Happy Birthday Sir Roger!

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Yesterday saw the Orchestra travel from Boston to New York for that evening’s concert at Lincoln Center – and it was also Sir Roger Norrington’s Birthday. At the Boston concert he was presented with this very appropriate T Shirt (we were playing the music of CPE Bach) which he proudly wore on the coach down to New York. A full report on the tour to follow soon, and if you’re in New York you can still catch the OAE when we combine with the London Sinfonietta tomorrow for a performance of Heiner Goebbel’s Songs of Wars I Have Seen tomorrow evening (18 March).

Baroque. Contrasted. Staff picks

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On 6 April our next mini-festival at Kings Place, Baroque. Contrasted. kicks off with 5 days of concerts, talks, demonstrations and even singing-along showcasing the depth and variety of Baroque Music. We asked around the office to see what people here are most looking forward to:

I’m really looking forward to Steven Devine’s Sing Baroque event on 9 April.  It’s been a while since I’ve been able to stretch my vocal chords and being able to sing choruses from the beautiful Dido & Aeneas is a pretty decent way to spend a Saturday lunchtime :-)

Natasha Stehr, Marketing and Press Officer

It’s hard to chose, because there’s lots of fab music. I’m going to chose two events. First, Baroque Strings on 7 April, because it includes Vivaldi’s La Folia variations. It’s what the German’s call an ‘earworm’ – i.e. a tune you can’t get out of your head which just goes round and round on repeat…My second pick would be Sunday’s coffee concert. Not only is it just really lovely to start your Sunday with a coffee and great music, but it’s always fantastic seeing the students on our Apprenticeship scheme play. Plus the concert includes Purcell’s Abdelazar, which reminds me of playing it in my school orchestra – though I suspect this performance will be considerably better…

William Norris, Communications Director

The Sing Baroque event, because the OAE hasn’t done anything quite like this before and it will be a great opportunity to learn to sing some Purcell in an authentically OAE way from Steven Devine.   I’d also like to prove to my colleagues in the office that the regular singing (or more like wailing) that I do on a regular basis in the office is merely scratching the surface of my raw talent…

Ceri Jones, Projects Officer

Having had a sneak preview of the concert on Friday 8 April at 6.45pm (The Sprightly Hautboy and the Soft Complaining Flute) when it was performed at the Garrick Club in February, I can speak from experience when I say that this event will be entertaining and illuminating.  I was captivated by this repertoire, both familiar and less-familiar, and look forward to hearing these fabulous instruments being brought to life again (by the equally fabulous players) in this spring concert at Kings Place.

Stephen Carpenter, Chief Executive

You can view our online brochure for the festival here, or if you feel motivated to book you can do that here

OAE Released: Cover art

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Through the history of recorded music the cover artwork on a CD or LP has always been an important part of the finished product, and in the pop world in particular, there are have been some truly legendary and iconic designs – just think of Abbey Road, The Dark Side of the Moon, Sgt. Pepper and Nirvana’s Nevermind. The fact I don’t feel a need to post pictures of these to remind readers is a testament to the way their cover art has entered the popular conciousness.

It has to be said though that classical music hasn’t done so well with its cover art (though do feel free to tell us about any of your favourite covers) and it’s probably easier to find some really bad cover art than anything really distinctive. There are some exceptions of course (two of my favourites being the Virgin Ultraviolet range and Decca’s Argo line, both now out of print, and some more in this blog article) but they are the exception and not the rule.

So when we came to produce the first CD on our OAE Released label we wanted to think long and hard about the artwork. We tasked the designers, Harrison and Co, with coming up with something that would be very ‘OAE’ – distinctive, different, something that would stand out from other CDs and tie in with the Orchestra’s values. Importantly the artwork would need to be a distinctive series – so that while each CD would look different they should also be recognisably from the same stable.

The designers came back with a range of options and there were two frontrunners for us, but we ultimately went with an alphabet theme…in the video below designer Chris talks through the different options he came up with, including the one we eventually picked.

The first CD on OAE Released, Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers is out now and can be bought through our website.

William Norris, Communications Director



OAE office playlist March 2011

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As it’s Friday afternoon, and the office are making the final preparations to next week’s US tour, we thought you might want to know what music was keeping us going!

  • Wolf and I by Oh Land
  • What Became Of The Likely Lads by The Libertines
  • Hound Dog as sung by Big Mama Thornton
  • Forget You by Cee Lo Green
  • Sospiri, Op. 70 by Elgar
  • Fire by Kasabian
  • I’ll Forget You by Lior
  • Fire with Fire by Scissor Sisters
  • Heartbeats by The Knife
  • Symphony No. 9, Movement 2 by Schubert
  • Don’t Talk To Me About Love by Altered Images
  • Band On The Run by Foo Fighters
  • Going Underground by The Jam
  • Footloose by Kenny Loggins

You can listen to the whole playlist on Spotify here: OAE office playlist March 2011

My last day at OAE…already!

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For the last four weeks I’ve been in the OAE office working as the Communications Intern – and those four weeks have flown by! I’ve had a great time, mainly working in the Communications department, but I’ve tried to get an experience of how the orchestra works by going to as many events and meetings as possible.

The highlight of the four weeks for me was definitely the CPE Bach concert last Thursday, but everything about my time here has been enjoyable – especially meeting the players and members of the audience at events, but also the gossips over lunch, or a cheeky Nando’s, or the “PFA” (Projects Food Area – where all the biscuits and cake end up!)

I’ll be going back to Cardiff next week, as on Tuesday I go back to lectures for my Masters in Arts Management. However, I will be coming back up in May and June for the next Night Shifts – from what I’ve heard, they seem to be amazing events and I can’t wait to go to one, especially as I’m looking forward to having a boogie with some of the guys from the office – apparently, their dance moves are legendary.

I’ve learnt a lot about the orchestra, and about marketing in general, in my time here – but more importantly, I’ve had a fantastic time, made some wonderful friends, and gone to some amazing concerts for free!

David Hopkins, Communications Intern

Waste not, want not

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As you know we’re currently very keen on being green here at the OAE. It’s even extended to our recent photoshoot, where we indulged in a bit of recycling.

One of the ideas for next season’s photoshoot was to use white cut outs of instruments as we thought the projections would work better on them than real instruments. Rob, from designers Harrison & Co, had spent a long time making some fantastic cut outs of all the possible instruments we would need. However, after a few test shots this idea was ditched and we decided to go with the real thing. The cut outs lay discarded and unloved in the corner…

However during a break between photographing players the designers Chris and Rob and photographer Eric had a bit of a play with the cut outs and with the aid of some nifty lighting and what looks like some fishing line they made some really interesting shots.

The pictures didn’t really fit into the theme of the brochure though, so for a while we thought they might just remain interesting curiosities, destined to live in some far flung corner of the OAE’s server. But then – we came to design a brochure for our week of events at Kings Place, Baroque. Contrasted. and realised the pictures would be perfect. The designers added some colour to the pictures and they look fantastic. Below is a selection of them, and if you’d like to see a virtual brochure with them in you’ll find it here.

William Norris, Communications Director

Shaddows 12_pink&black
Shadows 4_magenta
Shadows 6_purple
Shadows 7_green
Shadows 8_orange
Shadows 10_blue
Baroque Contrasted

Inbox hell

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Our Projects Manager, Megan, just wanted to share her inbox with you. This is what happens when you’re organising 3 overseas tours simultaneously. Each email here represents an individual itinerary for one of the tours. Megan is in remarkably good spirits considering…

The other amazing Mr Bach – first reviews

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Firstly – today is CPE Bach’s 297th Birthday! So it’s very appropriate that we are celebrating his music at this time. The first reviews of our concert of his music last week at the Queen Elizabeth Hall are now in – links below. Next week we’re off to the States for further performances of this concert in Boston (15 March) and New York (16 March).

Guardian

Classical Source

Bach Track

The World Tonight (Shift)

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Our late-night series, The Night Shift, was featured on Radio 4′s 10pm news programme, The World Tonight, on Friday. You can listen to the piece here, it’s 37 minutes into the programme.

Catherine Mackintosh: Speed Interview

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Catherine Mackintosh. Credit: Joe PlommerCatherine Mackintosh, an OAE violinist and ex leader, will be taking part in our The other amazing Mr Bach study day tomorrow, playing and talking about CPE Bach’s Trio Sonata Sanguineas and Melancholius. Here’s our speed interview with her:

What/when was your big breakthrough?
My breakthroughs have been many but small.  A very early one was playing the One Note in Purcell’s Fantasy of that name with the members of the Melos Ensemble as a teenager. Emmanuel Hurwitz was then very helpful to me. Becoming leader of the Academy of Ancient Music in 1973 was also a huge career step for me.

What do you fear the most?
Snakes, without a doubt and anything bad happening to my family. Not too keen on the idea of death either.

Which mobile number do you call the most?
As my husband hardly ever uses his mobile, I expect it’s Philippa’s (OAE Orchestra Manager).

What – or where – is perfection?
I have never been in pursuit of it actually because, if it exists, or is discovered, it is all the more astonishing for being unsought.  Sitting in front of a roaring log fire in our house in France comes pretty close I must admit.

Who is your favourite hero from fiction (book/comic/film/opera) – and why?
Aunt Dahlia from the works of PG Wodehouse. She is described by her nephew, Bertie Wooster as “a festive old bird” and now I have reached a certain age, I cannot imagine a better state to emulate.

What’s your favourite ritual?
I am not a devout Christian but I love Choral Evensong in a Cathedral with a good choir and recently happened on one in Sheffield just before our concert there.

Which living person do you most admire (and why)?
I met a wonderful nun, Sister Patricia, in Palestine’s Bethlehem University who ran the music department there. She embodied everything I admire; calm, cheerful, dedicated, humorous, sympathetic, intelligent, enthusiastic… I think you get the gist of this lovely person.

What other talent or skill would you like to possess?
I would like to be a book-binder. I realise with horror that with internet, books are in danger of becoming extinct, but few can resist the charm and feel of a beautifully bound book.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
That I am not the only pebble on the beach.

What is the most played piece of music on your MP3 player or in your CD collection?
This goes in phases. At the moment I would say Miles Davis. I must confess I don’t listen to much recorded classical music as I prefer to play it!

What’s the best thing about working with the OAE?
We can never be complacent when always challenged by new ideas from our different conductors and leaders. I feel immensely privileged to work with this orchestra and continue to learn something every time.

Our study day is tomorrow at Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room at 10.30am and 2pm. Tickets