We really love Gramophone

If one happens to be thumbing through the February issue of Gramophone, you might notice a nice mention of my Orchestra of the Swan appointment on page 14- we even got a picture. You can find me right next to the piece on James Galway. I only mention this because I’ve...

3 Months

* When conductors (particularly guest conductors) ask for specific things to be put into the parts, they should have the good manners to do so well in advance of the first rehearsal.  And that doesn’t mean two weeks, it means THREE MONTHS OR MORE. In most major...

Kindertotenlieder I- Tempo?

I had an email from a very gifted composer friend the other day which seemed fodder for a blog post…… Hey Ken, I recently turned on some Korean and Japanese composers to western dramatic music, and directed them specifically to Mahler. Interestingly, I told them to...