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(photo: Martin Tompkins)
Who or what inspired you to take up the clarinet and pursue a career in music?

Hearing the sound of a clarinet in a live orchestral concert – I had been advised to take up a second instrument to complement my piano studies and the sound won me over!

Who or what were the most important influences on your musical life and career?

My two most important teachers – firstly, my initial piano teacher, Bridget Christian, who above all encouraged me to love the music that I played. Secondly, my major clarinet teacher during my school years, Dr. Kevin Murphy. He was not just a teacher, but a friend and mentor in every respect, demanding excellence and dedication, fostering (and sometimes reining in) my enthusiasm, and giving me advice and principles which I use every day in developing my career.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

Leaving full-time study and transitioning into the profession – occasionally staring at a worryingly bare diary, and having the confidence to continue.

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of?

Walking onto the stage at Snape Maltings aged 14, and summoning the courage to perform my first concerto (Weber’s 2nd, op. 74). I don’t remember much about the experience except overwhelming nerves before it, and overwhelming excitement and relief after it.

Which particular works do you think you play best?

I don’t know if I play them best, but the works that I enjoy performing the most are those which I truly can put my own interpretative stamp on, or collaborate with other musicians to create our own unique, musically considered approach. I am also – for better or worse – a bit of a showman, and I love to engage with that element in concertos, or lighten the tone of a recital with a fun and frothy showpiece.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

At the moment, my main priorities are variety (to keep both myself and audiences engaged), stylistic balance, and originality through new works.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

I’m sure that I haven’t performed in nearly enough venues to make a choice, but for sentimental reasons (certainly not for acoustics) it would have to be Wells Cathedral, Somerset, a place I associate wholly with my formative musical years.

Favourite pieces to perform? Listen to?

To perform: undoubtably the Mozart Quintet K581 and the Copland Concerto.

To listen to: Jessye Norman’s 1982 recording of Strauss’ Four Last Songs with Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Claudio Abbado’s Daphnis et Chloé with the London Symphony Orchestra, or Earth, Wind and Fire’s Greatest Hits.

Who are your favourite musicians?

Far too many to list – but three that spring immediately to mind are: Joyce Didonato, for her advocacy of an utterly healthy, positive and enthusiastic approach to the world of music; Mitsuko Uchida, for her unwavering musical integrity; and Edith Piaf, for the sheer authenticity of her expression.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

During my final course as principal of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain – the principal’s ensemble played John Adam’s Chamber Symphony and Copland’s Appalachian Spring under Pablo Heras-Casado, and the full orchestra performed Copland’s monumental 3rd Symphony with Antonio Pappano live on BBC2 at the BBC Proms. It was an unforgettable and idyllic three weeks, with so many cherished memories. Rehearsing and performing the Weber Quintet op. 34 during my final year at university with the Endellion String Quartet was equally terrifying, thrilling, and enlightening.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

Enthusiasm, enjoyment and dedication.

Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time?

Settled, happy, and making a living out of what I love doing, while continuing to love doing it!

What is your present state of mind?

Incredibly excited, if a little apprehensive about what my career will bring.

Joseph Shiner’s biography

josephshiner.co.uk

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Is writing about music really like

“dancing about architecture”?

Tuesday 2nd February 2016, Senate House
University of London

I am delighted to be involved in this special event exploring the wide variety of writing about classical music today, including concert and opera reviews, academic writing, music journalism, programme notes, blogging and musicians who write about music

Guest speakers:

  • Dr Mark Berry – (Royal Holloway, University of London and blogger at Boulezian)
  • Jessica Duchen – author, classical music journalist and blogger
  • Mary Grace Nguyen – freelance opera and theatre critic and blogger at Trend FEM
  • Simon Brackenborough – blogger at Corymbus

Q&A and discussion session
Networking opportunity

Do join us for what promises to be an interesting and lively event, plus an opportunity to connect with like-minded people

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
7-9pm

Court Room, Senate House
University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU

Tickets £5, students free (with proof of status)
https://billetto.co.uk/en/events/music-into-words

Presented in association with the Institute of Musical Research and the School of Advanced Study

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I was delighted to have the opportunity to try Casio’s latest addition to their Celviano range of digital pianos. The Celviano Grand Hybrid takes the digital piano to a new level: produced in collaboration with renowned German piano maker C Bechstein, Casio have succeeded in producing a top-of-the-range instrument with an affordable price tag and a compact size.

The demo took place at Metropolis Studios in west London (where both Adele and the late Amy Winehouse recorded albums) and it was a privilege to meet acclaimed young British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, who praised the instrument for its superior touch, tone and a host of other features which enable one to practise at all times of the day and night. There was also a chance to chat with Benjamin generally about his busy year of concerts (including performances at the Proms and his debut at Carnegie Hall) and his plans for the forthcoming season. I was then able to try the Celviano Grand Hybrid myself.

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I owned a digital piano when I first started playing again, about 15 years ago. It did the job, at a time when I had neither the space nor the funds to purchase an acoustic piano, but it always felt slightly unsatisfactory, particularly in its limited range of sound and inauthentic touch.

Touch is very important to the pianist and from the moment anyone commences playing, as a child or adult, an awareness of how touch affects the sound we produce is crucial. A keyboard simply cannot reproduce the weighted touch of an acoustic piano. But Casio have achieved something that comes very close to a real piano by combing the same spruce wooden key material used by Bechstein with a hammer action which replicates the action of a grand piano (real hammers inside the instrument follow the same path as the hammers inside a grand piano). This allows the player to fully utilise arm weight in the production of sound, which means that when one goes to play an acoustic piano, the difference in touch is very slight. The player can also adjust the touch to make it heavier or lighter, thus reproducing the differing touches of acoustic pianos.

The other significant feature of this instrument is its sound. Using the Bechstein concert grand as its template, Casio has created deep, nuanced sound, tonal palette and rich resonance. You can also open the lid to increase bass resonance. Settings on the instrument allow one to utilise a Berlin grand sound (Bechstein), Hamburg (Steinway) or Vienna (Bosendorfer), and there are also options to adjust the sound to suit the composer, recreate the reverberation of a concert hall, record oneself playing, playback, and tempo changes.

I was impressed with the quality and range of sound and the touch of this instrument. For the teacher, student or professional pianist, the Grand Hybrid offers superior sound and touch plus a host of other features to enhance the playing experience. In addition, one can practise with headphones, which means you can play any time of the day or night

For more information, please visit www.grand-hybrid.com/uk/

(Photos courtesy of Casio UK)

Key features and technical specification:

  • It is the only piano that has the distinct blend of classical workmanship from world class piano manufacturers C.Bechstein, teamed with the technology that Casio has brought to all of its digital pianos for over 35 years.
  • It is the only piano that combines the world’s most famous piano sounds ­ The Hamburg Grand and the Vienna Grand ­ as well as having The Berlin Grand sound, which was exclusively developed as part of the Casio/C Bechstein collaboration just for this piano.
  • It actually ​feels ​like a Grand Piano unlike other hybrids… right down to the weight of the keys under your fingers. It combines spruce wooden key material as used in C. Bechstein grand pianos, and a new unique action mechanism that delivers the right hammer movement, which has a huge impact on the playing response of a grand piano

AiR* Grand Sound Source:

  • Enables beautiful sound and rich reverberation just like a grand piano.
  • It provides the sound profiles of three grand piano styles with a long history: the Berlin Grand, which is known for its elegant clear sound and a reverberation that gives each performance rich melodic color; the Hamburg Grand, which delivers gorgeous power and strength with plenty of string resonance; and the Vienna Grand, which provides a calm and stately sound with rich bass and beautiful tones when the keys are played softly.
  • Of the three, the Berlin Grand sound was developed in collaboration with C. Bechstein, a piano maker with a history of over 160 years. As a result, the new models have moved beyond the realm of conventional digital pianos, demonstrating a commitment to nuanced sound creation.

Grand Acoustic System:

  • Represents the sound of a grand piano as it emanates from above and below the soundboard. The system delivers three­-dimensional sound with tonal elongation, expansion and depth.

Natural Grand Hammer Action Keyboard:

  • Combines spruce wooden key material as used in C. Bechstein grand pianos, and a new unique action mechanism that delivers the right hammer movement, which has a big impact on the playing response of a grand piano.
  • This allows the pianist to produce nuanced sound with a delicate touch that is essential for demonstrating the expressive power of the piano, while also enjoying reliable key response and supple playing comfort.

Scene feature:

  • Consists of 15 preset types for different composers such as Chopin and Liszt, as well as musical genres such as jazz and easy listening. The presets combine the best optimal tones, reverberation, and effects for the type of piece being played.
  • Users can also create and save their own presets.

Concert Play:

  • The spectacular sound of a live orchestra is recorded in a high­-quality digital format. By playing the piano together with the recorded orchestra, users can enjoy the feeling of performing at an orchestral concert.
  • The technology can also be used in practice, as it allows the tempo to be slowed, and also features rewind, fast forward, and repeat playback of A­B sections.

Hall Simulator:

  • Allows the pianist to enjoy the immersive sound found in different types of venues such as an Amsterdam church, or a classical concert hall in Berlin.
  • Also, the GP­500BP and GP­300 models enable users to switch between the Player’s Position, which provides a sense of playing a real grand piano, and three types of Listener’s Positions, which gives the pianist the effect of listening to the performance from the audience.

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Extraordinary, isn’t it? It’s a classical concert, so presumably the audience are there because they want to hear classical music – and yet the bar is playing “bad pop” (and those two words cover a multitude of sins!). This strikes me as a major “fail” on the part of the management of the venue – it’s also just plain dim.

plugears1

Music, often bad music, is everywhere these days. We used to make jokes about “lift music” (or muzak) or “hotel lobby music”, but now it is inescapable. It’s in shops, bars, cafes, restaurants – the noise often blaring from the invisible speakers so loud as to preclude intelligent or intelligible conversation. It’s leaking tinnily out of other people’s headphones on the tube and bus. And if you dare to ask to turn it down – as I do on occasion – you are met with looks of surprise, as if to say “you don’t like it?”. Or, worst case scenario, the chef gobs in your soup in revenge for your effrontery. I have had to leave certain establishments because the “background music” (ha!) made it impossible to have an audible conversation with the person I was meeting.

Most of this “music” is repetitive, musically simplistic (4 or 5 harmonies at most), and full of banal platitudes. But endure it we must, because it seems that some of us are afraid of silence. (Pause for a moment to consider the composer John Cage’s thoughts on “silence”…..)

Even the bank which I use on London’s High Street Kensington has been invaded by bad pop, the “music” regularly interrupted by the inane gabbling of some fifth-rate “DJ”. Why do we need such “noise” in the bank? Do those that select this noise think it will enhance our “banking experience”? In most cases, it makes me want to run screaming onto the busy street. It is a relief, therefore, to enter High Street Kensington tube station, where classical music plays, as background music, just audible enough to identify Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto or a Handel aria as I make my way down to the westbound platform.

Most of the time I – and I suspect quite a few others – would happily go about my business uninterrupted by bad pop or “background music”. I don’t need a soundtrack to my transactions at the bank (though if one were to choose something appropriate, perhaps ‘Money’ by Pink Floyd, or Beethoven’s ‘Rage Over the Lost Penny’?); I’d like to enter a pub or cafe and hear the sound of other people talking, laughing. Going clothes shopping needn’t be like entering a discotheque (though I was pleased to have my street cred enhanced by correctly identifying ‘Golden Brown’ by The Stranglers in Top Shop recently – the (very young) assistant said “this is nice, what is it?”. Fortunately, I resisted the urge to sound like Michael Winner – “It’s from the 80s, dear”.

Don’t get me wrong: I love music, especially classical music, and most especially live classical music. I enjoy music in the right context and I’ll happily sit and listen to a radio broadcast, CD or live concert for several hours, uninterrupted, given half the chance. But out of context it can grate and intrude, especially when the music being played is someone else’s selection, a playlist made to someone else’s taste. Better in those circumstances to turn it off.

Because my main activity is playing the piano and teaching other people how to play the piano, when I am not engaged in that, I tend not to listen to the radio or music via CDs or a streaming service. Instead, I like to hear the sounds of my house quietly creaking and stretching, the cat mewing, the birds in the garden, the wind in the trees in my garden, the chatter of my neighbour’s grandchildren. These sounds are far more enjoyable and genuine that anything blaring out of a loudspeaker in a shop or cafe.

Pipe Down – the campaign for freedom from piped music

A Point of View: Why it’s time to turn the music off

Pop Music is Literally Ruining Our Brains