Hungary for Manchester

Lawrence Jones - the MD of Manchester Camerata's Website partner UKFast, and also a Director of Camerata - was at Saturday's acclaimed concert Portrait of an Hungarian, conducted by Gábor Takács Nagy. Afterwards he blogged about the experience of the evening.

To be truly amazing at something you have to invest huge amounts of time and energy. It requires commitment over and above the call of duty.

This applies to all walks of life, athletes, business, musicians etc.



You require levels of discipline that exceed the norm and the fruits of your labour are usually directly proportional to the effort and care you put in.

This week I was invited to Manchester Town Hall for a civic welcome for Gábor Takács-Nagy. A Hungarian musician who joined the Manchester Camerata this summer as the Orchestra Leader.

After a quick introduction, Gabor kindly treated us to a sneak preview of what can only be described as a new Camerata. The same people, the same instruments, but a totally different sound.

Standing up, casually dressed, the chamber orchestra lit the room. I was spell bound. I have seen the Camerata play a number of times, but never like this.

I am someone who spends a great deal of time studying other leaders in the hope that I may in turn inspire others one day with what I am able to learn and pass on.

This is one of the reasons I take my 2 daughters, 5 and 7, to events like the concert last night at the RNCM where the Camerata did their first full concert with Gabor at the helm. My 2 daughters were captivated and both fell asleep on our knees in their party dresses, to the most wonderful music I have heard in Manchester for a long long time.

It is safe to say, Gabor is an inspiration and if you get an opportunity, you have to go and witness it for yourself. If you can’t afford the ticket, please come as my guest. Either way, you have to come.

Gábor is one of those people you hear about in history from a previous generation, but you never get lucky enough to meet.

Yet here in Manchester, making himself accessible after conducting his first Manchester Camerata concert last night, he is in my opinion one of the most inspirational people I have ever had the pleasure to meet and our Great city of Manchester is a better place for his arrival and efforts.

And I cannot be alone in my thoughts, because the members of his chamber orchestra must feel something special to be able to raise their game to that extent.

I have met him a few times now and each time I leave a better person, lifted to a new level.

So what is it that makes him special?

If I was only allowed to use one word, it has to be “passion.” When someone speaks with so much congruency and feeling it is difficult not to get engaged.

Gabor uses raw emotion to lead his orchestra and watching him at work he balances his very dynamic and energetic movements with carefully chosen words when describing what is about to be performed.

Leadership is about honesty. You have to love and believe absolutely in what you do if you want others to follow you. Even then you don’t have a God given right, these are merely credentials to enter the game. You then need the passion to get people engaged in the challenge you are ultimately setting them. If there is no challenge, there is no game.

Finding the challenge can be a challenge in itself. Its essential though if you are to inspire others to unite and raise someones game. The greater the challenge the more likely you are to inspire the person presented with it. Its too easy to assume that everyone wants an easy life. Why on earth would you want an easy life?

When something is easy, it is no fun. The fun in life comes from developing skills to combat new hurdles.

Something only becomes satisfying when you’ve picked yourself up a few times, dusted yourself off and run headlong at it again. Pretty soon you learn how to solve the conundrum and then its time for a new challenge.

When you sit watching musicians I always reflect on the hours they sacrificed for their instruments. My favourite moment in any film is the scene in Groundhog day when Bill Murray starts to learn the piano. Stuck in a timewarp where each day restarts, he eventually learns that he may aswell make a difference to everyone else’s life if he can’t improve his own. This becomes his challenge!

When you see him hammering the piano entertaining the whole room, it puts into perspective how long he’d been there; literally a lifetime.

And that’s whats required. A lifetime of commitment. If you want to become truly great at something, you better get focussed. There is a long road ahead.  If on your journey you want some entertainment or inspiration on route, please do come and see what I am talking about.

Mohammed Ali said, “I run on the road long before I dance under the lights.”

Gabor you have earned the right to dance.

Digital Inspirations from Zurich

Manchester Camerata's Head of Development - Charlotte Spencer - took a trip to trip to Zurich, to find out more about what our friends at IC247 are up to with the Tonhalle Orchestra, and the live streaming of concerts. 

Happening twice a year, TonhalleLate are concerts specifically designed for younger people, and it was this event that was to be streamed. Starting at 10pm, the concerts are shorter than standard, and followed by several DJ sets in the bar afterwards ‘til the wee small hours. The concert and the after party were being streamed live to www.ustream.com which both increases the audience, and, through the social networking that surrounds the online events, encourages new audiences to come to further events.

When I arrived at the Tonhalle, the contrast of the elegant and opulent building with the piles of cables, amplifiers, lights, cameras and general techno-equipment was hilarious, but soon the team had all of their gear set up in unobtrusive places ready for the evening’s concert. The doors opened just after 9pm, and as I sipped a rather lovely cold glass of prosecco, the stream of people arriving in the bar increased rapidly as people grabbed a drink before bagging a good place in the auditorium, as seats are unallocated. I joined them just before 10pm and was amazed to see the place completely full, with most people aged between 16 and 40.

There were couples on dates, boy-band look-alikes and gaggles of young girls, all obviously eager to hear what was on offer. The orchestra, conducted by David Zinman, didn’t disappoint. A viola concerto by film composer Rozsa (of Ben Hur fame) performed by Tonhalle’s principal viola, Gilad Karni opened the concert. I felt the piece was a little meandering, but Gilad played amazingly, and it was great to see another orchestra featuring a principal player as soloist in the same way that Camerata do. This was followed by Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin, and Zinman gave a cheeky listening guide before the performance proper, clearly relishing the rather risqué storyline! You could have heard a pin drop throughout, and there was rapturous applause at the end.

Everyone then pushed out into the bar, where the DJ set had already started, with SomethingALaMode and Kejeblos in full swing. The set was really clever, with live solo violin and cello set against recorded samples and electronica, which had the audience dancing away to, amongst other things, the theme from Winterreise! The Zurich crowd are pretty conservative compared to Manchester, with only a few of the boy-band-alikes and their entourage dancing very much, the rest seemingly content to watch them (and me...) dancing like lunatics! I got chatting to lots of people, including Tonhalle musicians and Nicholas, an engineer, who told me he had just started coming to classical music recently after having been at the last TonhalleLate with a friend. Since then he has been listening “mostly to Haydn, as I thought that was a good place to start.” I told him Dougie Boyd would definitely approve of his listening choice, and he asked me out to dinner the next evening! (Apparently single women are in short supply in Zurich; I might go back for their October event....)

It was fantastic to see such a young and enthusiastic audience for classical music, and I hope that we can perhaps start to see more of these type of events happening in the UK. I remember student events in nightclubs in Glasgow, and I know OAE have their Night Shift events - let’s see what else might pop up soon.

Find out about Manchester Camerata's recent Digital Activities

Zurich Tonhalle

Read more about IC247

Manchester Camerata Live and Worldwide!

Here we go - it's the Big One!
Camerata’s critically acclaimed cycle of Beethoven symphonies reaches its conclusion on Saturday night with the performance of Symphony no.9 Choral conducted by Douglas Boyd.

We're so excited by this we're making it available to audiences across Manchester and online around the world.

Thanks to the Manchester Digital Development Agency (MDDA) and Acrobat we're streaming the second half of the concert - Beethoven’s Symphony no.9 itself - live on the Manchester Camerata's website and into the heart of Manchester’s city centre via the big BBC screen in Exchange Square, starting at 8.20pm.

So, Beethoven and Manchester Camerata fans can experience the event in the following ways:

Join the audience at The Bridgewater Hall for the unrivalled live concert experience

Live and free at www.manchestercamerata.co.uk from 8.20pm

Live on the BBC Big Screen in Exchange Square in Manchester from 8.20pm
Via Medici TV http://www.medici.tv/  from w/c 7 February (for 60 days)

Incomparable Tenor Wynne Evans

Welsh tenor Wynne Evans, best known perhaps for his cheesy Italian singer character Gio Compario in the Go Compare TV adverts, joins Manchester Camerata on New Year's Eve for its ever popular Opera Gala. 

He'll be singing alongside fellow Welsh soprano Natalya Romaniw.  

Evans has a bulging diary of conventional operatic appearances, and has just released a Christmas Single - Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

See details of Manchester Camerata's New Year's Eve Opera Gala

Review: Camerata on Fire in Stafford

Chris Ramsden reviews Manchester Camerata's concert at the Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford on 5 November in his blog Notes from Middle England:

Bonfire night. Fireworks outside the Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford and inside as the Manchester Camerata was put through its paces by its music director designate Gabor Takács-Nagy. You probably expected me to use that line, but clichés become clichés because they express a truth.

It was the maestro's first appearance in Stafford with his orchestra-to-be (there's a final appearance at the Gatehouse in May with Douglas Boyd, the man who's meant so much to the Camerata; not to be missed.)

He began by conducting the audience. What I mean is, this is a man so accustomed to expressing himself through his arms and fingers that he used them just for talking, as he told us about Mozart.

For conducting, he used them even more, carving the notes out of the air, pulling them from the violins and pushing them into the brass.

His background is in the string quartet -- he helped found and was leader of the famous Hungarian Takács Quartet. I think that showed in his attention to detail; he was continually adjusting bits of the orchestra to produce the sound he wanted.

In this case, the concert was called "Spirit of Mozart", and he was surely full of it. His overture to Don Giovanni was full of strong accents and explosive moments; the Jupiter symphony, number 41, was swift and strong, apart from the third movement, which was slower and with much more swing than I've heard before. It somehow re-created the atmosphere of a grand Viennese ball.

But the most remarkable for me was his conducting of Elgar's Introduction and Allegro for Strings. It seemed to be completely free of the excesses of "English" performances, without slides, pauses or emotional hesitation. It was just a fine re-creation of a first-class composition which ought to be in the international repertoire. The Camerata's strings fought hard to respond to his vision.

Also outstanding was the performance of Mozart's 23rd piano concerto, K488, the one which opens and closes in bright sunlight, but has an astounding, troubling slow movement which digs deep into some pit of introspection.

The soloist here was also new to the audience in Stafford; well, actually, she was new to any audience in Europe. After starting her career in China, she moved to the United States in 2000, and her trip to Europe is apparently her reward for winning the gold medal in the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition. Remember, we saw her here first.

She's plainly completely at home in front of an orchestra, responding to them and playing precisely with them. She flung off the runs and scales which make up so much of the work with fluid ease, and her strong left hand was there to point up the phrases. Could she have put more into that slow movement? But then, could anyone fully do it justice?

She's contracted at the moment to work with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. I must confess I'd never even heard of Jacksonville before, but it's apparently the largest city in the United States in land area. It has even more rain than Manchester, but is in Florida, so has warm winters and very hot summers. Hmmm.... Manchester or Jacksonville... which is best? She'll be back.

Read the whole review on Chris Ramsden's Blog

Read more about Gábor Takács-Nagy 

60 Seconds with a Great Conductor

Manchester Camerata's Music Director designate Gabor Takács-Nagy leads the orchestra in performances of Elgar and Mozart at this Saturday's Concert as part of the Leeds Concert Series.  He spared 60 seconds in a very busy rehearsal schedule to answer some crucial and revealing questions!

- How long have you been working with Manchester Camerata
Since January 2010- What has been the highlight of your Orchestral career to date? Being nominated to three excellent orchestras as Music Director (Manchester Camerata, Verbier Chamber Orchestra and MAV Symphony orchestra, Budapest)
- Who has been the biggest influence on your career? My three chamber music teachers at the Liszt Academy (Andras Mihaly, Ferenc Rados and Gyorgy Kurtag)
- When did you start playing? At the age of 8
- What was your earliest musical experience? My great grandmother singing folk songs when I was 4
- Do you enjoy practising or find it a chore? I am not practising anymore
- Do you play any other musical instruments? Only viola
- Were your parents musical? No
- If you could play a different instrument what would it be? A singer
- What piece of music do you most enjoy playing? Always the piece I am working on as soon as I feel close to it
- What is you favourite piece of music? Always the piece I am working on as soon as I feel close to it
- What’s the best and worst things about touring with the orchestra? To both questions - the human factor
- How do you deal with pre-concert nerves? By trying to be myself and not wishing to impress anyone
- When was the last time you went to a concert as a member of the audience? To my student's concert in October
- What was the first record that you bought with your own money? Mahler 5th Symphony conducted by Barbirolli
- What was the last CD you bought? Mozart Sinfonia Concertante KV 297B
- When you have time off how do you relax? Walking with my wife in the forest
- Who would you invite to a dinner party (historical, musical or otherwise – living or dead!)? Joseph Joachim, Joseph Haydn, Furtwängler, Carlos Kleiber, Simon Rattle, Claudio Abbado and Roger Federer
- What music do you listen to in the car? The pieces that I am working on at that time
- What’s your favourite drink? Our own fruit juice made from our own fruit
- If you weren’t a musician, what would you be? Actor or doctor (brain specialist)
- Where’s your favourite holiday destination? In the Swiss mountains
- What is your favourite book? Anna Karenina
- What's your favourite film? Casablanca
- What's your most annoying habit? Talking too much
- And your favourite concert hall? Wigmore Hall

You can see Gabor Takács-Nagy and Manchester Camerata at Leeds Town Hall this Saturday as part of the Leeds Concert Series.

Getting into London Town

Camerata's Head of Development Charlotte Spencer blogs about her work and a recent trip made down to London to play an exclusive concert.

"One of the things I enjoy most about my job is meeting new people and introducing them to our wonderful orchestra, and I get to do this quite regularly. I have lots of meetings with people in their offices, where I tell them all about our brilliant musicians and learning projects, which of course is my job, but I always make sure I bring them along to one of our events so they get the full Camerata experience as soon as possible. I never tire of hearing people say “Wow – that was so different to what I was expecting; the orchestra is fantastic!” So, I was especially pleased to have nearly 50 new people say this to me and my colleagues at a special concert we organised in London.

Thanks to the generosity of music supporters, Bob and Elisabeth Boas, who gave us the use of their home for the evening, we were able to introduce Londoners to the orchestra, our amazing new leader Giovanni Guzzo, and Music Director-designate Gabor Takacs-Nagy, and show them what exciting music making is happening outside the capital city! In the beautiful surroundings of a Georgian-period drawing room, complete with columns and enormous fireplace (I had hoped Mr Darcy might appear as a guest!), we were treated to stunning performances of Debussy’s Danse sacree et danse profane, and Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune. We were then joined by Soprano, Jane Irwin, for Berlioz’s Nuits d’ete, which certainly chased away any thoughts of the chill winter evening outside. The orchestra and Gabor really deserved the rapturous applause they received, and have helped us make some new friends for the future."

Find out more about Supporting Manchester Camerata

Find out more about the Nicholas Boas Trust

Neva on a Saturday

Composer Nina Whiteman blogs about the experience of having her piece Windows on the Neva premiered  by Manchester Camerata.
Wednesday 20 October - I arrive at the Manchester Camerata offices for my first meeting with the conductor of my piece Gábor Takács-Nagy. We’ve spoken on the phone to introduce ourselves and chat briefly about the piece, and although I know Gábor is enthusiastic about the music, I’m still quite nervous! When I meet him he greets me very warmly and I feel my music is in safe hands. He is interested to talk more about the piece and is very insightful, comparing it to a painting in which colour is very important. We discuss how the rehearsal time may be used – focussing on particular sound colours or characters, for instance – and what should be communicated to the orchestral players. At the rehearsal I was immediately impressed by the musicians’ approach to my score. It was also clear that they had prepared their parts diligently. We worked on some of the unusual string techniques, and on emphasising dynamic contrasts, and talked about all of the players interpreting their music soloistically. I left the rehearsal feeling confident that Manchester Camerata would give a wonderful performance the following evening in Ulverston.

Thursday 21 October - The afternoon began with a train journey from Manchester to Ulverston with scenery so magnificent that I didn’t know which window to look out of! When I arrived the orchestra immediately rehearsed my piece, which sounded like it had been set free in the spacious acoustic. The première: Having introduced my piece to the audience, I take my seat and hear my music unfold. The orchestra give a fantastic first performance of Windows on the Neva, which is both dark and vibrant, with beautifully executed string solos.  In the interval I received some great feedback from audience members: many were keen to hear the piece again, and one gentleman said that it was very clear that the music was about a Russian river and that he could really visualise the scene.

Saturday 23 October - Time for the big Manchester performance! I arrive at the rehearsal and the concert hall is covered in microphones, sound equipment and cameras. There is quite a buzz about the concert and preparations are underway. In the rehearsal we go over a couple of passages in my piece and make small adjustments, but in general everyone is happy with how it came across on Thursday.  I become quite nervous just before the concert, as there’s a sense that this is a big occasion! At the start of the concert, I introduce my piece to the capacity audience, which is very nerve racking knowing I am on the big screen in Exchange Square, as well as live on computer screens everywhere via the Manchester Camerata website.  The performance is excellent, and the piece really benefits from the acoustic in the RNCM concert hall as individual parts are heard more clearly. I’m then able to enjoy the rest of the programme, which is of an extremely high quality: some really challenging music played with vivid enthusiasm and energy. And a truly wonderful soloist.  I’ve been really impressed with Manchester Camerata, who have shown a real commitment to and respect for my new piece of music. It was a real pleasure to work with Gábor and the players for the first (and hopefully not the last) time.

Designing a Symphony

Manchester Camerata Learning Manager Jonathan Price with an update on a hectic week for some Manchester kids.

Year 6 children from St Philip's Primary school have just finished a hectic week of preparations for their pre concert performance at Camerata's concert tomorrow night (Saturday).  Their week started with a whistlestop tour of some of Manchester's most distinctive buildings focussing on the neo-classical Manchester Art Gallery and Central Library. Drawing, filming with mini-cams and making models under the expert guidance of Dave Green and Stefan Trebicki of Ian Simpson Architects, they also played on the Town Hall organ and heard Camerata musicians perform in the lofty entrance hall of the Art Gallery. The following days were devoted to composing music to reflect the architecture they had seen, and editing the film to accompany it-the results can be heard and seen at the RNCM at 6.30 tomorrow. Not to be missed!

Read more about this project

Details of Saturday's concert

Manchester Symphony taking shape

Get to the Royal Northern College of music early this Saturday for the first installement of Manchester Camerata's education project Urban Symphony. 

Over the coming season 120 primary school children from across Greater Manchester will be working with Camerata musicians, architects and a visual artist to create a Manchester Symphony inspired by the city's architecture. The responsibility of creating the Symphony's first movement fell to a group of Year 5 children from St Philips Church of England Primary School, in Hulme. They've been spending the week exploring the classical and neo-classically inspired architecture of Manchester, gaining inspiration for a musical performance.

The pre-concert performance starts at 6.30pm Saturday 23 October 2010 at RNCM Concert Hall, Manchester, with the main concert Pictures at an Exhibition startiing at 7.30pm

Read more about this education project

Find out details of the Pictures from St Petersburg Concert

Manchester Camerata Digitally Yours

Through the miracles of modern technology, Manchester Camerata's Pictures from St Petersburg concert will be beamed to Royal Exchange Square in Manchester, and will be available online - absolutely free!
Of course there's nothing to touch the feeling of being inside a concert hall listening to some sublime music played by world class musicians.  And that's what you can have at the RNCM Concert Hall on Saturday 23 October 2010. The concert will feature the orchestra's future Music Director, Gábor Takács-Nagy, newly appointed Leader Giovanni Guzzo and world renowned cellist Miklos Perényi. There's also a première by one of the country's leading young composers, Nina Whiteman.  So a pretty exciting occasion all round.

Thanks to our friends at the MDDA and Let's Go Global, the show will be beamed out of the concert hall and onto the BBC Big Screen in Exchange Square, Manchester - Live!

The feed will also be visible to web users around the world, either via Manchester Camerata's own website or on the premier worldwide classical music web-tv Medici.tv
SO there's no excuse to catch what promises to be a fabulous night of stunning music!

Read more about this Event
Details of the Pictures from St Petersburg Concert

White Rose in a Red Rose Garden

Kim Roberts has just joined Manchester Camerata as the Learning and Participation intern. Here she introduces herself. 

"During my time as a music student at Sheffield University I decided I wanted to work with an orchestra in their education department as I believe that involvement in music can be incredibly beneficial.

I volunteered at various community events run by Music in the Round and became a trainee music leader with Opera North, but after endless job applications found that I still needed to gain more work experience to get a job in this area. This is why Camerata’s learning and participation internship attracted me so much; it’s a great first step into a career in arts administration and I’m sure that at the end of my six month placement I will be in a much stronger position to apply for work.

I’m really enjoying the internship so far, it’s a great team to be part of. The work is quite varied: I am involved in contacting, scheduling and contracting schools for projects; contributing to planning meetings; and occasionally going out to events.

In the last few weeks we have been preparing for our Cameo Orchestra Play Day, which was a great success this weekend, and organising the Music by Numbers workshops which will be happening in over sixty schools across the North West between now and April.

I’m new to Manchester and am really enjoying the city, but do feel like a bit of a traitor being on this side of the Peaks as an honorary Yorkshire-woman!"

Manchester Camerata's Urban Symphony schools project

Read more about Camerata's Learning Projects

Countdown to Bach collaboration

Sound Artist Andrew Deakin blogs on his preparations for Sunday's performance with manchester Camerata's Principal Cello, Hannah Roberts.
"So, the H&G phase has come to an end - it has to, though it could go on for ever of course. Once I have collected 'stuff' I enter what I thing of the sorting phase. I tip everything out onto the floor and start to sort through it, putting like with like, and in this way certain tendencies and connections emerge. Have you ever had visitors arrive unexpectedly expecting a meal and you have to search through the fridge and kitchen cupboards for ingredients and inspiration? Well, this stage is just like that. Given my experience has a cook (composer) with an understanding of basic and traditional methods I am looking for ingredients which will combine to make a wholesome and satisfying meal (piece of music).

So what am I left with?

Some really interesting soundscape recordings from Leipzig (found on YouTube). Surface noise from an old LP of Pablo Casals playing the Cello Suites. PB 'grunting from the same LP. I have written a couple of new patches in Max/msp (my programming environment of choice) which allow new (to me) forms of frequency shifting and time-stretching. I add these ingredients to my normal (but never finished) performance system and hopefully everything will turn out well. We will see on Sunday!
I used to play the French Horn and when I started to perform live with technology wanted to develop a system/interface/instrument which was as expressive as the horn so one of my criteria was that whatever I developed had to have the potential to go horribly wrong -that is one
way we know something is 'live'. If you have ever heard a horn player 'split' a note in the middle of an otherwise perfect melody you will know what I am talking about. Remind me to tell you the story of when Barry Tuckwell played the Beethoven Sonata at the Royal Exchange many years ago.

I am still having trouble with the Nintendo Wii controller which I will be using in the duet with Hannah. I am a bit worried that I won't be able to find any empty radio frequencies for my transmitters - central Manchester is very different to rural Cumbria. A mixture of excitement and anxiety as Sunday approaches. Just as it should be. Hope to see you there."

Read more about this performance and hear an interview with Andrew

Mozart played with Guzzo in Stafford

Blogger Chris Ramsden reviews Manchester Camerata's performance in Stafford with new Leader Giovanni Guzzo on Wednesday 29 September:

"It's getting hard to keep up with Manchester's music scene. Just as Gianandrea Noseda steps down from the BBC Philharmonic (see Farewell Symphony), Douglas Boyd leaves the Manchester Camerata (though he comes to Stafford next May for his farewell concert). Mark Elder over at the Hallé must be getting a bit restless. 

And with the Camerata, it's not just the conductor who's changing; there's also a new leader, Giovanni Guzzo.

The Camerata obviously decided we might be overwhelmed if we had to cope with two new people at once. So last night in Stafford we were introduced to Giovanni Guzzo as he gave his first concert as leader; the new conductor comes later.
Giovanni Guzzo was not content, however, just to lead the Camerata. He brought a programme of early Mozart to the Gatehouse so that he could conduct from the leader's chair -- and he also played the violin while conducting Mozart's third violin concerto.

Read Chris Ramsden's entire blog

Countdown to the Weekender

Sound Artist Andrew Deakin blogs about the preparations for his performance with Camerata's Principal Cellist, Hannah Roberts on Sunday 3 October as part of The Manchester Weekender

"Well, only a few days left before Hannah and I have to deliver “Bach’s stunning unaccompanied Cello Suites... as you've never heard them before!” Let me rewind a little and explain what I have been doing for the last few weeks in preparation.

In late August I received an email asking if I would be interested in taking part in a collaborative performance with a classical cellist in an unusual venue in Manchester as part of some sort of cultural festival. Oh, and the cellist would be playing some Bach. It was the mention of Bach which convinced me to say yes.

On 5 September I had an initial phone conversation with Hannah in which we got to know each other a little and discussed possibilities for the performance. I was excited by the fact that she was planning to play a couple of the Bach Cello Suites but also a little concerned that my contributions would compromise the integrity of Hannah’s performance so we agreed on a format in which I would frame the suites and we would have a short joint performance to end with.

I now had less that a month to develop something which was now starting to feel like quite a challenge!

When starting a new work I enter what I think of as the Hunting and Gathering stage. I go out and search for ‘stuff’ – a beautifully vague term to describe all the elements that contribute to a composition. Sounds. Ideas. Structures. Processes. Memories. Artifacts. Anything.

I start from the Macro and work towards the Micro. I already knew some of the structural (and spatial) dimensions of the work: three short pieces (average 6-7 minutes) which would frame two of the Bach suites presented in an intimate space normally used for community-based hacking and experimentation.

I needed a piece to help set the room as a ‘sounding space’ in preparation for Hannah’s first performance. Another to explore shared material (a little electroacoustic suite?) leading to Hannah’s second performance. Finally a short piece for Hannah and I to play together ‘live’ – with me transforming her playing on the fly using some sort of interface/instrument; a Nintendo Wii controller perhaps?

During the hunting/gathering stage I keep the Macro dimensions in mind but do not make any decisions about what will work or won’t – I just collect stuff. In no particular order this is some of the stuff I found: pre-war recordings of Pablo Casals playing the Bach Suites; recordings of St Thomas’s Church in Leipzig including one around Bach’s tomb; manuscript copies of the suites; some more transistor radios for my collection; Leipzig street sounds; a new way of controlling frequency-shifting in my programming environment of choice, Max/msp; a new object for working with a Wii controller; Church bell recorded in Leipzig; the list goes on…

I don’t know about you but when I was a child whenever I tried to paint with poster paints I always started with bright colours and ended up with a mucky brown mess. I have since realised that this is an essential part of my creative process and that I have to reach the ‘mucky brown’ stage before finding a way through. Today is when mucky brown started to give way to clarity and renewed colour - about time too. I will write more when I know more".

Concert details and how to book

Gabor to a Tee

Camerata's chief executive Bob Riley highlights Gábor Takács-Nagy's masterclass style
"The recent article in The Strad 'String quartets for breakfast' really made me laugh with enjoyment, it describes Gabor so well. Having also seen Gabor conduct many times now, I am looking forward to his concerts with our orchestra here in Manchester very much. That same constant stream of creativity, makes for an incredibly direct style of music making where you know you will only hear that way once. It keeps us all on our toes!"

Read the whole Strad article

Read more about Gábor Takács-Nagy and Manchester Camerata

Countdown to Higgins Premier

Young composer Gavin Higgins prepares for his premier with Manchester Camerata on Saturday 25 September 2010.
"The premiere of my new work for the Manchester Camerata is just around the corner and as usual I am starting to get nervous.  It's a strange process writing a piece of music. For weeks and months it becomes your life; The first thing you think when you wake up is the 'new piece', the last thing you think about when you go to sleep is the 'new piece', sometimes you even dream about the 'new piece'. It's all-consuming to the point of obsession. And then at the very end, contrary to popular belief, there is no celebration at its completion - I actually find it all a little sad. This thing that you have been obsessing over for the last few months of your life is ready to 'leave home'. You give your baby over to the professionals and they change the dots into real music. I'm always surprised to hear what's been in my head for so long actually performed by living musicians, it's like your baby has grown up!

The other concerning aspect of a premiere is you never really know how well the piece is going to sound. Sure, you have been living with these sounds in your head for weeks now and have tried your best to clearly and accurately transfer them onto manuscript paper for others to read , but the questions and nagging concerns still linger; have you made the right decisions? should you not have taken out that Piccolo solo? Will the Contra Bassoon sound menacing enough? Will the world stop spinning when they play the first chord?

The great thing about living in the UK is that the standard of music making is incredibly high. In fact one could safely say that the UK is the centre of the artistic world at the moment, so all my concerns and worries are somewhat unsubstantiated. With the quality players in the Manchester Camerata I am convinced the premiere will be a success."

See more about Manchester Camerata's 25 September Concert - Mozart and Prague

People's Palaces and Urban Symphonies

Camerata's Head of Artistic Planning, Manus Carey, reaches for the TV remote:
"Really interesting programme on BBC 4 – People’s Palaces with Jonathan Foyle - about neo-Classical and neo-Gothic architecture in the North of England, with a particular focus on Manchester and Liverpool. This provides a perfect backdrop to our upcoming season, Urban Symphonies, which is all about a sense of place, with concert programmes from different cities around the world, and a learning programme inspired by Manchester’s rich architecture. There is so much we can learn today from the way nineteenth century culture and commerce worked closely together, and from the Victorian belief in the social importance of culture. This is a fascinating watch and in these times of looming cuts shows what results a tenacious and uncompromising artistic vision can achieve. Incidentally Jonathan Foyle has a site worth checking out called ‘built’.  You can see more about the programme on the BBC Website.

Be Part of Camerata!

Manchester Camerata is seeking a no.2, 1st Violin to work in close junction with the orchestra, new Leader – Giovanni Guzzo, Music Director – Douglas Boyd, Permanent Guest Conductor – Nicholas Kraemer and Principal Guest Director – Gordan Nikolitch. Gábor Takács–Nagy will join the Artistic team as Music Director in September 2011.  Working closely with the whole team, you will work Manchester based and play a pivotal role in the future success of one of the UK’s foremost Chamber Orchestras. The role also has potential for some leading, chamber music and solo opportunities. Go for it!  Click for further details.

For the Love of the Recorder

Charlotte Spencer, Camerata's Head of Development, reviews First Love Sky Arts 1

"Did you catch First Love on Sky Arts 1 last night?  Don't worry if you didn't, there's another chance to see it on Sunday 12 September at 7.10pm.  The programme follows famous faces as they revisit their musical past, and this week it’s the turn of the journalist and broadcaster Janet Street Porter.  See a short video about the show. I was really surprised to discover she is a huge fan of classical music and the Baroque period in particular, and for her challenge she tackles re-learning the recorder.  Despite it's association with primary school, the recorder is actually a really difficult instrument to master and make sound good! In the show Janet prepares to perform in public in her own inimitable and entertaining way – although it is really clear from the way she talks about it that this music is something she cares deeply about, which I found quite touching.  I have to admit I was tipped off by a very good friend of mine Ian Wilson, a brilliant recorder player and Early Music specialist, who was involved in the programme! It’s a fabulous show, and really highlights how much effort actually goes into making something look effortless, which its all too easy to forget when watching and listening to talented musicians.  Here's a link to the programme. Really worth a watch!"