Welcome to Issue 3: The Symphonies of Haydn and Beethoven. This issue offers something completely different to the last two on opera – discussion of the early symphonic repertoire. Beethoven’s Symphonies are the bread and butter of most orchestral conductors’ work, and here you have the Professor of Conducting at the Royal College of Music, Peter Stark, and the former Music Director of the English National Opera (and Olivier Award winning) Mark Wigglesworth sharing their experience and unique insights into their chosen Beethoven symphony. In contrast, Ben Palmer, Artistic Director of Covent Garden Sinfonia and Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck, gives us an enlightening overview of conducting Haydn’s symphonies, including wisdom gleaned from his time working with Sir Roger Norrington. I would like to thank all three conductors for being so generous with their time and knowledge, and hope that the readers find the interviews informative, entertaining and beneficial to their own conducting practice.
Director – Dr. Hannah Baxter