Welcome. As with Issue 35, this one consists of three interviews, all with Principals from different sections of the orchestra. We are now nearing the end of our Principals series, although other interviews with orchestral musicians will continue to feature. After all, they have proved to be so fruitful in enhancing our understanding of the orchestra’s inner workings. There will be a change of tack in the next issue.
What a pleasure it was to chat with Suzy Willison-Kawalec, Principal Harpist of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Having now been in the position for 20 years, her experience is vast, and she was able to share a lot of very thorough and practical information. As with a number of the other principals, I asked her to outline the common mistakes conductors and composers make when working with harpists, and learned of a number of the best composers and pieces to consult when learning more about the instrument (she recommended two pieces in particular by Debussy and Ravel). We also discussed tuning (quite the issue for a harpist!), and travelling with the instrument, although that situation has dramatically changed in the last ten years at the RPO thanks to a generous benefactor. Suzy teaches at the Royal Academy of Music, a job that she thoroughly enjoys, and also spoke with me about the nature of her work with the students there.
Scott Dickinson is Principal Viola of the Philharmonia. He joined in 2024 after being Principal Viola of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for over 20 years. Scott loves sitting right in the middle of the action, playing ‘all of the most pungent, aromatic aspects of the music’. I enjoyed Scott’s description of the viola’s sound – ‘chocolatey’ and ‘under the bonnet’, and how it has a more ‘introverted’ sound than the violin. There is so much more to the instrument than being a bigger violin with a range that reaches a fifth lower. He took me through the best viola repertoire, the most famous solos, and how he likes to approach conductors, especially seeing as he is within such easy reach of them! He highlighted an interesting issue that hasn’t arisen in my interviews before: the challenge of switching between solo and ensemble playing in orchestral repertoire, and explains why the viola is one of the toughest instruments to play, leaving its players more prone to injury.
I first became aware of Robin McNeill, the Philharmonia’s Principal Bassoonist, when I stumbled upon a video online of him discussing the opening solo to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. He was so knowledgeable and engaging that I immediately approached him for an interview! Robin’s role at the Philharmonia is split 50-50 with Shelly Organ, and that has given him the opportunity to also work as a conductor, chamber musician, teacher and orchestrator/arranger. We covered the technical aspects of conducting for the bassoon (breathing being the overriding concern), and discussed various challenging bassoon solo passages. I was also very interested to learn of his experiences playing with his favourite conductor, Yevgeny Svetlanov. Like a number of the other principals in the London orchestras, Robin is an incredibly experienced teacher, having taught both the bassoon and conducting at the Royal College and Royal Academy. He studied at Guildhall School of Music himself, so has seen first hand how much the field has changed, sharing some of his thoughts on why this is the case.
As ever, huge thanks to Suzy, Scott and Robin for being such fantastic company. What a lovely group of people these London orchestral players are.
Happy Reading!
Dr Hannah Baxter (Editor)