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Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music?

My family owned an old upright piano that had belonged to my grandparents. It was brilliant to muck around on, and I remember trying to play some TV themes: I got quite good at Grange Hill. There was quite a lot of music at home, as my two older brothers also learned the piano and we all sang in the local church choir, along with my Dad. Although, I did find dressing up in a cassock quite funny. I had really good teachers who were disciplined, while letting me do my own thing. When I was 11, my state school put on Britten’s Noye’s Fludde, and that was an incredible experience, even though I was only a badly behaved squirrel. A few years later I heard a recording of Debussy’s Prelude a’apres-midi d’un faune, which opened my ears to how sensuous and sexy music could be, and sent my teenage hormones through the roof. I then devoured music at the piano, mostly borrowing scores from the library.

Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career both as a performer and a composer?

There’s such a huge range of good music from across the centuries that I love, and nearly of it shares the same philosophy: that music’s essentials (melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, structure) can combine into something that reflects our lives. This shapes my work in what I play and compose/arrange. Making music should also be part of a community, and it can be linked with popular and folk styles while maintaining strength and depth. That’s one of the great legacies of people like Benjamin Britten and Percy Grainger, and their music is a big influence in different ways. Jazz has always had a big impact too, especially the composer/ arrangers like Duke Ellington, Gil Evans, Nelson Riddle, or Leonard Bernstein’s fusion of styles. It shows us that music can be dangerous, dirty, brash and raunchy as well.

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

Self-motivation: maintaining a belief that what you’re doing is worthwhile in a crazy and complicated world, especially during periods of depression. This seems to become harder the older I get.

Which performances/recordings/compositions are you most proud of?

There are so many things I’m lucky to have been involved with, as a performer, composer and arranger. Some of the orchestral pieces I’ve written for the BBC Proms are a highlight: ‘Wing It’ in 2012, ‘Gershwinicity’ in 2018. The ongoing Scary Fairy orchestral fairytale series is a lot of fun, with Craig Charles narrating his poetry. There’s also a concert of orchestral folk song arrangements with the singer Sam Lee, playing jazz songs with Jacqui Dankworth, recording Elgar’s 2nd Symphony on the piano, choral concerts, chamber music… too much to list. And I guess playing the piano at the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony: my Mum died of cancer that morning and I managed to hold it together, even though I was in the middle of having a complete emotional breakdown.

As a performer, how do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

When I do get the chance to choose, it’s always a very eclectic mixture of music, linked thematically in some way. I generally try and get in a new piece or arrangement of some kind, maybe something entertaining. After all, a concert can be fun too.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in?

Although it’s a bonkers barn of a place, playing at the Royal Albert Hall in the Proms always feels like a bit of a party. Playing the organ there can be a ridiculous ego trip.

As a composer, how do you work?

I do get tunes or harmonies that pop into my head, often as I’m just about to fall asleep, which can sometimes be a nuisance. Normally I throw all the ideas together by improvising at the piano, singing along at the top of my voice. This is scribbled down on semi-legible manuscript, worked at and crossed out until I’ve got a full complete draft. Then I typeset it on Sibelius software, so that I can actually read it.

How would you describe your compositional style/language?

There’s often a lot of jazz styles in there: swing, funk, blues and others, mixed with classical structures and colourful tonal harmonies. Clear melodies and strong rhythms play a big part too. Most of the time, the music is about our life experiences and emotions: joy, sadness, love, loss.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

As an audience member it was actually at the ballet, the first time I saw The Rite of Spring danced by English National Ballet. I was hyperventilating by the end.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

In a way, any musician that can make a living as a performer is a success, especially while trying to raise a family. Beyond that, I think anyone that can find new and inspiring ways to connect with audiences is doing it right. Giving people life-enhancing experiences outside of the mainstream is vital, including going into schools, hospitals, prisons.

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

Be versatile, work hard and try to stay as positive as you can. We’re pretty lucky to be doing this, when you think about it.

What is your present state of mind?

Buzzing like a beehive.

Iain Farrington has an exceptionally busy and diverse career as a pianist, organist, composer and arranger. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London and at Cambridge University. He has made numerous recordings, and has broadcast on BBC Television, Classic FM and BBC Radio 3. Through his multi-faceted work as a musician, he aims to bring live music to as wide an audience as possible. Iain’s concert programmes often mix popular and jazz elements into the traditional Classical repertoire. His many chamber orchestral arrangements allow large-scale works to be presented on an affordable smaller scale, and his compositions range from virtuoso display pieces to small works for beginner instrumentalists.

As a solo pianist, accompanist, chamber musician and organist, Iain has performed at all the major UK venues and abroad in the USA, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Malaysia, Hong Kong and all across Europe. He has worked with many of the country’s leading musicians, including Bryn Terfel, Sir Paul McCartney and Lesley Garrett. Iain played the piano at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics with Rowan Atkinson, the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle, broadcast to a global audience of around a billion viewers. With Counterpoise he has worked with numerous singers and actors, including Sir John Tomlinson, Sir Willard White, Jacqui Dankworth and Eleanor Bron. As a session pianist, Iain has recorded numerous film and TV soundtracks for Hollywood, Disney and independent productions. His solo organ performance in the Proms 2007 on the Royal Albert Hall organ was critically acclaimed, and he performed his Animal Parade in 2015 at the Royal Festival Hall organ for a family concert. Iain was Organ Scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge University, and Organ Scholar at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Iain is a prolific composer and arranger, and has made hundreds of arrangements ranging from operas to piano pieces. He has composed two 40 minute Scary Fairy orchestral works combining poems by Craig Charles with a continuous full score, first performed and broadcast on BBC Radio 2 ‘Friday Night is Music Night’ with the BBC Philharmonic. For the BBC Proms he composed an orchestral work Gershwinicity in 2018, A Shipshape Shindig in 2017, a jazz guide to the orchestra Wing It, and a Double Violin Concerto, in 2012 for the Wallace and Gromit Prom. Iain’s choral work The Burning Heavens was nominated for a British Composer Award in 2010. He has made arrangements in many styles, including traditional African songs, Berlin cabaret, folk, klezmer, jazz and pop. Iain is the Arranger in Residence for the Aurora Orchestra who have performed and recorded his compositions and arrangements, including all the songs for the Horrible Histories Prom in 2011. His organ arrangement of Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No. 5 was performed at the 2011 Royal Wedding in Westminster Abbey.

iainfarrington.com

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Who or what inspired you to take up the organ and pursue a career in music?

When I was ten years old, my best friend at school asked whether I wanted to come and join the local church choir. I said that I wasn’t interested until he said that I would be paid for my services! When I went along to my first choir practice he showed me the organ and from that moment on I was determined to learn. It was a real Eureka moment.

You’re also the CEO of Dubai Airports, how does your musical background influence your work life?

I believe that the ability to think through complex problems and break them down into small pieces, then reassemble them is the same process as learning a challenging piece of repertoire; having the patience to learn an instrument that demands the coordination of so many different events has so many applications in business. Running the world’s largest international airport is certainly demanding, so the application and discipline that I have learnt from music is very helpful.

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

When I was eighteen I was introduced to Malcolm Hicks, who has had a long and distinguished career as an organist and conductor. He took me under his wing and enabled me to appreciate a whole different level of musicianship. I had some notable successes in competitions and diplomas with him and have accompanied many choral performances under Malcolm’s baton.

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

Undoubtedly taking eighteen months to learn and perform the three-movement Suite, Opus 5, by Maurice Duruflé. It is a tour de force of the organ repertoire and many professional organists shy away from it. Inspired by Alan Rusbridger’s book ‘Play it Again’ which a pianist friend gave me, the book describes how it was possible to learn Chopin’s fearsome Ballade No 1 in G minor whilst being the editor of a major international newspaper. I decided I could learn the Duruflé Suite whilst running the world’s largest international airport. The most heart-warming part of the whole experience was the willingness of many professional musicians to give their time to help me prepare for my first performance.

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of?

In 2004 I was the soloist in Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ and Strings at Birmingham Symphony Hall, under the baton of Lionel Friend. It’s a great piece and when I was in my teens I listened tirelessly to the recording made by Maurice Duruflé in 1961 in the presence of Poulenc himself, so being able to perform the work was a great thrill.

Which particular works do you think you play best?

As a student I used to tackle the standard repertoire of Bach and Buxtehude but then ventured into the world of Paul Hindemith, particularly enjoying his three Sonatas for organ. However, romantic music has always enabled me to really express my deepest emotions and latterly I became hooked on the French romantic output from the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Louis Vierne and Cesar Franck.

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

I always set myself the goal of learning new repertoire to expand the possibilities and contrast of performance. I enjoy creating connections and setting strong context in my programming as the organ can be rather dull to those who don’t encounter its repertoire outside of a sacred context.

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

The organ loft at Westminster Abbey is a very special place. Late at night when you are alone in the building you are very aware of more than 1,000 years of history all around you and the magnificence of the architecture and grand acoustic add so much to the performance of any major work.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

I used to play for the Waverley Singers, an accomplished choral society based in Farnham, Surrey, which was conducted by Malcolm Hicks. We undertook several concert tours and accompanying the choir in the splendour of the Cathedral of St Bavo in Haarlem in Holland was a very memorable experience. Malcolm recently found a photograph of me at the organ during our tour in 1999 which he gave me.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

I lead a very diverse life so I am not sure that I can give the answer purely from a musician’s perspective. However, the ability to express one’s inner soul and communicate on a completely different level through the power of music is unparalleled in any other form of human communication and having the ability and determination to achieve this is immensely rewarding.

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

The subtlety of artistic impression goes so deep that there can never be an end to the attention to interpretative detail; grasping this at a young age and applying it through hours of preparation can really set an artist on a whole different level of musical awareness and appreciation.

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

At home in East Sussex, at the console of the three-manual Aubertin organ which was installed in 2015.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Having spent my whole life wondering whether I should have become a full-time musician, becoming a full-time musician when I decide to relinquish my role running Dubai Airports

What is your most treasured possession?

My battered black briefcase which has been around the world with me countless times

What do you enjoy doing most?

Trying to befriend one of my three cats, called Kitty. She loves attention but then snaps into a tiger. Knowing exactly when to quit can become a near-death experience

What is your present state of mind?

I currently have the complexity of Durufle’s Toccata coursing through my head whilst sleeping and awake. It’s amazing how the human brain can absorb an idea, develop it and then create a whole new level of understanding without any apparent intervention.

 

Paul Griffiths performs at Westminster Abbey on 13th August at 17.45. Details here

Paul Griffiths began playing the organ at the age of ten and won first prize in the London Musical Competition Festival at the age of 13.  Whilst studying with renowned organist and conductor Malcolm Hicks, he gained the ARCO, ARCM and LRAM within a six-month period and the FRCO two years later.  In 1981, he was placed second in the Trianon Organ Competition.

Having been Organist and Choirmaster at St Mary’s Welwyn from 1980, he moved to Hong Kong in 1986, where he became Assistant Organist at St John’s Cathedral and Head of Organ at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.  He also featured in broadcasts with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and has also given recitals at the English Cathedrals of Ely, Peterborough, Wells, St Paul’s and at Westminster Abbey.  Paul also features regularly as an organist and continuo player in concerts and recordings in the UK and overseas and in May 2002, made a guest appearance at Birmingham Symphony Hall with Dame Gillian Weir.  He has also given recitals at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, St John’s Smith Square and London’s Temple Church.  In 2003, Paul was appointed organist to the voluntary choir at Guildford Cathedral, where he studied the organ with Stephen Farr. In October 2004, Paul returned to Birmingham Symphony Hall to appear as the soloist in Poulenc’s Organ Concerto with the Birmingham Conservatoire Orchestra, conducted by Lionel Friend.
 
Outside of musical life, following 14 years as an Executive Director of Virgin Atlantic and the Virgin Rail Group, in January 2005 he was appointed Managing Director of London Gatwick Airport and, in 2007, moved to Dubai to become the first Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Airports, the owner and operator of the world’s largest international airport.  He is regularly requested for interviews on the BBC to contribute towards aviation-related issues, including the debate on Heathrow’s 3rd runway. 

Paul was appointed as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the Queen’s Birthday Honour List in 2015, for services to British prosperity overseas and to music.

 

 

 

 

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Organist Stephen Farr

Who or what inspired you to take up the organ and make it your career?

Two simple events: first, sitting next to the piano on my first day at primary school (I asked to have a go after assembly was over, and started piano lessons soon after); second, the local church organist breaking the world record for non-stop organ playing the same year. My parents took me to hear him one afternoon, and I was hooked. No great philosophical epiphanies; it really was as simple as that.

Who or what are the most important influences on your playing?

Some really superb teachers; and many other musicians, some organists, some not. Good singers, increasingly.

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

In an obvious sense there have been plenty of tricky pieces to learn, and a few times I’ve been called in to learn very difficult things at short notice – overnight, more than once. But probably most people have a story like that to tell. If you’re an organist I think it can be easy to get into a rut; that sort of comfort zone can be very alluring, so the constant challenge of my career is to give myself a nudge at the right time and keep looking outwards as a musician.

What are the particular challenges/excitements of working with an orchestra/ensemble?

Concertos are always a bit of an exotic experience for organists – opportunities to play them don’t come up all that often. In orchestral/ensemble situations, being one of a team who has to conform to someone else’s requirements, when you spend most of your performing life being your own musical boss, is demanding. There’s also the added dimension of having others reliant on you. The most stressful week by far of my career to date involved playing the (horrendously difficult) organ part in a contemporary orchestral score – an hour of counting and a minute of terror. But it’s satisfying being part of a group rather than a lone recitalist – I especially love continuo playing for just this reason.

Which recordings are you most proud of?

Judith Bingham’s ‘The Everlasting Crown’ I think, but I really can’t bear listening to my own playing, so ‘proud’ in this context is a relative term. I just can’t be in the same room with my playing of 10 years ago.

Do you have a favourite concert venue?

Sacred – St Paul’s Cathedral, London; secular, Royal Albert Hall. No matter how hard you try to be hard-bitten about it, walking out to perform in the Proms is a genuine thrill. As a listener, I like Symphony Hall in Birmingham.

Who are your favourite musicians?

Alfred Brendel; Wilhelm Furtwangler; Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; Carlos Kleiber; J S Bach.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

I’m going to cheat a bit here because some of the most memorable moments for me are to do with recordings. First, hearing Elgar 1 for the first time; the slow movement was playing in a London record shop where I had gone to buy some Dufay or something, and I had never heard anything so beautiful as that slow movement. I was literally (much-abused word, but accurate here) rooted to the spot for 10 minutes. Second, hearing ‘authentic’ instruments for the first time (English Concert, Brandenburg Concertos, c. 1983); I can remember the clarity and brilliance of No. 2 as if it was last week. And, very much less properly, having a helpless giggling fit all the way through Ligeti’s ‘Atmospheres’ in the RFH when I was 8 – we had been taken on a school outing by our very thoughtful music teacher, and I’m ashamed to admit I disgraced myself. Mr Cole, if you’re reading this – I’m sorry.

What is your favourite music to play? To listen to?

Bach and Jehan Alain. Bach, late Beethoven, Brahms. Schubert, Schumann, Mahler, Messiaen, R Strauss…

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

Work very hard; don’t fool yourself that second best is ever acceptable. Keep your eyes and ears constantly open, your mouth mostly shut, and be open to the possibility of learning things from anyone, anywhere, no matter how apparently unlikely the context. Read Schumann’s Musical Rules for the Young, there’s a lot of good sense in there, however quaint some of his recommendations seem now. ‘Studying is unending’.

What are you working on at the moment?

Mainly contemporary things – Judith Bingham, Nico Muhly, some Jonathan Harvey. Bach’s Clavierübung Part III needs revisiting. A Wagner transcription which I have been asked to play for a special occasion and would really much rather hear played by an orchestra than by me, but I’m stuck with it. Shortly to start writing a PhD dissertation, so spending a lot of time in libraries.

What do you enjoy doing most?

Playing, when it’s going well.

What is your present state of mind?

Pensive, a bit sleep-deprived

Recognised as “one of the brightest and most active English recitalists” who “plays with immaculate finish and buoyancy” (Classic CD), Stephen Farr is widely regarded as one of the finest organists of his generation, with a virtuoso technique and an impressive stylistic grasp of a wide-ranging repertoire. He combines a busy freelance playing career with the posts of Director of Music at St Paul’s Knightsbridge in London, and ACE Foundation Director of Music at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Read Stephen’s full biography here

www.stephenfarr.co.uk