks, Liz performed in 30 different schools on the trumpet and tenor horn, as well as the melodica and ukelele. Find out more about the organisation at www.cwbsa.org
Composer Charlotte Bray has participated in a new scheme conceived by Music-in-the-Round which offers audiences the chance to buy individual bars of her new piece. The threemovement work written for Ensemble 360, is entitled Shadow Games and lasts approximately 15 minutes. Flautist Emilía Rós Sigfúsdóttir has released her debut album Portrait. Nominated as Album of the Year at the Iceland Music Awards 2013, the recording features works by Schubert, Sancan, Fauré, Sveinsson, Younis and Jolivet. Portrait is available to buy through CD Baby, iTunes and Amazon.
Flautist Anna Stokes and her duo partner Lisa Friend have released a CD of flute music. Luminance – Solo & Duo Works for Flute and Piano features mainly French repertoire, including works by Saint-Saëns and Fauré. The album also includes an arrangement of Piazzolla’s Oblivion and pieces by Carl Joachim Andersen, a 19th-century Danish flute virtuoso. Liz Armour
Paul Handley and Odele Prince have reunited and are teaching piano at Music Muswell Ltd, Paul’s family-owned music shop in Muswell Hill. He is happy to offer a discount to RCM alumni and students who mention this article. You can contact Paul on 0208 444 9884 or at www.musicmuswell.com Louisa Treger’s debut novel will be published later this year. The Lodger is the first biographical novel about Dorothy Richardson: lover of HG Wells, peer of Virginia Woolf, and pioneer of the new style of fiction that became known as ‘stream of consciousness’. 20
Emilía Rós Sigfúsdóttir
Tenor Austin Gunn has made his Scottish Opera cover debut as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. He has also sung solo roles in Verdi’s Requiem at Alexandra Palace, Bach’s St John Passion at Bury St Edmunds Cathedral and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius at Dunblane Cathedral.
Pianist Stefan Stroissnig has released a recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto nos 2 and 4 with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Heinrich Schiff. Recorded on the Gramola label, the album is available from Presto Classical.
Spotlight on…
The opera’s innovative cinematic backdrop, involving speciallyfilmed and original archival footage, immerses the audience in the nightmarish world of a naval officer, marooned on a lonely islet in the Atlantic, who is forced to relive events from his ruthlessly selfish past. The production features many RCM alumni, including starring roles for Colette Boushell (Mary Lovell) and Philip Shakesby (Christopher Martin), while violinist Rowan Bell leads the orchestra. The first night also features a talk by renowned public intellectual Roger Scruton.
Composer Oliver Rudland’s new opera, Pincher Martin, based on the novel by William Golding, receives its world premiere in the RCM’s Britten Theatre from 24–26 July. Pianist Melanie Spanswick’s new book So You Want To Play The Piano? has been published by Indepenpress. She has also conducted a series of interviews with eminent classical pianists, including RCM professors Vanessa Latarche, Ashley Wass and Ruth Nye, which are available to watch on her website melaniespanswick.com The Brook Street Band
Soprano Katherine Crompton has been offered a place at the National Opera Studio for 2014/15. She was selected from hundreds of applicants, and made it through three rounds of auditions to be chosen for the prestigious placement. For the final audition she sang three arias in front of a large panel made up of representatives from English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Opera North, the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera.
The Piano Brothers
Pianist Nicholas McCarthy has been announced as a new BBC Proms presenter for BBC Four television. Nicholas joins established television presenters Katie Derham, Tom Service, Suzy Klein, Petroc Trelawny and Samira Ahmed to guide viewers through a selection of televised concerts.
Pianists Dominic Anthony Ferris and Elwin Hendrijanto – aka “The Piano Brothers” – gave their official London launch at Kings Place. They performed an eclectic programme featuring Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story along with fiery arrangements of modern classics from Adele to Muse. The London Firebird Orchestra, founded by pianist Marc Corbett-Weaver, has performed at the Royal Festival Hall with conductor and comedian Rainer Hersch. The performance featured many RCM students and alumni including Oompah Brass and baritone James Oldfield.
Tickets are now on sale from the RCM Box Office at www.rcm.ac.uk/ boxoffice. For more information about the production please visit www.pinchermartinopera.com The Brook Street Band, directed by cellist Tatty Theo, returns to Wigmore Hall with soprano Nicki Kennedy on Sunday 20 July with Triumph Over Tragedy, a programme of virtuosic baroque works by Bach, Handel and Telemann. The Band will also be joined by natural trumpet player Simon Desbruslais and violist John Crockatt. Violist Isabel Villanueva has performed at the closing concert of the MustonenFest at the Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn. Isabel played Neharót, Neharót by the Israeli composer Betty Olivero. Pianist Alan Chu has performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Hong Kong Wind Symphony under the baton of Maestro Kent Lee. Alan is currently Principal Keyboard of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Ronald Leith has been honoured by His Holiness, Pope Francis, for his 40 years’ service in the R C Diocese of Aberdeen as Organist and Director of Music of St Mary’s R C Cathedral, and as accompanist to the R C Diocesan Choir. He was presented with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross or ‘Cross of Honour’ by Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen on behalf of His Holiness. Soprano Ruby Hughes has been awarded a 2014 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. Former winners include RCM alumni Elizabeth Watts, Andrew Kennedy and Alina Ibragmiova. 21
Obituaries and births RCM alumnus Antony Hopkins has died. A conductor, pianist and composer, he was best known for presenting the weekly BBC Radio 3 programme Talking about Music for more than 36 years. Born in north London, he was adopted by Major Tom Hopkins, a housemaster at Berkhamsted School, and his wife Lillian, following the death of his father when he was four. After Berkhamsted, he studied at the RCM from 1930–1942, where he won the Chappell Gold Medal and Cobbet Prize for composition. Encouraged by Tippett, he composed prolifically for the theatre, radio drama and film, but by the 1960s was concentrating on lecturing, writing and broadcasting. Beside his popular radio shows, he also became known for his books of musical analysis, which included Talking about Symphonies. He remained in contact with the RCM throughout his life, and kindly gave a large collection of music to the Library in 2010. He was awarded Fellowship of the RCM in 1964 and was appointed CBE in 1976 for services to music. Accompanist, repetiteur and orchestral pianist Barbara Henvest has died. She studied piano at the RCM, gaining an ARCM in Piano Teaching and LRAM in Piano Accompaniment. She taught at Bryanston School, Brockenhurst Sixth Form College, Twynham Comprehensive and Durlston Court. In more recent years, she worked as an accompanist at Brockenhurst and Alton Sixth Form Colleges, assisting students with their performance. Barbara also held the post of principal keyboard player with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra from 1978. She worked with the Palm Court Theatre Orchestra, the Grange Choral Society and accompanied many recitals (including those by José Carreras). Barbara recently took up the trombone and was a member of New Forest Big Band, Lymington Town Band, New Forest Brass Band, Marchwood Orchestra, Meridian Winds and Winchester Symphony Orchestra. Violinist and former RCM professor Maria Lidka has died aged 99. She was a notable figure in British musical life and gave numerous performances of new works. Maria followed her teacher, Max Rostal, to London from Germany in 1934 to escape the Nazi regime. In 1941 she was chosen to replace Marie Hlounova in the Czech Trio, along with Walter Susskind and Karel Hritz, where she changed her name from 22
Liedtke to Lidka to make it sound ‘more Czech’. Throughout her performing career Maria championed new music, performing regularly at Myra Hess’ lunchtime concerts at the National Gallery, often with Benjamin Britten. Two of her most notable performances were the premiere of Tippett’s Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli, conducted by the composer, at the Edinburgh Festival in 1953 and the premiere of Fricker’s first Violin Concerto, which was composed for her. She was a much sought-after violin professor at the RCM from 1968–1985. Organist and director of music at Beverley Minster for 42 years, Dr Alan Spedding, has died aged 70. Alan was born in Wimbledon and educated at Rutlish School in South London, before training at the RCM where his studies included cello and organ, the latter with professor John Birch. As a choral conductor, organist and teacher he was inspirational and worked long and hard to combine excellence with enterprise. As music master at Beverley Grammar School, a teacher in Hull, and in his long and devoted work at the Minster, he was an inspiring trainer of young musicians. He participated in many radio and television broadcasts and in 1979 took the Minster choir to sing at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. Alan was a devoted supporter of the work of major musical organisations, most notably the Royal College of Organists, the Royal School of Church Music, ABRSM, and the Incorporated Association of Organists for whom he was associate editor of the Organists’ Review. Pianist and joint founder of the Leeds Piano Competition Marion Thorpe has died. Born in Vienna in 1926, her father, Erwin Stein, was a pupil of Schoenberg and became a distinguished music editor. Her childhood was immersed in music; Mahler was an acquaintance of her father, as was Alban Berg. Her father took a post at Boosey & Hawkes in London and Marion studied at the RCM from 1944–1945, studying piano with Kendall Taylor and composition with Herbert Howells. She went on to play the piano professionally, forming a duo with Catherine Shanks. In 1949 Marion married George Lascelles, the 7th Lord Harewood, and moved to Harewood House, where she had three children. In 1961, Fanny Waterman enlisted the help of Marion to set up
the Leeds Piano Competition, which has since provided a platform for many pianists including Murray Perahia, Dmitri Alexeev, Mitsuko Uchida and András Schiff. Her marriage to Lord Harewood unravelled between the first and second competition, resulting in a divorce in 1967. She later went on to marry Jeremy Thorpe, leader of the Liberal party, in 1973. In 1986, Marion Thorpe sat on the RCM’s Centenary Appeal Committee, raising significant funds to build the Britten Theatre. She also attended the anniversary gala dinner in 2011. She maintained a strong interest in the RCM all her life, and was awarded an HonRCM by our President HRH The Prince of Wales in 2005. She was awarded the CBE in 2008 for services to music. As Upbeat went to press we were sorry to learn of the death of former chairman of Glyndebourne opera house and festival Sir George Christie (FRCM), former principal bassoon of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Brian Pollard (FRCM), and former secretary to the RCM International Opera School Nidia Clarke (HonRCM).
Births Research Fellow in Performance Science Rosie Perkins and her husband Dan are delighted to announce the birth of their son Benedict Pip Perkins on 20 January 2014, weighing 8lbs 2oz.
Benedict Pip Perkins
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