The Wand of Youth

‘The idea behind Collegium was to get together some of the many talented student-aged musicians based in London. I have been lucky enough to teach or do masterclasses with many, and there is something about working with younger people that gives you energy, especially in rehearsals.

Piazzolla’s Four Seasons fits perfectly with the Time Unwrapped theme and we have commissioned new arrangements of some of Schubert’s Winterreise for viola and strings, which act as a prelude to each season. Then there is Milhaud’s Création du Monde, which I love, in his lesser-known piano quintet version. The music is very jazzy, lyrical and great fun. We finish with Copland’s shining Appalachian Spring, so we’re taking the idea of Time quite broadly, but there’s some great music there.

The holy grail is to get young people to concerts. I know from working with them that when their friends and fellow students come along there’s a different dynamic to the audience. It is the responsibility of all us to explore ways of doing that. This will be Collegium’s first appearance, so it is a really exciting occasion.’