Are these parallels between performance and high-risk activities? Our Leader Simon thinks so.
Where do you find inspiration outside of music?
Sometimes I see a film that really affects me, and makes me think in a new light about music and performing. One rather extreme example was the film ‘Free Solo’ about a climber climbing huge rock faces (over 2000m) with no safety ropes. I’ve seen it three times! It made me really think about preparation, risk-taking and security, and whether this climber’s level of incredible preparation (if he made even the smallest mistake, he would die!) liberates him to feel free in the moment. It’s hard to explain, but seeing someone concentrate and prepare that hard made a big impression on me, and made me think a lot about how I approach practising and performing.
I feel all of this motion is suggested by the notes, and the challenge is to enable people to see these images as I play the music.
What has inspired your interpretation of The Lark Ascending?
My starting point has always been the notes themselves, and what might be the inspiration behind them. In places, such as in the opening cadenza where he writes ‘senza misura’, I feel that Vaughan Williams is trying to recreate the physical flight of the bird in music. The more I play the piece, the further I seem to get from the notated rhythms in an effort to paint these pictures in sound. There are always new ways to approach this – for example, could those first five notes for the solo violin be a quick flapping of the wings? Later, can I give an impression of the Lark soaring, then flapping its wings again, then diving and swooping? I feel all of this motion is suggested by the notes, and the challenge is to enable people to see these images as I play the music. The Lark itself is a tiny bird, very light and fast, and I often feel that there’s a slight contradiction with its portrayal in what can be a slow, dreamy piece. My hope is that our performance will feel weightless and delicate in places where the bird is being brought to life, as well as gorgeous and warm in the more lyrical moments.
Do you have any particular pre-concert rituals?
I do have some small rituals that my colleagues like to tease me about. Most important is a preconcert nap! It’s not really a deep sleep, more a kind of controlled power-nap of about 10-15 minutes, but I always wake up feeling refreshed and clear-headed. I then put in contact lenses, clean my teeth and splash cold water on my face, and even after a long journey and a 3-hour rehearsal, that makes me feel fresh and energised and ready for a concert.
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