a mic on the podium

Kwamé Ryan was a joy to chat with - easy, open, and honest, exactly how I like an interview to go! I discovered that Bartok's Duke Bluebeard's Castle seemed to appear at major moments of his career, that conducting one work in a birthday concert changed his life, and I heard about his very interesting system for marking dynamics in his scores and how technology sometimes plays a role in score lear...

After reaching a century of episodes, what is next? In this short bonus episode, I let you know what the future holds for the podcast. If you would like to find out more about the world of conducting and conductors, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium , and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings wi...

In this special feature-length episode to celebrate reaching the century of episodes, I was lucky enough to chat with one of the biggest names in conducting over the last few decades, Sir Roger Norrington. He was charming, open, honest, fascinating and a joy to spend 90 minutes in the company of. I discovered how being sent to Africa made him decide that he wanted to try to become a professional m...

Having met Han-Na Chang in October 2021, I knew she would be perfect for the podcast and I was proved correct - what a bubbly character and a really open and honest person! I discovered how a potential "typo" helped change her life forever, we talked about how to fix ensemble problems "in the moment" and what surprising "move" often works best, and we get very geeky about Carlos Kleiber! If you wo...

Asher Fisch was a joy to chat with - open, honest, and full of opinion. The sound of this podcast is a little different from the norm as we had to use his phone to record him but you hear every word, as clear as a bell and they are well worth hearing! I hear his views on how a conductor's attitude needs to change from country to country, we chat about a mutual friend with who we have shared a stag...

Alexander Shelley was a fascinating person to chat with as he really has thought long and hard about a conductor's role both on and off the podium. I discover who told him that it only takes 6 months to learn stick technique if you are taught by the right person, we discuss learning to conduct in silence versus with two pianos, and I rather surprisingly try to change his mind about the sound he ha...

As violinists who went on to become conductors, Roberto González-Monjas and myself had an awful lot in common and, it seems, we also enjoyed discussing food as well! We also discussed how scheduling can affect your health and lifestyle, I heard about the wonderful education project he co-founded in Columbia, and he told me what surprising full score he chose to spend 100 Euros on as a child! If yo...

I loved chatting with Andrew Gourlay, possibly due to discovering so many things we have in common and how many shared experiences we have? I discovered we had a shared history in our musical youth, we had both been a rehearsal conductor for one particularly busy maestro, and that we both find conducting one particular piece of Britten's music very difficult! If you would like to hear the bonus mi...

Alice Farnham and I seemed to have quite a few things in common and I really enjoyed chatting with her - we had a very warm and open conversation together. She had so many fond memories of studying with the great Ilya Musin, we had a fascinating discussion about teaching young women conducting, and I discovered what her multi-instrumental "party trick" used to be! This is the link I mentioned on t...

Chad Goodman and I had already chatted before we did this interview and I knew he would be a perfect addition to the podcast! Open, funny, and extremely interesting. We discuss the differences between a Cover Conductor, Assistant Conductor, Resident Conductor, and Conducting Fellow, we chat about the future for young conductors and their career paths, and we get extremely nerdy about our shared pa...

It was a real pleasure to chat with a composer and conductor I have admired for so long - Sir George Benjamin was so open and honest and I found him to be such a warm person to chat with. We discussed how a composer/conductor must learn to distance themselves from their own music in performance, he had so many fond memories and stories about his dear friend, the late, great, Oliver Knussen, and I...

Sometimes you meet someone who seems to be a kindred spirit and Harry Christophers and I just got on instantly - maybe a love of football and a good pint of English bitter helped? We discussed the art of programming and how much we enjoyed it, I found out which famous conductor was his first inspiration after seeing him conduct on TV, and I discover what rather surprising profession he would like...

Eímear Noone is someone who seems to love chatting about music and conducting and I loved chatting with her about all manner of subjects and was especially fascinated to find out many things I didn't know about Film, TV & Video Game sessions from her. I discovered how a visit to her school from the Army Band changed her life, what surprising comments she sometimes receives from fans of video game...

What a pleasure and a joy it was to chat with one of my favourite composers! John Adams was so nice to chat with and such a lovely warm and open person. I discovered that his first job was a rather surprising one, what extremely unusual item he always takes with him when he travels abroad, and how a Hamburg taxi driver brought him crashing down to earth! If you would like to join the supporters cl...

David Afkham is obviously a serious thinker about his conducting and music-making and that made for a fascinating chat! I found out what the difference is between a Principal Conductor and a Chief Conductor / Artistic Advisor, we discussed the important topic of whether to use a stool in rehearsals, and he tells me his memories of working with and assisting the late, great, Bernard Haitink. If you...

Enrique Mazzola is a conductor who is now at the top of the operatic conducting world yet a humble and honest person to chat with - a lovely chat with a genuinely nice guy. I discover how singing as a boy at La Scala changed his life, why we can thank the composer Hans Werner Henze for him having the skills to run a major opera house, and, since reading one particular newspaper review, what has no...

I have known Paul Murphy for quite a while, always loved chatting with him and this was no different - such a charming man and fascinating to chat with him about conducting ballet! I discover how playing in youth orchestras during the Northern Ireland "troubles" brought young people together, we discussed whether conductors should conduct youth orchestras and amateurs, and we both agree that we fi...

Jessica Cottis is definitely a conductor who has thought long and hard about what conducting is and what conductors do - it was really enjoyable chatting with her! We discussed the pros and cons of demonstrating when you teach conducting, she gives a unique answer to how she would like to spend her 24 hours free, and I discover what hobby she shares with my own father! If you would like to join th...

David Greilsammer was so much fun to chat with! A really passionate musician who also loves to think out of the box. I found out how and when music was taken away from him and the positive impact that followed, we discussed how important it is to trust the orchestra, and how to set up an orchestra from scratch when you want your musicians to play, improvise and dance! If you would like to join the...

One of the joys of this podcast has been how honest the conductors have been and Alexander Joel is no different at all! Despite a poor connection between Nancy & Birmingham, he was fun to chat with and always ready to give an opinion. We discuss the differences between opera and symphonic conductors, how to get an orchestra to stop playing on "auto-pilot", and I discover what huge item he once too...

Stephanie Childress has already made great strides in her career in such a short period of time. She was a joy to chat with and I enjoyed hearing her views and thoughts on a whole range of topics. We discussed sexism, not only in the world of conducting but across society as a whole, we also discussed the pitfalls of watching yourself conduct on video, and we found out that we had a very similar e...

Lionel Bringuier was such a nice guy to chat with - full of life and a really positive outlook on life and music-making! We had a discussion about which is harder to conduct, The Rite of Spring or Petrouchka, we discussed if conductors can be likened to tennis players, and I discovered why he was not allowed to celebrate with everyone else when he was at a dinner to announce his appointment at the...

George Jackson is a wonderful person to talk to - not only about conducting but all manner of topics. I really enjoyed chatting with him and hope to again very soon. I discovered how going to a party as a teenager helped him find orchestras, how he found a conducting mentor in the most entrepreneurial way, and we discussed one particularly momentous jump-in which started in a London pub and includ...

Thomas Dausgaard is obviously a deep thinker and takes his music-making very seriously which, of course, led this to be a fascinating chat! I discovered that his earliest musical experiences were not in the classical music world, we discussed how the long, slow romance approach to becoming a Music Director is one he prefers, and I hear how he got Norman Del Mar into trouble when he auditioned at t...

Anthony Hermus has such a bubbly character and I really enjoyed chatting with him! It is no surprise to me that he is widely in demand as a conductor. I discovered that he went to university to study a subject that, at first, seems to have no common link to conducting, I heard how Jac van Steen (Episode 4) changed the direction of his career, and I jealously discover that he has conducted an opera...