Classical Interviews

theartsdesk Q&A: conductor Klaus Mäkelä

David Nice Thursday, 25 March 2021

Let the facts – and the music-making you can see and hear online – speak for themselves first.

theartsdesk Q&A: horn player Sarah Willis

graham Rickson Saturday, 11 July 2020

Horn player Sarah Willis joined the Berlin Philharmonic in 2001. She juggles her position with spells of teaching, interviewing soloists and conductors for the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall and hosting an online series of Horn Hangouts, interviews with musicians streamed live on her website and archived on YouTube.

theartsdesk Q&A: Conductor Olari Elts in Tallinn

David Nice Sunday, 22 December 2019

Arriving in Tallinn hotfoot from Paavo Järvi's inaugural concert as chief conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle Orchestra, and expecting the limelight to belong to composer Erkki-Sven Tüür on his 60th birthday, I found another Estonian bonus in store.

'In every concert, I want to try to tell a story': Conductor Omer Meir Wellber at the BBC Philharmonic

Robert Beale Thursday, 12 December 2019

Omer Meir Wellber may be the first chief conductor of a major orchestra to have begun his tenure with a children's concert.

theartsdesk Q&A: Gianandrea Noseda on conducting Mahler and the Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra

David Nice Wednesday, 16 October 2019

There's something about the very opening of a Mahler symphony which gives you an idea of how the rest of the performance will go. In the case of the Second, the inescapable "Resurrection", it's the ferocity behind the upper string tremolo and the wildness of the uprush from cellos and basses.

'A laboratory for everything': Jasper Parrott on the future of his classical music agency

Jasper Parrott Saturday, 05 October 2019

Fiftieth anniversary? It seems incredible but also so exhilarating not least because these times we live in now seem to me to be a golden age for music of all kinds and in particular for what we label so inadequately classical music.

10 Questions for Cellist Raphael Wallfisch

Gavin Dixon Monday, 13 May 2019

Cellist Raphael Wallfisch thinks outside of the box. His concert repertoire spans the popular concerto choices – the Elgar, the Dvořák – but he doesn’t stop there, and makes a point of seeking out the lesser-known and the little-heard.

10 Questions for Musician Will Gregory

Thomas H Green Saturday, 04 May 2019

Will Gregory (b.1959) is best known as one half of the alt-pop duo Goldfrapp but has a long career in music that dips into many areas. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s he was a working musician who toured with multiple bands, notably, Tears for Fears, as well as playing on sessions for albums by artists ranging from The Cure to Portishead.

theartsdesk Q&A: concert pianist Lucy Parham

Sebastian Scotney Thursday, 03 January 2019

"The opportunities in standard concert formats are fewer than they were. You have to be versatile and look at different ways to bring this rich canvas of music to your audience," says pianist Lucy Parham.

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theartsdesk Q&A: guitarist Sean Shibe

David Nice Tuesday, 02 October 2018

First it was the soft acoustic guitar playing, which on three occasions to three very different audiences won a silence so intense it was almost deafening.