How do you listen to music most often?
Entirely digitally – and often on the computer, which doesn’t have the best sound although I did invest in some fairly good speakers recently which has made a big difference. But most listening is on the go, through headphones on the iPhone and iPad.
What was the first ever record you bought?
Help! by the Beatles was the first LP; the first classical record was a secondhand copy of Wagner’s Die Walküre.
What was the last piece of music you bought?
I’ve just downloaded Alexandre Tharaud’s recording of Bach’s Italian Concertos, and Freedom Highway by the tremendous 60s gospel group the Staple Singers.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
I’m not sure I ever feel guilty about listening to anything. But the odd one in my music library is possibly Wagner. When I was 15 I developed a nerdy obsession with the Ring Cycle (and later Tristan and Isolde) which still lingers – if I was a teenager today I would probably go for Game of Thrones.
If you found yourself with six months free to learn a new instrument, what would you choose?
I’ve always thought it would be great to play the violin – but I’m not sure six months would do it …
Is applauding between movements acceptable?
Any kind of spontaneous excitement and appreciation is fine with me.
What single thing would improve the format of the classical concert?
I recently watched the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra play the entire Verklärte Nacht by Schoenberg from memory. Somehow the absence of sheet music, stands and conductor made one feel the presence of the performers, and the music seemed somehow intense and immediate.
What’s been your most memorable live music experience as an audience member?To single out one thing is impossible, so here is an eclectic list:
St John’s Passion, church concert, 1972
The Flying Dutchman at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, 1972
Ike and Tina Turner Revue, 1975
Lou Reed, 1976
John Cage, David Tudor with Merce Cunningham at Theatre de la Ville in Paris, 1979
Athys by Lully performed by Les Arts Florissant at BAM in New York, 1988
Queen of Spades conducted by Gergiev for the then Kirov Opera, 1988
I have chosen the above not necessarily because of quality of music or performance but because they took me by total surprise. I came without expectation and preconception – and they were at the time completely new and overwhelming.
We’re giving you a time machine: what period or moment in musical history would you travel to and why?
Paris at the beginning of 20th century: Ballets Russes, Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel … actually being there to see Nijinsky and Karsavina dancing – and of course the first night of the Rite of Spring.
Do you enjoy musicals? Do you have a favourite?
I probably enjoy film musicals more than stage musicals – especially the old MGM movies On the Town and Singing in the Rain. However I have always been very impressed by Sweeney Todd and the way Sondheim made a totally compelling musical about disillusion, loss, bitterness and revenge.
Which conductor or performer of yesteryear do you most wish you could have worked with?
As Sylvie Guillem is retiring this year she must just about qualify – I am a huge admirer!
What is the best new piece written in the past 50 years?
Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia. It’s a piece I have always loved and wanted to choreograph.
What’s the most overrated classical work?
When I listen to one of the old warhorses such as Moonlight Sonata, Air on G String, or indeed Swan Lake, it is usually with surprise and delight at how good they actually are. However, I heard Carmina Burana recently and found it a bit thin.
- Rambert’s Transfigured Night by Kim Brandstrup premieres at Birmingham Repertory theatre, 28 to 31 October. Box office: 0121-236 4455. Then at Sadler’s Wells, London, from 3 to 7 November. Box office: 020-7863 8000.
