Thoroughly Good Classical Music Podcast

Episode 14 of the Thoroughly Good Classical Music Podcast was recorded behind the scenes at the inaugural Waterperry Opera Festival in the idyllic setting of Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire. This podcast features a tour of the site with Festival Director Guy Withers, and an interview with baritone Nick Morton and Musical Director Bertie Baigent plus excerpts from the final dress rehearsal for on...

This episode features pianists Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva - artistic directors of the London Piano Festival - a five day series of concerts from 3-7 October 2018 at Kings Place featuring appearances from Stephen Kovacevich, Pavel Kolesnikov, and Samson Tsoy. Charles, Katya and I met at Kings Place in London on the 10th August 2018 and talked about Debussy, the performance experience, and th...

Funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Esmee Fairburn Trust, the Philharmonia's award-winning multimedia digital is touring the UK with an exhibition dedicated to Holst's Planet Suite and a virtual reality experience. Jon Jacob meets Events Manager Elizabeth Howard, Director of Residencies Jonathan Mayes, and Audience Development Manager Tom Spurgin at the exhibition's current home in Bedfor...

Laura Attridge and Jonathan Tilbrook discuss opera production and the challenges staging Benjamin Britten's problematic opera Rape of Lucretia in the #MeToo era.  Trinity Laban's production of Rape of Lucretia is on 6, 7 and 8 July 2018 at Stratford Arts Circus, London. Tickets are £15\. More details here >> https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/whats-on/britten-the-rape-of-lucretia-2

Recorded at the Khachaturian Cello Competition in Yerevan, Armenia, Jon Jacob speaks to some of the finalists competing for the first prize about the competition experience, the challenges of playing some of the repertoire and their own hopes and aspirations for the future.

Opera Holland Park General Director Michael Volpe and opera-goer Ruth Elleson join Jon Jacob in a discussion about opera appreciation, inspiring the younger generation, ticket prices, and this year's OHP season. For more information about the 2018 season, visit http://www.operahollandpark.com/2018-season/. Watch Hip Hop to Opera on YouTube here >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coz6CUlXi38 And fo...

The Thoroughly Good Classical Music Podcast invites three people who play, listen or otherwise work in classical music to sit and discuss the subject they love. They’re unplanned conversations recorded as live, very nearly unedited, and more often than not take unexpected twists and turns. Podcast 8 recorded in the Steinway Piano Showroom in London features a returning participant – the marvellous...

Podcast seven was recorded in the Royal Overseas League off Arlington Street in Central London. It features Royal Overseas League Arts Director Geoff Parkin, and previous Royal Overseas League Gold Medal Final winner saxophonist Huw Wiggin.  For a full list of the topics we discussed head over to the Thoroughly Good Blog.

Podcast six was recorded in the much-maligned hotel bar The Heights – and features music journalist Ariane Todes and I talking to violinist Hugo Ticciati. Hugo talks about his new album 'White Light – The Space Between', why he went without glasses for five years, the challenge of improvisation for classical music musicians, and rock balancing.  For a full list of the topics we discussed head over...

Episode 5 of the Thoroughly Good Classical Music Podcast features conductor Damian Irorio, currently the music director of the Milton Keynes City Orchestra, and Alexander van Ingen of the Academy of Ancient Music. The Academy of Ancient Music will be playing Bach’s St John Passion on Good Friday at 3pm at the Barbican.

Recorded at Barbican, Jon Jacob is joined by pianist and composer Andrew James Johnson, and author, coach and art lover Debs Henry-Pollard for a conversation spanning piano lessons, Wagner and the CBSO. Andy's new album Winter's Heart is out now and available via Spotify. **Show Notes** Breakfast: bacon and spinach Introductions Andy’s CBSO work experience Orchestral manager job interview Marin Al...

Lithuanian composer Gediminas Gelgotas and member of the New Ideas Chamber Orchestra Augusta Jusionytė break from recording at Real World Studios in Box near Bath, to talk about breakfasts, names and contemporary classical.  Gediminas' piece for double bass and piano Sanctifaction is available via Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/1opMe2xOkwYkAEBpSwjBnD?si=6eu0H1O-TwW6huJkO9lX5g). Find out m...

The second in this new series of Thoroughly Good Podcasts features blogger Cross-Eyed Pianist (Fran Wilson) and composer Thomas Hewitt Jones, recorded in the Crypt Cafe in St John's Smith Square late last year.  Many thanks to Richard Heason at St John's Smith Square for giving us a space in the crypt to record the podcast.

The first episode of a new series of Thoroughly Good Podcasts featuring pianists [Christina McMaster](www.twitter.com/pianochristina) and [Tom Poster](www.twitter.com/postertom), recorded at Bluthner Piano Showroom in Central London. Subscribe via iTunes, or visit the [Thoroughly Good Blog](www.thoroughlygood.me).

Pianist and conductor Howard Shelley is conducting a series of lunchtime concerts featuring Mozart's early piano concertos at St Johns Smith Square in London. In this interview Shelley talks about his career, the challenges of playing Mozart and his experiences singing in the Proms performance of Britten's War Requiem in the early 60s.

Audience behaviours in the concert hall and online can make the concert hall a hostile place. Three accounts help explain why Jon Jacob sometimes feels rather lonely in the classical music world.

Christian Thompson is Director of the Verbier Festival Academy - a residential training programme for exceptional young musicians. In this podcast, recorded in Verbier in August 2016, Christian explains his vision for the Academy and its participants, and how the Academy is developing the next generation of soloists. The music featured in this podcast is the opening movement from Brahms' first pia...

What happens when you take a rock music fan to his first classical music concert? Listen to @Ewan Spence's first experience of the BBC Proms.

Why would anyone fear Elgar's Cello Concerto? It's lovely, after all. Well, maybe because of Jacqueline du Pre. Maybe she's the one to blame.

During a recent trip to Budapest, Jon Jacob gets to see two operas from Wagner's Ring as part of the annual MUPA Wagner in Budapest Opera Festival. This podcast features material recorded during his visit including an interview with Director Hartmut Schorghofer, plus excerpts from soprano Anna Russell's synopsis of Wagner's Ring recorded in 1953.

How Malcom Arnold’s Peterloo Overture helped one person deal with the shock of the UK’s EU Referendum result.

This week sees the launch of the 2016/17 season of concerts at St John's Smith Square. To coincide with the launch, Jon Jacob speaks to SJSS Director Richard Heason, and pianist Christina McMaster and conductor Stephen Layton about their musical inspirations and work.

Composer Anna Meredith talks about mixing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with new electronic music in a new work, 'Anno', created by her and her sister Eleanor Meredith, and premiered at Spitalfields Music with the Scottish Ensemble earlier in June 2016.

Association of British Orchestras Director Mark Pemberton discusses the challenges faces British orchestras, some of the misconceptions about them, and the way he'd encourage newcomers to the concert hall. This podcast includes excerpts from Percy Grainger's Green Bushes.

Rosenblatt Recital series founder Ian Rosenblatt explains how he was introduced to classical music, why he thinks there's snobbery in the classical music scene, and why his recital series is about entertainment not narcissism.