Between The Bars

Pianist Yuja Wang is a phenomena in our time. A remarkable artist who is young enough in mind to make shockingly original music on stage, while being experienced enough to navigate the sometimes cut throat world of the classical music industry.  Between the bars host Yannick Dondelinger joins Yuja Wang for a taxi ride to Amsterdam, and an especially informal chat about the genius of Rachmaninov, t...

Weird head tapping routines, toy lobsters on stage - Part 2 of Stage Fright uncovers the strange and diverse pre-concert   routines some musicians go through, and what happens if you freeze in the middle of a performance. Fight or flight, to leave the stage or not to leave the stage, that is the question. And then the taboo topic of Beta Blockers enters the conversation... Host and MCO violist Yan...

From childhood trauma, to professional bow shake, to the elephant in the room -   Beta Blockers. Some times you swallow the stage, and sometimes the stage swallows you… Stage fright is something we can all relate to, wether presenting a speech, teaching class, or chairing a meeting. This is especially true for the musicians of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, who are out there on the worlds concert s...

Join host Yannick Dondelinger for an intimate conversation with Dame Mitsuko Uchida. In this heartwarming discussion, Mitsuko shares her life story, from her musical upbringing to becoming one of the most revered pianists of our time. Discover the deep roots that music has in her life and how they have shaped her career. Mitsuko also shares her unique connection with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra,...

  In this episode, MCO's Outreach and Education Manager, Valentina-Katharina Georgoulopoulos, joins host Yannick Dondelinger to explore the concept of "Heimat" (home and belonging). With members originating from 25 diverse countries, "Heimat" holds much significance for the MCO. Valentina shares insights into crafting a unique concert format, that was developed in collaboration with the MCO musici...

It's a fact - life changes when a little one comes on the scene. But how do you navigate the realms of parenthood when you're a musician and part of an internationally traveling orchestra? Host Yannick Dondelinger sits down with fellow MCO musicians Johannes Lörstad (violin) and Emma Schied (oboe) to discuss their lives before and since having children.  Complementing their conversation, producer...

It's a fact - life changes when a little one comes on the scene. But how do you navigate the realms of parenthood when you're a musician and part of an internationally traveling orchestra? Host Yannick Dondelinger sits down with fellow MCO musicians Johannes Lörstad (violin) and Emma Schied (oboe) to discuss their lives before and since having children.  Complementing their conversation, producer...

It's a fact - life changes when a little one comes on the scene. But how do you navigate the realms of parenthood when you're a musician and part of an internationally traveling orchestra? Host Yannick Dondelinger sits down with fellow MCO musicians Johannes Lörstad (violin) and Emma Schied (oboe) to discuss their lives before and since having children.  Complementing their conversation, producer...

In her staged project "Les Adieux", Patricia Koptchinskaja points out the many goodbyes she feels we will have to take in the near future. The final goodbye, or the Big Goodbye, will be one to ourselves. In the third, and final, episode of the Big Goodbye, Between the Bars host Yannick Dondelinger finds out how the concept of the project came to Patricia and how we could interpret what she puts on...

In the second episode of "The Big Goodbye", Patricia Kopatchinskaja speaks about growing up in rural Moldova and connecting to nature from an early age, the sound of the raindrops and the momentum of the wind were her first musical teachers.  This connection with her inner child makes her want to look at the tradition of performing music. She creates her own story with the compositions, shedding o...

Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja is not only known for her extraordinary musical skills but also for the trailblazing staged projects, in which she does not shy away from current world issues.  In Les Adieux , a project of Patricia with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra , she focuses on climate change and the rapid deterioration of our planet. How much time have we got left on Earth? When will our nat...

For the final episode of Mozart Momentum: in conversation, we focus on "Mozart in our time".  How does our interpretation and performance of Mozart's works differ from when they were conveived 250 years ago? Host Yannick Dondelinger discusses the relevance, beauty and timelessness of Mozart's work in the last instalment of our mini-series with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and concertmaster Matthew Tru...

Everybody knows Mozart for his operas, symphonies and concert pieces, but not all know that he was a pioneer who fought for professional and artistic freedom. The composer is often considered the first musician who emancipated himself from the subordination of the feudal system and worked as a freelancer.  What did those freelance days look like? How did it influence his compositions during that t...

For the last seven years of his life, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a member of the Freemasons. How did the Masonic order influence the life and work of the composer? Find out in the second episode of Mozart Momentum: In Conversation, a four-part podcast series where host Yannick Dondelinger dives deep into two of the most creative years of Mozart's life together with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and vi...

1785/1786, two of the most fruitful years in Mozart's life as a composer, inspired the MCO and Leif Ove Andsnes to partner up for a multiyear recording- and performing project: Mozart Momentum 1785/1786. As the second album of the project launches, focusing on the year 1786, Between the Bars hosts a four-part miniseries podcast exploring the life of Mozart in those two vital years. In part one: 'M...

Imagine walking on stage in the middle of a concert, submerging yourself into the music as you walk between the musicians. With VR performances entering the terrain of classical music, this is no longer just a dream. Join our host Yannick Dondelinger in discussion with 3D sound specialist Henrik Oppermann and violinist Timothy Summers as they discover the wondrous world of virtual reality and its...

Ever since he was a child, Sir George Benjamin wanted to be a composer. At only twenty years of age, his piece ' Ringed by the Flat Horizon' was played at the BBC Proms. Fourty years on and the MCO, under George's baton, will present the world premiere of ' Concerto for Orchestra' at the same event. Tune in as host Yannick Dondelinger explores the uniqueness of this new work – composed for and ded...

For the next edition of Between the Bars , join host Yannick Dondelinger as he speaks with Paul Whittaker, deaf musician, performer and creative advisor of our Feel the Music education programme. Exploring Paul's upbringing in 1960's England, this episode sheds light on a defining paradox of his life – the challenges of uniting music with deafness. He discusses how to shift the perception of what...

World-renowned tenor, opera director, novelist, cartoonist and artistic director of one of classical music's biggest festivals, the Salzburg Mozartwoche, Rolando Villazón is a man of many, many, many talents. Join Rolando and host Yannick Dondelinger, plus MCO Violinist Anna Matz and Director of Artistic Planning Maggie Coe for a wide-ranging conversation about why music matters, how artists are c...

What will the future look like? Sound like? Be like? Delve into the multidisciplinary mind of MCO Artistic Partner Pekka Kuusisto, as together we probe the limits of the possible and imagine the impossible in the latest episode of Between the Bars . With host Yannick Dondelinger we discuss climate change, holograms, the difficulties of having an original thought, and why women make better cars. Pl...

It was the night before Brexit, and the MCO was in the heart of London performing Mozart with Mitsuko Uchida to a sold-out Royal Festival Hall. What would this well-travelled and wordly composer have made of Britain's departure from the European Union? Join us as we revisit his travels as a young artist, talk British life in Europe with trumpeter Christopher Dicken and MCO staff member Mark Parker...

Meet the musician who takes being a high-flying success more literally than most. Daniel Harding was only 22 when he began working with the MCO in 1997. Now he's not only one of the most-sought after conductors in the world, but also a qualified commercial airline pilot. So with the seatbelt sign switched on and little chance of turbulence between these friends of over 20 years, join our host Yann...

Sunscreen in winter? Sleeping with one eye shut? Violinist Kirsty Hilton and Trombone player Mark Hampson go Between the Bars with Yannick Dondelinger to share stories about growing up in one part of the world and making classical music in another, experiencing new cultures, the things they learned along the way and what it means to call somewhere home. And for our first Matti Moment, he goes hunt...

Somewhere between being artists and explorers, the MCO have discovered a secret sweet spot backstage, where the worldly life of being a touring musician gives way to unexpected encounters and life-changing experiences. As we travel the world, collecting stories and making memories, we invite you to share in our nomadic life and come with us on our never-ending journey behind the music and between...