A Musical Taste of France: Part Two

Unrepentant Francophile Betty Barker interviews renowned British conductor Paul Daniel in the second preview of the imaginatively named Paul Daniel Conducts, a concert celebrating some of the best loved French repertoire featuring Siobhan Stagg and the ANAM Orchestra.

Reading your resume is a bit daunting for your average lowbrow low achiever. Vulture was expecting to interview a senior citizen. How have you managed to fit in so much music into such a short space of time?

Music was there for me very early in my life – I was very lucky to have great teachers even when I was in my first school. Learning to read music was as matter-of-fact as learning to read – I guess it was a bit like having skis strapped to your feet as soon as you could walk! And so, music became my only career choice – I’m just lucky I got the gigs!

You started your musical career in a choir and then studied music at no less an institution than King’s College Cambridge. What instruments (if any) did you play as a young man? Do you still play for relaxation?

I was given a recorder to play on my first day at school. Eventually I played the piano, and then the oboe. The oboe is far too demanding and difficult an instrument to play ‘occasionally’ for fun, but I always took my piano playing very seriously, and I always try to keep playing alongside my score studying.

Did you always want to conduct? What drives a musician to become a conductor? What attributes/temperament does a good conductor need?

I told people that I wanted to conduct when I was nine years old – I was already in love with this wonderful instrument called an ‘orchestra’ and I wanted to play with those incredible sounds. Conducting is a lot to do with encouraging and persuading, and I think I enjoy that aspect of my work as much as the magic of the music.

What is unique about the French composers?

French music has always been about the sensual delicacy of sound on one side, and about open emotional responses on the other. French composers have explored those qualities with incredibly individual responses – every great French composer is different from every other: Schools and traditions have always been less important than finding a unique voice.

How does conducting more contemporary French music such as that of Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel differ from the more classical Ravel? Are there any similarities?

Brel and Piaf were two of the most emotional writers and singers ever, and their music was inseparable from the music of the French language. We’re performing songs by Ravel too (his ‘Scheherezade’), and the same qualities shine out from his writing. It’s wonderful to have all this beautiful mixture all in one evening.

What factors go into your decision to accept certain conducting engagements? What is it about Paul Daniel Conducts and Vers Minuit that particularly appeal to you?

I find great strength in long-term relationships with orchestras, which makes me a company man rather than an in-out guest. I also love to connect the repertory and range of my work together as much as possible across the season, wherever I am in the world. This week, I got the best invitation – to work with some of the most intensely gifted musicians anywhere! Australia is internationally recognised as one of the best places to study at this level, thanks to ANAM, and you don’t pass up the chance to work with musicians this talented!

 

What: Paul Daniel Conducts

When: Friday 3 August, 7pm

Where: The Australian National Academy of Music, South Melbourne Town Hall, 210 Bank Street, South Melbourne

Cost: $50 Full $35 Snr $25 Concession

Bookings: www.anam.com.au (03) 9645 7911

 

What: Vers Minuit

When: Friday 3 August, 9pm

Where: The Australian National Academy of Music, South Melbourne Town Hall, 210 Bank Street, South Melbourne

Cost: Tickets for Vers Minuit are exclusive to Director’s Choice Package Holders and ANAMates only

Tagged Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Paul Daniel, Paul Daniel Conducts, Ravel, Scheherazade, siobhan stagg, The Australian National Academy of Music, Vers Minuit