Welcome to Issue 5! This time we are travelling east (well, east if you start in Europe at least) – first of all to Russia, with works by Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky, and then over to Xi’an in China. We start with Susanna Mälkki, Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, talking in detail about conducting one of her favourite Russian works, the undisputed masterpiece The Rite of Spring. Nurhan Arman, Music Director of Canada’s Sinfonia Toronto, follows with Tchaikovsky’s beautiful Serenade for Strings. And finally Jonathan Lo, Principal Guest Conductor of the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra, talks about his work with the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra, and bringing Western Classical Music to Chinese audiences. A real variety!
I do hope you enjoy them, and find them beneficial to your conducting practice. A reminder to follow Notes from the Podium on both twitter (@notesfrompodium) and Facebook if you’d like to see updates/make suggestions etc.
Happy Summer!
Dr. Hannah Baxter