Archive for category: Profiles

Firebird Well Seasoned is the apt title for the next concert on 8 February which will be directed from the violin by Thomas Gould – ‘one of the most talented and charismatic British violinists of younger generation’.

British violinist Thomas combines an international solo career with leading Britten Sinfonia. Born and bred in London in 1983, he studied with György Pauk at the Royal Academy of Music. He credits his sister Clio Gould with his choice of career, telling The Daily Telegraph in April 2011:

‘… it was inspirational, but more in a social than a musical way. Clio was always bringing these really lively, interesting people home to rehearse. It seemed an exciting life she was leading, and I wanted to do something similar.’

Thomas enjoys a unusually versatile career, with Fiona Maddocks describing him in The Observer as:

‘… a top soloist, happy to tackle old or new repertoire in concert hall or tramshed with symphony orchestra or accordion’.

Although Thomas’s first love is the classical repertoire, he also performs in many other musical genres, with jazz increasingly an important strand of his career.

Contemporary music is another key interest and Thomas premiered numerous works by composers including Nico Muhly, whose concerto for six-string electric violin, Seeing is Believing, Thomas recorded with Aurora Orchestra in 2011 to critical acclaim.

So how to describe this rather eclectic approach to music making? In a 2013 interview with Christopher Morley of the Birmingham Post he said:

‘It was much later that I began to apply this knowledge to the violin, having always – wrongly – thought that the violin wasn’t a jazz instrument. Now I’m in the luxurious position of being able to get up and jam at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club having just played a recital at Wigmore Hall. But I’m definitely a classical violinist first and foremost. I think my classical playing has benefited massively from working with musicians outside classical music.’

Thomas Gould has also performed as soloist and director with Sinfonietta Riga, with whom he recorded Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending.

And on the other side of the musical spectrum he has worked with Radiohead, Rufus Wainwright and Burt Bacharach.

‘One of the most talented and charismatic British violinists of the younger generation’.
– London’s Evening Standard

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Firebird Well Seasoned

St George’s, Hanover Square, London
Thursday 8 February, 7.30pm

Antonio Vivaldi
Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons)

Astor Piazzolla
Estaciones Porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)

Directed from the violin by Thomas Gould

 

George started playing with Firebird as an extra percussionist 4 years ago but for the last season he has been timpanist. In this newsletter we hear more about the musical career of this Kent born musician…

Let’s start by hearing about your musical training and current orchestral playing…

I was very lucky to study for 5 years at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama which gave me a wonderful opportunity to be on the Orchestral Artistry Masters course in conjunction with the London Symphony Orchestra. Since leaving I have been privileged to work with some of the top orchestras in the country, including the Philharmonia, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, London Concert Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra.

What else are you involved with in the world of music?

In addition to my orchestral playing, I spend a large proportion of my career within the theatre, having worked on various productions in the West End. I thoroughly enjoy the chance to collaborate with actors and dancers and to really get to the heart of the narrative and soundscape of a work.

I am currently percussionist for Sheffield Crucible’s production of ‘Wizard of Oz’ and I’m a member of the Percussion Ensemble of London. I also play in a trio with comedienne and actress Josie Lawrence and am a regular member of the house band for the Bateaux London Thames Cruise company.

Tell us about some of the highlights in your career to date…

The world of percussion is always so varied with each new day bringing a new set of challenges and opportunities. Highlights must include stepping onstage at the Adelphi and Haymarket Theatres to perform in ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ – a National Theatre production starring James Corden – with a 1960s suit, slicked hair and only a washboard and a pair of spoons, it’s not something I’ll forget!

Performing Britten’s ‘Billy Budd’ at Cornwall’s at the Endellion Festival with Sir John Tomlinson, Mark Padmore and Roddy Williams in a tiny church on the Cornish coast is not something I will ever forget, truly extraordinary.

Perhaps my two most memorable experiences though have had a more somber note, having played in memorial concerts for Sir John Taverner, at Southwark Cathedral with the Icelandic Chamber Choir, and Sir Colin Davis at the Barbican with 45 brass players performing Strauss’ ‘Festmusik der Stadt Wien’ to open the LSO’s celebration concerts that were also broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

And what about your ambitions for the future?

I am a very ordinary guy and I feel hugely lucky to be working at something I love. Although it’s not always easy, I adore what I do. I always aspire to do wider and greater things and am constantly reading and listening as much as I can, to absorb all styles and methods of music and art. I would love to have a more long-term orchestral job, and within that an individual voice.

I would also love to spend time educating and inspiring future generations of musicians. I have always been incredibly fortunate to have a supportive and inspirational family and teachers and I believe that it is my responsibility to pass on what they gave to me.

Finally, what do you see as the value of an organisation like London Firebird to younger professional musicians like yourself?

For me, Firebird captures the spirit of a youth orchestra, with the flexibility, discipline and ability of a professional orchestra. That combination of high level talent and also fiery passion and, at times, terrifying energy creates music making that really stimulates the love we have for our art form.

On a more personal note, the chance to play in a smaller orchestra is not something that I as a percussion player am able to do very often. Chamber orchestras and earlier romantic and classical works rarely feature more than timpani and so professionally those spots are reserved for principal players. To be able to explore the symphonies of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Haydn etc. is not something I thought I would be able to do at my age and so it’s incredible to have the opportunity to do so; and even better to do so with friends.

With just a few days to go before our 2017-18 launch concert La Vie Parisienne on 10 October, we feature the Chinese soprano He Wu who will be performing famous arias by Offenbach and Bizet…

Chinese-born soprano He Wu started her career as a child star. Her selection as a Young Artist at the National Opera Studio brought her to London where she was supported by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She then studied at the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and Royal College of Music International Opera School.

After being selected as a Samling Scholar, in 2015 she won the Lies Askonas Singing Competition, the Voice of China European Competition, and was a finalist in the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Competition, as well as the Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition.

Here is a sample of this wonderful voice from Massenet’s opera Manon with ‘Je marche sur tous le chemins’:

On the concert platform she has sung as soloist in the Beethoven Symphony No.9 with the Wiener Symphoniker, Mahler Symphony No.2 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Vivaldi Gloria and Mozart Exsultate Jubilate with the Amersham Festival Orchestra, Beethoven Mass in C and Choral Fantasy at St John’s Smith Square, and the Classical Morning concert at Royal Albert Hall.

He Wu has also given recitals in the LSO Schubert Series at the Barbican Centre, ‘Opera Roots’ at the King’s Place and ‘Opera Night’ at Mallorca Music Festival, Spain. She also gave recitals in Barcelona, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi.

Here are some of He Wu’s major opera engagements to date:
• Daiyu in the Chinese première of San Francisco Opera production ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’
• Receptionist in the ENO’s world première of Tansy Davies’s ‘Between Worlds’
• Königen der Nacht in ‘Die Zauberflöte’ at the RCM Britten Theatre
• Marie in ‘La Fille du Régiment’;
• Princesse & Le Feu in ‘L’enfant et les sortilèges’.
• Diana in ‘Giove in Argo’ at the London Handel Festival
• Susanna in ‘Le nozze di Figaro’ with Opera North
• Amor in ‘Orfeo ed Eurydice’ at the Longborough Festival Opera.

During President Xi’s 2015 visit to the UK, He Wu was honoured to be invited to sing for the First Lady of China Madam Peng at the Royal College of Music. First Lady Peng Liyuan is a famous folk singer in her native China.

In this edition we catch up with a selection of some of the wonderful musicians who have performed with the London Firebird Orchestra in the past season to hear more about what they have been up to in their careers and their plans for the year ahead…

Michael Thrift: Conductor

Michael conducted Celestial Grandeur on 13 June, the final concert in our 2016-17 season with works by Mozart, Grieg and Beethoven and featuring piano soloists Marc Corbett-Weaver.

“I’m delighted to have been appointed Music Director of Ormond Opera (based in Richmond) after a very successful Madama Butterfly last year as guest conductor. I’m also looking forward to competing in the Blue Danube Opera Conducting Competition in July in – of all places – Bulgaria. It’s a two week-long competition and features excerpts from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Saint Saens Samson et Dalila, Mozart’s Die Entführung aus den Serail and a new opera Orpheus by John Robertson.

“Later this year I’ll be tackling two big operatic cornerstones with two different companies: Lucia di Lammermoor with Fulham Opera and Carmen with Ormond Opera. Looking further ahead, I have also been booked to conduct Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West in 2020) and Bellini’s I Puritani in 2022.”

Suzanne Fischer: Soprano

Suzanne was our soloist in February’s From London to Vienna conducted by George Jackson when she performed arias from Mozart’s operas Cosí fan Tutte and Le Nozze di Figaro.

“After completing a tour of the UK with English Touring Opera as Lady Saphir in Patience, I’m looking forwad to an exciting autumn with Strauss at the Aldeburgh festival, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with Oxford Lieder Festival and scenes as Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata with the Prussian Chamber Orchestra. Looking ahead to summer 2018 I am very excited to be making my debut with Longborough Festival Opera.”

George Jackson: Conductor

George conducted From London to Vienna on 12 February featuring music by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Haydn with Violinist, Benjamin Baker and Soprano Suzanne Fischer.

“Currently, I’m hopping between Hamburg and Leeds and in mid-July I will be conducting the world premiere of Immer Weiter, an exciting new opera at Hamburg’s Staatsoper. I am also involved in the revival of Opera North’s stunning production of Britten’s Billy Budd for the Aldeburgh Festival.

“This season, I joined the music staff of Opera Rara, a fascinating London-based company who unearth rare and forgotten works by bel canto era composers. I am also beginning a new position at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien as Head of Music and Assistant Conductor, working principally on Robert Carsen’s new production of Berg’s Wozzeck.

“In Italy, I am a regular guest at the Haydn Orchestra di Bolzano, and conducted their winter and spring regional tours with Tchaikovsky’s 1st Symphony and Beethoven’s Eroica.  I look forward to returning as guest conductor this summer for three weeks of open-air concerts.

“In Romania I brought the Enigma Variations to Cluj-Napoca and the Transylvanian Philharmonic back in May, and I look forward to returning next with Schumann’s Fourth Symphony. This was my last season as the Sir Charles Mackerras Fellow at Trinity Laban. I really enjoyed performing Nino Rota’s ‘La Strada’, complete with orchestral choreography, as well as a side-by-side concert of Nutcracker highlights with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.”

Lance Mok: Composer

Lance’s Two Loves was the winner of this year’s Firebird Composer of the Year Competition which received its World Premiere on 16 March as part of Heroics and Hijinx conducted by Nicolas Nebout.

“Over the past few months I have been busy preparing for exams, but I am now working on some new song cycles based on Shakespeare’s sonnets. Each of these will feature a less-commonly-used obbligato instrument. One of these will feature a chromatic harmonica, so I am looking forward to visiting Taipei and Seoul this summer where I will be working with harmonicist Gordon Lee and his students to expose myself more intensively to the sounds and technical possibilities of the instrument.

“On the performance side, I am planning recital programmes mixing contemporary music and works more in the traditional repertoire. Featuring works by Ligeti, Liszt and Scriabin, I plan to present this in London after the summer.”