In Episode 29 of The Classical Circuit, host Ella Lee talks to Jack Bazalgette, co-founder and Artistic Director of through the noise, and Artistic Director of the Cheltenham Music Festival. Jack talks about the appetite for classical music in intimate venues, and how there is a lot of crossover between the ‘noisenights’ demographic and that of conventional classical concerts. We talk about ‘classical music’ as an umbrella term, the future of classical music, and how through the noise...

In Episode 28 of The Classical Circuit, host Ella Lee talks to Benjamin Levy, creator of Classics Explained: a team of young content creators making animated videos that explain the stories and creative processes behind famous works of classical music. In this episode, Ben shares his reasons for starting the series and how those goals have developed over the years; his observations around what his audience wants to see, the resistance the series has faced on the internet, and why the human...

In Episode 27 of The Classical Circuit, host Ella Lee chats to pianist Adam Heron about lacking a sense of belonging as a ‘third-culture kid’; how working outside the music world transformed his relationship with it; his long recovery from repetitive strain injury, which involved deconstructing and reconstructing his entire approach to the piano; and what conservatoires might be missing in the realm of injury prevention and support. ------------------- Adam's links: Facebook X (formerly...

In Episode 26 of The Classical Circuit, host Ella Lee is joined by composer Freya Waley-Cohen to talk about building and sustaining a composing career in today’s world, her song cycle ‘Spell Book’ (the focal work and title of her debut album, out this Friday on NMC Recordings), being humiliated by a professor, her creative process, and what it is about the occult that has inspired so much of her music. ------------------- Freya's links: Website X Instagram ------------------- Follow The...

John Suchet OBE is a well-loved radio and TV presenter, author, and journalist. For thirty years he was known primarily as a reporter and newscaster for ITN, covering major world events including the Philippines Revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 2008, the Royal Television Society awarded him with their highest accolade, the Lifetime Achievement Award. After leaving TV news John fell headfirst into a second career, in which he has been able to indulge his lifelong passion for...

British Conductor Tess Jackson is the Associate Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra. Originally a violinist, Tess was inspired to take up conducting aged just fourteen, eventually going on to study music at Cambridge University and then a Masters in Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music. Some highlights of the upcoming season include her symphonic debut with the Philharmonia, West Side Story at Volksoper Vienna, and she has recently been assisting Enrique Mazzola at the Lyric Opera...

Soprano Claire Booth is internationally renowned for her dedication to a vast repertoire, as well as the vitality and musicianship that she brings to the stage. Opera highlights include the title roles in Handel's Berenice for the Royal Opera and Janacek's Cunning Little Vixen for Garsington Opera, and her concert appearances have resulted in close associations with the BBC orchestras, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Claire has also collaborated...

American conductor Kellen Gray currently holds the position of Associate Artist with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the first of its kind, but leads a vibrant professional life on both sides of the Atlantic. Recent engagements include the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra, the English National Opera and the Philharmonia, and the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra in Indiana where he is Conductor and Artistic Director. One of the foremost experts and interpreters of...

Alexandra Whittingham is a prominent figure in the guitar world. At the age of 16, she began filming and editing videos of herself playing popular guitar repertoire and posting them online, rapidly catching the attention of viewers all over the world. Since then Alexandra’s online community continues to grow, and her videos have amassed over 50 million views since. She's also a recording artist on the Decca Classics label, and a member of the guitar faculty at Chetham’s School of Music (where...

British cellist Guy Johnston has had an exciting and varied career since winning the BBC Young Musician competition in the year 2000. He has performed with many leading orchestras worldwide, and collaborated with a host of illustrious conductors including the late Sir Andrew Davis, Sakari Oramo and Yuri Simonov. A passionate chamber musician, Guy is the founding Artistic Director of the Hatfield House Music Festival, which takes place annually, and performs regularly at prestigious venues and...

*This discussion touches on intrusive thoughts around death and suicide - please skip through if you need to* Hattie Butterworth is a journalist, cellist and founder of Things Musicians Don’t Talk About: a podcast, blog and online platform born in 2020 out of Hattie’s own struggles with her mental health. Subsequently growing into a space that raises awareness for musicians’ health and wellbeing, TMDTA platforms very honest discussions about stigmatised topics including mental health,...

David Skudlik is the co-founder and CEO of digital agency Sforzato, a company that provides a variety of digital marketing services to the classical music and wider performing arts sector. Their impressive client list to date has included the likes of Nicola Benedetti, Barbara Hannigan, Ray Chen and Alice Sara Ott. David is also known for his weekly newsletter, David’s Dearest, a neatly curated pick of his own cultural recommendations.   Born into a musical family, David grew up playing the...

Chris O'Reilly is the CEO of Presto Music, the UK's leading ecommerce site for classical and jazz recordings, sheet music, music books and musical instruments. With a background in music and musicology, Chris has run Presto Music since 2001. In this episode, he shared his observations of the changing tides of the classical recording industry, and musings on where things might head in future; as well as Presto's own streaming service, launched in 2023, which pays musicians fairly. (!!!) Chris...

Florence Lockheart is the editor of Classical Music Magazine, the only magazine and website dedicated to the classical music industry in the UK. A Classics graduate from Durham University, Florence has always had a strong interest in classical music, which she nurtured over the years through both choral singing and training as a solo singer. Editor of the magazine since late 2021, her passion for both the artform and the industry is palpable, and she continues to develop CM's role as a...

Raffaello Morales is the founder and music director of the Fidelio Cafe in London, known and well-loved for their 'classical dinner-concert' series, comprising a one-hour concert by an established musician or ensemble, followed by a three-course menu specially curated for that evening's programme. Within the wider Fidelio project, Raffaello also conducts the Fidelio Orchestra, run as a charity with the intent of providing high-level orchestral experience for young musicians, with the likes of...

French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is widely known as an authority figure in contemporary music, and also for shedding new light on music of the past. His international concert career has already spanned several decades, with an enormous discography to boot, all of which he has carried out alongside a dedicated commitment to teaching. In 1973, at the age of 16, he won first prize in the Messiaen Competition, and three years later was invited by Pierre Boulez to be the first solo pianist of...

Alexandra Knight is the founder and CEO of classical music agency Knight Classical. After reading Music and then Law at Oxford University, Alexandra joined the artist management world, working first at Harrison Parrott, then at International Classical Artists - where she later became a Director at the age of 28 - before launching Knight Classical in January 2020. In her career so far, Alexandra has worked for renowned artists such as Janine Jansen, Neeme Järvi and Sir James Galway; built...

Paul Wee is an internationally-acclaimed pianist with a love for celebrating the hidden gems of the piano repertoire. His recordings for BIS have been met with great critical acclaim, including being shortlisted for multiple Gramophone Awards. Not your average pianist, Paul also happens to be a very successful barrister; he was called to the bar by Gray's Inn in 2010, and currently practises from Essex Court Chambers in London. Paul performs around his professional commitments as a barrister,...

Timothy Ridout is one of today’s most sought-after violists, being a former BBC New Generation Artist, a Borletti-Buitoni Fellowship recipient and winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award. As well as having performed with many major orchestras and conductors worldwide, Tim is a celebrated chamber musician, bringing programmes regularly to the likes of Wigmore Hall and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. He records regularly for Harmonia Mundi, and his recording of Elgar's Cello...

Julian Lloyd Webber's musical life is remarkably varied. As a solo cellist, he has performed with many of the world’s finest orchestras and conductors, as well as every leading symphony and chamber orchestra in the UK. His discography includes his BRIT Award-winning Elgar Cello Concerto, conducted by Yehudi Menuhin, and ‘Variations’, a collaboration between him and his brother Andrew, which has sold over a million copies. Julian has premiered more than fifty works over his career and inspired...

Recorder player and baroque violinist Yasaman Mashhouri was born in Tehran, Iran. Her musical education began at the age of ten with the Orff method, then subsequently taking her first violin lessons and teaching herself the recorder. After graduating with a biology degree from Tehran University, she decided to follow her heart and pursue her musical studies, moving first to Vienna to study recorder performance, and later to Germany. Yasaman is currently based in Switzerland, where she...

Matthew Johnson is a London-based photographer, best known for his work in classical music and portraiture. Having originally trained as a cellist, his approach to his work is shaped by the knowledge and perspective gained from his musical experiences. His impressive client list includes Platoon, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Estonian Embassy, and Britten-Pears Arts – as well as huge numbers of musicians, ensembles, festivals and concert series. Outside the world of music, his vast...

Sumina Studer is a violinist, educator, and content creator who, having captured the hearts of audiences across multiple social platforms, is passionate about bringing classical music to younger generations. Having performed across the globe and won prizes in many international competitions, she now enjoys a varied career teaching, selling violins, making content and, more recently, giving lectures at music colleges on the topic of ‘Modern Communication and Social Media for Musicians in the...

Jamie Walton is a cellist, cultural entrepreneur, and Artistic Director of the North York Moors Chamber Music Festival and Ayriel Studios. As a soloist, he has appeared and recorded with the UK’s finest orchestras, including recording three concerti with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and no less than ten concerti with the Philharmonia Orchestra (including the Dvorak and Schumann concerti under Vladimir Ashkenazy). Turning his focus to chamber music, he launched his festival in 2009, which...