On February 19th, 2010, the moment had finally come, to which the Borletti-Buitoni Trust and I had looked foward for four years: the première of Gavin Bryars’ Piano Concerto ‘The Solway Canal’, a co-commission of the BBT and the Dutch radio. I clearly remember the very first visit to Gavin’s place in Leicester almost half a decade ago, together with David Hoskins and Graham Johnston, in which we laid out our very first ideas. Already at that time, I definitely felt a pleasant artistic and personal ‘click’ with Gavin. Now, four years later, that feeling proved to be correct.

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An extraordinary week in the life of Susan Rivers, Chief Executive, BBT.

Part One. Monday 15th – Saturday 20th February 2010. London – Aldeburgh – Utrecht

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My trip starts one evening in mid-September 2007:

There we were three young oboists at Herkulessaal in Munich, after having played Strauss Concerto with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra at ARD´s competition finals. The Jury came to stage, we were down where the audience sits, waiting for the result.

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In Spain people speak constantly about “Duende” and recognize it with unfailing instinct when it appears.  Federico Garcia Lorca gave a famous lecture on “La Teoria y Juego del Duende”.  So in honour to Lorca’s creative force they have taken the name Duende which challenges us to keep our ears open to the ‘dark sounds’, to keep in touch with the ghosts of those who have come before, to never refuse the struggle which is needed to keep the spirits working on the side of truth!

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I’m just getting ready to leave Amsterdam in a few hours to get back to London. I’ve been here for sessions with the respected photographer Marco Borggreve to produce a set of ‘publicity shots’ appropriate for programmes, album covers and inserts, and other uses. It is a rather poignant experience to be writing this blog entry for the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in the city on the Amstel, a place that over the years I have visited throughout various stages of my life.

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I was walking by the sea, the wind and rain was almost unbearable, and I tried to listen to the answer machine on my mobile. The distance between the rehearsal venue and my hotel was not very long, but in this weather it was not very pleasant. The message on my mobile was from Susan Rivers; had I heard about the Borletti Buitoni Trust?

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Being a part of a performing ensemble is more than just showing up for concerts.  It’s first and foremost about enjoying what one does, IMHO, something that depends, generally speaking, on whom you’re doing it with. Our key to sustaining that joy, which is later transcended to our audience, is the connection that we have between us not only as musicians but also as people, as friends. When we are on tour our Trio becomes a family.

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October 10th
Tonight was the world premiere from the Neuwirth Viola Concerto in Graz, Austria, and I come out of it with an overwhelming feeling. Finally this happened and the piece was born “for real” with an audience, a hall, an atmosphere…
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A week to go till our BBT gig at Wilton’s Music Hall, and to be honest I’m looking forward to it! It’s a really cool venue, like venues I’ve played in Berlin, Prague, etc, but never thought London had a venue like it, let alone  the place allowing a percussion duo to play in it! We are a bit of an unknown package to those people who have never seen us, and it can be a battle getting audiences – but everywhere we’ve played since we began, we’ve been invited back – and when we’ve gone back the audience is always bigger, so i suppose we must be doing something right!!

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Four years ago exactly to this day, I wrote that famous letter of motivation to the Borletti Buitoni Trust, to express all my wishes and wildest musical dreams, including a major piece commissioned to a composer. And here we are today: I am on my way to Vienna, to rehearse for the first time the Concerto that Olga Neuwirth has written for me. An amazing feeling, which started a few weeks ago when I put my fingers and my bow for the first time ever “on” the piece. A wonderful, inspiring step for me, and hopefully, an important addition to the Viola repertoire and to music.

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