Upbeat Summer 2014 - Royal College of Music

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
[email protected] 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 [email protected] 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.
Contents
4
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
12New 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
14Meeting 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
3
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.
4
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.
5
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.
6
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
[email protected]
7
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 [email protected]
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
The Magazine for the Royal College of Music I Autumn 2012
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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.
11
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.
13
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 [email protected]
15
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
16
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.
17
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
[email protected]
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.
19
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
Royal College of Music
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