WEBVTT 00:00:01.790 --> 00:00:04.290 This edition is brought to you in association 00:00:04.290 --> 00:00:07.509 with Distill Union for men's gifts, presents 00:00:07.509 --> 00:00:10.130 and problem -solving men's accessories. More 00:00:10.130 --> 00:00:33.219 from them in a bit. Welcome back to the Chatterbox 00:00:33.219 --> 00:00:35.960 Redux podcast with Nick and Sue and today our 00:00:35.960 --> 00:01:11.670 special guest is conductor Robert Emery. This 00:01:11.670 --> 00:01:15.670 is Nick and Sue with Chatterbox giving you all 00:01:15.670 --> 00:01:19.629 you need to know about musical entertainment. 00:01:23.609 --> 00:01:27.549 Chatterbox, the best interviews with Nick and 00:01:27.549 --> 00:01:39.659 Sue. Chatterbox, the best news. And now on Chatterbox 00:01:39.659 --> 00:01:42.219 UK, we're just lucky enough to welcome back Robert 00:01:42.219 --> 00:01:44.700 Emory. Robert, hello. How are you, sir? Welcome. 00:01:45.140 --> 00:01:48.400 I am great. Thank you very much. Nice to be back. 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:50.680 It's great to have you back on. It really is. 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:54.700 The last time we spoke, we were stuck in the 00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:59.560 middle of lockdown. and basically raising funds 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:03.620 for all the composers and the musicians and people 00:02:03.620 --> 00:02:08.379 in orchestras. Basically, anybody with live music, 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:10.719 I believe, you're raising funds because they 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:13.680 were not earning any money at all and because 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:17.979 it was so erratic the way that their earnings 00:02:17.979 --> 00:02:22.319 have been in the past. And of course, we were 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:24.659 covering that for you, which we put out a couple 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:30.699 of times actually. Welcome to Get Musicians Working 00:02:30.699 --> 00:02:34.379 .org. My name is Robert Emery and I'm the founder 00:02:34.379 --> 00:02:37.800 of this project. We're here today to ask you 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:41.659 to help us. Our aim is to support musicians through 00:02:41.659 --> 00:02:44.500 the Covid crisis. There are many professional 00:02:44.500 --> 00:02:47.780 musicians. In fact, 34 % of all professional 00:02:47.780 --> 00:02:50.620 musicians are considering leaving their jobs 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:53.759 because they can no longer afford to be a musician. 00:02:54.219 --> 00:02:57.020 We're not allowed in the concert halls. We're 00:02:57.020 --> 00:03:00.120 not allowed to play in the theaters. We're not 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:02.419 allowed to make music for you. And therefore, 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:04.580 if we can't make music, we can't earn money. 00:03:04.580 --> 00:03:07.400 And if we can't earn money, we can't feed our 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:11.139 families and put roofs over our heads. So many 00:03:11.139 --> 00:03:14.180 musicians are seriously struggling through the 00:03:14.180 --> 00:03:17.460 COVID crisis. Now, I know that we're not trying 00:03:17.460 --> 00:03:19.580 to cure cancer. I know that we're not trying 00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:23.240 to save the world from global warming. I know 00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:26.159 that this in the ground scheme of things is probably 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:29.780 not the most important thing in the world. But 00:03:29.780 --> 00:03:32.860 imagine life without music. It would be very 00:03:32.860 --> 00:03:36.699 black and white. Imagine not having music in 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:39.919 films, not having music in your television programs. 00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:43.139 Imagine not going to the concert halls or to 00:03:43.139 --> 00:03:46.120 see gigs or imagine not going to the theatre. 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:49.300 Imagine not going to listen to musicals or to 00:03:49.300 --> 00:03:52.919 see the ballet or the opera. Imagine life without 00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:56.639 all of these things. It would be a little uninspirational 00:03:56.639 --> 00:03:59.800 and very boring. And what we're trying to make 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:03.280 sure here is that once this whole pandemic is 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:06.879 over, that people can go back to the theatres, 00:04:06.939 --> 00:04:09.319 they can come back into the concert halls, they 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:12.819 can go back and see gigs. Because we will have 00:04:12.819 --> 00:04:15.199 a music industry still here, still standing, 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:18.300 and we will have professional musicians who have 00:04:18.300 --> 00:04:20.759 been able to ride out this horrible period of 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:24.129 time. And that's where you come in. We ask for 00:04:24.129 --> 00:04:27.189 your support, just a small amount. We know that 00:04:27.189 --> 00:04:30.230 everybody's tight at the moment with money and 00:04:30.230 --> 00:04:33.009 life is very, very difficult. But we are asking 00:04:33.009 --> 00:04:35.329 for a very small amount from you. And if you 00:04:35.329 --> 00:04:39.209 can give it, we would really appreciate it. So 00:04:39.209 --> 00:04:43.329 on behalf of all the musicians from the UK, thank 00:04:43.329 --> 00:04:51.160 you. So that's where we were last time and I 00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:53.879 think we're asking what would you be doing after 00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:57.439 the after the lockdown? So basically what have 00:04:57.439 --> 00:04:59.759 you done since the lockdown then we then we'll 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:04.000 talk about this this present project So since 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:08.139 the lockdown, I guess I've been really trying 00:05:08.139 --> 00:05:13.259 to to get back performing that's been the challenging 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:17.139 thing, not necessarily challenging for me. I'm 00:05:17.139 --> 00:05:21.800 happy to hop into a concert hall, but the promoters 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:23.920 are finding that the audiences are just not coming 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:28.980 back here. The demographic that I perform to 00:05:28.980 --> 00:05:32.259 a lot is, I guess, people over the age of 45, 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:37.540 50, and the promoters are just finding that they're 00:05:37.540 --> 00:05:39.639 just not selling as many tickets as they were 00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:43.220 pre -COVID and therefore they are more hesitant 00:05:43.220 --> 00:05:47.000 and nervous, totally understandably, to produce 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:50.139 concerts. And if they're nervous to produce concerts 00:05:50.139 --> 00:05:52.519 and they don't do it, then I don't get on a stage 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:56.759 and then I don't get paid. So it's still a challenge 00:05:56.759 --> 00:06:00.800 today. I would say we're still probably a good 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:05.740 40 % below pre -COVID levels in terms of audience 00:06:05.740 --> 00:06:09.980 numbers. Okay, so as you basically put it in 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:13.139 layman's terms, then the amount of work that 00:06:13.139 --> 00:06:17.120 you're getting, I assume is also approximately 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:22.360 40 % down as well. Well, it is for performing 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:25.379 work. And so, you know, I guess I'm really lucky 00:06:25.379 --> 00:06:29.220 in terms of I do lots of other things aside from 00:06:29.220 --> 00:06:31.220 standing on the stage and waving a stick or playing 00:06:31.220 --> 00:06:35.040 a piano. So, you know, I produce albums. You 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:37.689 know, I've got the Ted's List educational website 00:06:37.689 --> 00:06:40.910 which keeps me really super busy. So how do you 00:06:40.910 --> 00:06:54.790 improve your piano technique? Well, I'm really 00:06:54.790 --> 00:06:57.250 sorry to tell you this. Yes, you predicted it. 00:06:57.529 --> 00:07:00.709 It's scales. Scales are the most important thing 00:07:00.709 --> 00:07:04.459 that you can do. Yes, they are possibly the most 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:07.360 boring thing you could do, but they're worth 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:11.180 it. What's the reason why? Well, the thing is, 00:07:11.660 --> 00:07:15.300 scales are in almost any piece of music that 00:07:15.300 --> 00:07:23.480 you can think of. You might know that as Bar 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:26.800 Bar Black Sheep. You almost probably also know 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:34.319 it as this. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It's 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:36.220 the same as Bar Bar Black Sheep. Have you ever 00:07:36.220 --> 00:07:38.740 figured that out? Well, now you know. And it's 00:07:38.740 --> 00:07:48.680 all a C major scale. And so the thing is, if 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:51.740 you can play any of the scales on the piano, 00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:55.339 it means that any time you get to a piece of 00:07:55.339 --> 00:07:58.699 music which has a scale element, your muscle 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:01.500 memory kicks in immediately. and you can play 00:08:01.500 --> 00:08:03.980 it and that's one of the reasons why scales are 00:08:03.980 --> 00:08:08.800 so important. Try really hard to love them. I 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:11.379 know when I was young I hated them and one of 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:13.800 the biggest regrets of my life is not spending 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:19.759 more time doing scales. Arpeggios. What is an 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:25.959 arpeggio? That is an arpeggio and yes they are 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:28.740 similar to scales. They're a bit more jumpy and 00:08:28.740 --> 00:08:31.579 you can put them up the piano and down the piano. 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:35.980 Arpeggios are also really important. Do you know 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:50.059 this piece? Yes, it's Prokofiev. It's from the 00:08:50.059 --> 00:08:54.720 Romeo and Juliet Suite. And yes, that is an E 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:58.309 minor arpeggio. Yes, it's a piece of music. It 00:08:58.309 --> 00:09:06.809 sounds beautiful, but this is just an E minor 00:09:06.809 --> 00:09:11.250 arpeggio. So the same thing occurs if you practice 00:09:11.250 --> 00:09:14.629 all your arpeggios and if you get them into your 00:09:14.629 --> 00:09:17.570 body so you can play them easily whenever you 00:09:17.570 --> 00:09:20.750 get to a piece of music that has an element of 00:09:20.750 --> 00:09:24.870 arpeggiation in it, it means you can play it 00:09:24.870 --> 00:09:29.289 easily. blocked chords. A blocked chord is a 00:09:29.289 --> 00:09:34.169 chord which is, well, blocked. That is a blocked 00:09:34.169 --> 00:09:37.169 chord. And what is the difference between a blocked 00:09:37.169 --> 00:09:44.250 chord and a broken chord? That's a broken chord. 00:09:44.389 --> 00:09:47.730 It's literally broken up. So again, if you know 00:09:47.730 --> 00:09:50.970 all your blocked chords, that means you can play 00:09:50.970 --> 00:09:55.179 your broken chords. Are these important? Well, 00:09:55.200 --> 00:10:07.440 yes they are. The Beethoven C sharp Moonlight. 00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:13.419 It's just a series of broken chords, so if you 00:10:13.419 --> 00:10:18.620 know that this is a C sharp minor chord and if 00:10:18.620 --> 00:10:24.860 you know that this is the C sharp minor broken 00:10:24.860 --> 00:10:27.480 chord. That means when you get that beautiful 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:30.019 sheet of music, which has got Beethoven written 00:10:30.019 --> 00:10:32.759 on it, and you've never played it before, but 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:36.940 you look at it and you go, ah, I recognise this. 00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:46.419 Yeah. It's the broken chord. And that is why 00:10:46.419 --> 00:10:48.519 it's very important that you know how to play 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:52.860 broken chords and block chords and scales. and 00:10:52.860 --> 00:10:56.120 arpeggios. So how do you improve your piano technique? 00:10:57.460 --> 00:11:00.539 Practice. Practice those four things and then 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:03.860 all of a sudden you'll be able to play anything. 00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:17.179 Then there's all my own projects that I'm sure 00:11:17.179 --> 00:11:21.419 we'll talk about later on as well and so I'm... 00:11:21.470 --> 00:11:24.929 I'm very lucky that I keep going and I'm okay, 00:11:25.210 --> 00:11:27.110 but there are a lot of musicians out there who 00:11:27.110 --> 00:11:30.710 were still struggling and still finding it difficult 00:11:30.710 --> 00:11:34.330 to earn a decent buck in the current climate. 00:11:37.030 --> 00:11:41.169 I'm aware that you've done a great deal towards, 00:11:41.470 --> 00:11:44.769 well, it's across the board really, as far as 00:11:44.769 --> 00:11:48.789 you being a conductor goes, or even more than 00:11:48.789 --> 00:11:51.470 that, because I think you played a very big part 00:11:51.470 --> 00:11:55.830 in the Bat Out of Hell musical. I believe basically 00:11:55.830 --> 00:12:01.309 you had a lot to say as to... how it was presented 00:12:01.309 --> 00:12:02.990 on the stage. Is that correct? You played a really 00:12:02.990 --> 00:12:05.090 big part in it? Well, Bad Out of Hell's been 00:12:05.090 --> 00:12:07.730 going for years now. I forget when we first premiered 00:12:07.730 --> 00:12:13.950 it. 20... Gosh, when was it? 2018 -ish? 2017? 00:12:13.990 --> 00:12:15.830 Something like that. So long ago. I don't even 00:12:15.830 --> 00:12:17.970 remember the date. At the Coliseum. And it's 00:12:17.970 --> 00:12:20.950 a fantastic show. It's still going strong. It's 00:12:20.950 --> 00:12:24.049 currently touring around the UK at the moment. 00:12:24.590 --> 00:12:27.809 And I think they're just about to reopen in... 00:12:28.470 --> 00:12:32.490 In Swansea with a new cast and yes a fantastic 00:12:32.490 --> 00:12:35.990 show and it was a real privilege to work on but 00:12:35.990 --> 00:12:38.769 I've been I was on it for quite some time now 00:12:38.769 --> 00:12:41.710 and So I'm doing doing different things, but 00:12:41.710 --> 00:12:45.309 it's it's a brilliant show brilliant people and 00:12:45.309 --> 00:12:47.190 something that absolutely everybody should go 00:12:47.190 --> 00:12:58.440 and see I remember every little thing as if it 00:12:58.440 --> 00:14:07.389 happened only yesterday. Anyway, I believe you've 00:14:07.389 --> 00:14:10.509 got a composing side as well, and so tell us 00:14:10.509 --> 00:14:13.149 about everything else that you're sort of, your 00:14:13.149 --> 00:14:16.429 fingers in pies, but what have we got since the 00:14:16.429 --> 00:14:19.169 bat out of hell, since the lockdown? Lots of 00:14:19.169 --> 00:14:24.509 different pies. So I think the latest project 00:14:24.509 --> 00:14:27.429 that I've literally just launched is the music 00:14:27.429 --> 00:14:31.090 trivia project, and that's a sort of a follow 00:14:31.090 --> 00:14:34.500 on from the Classical Connections. YouTube series 00:14:34.500 --> 00:14:37.500 that I released actually in the very first lockdown 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:40.139 and that was filmed a couple of months before 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:42.639 we went into the first lockdown. I actually filmed 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:45.100 this music trivia series at the exact same time 00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:49.539 so it was back in January 2020 and it's been 00:14:49.539 --> 00:14:52.039 sitting on my desk wanting to get out there for 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:54.440 the past two years and I've just never found 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:57.600 the time to do it but it's been a good time now 00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:00.960 to release it and it's a super super little series. 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:03.190 It's what I would call a mini series. I think 00:15:03.190 --> 00:15:06.309 it's got 11 episodes in it and each episode is 00:15:06.309 --> 00:15:09.370 between 30 and 50 seconds long. I mean, they're 00:15:09.370 --> 00:15:12.070 real bite -sized episodes and it's about fun. 00:15:12.389 --> 00:15:16.309 It's about learning new, interesting, strange, 00:15:16.769 --> 00:15:20.549 unusual, fascinating, stupid, fun facts to do 00:15:20.549 --> 00:15:23.250 with music and any of the above. So we've got 00:15:23.250 --> 00:15:26.750 things like, we all sing happy birthday to each 00:15:26.750 --> 00:15:29.470 other several times a year for different people. 00:15:29.929 --> 00:15:31.980 Have you ever stopped and thought, Where did 00:15:31.980 --> 00:15:34.679 it come from? Who wrote it? I hate to say this, 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:36.840 it was called Good Morning to You All, and it 00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:41.720 was two sisters. Said to be the most famous tune 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:44.279 in the world, Happy Birthday was written in the 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:48.259 1890s by schoolteacher Mildred Hill and her sister, 00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:52.820 Patti. They shrewdly copyrighted the tune. In 00:15:52.820 --> 00:15:56.419 1988, the Birch Tree Group sold the rights of 00:15:56.419 --> 00:15:59.820 the song to Warner Communications for a cool 00:15:59.820 --> 00:16:03.740 28 million pounds. Now that's what I call a nice 00:16:03.740 --> 00:16:09.759 birthday present. And in 1969, it was the first 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:40.299 ever piece to be sung in outer space. No, well, 00:16:40.419 --> 00:16:43.820 don't worry. I mean, but that's a prime example. 00:16:43.899 --> 00:16:46.820 But if you know that, then you'd be a very rare 00:16:46.820 --> 00:16:49.120 person to know that. So, you know, we've got 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:51.720 a 30 seconds episode just saying, well, who wrote 00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:55.759 it? And and how did they become a multi multi 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:58.019 multi millionaires from it? And and why do we 00:16:58.019 --> 00:17:01.789 sing it today? 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Head over 00:19:02.349 --> 00:19:05.869 to distillunion .com or simply scroll down to 00:19:05.869 --> 00:19:08.910 the link below in the show notes and just add 00:19:08.910 --> 00:19:28.309 CBUKRDUX. Other things like when we're watching 00:19:28.309 --> 00:19:31.410 a concert with an orchestra, we see a conductor 00:19:31.410 --> 00:19:34.829 there. But who was the very, very first conductor? 00:19:35.170 --> 00:19:38.589 And how did it come about? And actually, the 00:19:38.589 --> 00:19:42.049 very, very first conductor managed to kill himself 00:19:42.049 --> 00:19:45.410 by accident conducting. So what's the story behind 00:19:45.410 --> 00:19:52.579 that? So that's episode number three. 1661. Jean 00:19:52.579 --> 00:19:55.460 -Baptiste Lully was the first conductor to give 00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:58.940 us the baton. It was a six -foot -long wooden 00:19:58.940 --> 00:20:01.900 staff that he pounded to the ground in time to 00:20:01.900 --> 00:20:05.259 the music. Although the large staff was responsible 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:08.319 for his death, he injured his foot whilst conducting 00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:10.980 a piece of music to celebrate the King's recovery 00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:14.319 from an illness. The wound became infected and 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:17.660 he refused amputation. The gangrene spread to 00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:21.650 his leg. He died two months later. The first 00:20:21.650 --> 00:20:43.589 recorded death from a conductor's battle. Episode 00:20:43.589 --> 00:20:45.589 number four is what does a conductor actually 00:20:45.589 --> 00:20:48.049 do? Everybody looks at me waving a stick. I'm 00:20:48.049 --> 00:20:50.349 sure everybody's going, hardly looks great, but... 00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:52.680 I've got no idea what he actually does, so I 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:59.380 dive into that a little bit more. In 1925, Richard 00:20:59.380 --> 00:21:02.299 Strauss set the rules for a conductor. Ten in 00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:06.299 total, but five stand out as my favourites. Number 00:21:06.299 --> 00:21:09.619 one, remember that you're making music not to 00:21:09.619 --> 00:21:12.380 amuse yourself, but to please your audience. 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:16.920 Number two, never look encouragingly at the brass, 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:21.990 except for important cues. Number three, never 00:21:21.990 --> 00:21:24.650 let the horns or woodwinds out of your sight. 00:21:25.009 --> 00:21:28.250 If you can hear them at all, they're still too 00:21:28.250 --> 00:21:33.170 loud. Number four, it isn't important enough 00:21:33.170 --> 00:21:35.890 that just you can hear the soloist sing the words. 00:21:36.250 --> 00:21:39.190 It's important the audience can hear them too. 00:21:39.529 --> 00:21:44.170 Otherwise, they will fall asleep. And number 00:21:44.170 --> 00:21:48.250 five, don't perspire whilst conducting. Only... 00:21:48.079 --> 00:22:13.039 the audience should get warm. Um, other strange 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:16.710 things, like, we all listen to the radio. You're 00:22:16.710 --> 00:22:18.490 probably listening to it right now if you're 00:22:18.490 --> 00:22:21.410 hearing this. But who did the very, very first 00:22:21.410 --> 00:22:24.869 radio broadcast? When was it and how did it happen? 00:22:28.089 --> 00:22:31.589 Hello, pop pickers. Did you know the world's 00:22:31.589 --> 00:22:36.329 first DJ spun discs in 1906? It was Christmas 00:22:36.329 --> 00:22:40.450 Eve and Reginald Fersenden made history by broadcasting 00:22:40.450 --> 00:22:44.049 a recording of Handel's Lago and playing A Holy 00:22:44.049 --> 00:22:47.369 Night on the violin. His broadcast was heard 00:22:47.369 --> 00:22:51.390 all the way from Massachusetts to the West Indies. 00:22:53.250 --> 00:22:55.329 Who would have thought we've had disc jockeys 00:22:55.329 --> 00:23:50.819 for over 100 years? Who invented the piano? We 00:23:50.819 --> 00:23:53.640 see a piano pretty much every day on YouTube 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:57.579 or on a concert hall. We listen to it on pretty 00:23:57.579 --> 00:23:59.440 much every single record you ever listen to. 00:23:59.539 --> 00:24:01.299 It doesn't matter whether it's classical, pop, 00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:05.000 indie, rock. It doesn't matter what it is. It's 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:07.400 probably got a piano in it. But who invented 00:24:07.400 --> 00:24:12.740 the piano and when was it invented? The piano 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:16.099 was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Italy 00:24:16.099 --> 00:24:20.099 1709. Some early designs included the giraffe 00:24:20.099 --> 00:24:22.220 piano, which had a long frame that stretched 00:24:22.220 --> 00:24:25.059 right up to the ceiling, the hexapiano, which 00:24:25.059 --> 00:24:28.359 had six keyboards, and some early pianos, where 00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:30.359 the pedal was often pressed by the knees and 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:33.660 not by the foot. Incredibly, despite having around 00:24:33.660 --> 00:24:37.220 230 strings, it's classed as a percussion instrument, 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:40.279 not a string instrument because the strings are 00:24:40.279 --> 00:24:44.339 struck and not bowed. I never thought I'd enjoy 00:24:44.339 --> 00:24:46.220 playing a percussion instrument like I enjoy 00:24:46.220 --> 00:25:06.029 playing this. So all of these strange unusual 00:25:06.029 --> 00:25:10.109 things I cover in my music trivia series, which 00:25:10.109 --> 00:25:12.089 you can find on the website roberthenry .com 00:25:12.089 --> 00:25:14.569 or on my YouTube channel. And as I say, they're 00:25:14.569 --> 00:25:17.609 all 30 to 50 seconds, a lot of fun, nothing, 00:25:17.630 --> 00:25:21.789 nothing fancy, nothing stuffy, just good old 00:25:21.789 --> 00:25:24.660 fashioned music trivia. I love the idea of that. 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:27.880 It just sounds really quite wonderful. Sue, have 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:29.519 you got any questions for me? Not at the moment, 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:33.900 no. OK. Just thinking about getting a bigger 00:25:33.900 --> 00:25:36.140 audience is, of course, there's a lot of reasons 00:25:36.140 --> 00:25:39.819 why people may be frightened of COVID still, 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:43.440 catching it. It could be money's tight, or they're 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:46.140 panicking because they hear all these tales of 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:50.519 woe on the news and so on. But I think back in 00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:56.160 the 50s it was. there was a sort of a bit of 00:25:56.160 --> 00:25:59.259 a problem, especially when rock and roll abides 00:25:59.259 --> 00:26:04.819 in that, of people sort of attending orchestral 00:26:04.819 --> 00:26:09.660 or classical music concerts. And I think it took, 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:13.119 Gerold Hoffnung came along and he did his mad 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:16.920 way out concerts, you know, conducting with Lord 00:26:16.920 --> 00:26:19.079 knows what, and there was a road rammer playing 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:22.599 to classical music and things like that. is that 00:26:22.599 --> 00:26:25.740 something a mad type Hoffnung type concert is 00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:29.799 that something that you think you could do or 00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:32.039 is there any future in something madcap like 00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:34.220 that or is that just a thing in the past in the 00:26:34.220 --> 00:26:39.119 50s London's Festival Hall and an interplanetary 00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:49.200 music festival conductor Gerard Hoffnung Mr. 00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:51.779 Hoffnung's ability to associate himself personally 00:26:51.779 --> 00:26:54.279 with every group in his orchestra has never been 00:26:54.279 --> 00:27:00.640 more clearly shown. It's also subtle. And that 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:03.039 indescribable quality, one might only call it 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:11.200 lyrical. These pictures were taken at rehearsal. 00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:19.069 It doesn't mean that the audience had fled. The 00:27:19.069 --> 00:27:22.029 eminent artist then presented an operatic divertissement, 00:27:22.509 --> 00:27:36.009 a miracle of controlled stagecraft. Five operas 00:27:36.009 --> 00:27:50.710 for the price of one. Even Mr. Hoffnung prefers 00:27:50.710 --> 00:27:55.569 some silence from his players. Even so, he will 00:27:55.569 --> 00:28:06.509 have heard their comment. I think one of the 00:28:06.509 --> 00:28:12.210 reasons why classical music in itself is suffering 00:28:12.210 --> 00:28:16.890 and has suffered over the past 50 years in particular 00:28:17.210 --> 00:28:20.829 60 years really, is because it hasn't evolved. 00:28:22.349 --> 00:28:24.490 By definition, classical music is historical 00:28:24.490 --> 00:28:26.950 music, it's historical things that have been, 00:28:27.670 --> 00:28:29.630 most of it anyway, of course you get contemporary 00:28:29.630 --> 00:28:32.470 composers of course, but most of the rep that 00:28:32.470 --> 00:28:34.349 is performed was written, you know, a couple 00:28:34.349 --> 00:28:37.369 of hundred years ago. So by definition, it's 00:28:37.369 --> 00:28:39.089 historical. So you go, well, how can you evolve 00:28:39.089 --> 00:28:42.420 that? how you present it to an audience, what 00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:45.200 you do, what the experience of going to a concert 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:48.440 is hasn't really changed in the past 50 or 60 00:28:48.440 --> 00:28:52.799 years for classical music. The way that an orchestra 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:56.420 is funded and the way that an orchestra performs 00:28:56.420 --> 00:28:59.279 hasn't really changed substantially in the past 00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:02.660 50 or 60 years. And I think it's got to a point 00:29:02.660 --> 00:29:06.920 now where we are in the industry, we are seeing 00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:10.279 faster than ever the decline and the drop off 00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:13.740 of the audience. And it's a real shame because 00:29:13.740 --> 00:29:16.599 when I introduce new people, and this is just 00:29:16.599 --> 00:29:19.460 from a personal perspective, when I introduce 00:29:19.460 --> 00:29:21.980 new people to classical music, he would turn 00:29:21.980 --> 00:29:24.259 around and say they don't like classical music. 00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:26.420 And then I can prove to them, actually, they 00:29:26.420 --> 00:29:28.839 love classical music, they just don't know it. 00:29:29.019 --> 00:29:32.220 I can play to them. music that they've heard 00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:35.079 on adverts, music that they've heard on television, 00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:39.859 I can play to them things like the Barry Manilow, 00:29:39.880 --> 00:29:42.240 Could It Be Magic, which then, you know, take 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:45.500 that then... re -released Don Quijote years later. 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:49.539 Actually, it's a direct copy from a piece of 00:29:49.539 --> 00:29:52.680 Chopin, Chopin Prelude. I mean, literally a copy, 00:29:52.900 --> 00:29:56.319 there is no difference. And as soon as I sit 00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:58.400 down and play the piano, and I can play that 00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:00.140 Chopin Prelude, and they hear and they go, oh, 00:30:00.259 --> 00:30:02.460 that's, could it be magic? I say, no, it's Chopin. 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:05.859 You like classical music, you just don't know 00:30:05.859 --> 00:30:07.980 it. And it's not your fault you don't know it. 00:30:08.200 --> 00:30:12.240 It's our fault as professional musicians and 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:16.000 content creators for not finding new, innovative, 00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:19.579 interesting, exciting ways to draw you into this 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:21.559 world of classical music. And that's something 00:30:21.559 --> 00:30:24.119 that we have to get better on. And that's something 00:30:24.119 --> 00:30:26.559 that personally I... been campaigning for years 00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:29.299 on, which is exactly why I created the Classical 00:30:29.299 --> 00:30:33.220 Connections YouTube series. It's exactly why 00:30:33.220 --> 00:30:35.680 I created a podcast. It's exactly why I created 00:30:35.680 --> 00:30:37.920 the blog. It's exactly why I'm creating this 00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:40.799 music trivia YouTube series now. And it's why 00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:42.660 I talk to an audience pretty much every single 00:30:42.660 --> 00:30:45.460 concert I do. Doesn't matter if I'm doing a John 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:48.710 Williams or a piece of Gershwin. or a piece of 00:30:48.710 --> 00:30:50.809 Beethoven, I'll talk to the audience and I'll 00:30:50.809 --> 00:30:53.789 tell them strange, interesting facts about the 00:30:53.789 --> 00:30:56.950 composer or why they wrote the piece. And I'll 00:30:56.950 --> 00:30:59.109 try and draw that audience in and make them excited 00:30:59.109 --> 00:31:01.529 by it. And I think we have to do that and we 00:31:01.529 --> 00:31:04.730 have to do better. And, you know, Little Me isn't 00:31:04.730 --> 00:31:06.890 going to make a massive, massive difference to 00:31:06.890 --> 00:31:09.829 the whole of the classical music genre. But if 00:31:09.829 --> 00:31:12.009 we can get more people doing it, it will help. 00:31:12.170 --> 00:31:13.970 We're taking a quick break to talk about the 00:31:13.970 --> 00:31:16.470 things we carry with us every single day. And 00:31:16.470 --> 00:31:18.880 we've all been there. fumbling with a bulky wallet 00:31:18.880 --> 00:31:21.240 or dealing with jumbled mess of keys that sounds 00:31:21.240 --> 00:31:23.720 like a tambourine in your pocket? Well, this 00:31:23.720 --> 00:31:26.019 show is proud to be brought to you in association 00:31:26.019 --> 00:31:29.400 with the Distill Union. 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Head over 00:33:13.890 --> 00:33:17.410 to distillunion .com or simply scroll down to 00:33:17.410 --> 00:33:20.450 the link below in the show notes and just add 00:33:20.450 --> 00:33:38.180 CBUKRDUX. I'm pleased to say that it's a bit 00:33:38.180 --> 00:33:41.880 wider than it was even just a few years ago because 00:33:41.880 --> 00:33:46.079 I'm a very big film fan and I also do a syndicated 00:33:46.079 --> 00:33:50.839 show called Movie Madness and I'm just as likely 00:33:50.839 --> 00:33:55.559 to use a soundtrack from A Clockwork Orange as 00:33:55.559 --> 00:33:58.619 I am from something that's coming out this week 00:33:58.619 --> 00:34:06.390 like Matilda. Now, the fact that everybody does 00:34:06.390 --> 00:34:09.070 like classical music, because everyone's seen 00:34:09.070 --> 00:34:12.369 a film that they adore, and this soundtrack is 00:34:12.369 --> 00:34:16.210 purely classical music. And as you say, there's 00:34:16.210 --> 00:34:18.829 advertisements as well. I mean, let's look at 00:34:18.829 --> 00:34:21.409 some brands such as Old Spice. They've used that 00:34:21.409 --> 00:34:25.829 since the 1970s at least. And everyone recognises 00:34:25.829 --> 00:34:38.780 it. Old Spice, the classic masculine fragrance. 00:34:42.099 --> 00:34:44.739 The mark of a man. Whether it be that bit of 00:34:44.739 --> 00:34:48.260 music to go with Hovis or a bread advert or whatever 00:34:48.260 --> 00:34:51.159 it may be, they do, and they do recognise it. 00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:54.300 And you look at things like even James Bond's 00:34:54.300 --> 00:34:56.699 films, how many classical pieces were actually 00:34:56.699 --> 00:34:58.519 in The Spy Who Loved Me? Was it three, four? 00:34:58.559 --> 00:35:00.719 I don't think so. So that's there and it fits 00:35:00.719 --> 00:35:03.679 in so wonderfully well. So people do like it, 00:35:03.679 --> 00:35:06.420 they just don't know they like it. Yeah, exactly. 00:35:06.820 --> 00:35:09.800 And for instance, I've been doing a lot of John 00:35:09.800 --> 00:35:12.320 Williams, Hans Zimmer concerts recently. I was 00:35:12.320 --> 00:35:15.539 in Sheffield conducting one just two days ago. 00:35:16.099 --> 00:35:19.059 And we always have a sort of a vote at the end 00:35:19.059 --> 00:35:21.900 of the concert who is the champion of the concert. 00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:24.780 Is it John Williams or is it Hans Zimmer? And 00:35:24.780 --> 00:35:27.539 every single concert I've done, I've done probably 00:35:27.539 --> 00:35:30.260 25 of these things so far, every single one of 00:35:30.260 --> 00:35:33.659 them. John Williams has been the winner and John 00:35:33.659 --> 00:35:36.639 Williams was a classically trained pianist at 00:35:36.639 --> 00:35:39.579 the Juilliard School in America. All of his orchestrations 00:35:39.579 --> 00:35:44.539 are very classical and he uses a classical symphony 00:35:44.539 --> 00:35:46.860 orchestra and I say to the audience at the very 00:35:46.860 --> 00:35:48.920 end of the concert just to give a nod to everybody, 00:35:49.579 --> 00:35:51.840 if you've loved this and if you love the music 00:35:51.840 --> 00:35:54.780 of John Williams, come back here, sit here in 00:35:54.780 --> 00:35:57.960 a month's time when there's a uh a Beethoven 00:35:57.960 --> 00:36:00.920 five playing on the stage and I guarantee you 00:36:00.920 --> 00:36:02.980 will love it just as much as you did listening 00:36:02.980 --> 00:36:05.639 to the Star Wars suite which sounds remarkably 00:36:05.639 --> 00:36:12.579 like host um yeah so um and and hopefully if 00:36:12.579 --> 00:36:14.599 we can get five people from every concert doing 00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:17.239 that then you know I'll be a happy man Well, 00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:19.719 you'll be pleased to hear that I have actually 00:36:19.719 --> 00:36:22.980 done two John Williams nights in the last year. 00:36:23.639 --> 00:36:25.619 So there you go. And the audiences weren't that 00:36:25.619 --> 00:36:27.539 bad. But of course, these people thought that 00:36:27.539 --> 00:36:30.039 they were listening to film themes, but it is 00:36:30.039 --> 00:36:33.480 there and they do like it. So I do my bit in 00:36:33.480 --> 00:36:36.389 trying to... promote classical music, I assure 00:36:36.389 --> 00:36:39.789 you. And I'll tell you something, my regular 00:36:39.789 --> 00:36:42.570 listeners on what I would call normal shows as 00:36:42.570 --> 00:36:46.610 opposed to chat shows or my music shows, they're 00:36:46.610 --> 00:36:51.389 just as happy with some classical music thrown 00:36:51.389 --> 00:36:54.849 in. I mean, and I'm not going as obvious as hooks 00:36:54.849 --> 00:36:57.150 or classics, which was a great thing in its day, 00:36:57.469 --> 00:37:00.809 because a whole load of people got into classical 00:37:00.809 --> 00:37:05.730 music. It was a great thing what, yeah, I can't 00:37:05.730 --> 00:37:08.269 think of his name now, Louis Clark. What Louis 00:37:08.269 --> 00:37:11.070 Clark's seen, it was a great thing he did then. 00:37:11.409 --> 00:37:13.809 But let's go to more recent times. He's got a 00:37:13.809 --> 00:37:16.650 real philharmonic playing with the Beach Boys 00:37:16.650 --> 00:37:19.250 and things like that, and that's getting another 00:37:19.250 --> 00:37:24.539 new audience into it. And those... those various 00:37:24.539 --> 00:37:28.480 artists with the RPO. That's fantastic. That 00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:31.820 is really getting more people on board. But on 00:37:31.820 --> 00:37:34.599 a Friday or Saturday night, Sarah Class, for 00:37:34.599 --> 00:37:37.820 instance, fits in just as well with the famous 00:37:37.820 --> 00:37:40.519 songs from whatever decade it might be either 00:37:40.519 --> 00:37:43.699 side of her. So they do like it. They do listen. 00:37:43.800 --> 00:37:46.440 They don't switch off. That's proof they like 00:37:46.440 --> 00:37:50.559 it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. And we just have 00:37:50.559 --> 00:37:53.289 to carry on pushing. carry on pushing that story 00:37:53.289 --> 00:38:10.130 out there, that message out there. I've got one 00:38:10.130 --> 00:38:12.269 question, Wobble. What made you decide to be 00:38:12.269 --> 00:38:18.329 a conductor? Oh, that's a very good question. 00:38:19.210 --> 00:38:22.980 It was as... To start with, it was as simple 00:38:22.980 --> 00:38:28.320 as money. I grew up just on the outskirts of 00:38:28.320 --> 00:38:32.099 Birmingham, in a small village, and when I was 00:38:32.099 --> 00:38:34.420 16, I got a place at the Royal College of Music 00:38:34.420 --> 00:38:39.079 in London, and I calculated that I needed, I 00:38:39.079 --> 00:38:41.159 don't know, 12 ,000 quid a year or something 00:38:41.159 --> 00:38:44.400 to move to London and go and pay for the RCM, 00:38:44.519 --> 00:38:48.300 and I came from a background where... My parents 00:38:48.300 --> 00:38:49.820 wouldn't have been able to give me any money 00:38:49.820 --> 00:38:54.159 for that So I thought I needed to raise from 00:38:54.159 --> 00:38:56.320 my first year 12 ,000 pounds So I thought well 00:38:56.320 --> 00:38:58.460 the best way to do that instead of going flipping 00:38:58.460 --> 00:39:01.219 burgers in a local McDonald's will be to try 00:39:01.219 --> 00:39:03.400 and make money out of the job that I love doing 00:39:03.400 --> 00:39:10.429 and and produce my own concert series and hopefully 00:39:10.429 --> 00:39:13.989 not only do I sort of pay myself as a musician 00:39:13.989 --> 00:39:15.829 to be on the stage but I'm also the producer 00:39:15.829 --> 00:39:18.369 so I take the ticket money and I thought about 00:39:18.369 --> 00:39:20.510 just doing a straight piano concert and I did 00:39:20.510 --> 00:39:23.460 a couple of those. a couple of tours of those, 00:39:23.659 --> 00:39:25.860 in fact. But I thought, well, the big bucks will 00:39:25.860 --> 00:39:28.239 be if I can persuade an orchestra to sit on the 00:39:28.239 --> 00:39:30.559 stage with me. And I don't pay the orchestra, 00:39:30.780 --> 00:39:34.400 they're there very kindly because they want to 00:39:34.400 --> 00:39:36.900 support me as a young, up -and -coming artist. 00:39:36.920 --> 00:39:41.219 So I persuaded the Birmingham Philharmonic to 00:39:41.219 --> 00:39:44.539 let me use them for three nights in a row, three 00:39:44.539 --> 00:39:47.519 performances. And I thought, well, I don't want 00:39:47.519 --> 00:39:49.460 to pay a conductor to... And it was all the sort 00:39:49.460 --> 00:39:51.420 of the classical hits, so I called the concert 00:39:51.659 --> 00:39:54.420 like Stravaganza and I thought well I don't want 00:39:54.420 --> 00:39:56.159 to pay a conductor to come and do that I'm losing 00:39:56.159 --> 00:39:59.280 money so waving a stick around can't be that 00:39:59.280 --> 00:40:04.099 hard so so I thought well I'm gonna do it and 00:40:04.099 --> 00:40:07.719 I never really intended for that to be a sort 00:40:07.719 --> 00:40:10.139 of a career path I was always the classical pianist 00:40:10.139 --> 00:40:13.260 I wanted to become a concert pianist and I loved 00:40:13.260 --> 00:40:16.440 it and it was so much fun I just thought well 00:40:17.460 --> 00:40:21.000 you know the the clever thing in music is to 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:23.300 make sure you for the perfect analogy make sure 00:40:23.300 --> 00:40:25.920 you've got more than one string to your bow and 00:40:25.920 --> 00:40:29.960 I thought if the whole playing the piano Malarkey 00:40:29.960 --> 00:40:33.199 didn't work as a career I've got conducting to 00:40:33.199 --> 00:40:35.599 fall back on and then the more I conducted the 00:40:35.599 --> 00:40:37.699 more I realized actually that's probably more 00:40:37.699 --> 00:40:41.380 on my street than playing the piano and so I 00:40:41.380 --> 00:40:43.400 just sort of fell into it naturally in the end 00:40:43.400 --> 00:40:46.159 but first and foremost it was because I wanted 00:40:46.159 --> 00:40:48.719 to raise funds to go to the Royal College and 00:40:48.719 --> 00:40:51.360 I did and I raised enough money in that week's 00:40:51.360 --> 00:40:55.219 worth of concerts to last me my full year of 00:40:55.219 --> 00:40:57.519 my first year of the Royal College of Music and 00:40:57.519 --> 00:41:00.280 that paid for me to do that. And then I carried 00:41:00.280 --> 00:41:02.460 on producing and promoting my own concerts from 00:41:02.460 --> 00:41:04.579 then to pay for the rest of my time at college. 00:41:05.480 --> 00:41:08.179 So that's exactly why I started waving a stick 00:41:08.179 --> 00:41:10.440 around. Thank you for sharing that. That's great. 00:41:10.519 --> 00:41:12.980 And of course another thing about being a conductor 00:41:12.980 --> 00:41:15.880 and especially it was probably more in those 00:41:15.880 --> 00:41:18.780 school back in the days when all albums were 00:41:18.780 --> 00:41:26.730 on vinyl and you could have host conducted by 00:41:26.730 --> 00:41:30.789 yourself perhaps and the planets and then behind 00:41:30.789 --> 00:41:32.650 you there could have been the planets by somebody 00:41:32.650 --> 00:41:35.409 conducted by somebody else or somebody else all 00:41:35.409 --> 00:41:37.429 three versions of the planets would sound a bit 00:41:37.429 --> 00:41:39.269 different because everyone has their own little 00:41:39.269 --> 00:41:41.670 touch on it it's like somebody covering a pop 00:41:41.670 --> 00:41:45.090 song that's their way and they do sound different 00:41:45.090 --> 00:41:47.389 don't they Robert you know your way of conducting 00:41:47.389 --> 00:41:49.849 something's different to the next guy yeah totally 00:41:49.849 --> 00:41:52.230 and it's fascinating people don't realize it 00:41:52.230 --> 00:41:56.539 that It's unique to that conductor. Yeah, absolutely. 00:41:56.880 --> 00:42:00.539 I mean, I think my job as a conductor is to, 00:42:00.900 --> 00:42:05.199 it's a bit like steering a ship, a very large 00:42:05.199 --> 00:42:09.340 ship. You're not out there with your hands in 00:42:09.340 --> 00:42:13.960 the water paddling away to push the ship to the 00:42:13.960 --> 00:42:16.880 destination you want it to go to. You're there. 00:42:17.050 --> 00:42:19.869 controlling everybody else who is doing all of 00:42:19.869 --> 00:42:22.750 the work as you were to as a captain of a ship 00:42:22.750 --> 00:42:25.949 to get that ship into the right into the right 00:42:25.949 --> 00:42:28.750 port so that's that's really the job of a conductor 00:42:28.750 --> 00:42:33.289 is is steering the ship and trying to persuade 00:42:33.289 --> 00:42:36.469 everybody on that ship to to go with you and 00:42:36.469 --> 00:42:39.349 that your route your path your idea whatever 00:42:39.349 --> 00:42:44.420 it may be is is is the right one and at least 00:42:44.420 --> 00:42:47.440 the right one for that performance and that's 00:42:47.440 --> 00:43:30.210 the real job as a conductor. About a conductor, 00:43:31.150 --> 00:43:36.949 this might be me being silly. It's not just like 00:43:36.949 --> 00:43:40.170 pointing the baton, if I remember it is a baton 00:43:40.170 --> 00:43:42.630 isn't it? The baton like at the drummer, how 00:43:42.630 --> 00:43:44.909 do they know when to play and what notes to play? 00:43:45.650 --> 00:43:49.409 Yeah you don't point at all actually, that's 00:43:49.409 --> 00:43:51.949 a bit of a myth, there's no pointing involved. 00:43:53.539 --> 00:43:56.079 Well, first of all, they know when to play because 00:43:56.079 --> 00:43:57.980 they've got the music in front of them and they 00:43:57.980 --> 00:44:01.599 just follow the music. But if you've got 80, 00:44:02.039 --> 00:44:04.800 when I was in Sheffield, I think we had 84 players 00:44:04.800 --> 00:44:09.860 on the stage. The simple way to try and understand 00:44:09.860 --> 00:44:12.900 it is you've got 84 people on a stage. Forget 00:44:12.900 --> 00:44:14.599 about the fact that the musicians are playing. 00:44:14.989 --> 00:44:19.170 and you want them all to clap once together as 00:44:19.170 --> 00:44:23.429 one unit. So to make one loud clap. How do you 00:44:23.429 --> 00:44:26.389 get those 84 people to do it? Well, somebody 00:44:26.389 --> 00:44:29.429 has to give them one single person has to give 00:44:29.429 --> 00:44:33.289 them the instruction, which is and go. And they 00:44:33.289 --> 00:44:37.960 clap on the word go, for instance. Now, obviously 00:44:37.960 --> 00:44:40.699 music is audible and you don't want somebody 00:44:40.699 --> 00:44:44.199 shouting out and go if it's a piece of music 00:44:44.199 --> 00:44:46.699 because that would be disruptive to the piece 00:44:46.699 --> 00:44:50.340 of music so instead you lift up your arm to say 00:44:50.340 --> 00:44:53.460 get ready and then when you bring your arm down 00:44:53.460 --> 00:44:58.559 that means go and that's how an orchestra starts 00:44:58.559 --> 00:45:04.059 and then once they are going again how do you 00:45:04.059 --> 00:45:07.289 then keep the 84 players playing at the same 00:45:07.289 --> 00:45:10.469 speed. And if there's a big slowdown or if there's 00:45:10.469 --> 00:45:13.849 a big speed up, how do you get them all to do 00:45:13.849 --> 00:45:16.550 it at exactly the same time? And the answer is, 00:45:16.650 --> 00:45:18.929 well, that's the conductor's job. They're watching 00:45:18.929 --> 00:45:22.289 the conductor. The conductor is the physical 00:45:22.289 --> 00:45:28.750 metronome. He or she is the physical timekeeper. 00:45:28.969 --> 00:45:31.769 of that orchestra. It's got nothing to do with 00:45:31.769 --> 00:45:33.690 pointing to a player and saying, well, now it's 00:45:33.690 --> 00:45:35.610 your turn to play. You'd never be able to do 00:45:35.610 --> 00:45:38.369 that. So they just read their music. You are 00:45:38.369 --> 00:45:40.510 the physical timekeeper. And that's the sort 00:45:40.510 --> 00:45:42.489 of that's the base level of what a conductor 00:45:42.489 --> 00:45:46.210 does. That's the sort of room 101 version of 00:45:46.210 --> 00:45:48.449 it. The next level, of course, which is the really 00:45:48.449 --> 00:45:54.010 important level, is again, if you've got 84 opinions 00:45:54.010 --> 00:45:58.690 on what a piece of music should sound like. democracy 00:45:58.690 --> 00:46:01.050 is not a thing when it comes to an orchestra, 00:46:01.530 --> 00:46:03.889 it ain't gonna work. So you need to have one 00:46:03.889 --> 00:46:06.750 person who says this bit is too loud, this bit 00:46:06.750 --> 00:46:09.429 is too quiet, this bit is too fast, you need 00:46:09.429 --> 00:46:11.769 to change how you play this, you're being too 00:46:11.769 --> 00:46:13.849 sloppy here, you're being too untidy here, you're 00:46:13.849 --> 00:46:16.449 being too romantic here, you need to be neater, 00:46:16.849 --> 00:46:19.590 you need to be more accurate, you're out of tune, 00:46:20.530 --> 00:46:24.079 I need more... more passion from you. I need 00:46:24.079 --> 00:46:26.739 less passion from you. Whatever it is, you need 00:46:26.739 --> 00:46:30.300 one person to guide the 84 players to try and 00:46:30.300 --> 00:46:34.019 again make unity, be unified, make music in one 00:46:34.019 --> 00:46:37.219 way. So that's the second rung of the tier of 00:46:37.219 --> 00:46:40.400 what a conductor does. So the first rung is being 00:46:40.400 --> 00:46:43.500 the human metronome, the human timekeeper. The 00:46:43.500 --> 00:46:46.179 second one, the second rung of the tier is you 00:46:46.179 --> 00:46:49.199 are the person who's responsible for how a piece 00:46:49.199 --> 00:46:53.260 of music is played. That's fantastic and fascinating 00:46:53.260 --> 00:46:56.019 because it's left me thinking that without a 00:46:56.019 --> 00:46:58.099 conductor you could end up with a write -on noise. 00:47:01.000 --> 00:47:04.460 Not a placeable one. Robert, we'd let you go 00:47:04.460 --> 00:47:06.900 just a moment, but what's next for Robert Emory, 00:47:07.139 --> 00:47:11.960 please? Oh, what's next for me? Well, the Get 00:47:11.960 --> 00:47:15.179 Musicians Working scheme that I was running during 00:47:15.179 --> 00:47:18.300 Covid, which was the fundraising scheme for all 00:47:18.300 --> 00:47:20.940 the musicians, that's now come to a halt because 00:47:20.940 --> 00:47:23.639 hopefully the majority of musicians are starting 00:47:23.639 --> 00:47:26.639 to get back to work. And that was part of the 00:47:26.639 --> 00:47:29.860 Emory Foundation that I had already set up and 00:47:29.860 --> 00:47:32.699 I had a very clear idea of what the Emory Foundation 00:47:32.699 --> 00:47:35.380 should be doing for music. We never got there 00:47:35.380 --> 00:47:38.199 because Covid happened. So one of my big projects 00:47:38.199 --> 00:47:41.849 now will be to relaunch the Emory Foundation 00:47:41.849 --> 00:47:44.469 into what it was supposed to be doing in the 00:47:44.469 --> 00:47:48.250 first place, which was supporting and championing 00:47:48.250 --> 00:47:50.989 classical musical instruments in schools and 00:47:50.989 --> 00:47:53.269 persuading more children to not just play the 00:47:53.269 --> 00:47:55.929 guitar or not just play the piano, but to pick 00:47:55.929 --> 00:48:00.110 up a cello or a violin or a trumpet or trombone 00:48:00.110 --> 00:48:03.849 or French horn. And that's what the Emory Foundation 00:48:03.849 --> 00:48:06.150 is going to be doing. So I'm going to be spending 00:48:06.150 --> 00:48:08.769 a little bit more time on that. That's amazing. 00:48:08.989 --> 00:48:11.699 And when that is up and running or you're about 00:48:11.699 --> 00:48:14.800 to kickstart it properly again, do drop me an 00:48:14.800 --> 00:48:17.800 email and we'll have you back on to talk exclusively 00:48:17.800 --> 00:48:20.239 about that, Robert. Absolutely, I will. Thank 00:48:20.239 --> 00:48:22.179 you. Could I ask a question? I will edit this 00:48:22.179 --> 00:48:24.780 out. No, you won't. You don't know what the question 00:48:24.780 --> 00:48:27.900 is. Right. I've got asthma and it's got COPD. 00:48:28.300 --> 00:48:30.320 If you want to play a trumpet, could that affect 00:48:30.320 --> 00:48:32.639 you playing a trumpet? So it's a silly question. 00:48:33.139 --> 00:48:35.360 If you've got problems with breathing. No, I 00:48:35.360 --> 00:48:38.739 mean, it could help. Oh, okay. I can understand 00:48:38.739 --> 00:48:45.679 that. For instance, if you've got asthma, one 00:48:45.679 --> 00:48:48.159 of the things that you want to do is build up 00:48:48.159 --> 00:48:50.639 the strength of your muscles in and around your 00:48:50.639 --> 00:48:54.579 diaphragm to help you conquer the asthma. So 00:48:54.579 --> 00:48:59.380 playing a wind instrument can... help you learn 00:48:59.380 --> 00:49:02.400 to breathe deeper, breathe longer, breathe better. 00:49:03.780 --> 00:49:06.739 So playing a wind instrument or brass instrument 00:49:06.739 --> 00:49:10.739 with asthma can be a very beneficial thing. Of 00:49:10.739 --> 00:49:14.639 course, you know, I'm not a doctor and if you've 00:49:14.639 --> 00:49:17.440 got a severe, severe case of asthma, maybe your 00:49:17.440 --> 00:49:20.559 doctor said you might say you need to be just 00:49:20.559 --> 00:49:23.940 sensible and careful about it. But no, a lot 00:49:23.940 --> 00:49:26.460 of people who have asthma actually find playing 00:49:26.460 --> 00:49:29.650 a wind instrument can be beneficial. Okay, brilliant. 00:49:29.969 --> 00:49:32.570 Thank you. Brilliant. I can understand that as 00:49:32.570 --> 00:49:35.670 well. Robert, just before we finish, if you could 00:49:35.670 --> 00:49:39.349 just remind our listeners as to what your mini 00:49:39.349 --> 00:49:41.929 series is called and how they can find it, please. 00:49:42.050 --> 00:49:44.489 Sure. The mini series is called Music Trivia 00:49:44.489 --> 00:49:47.829 with Robert Emery. And that's me, funny enough. 00:49:48.210 --> 00:49:51.329 And you can find it easiest way on my website, 00:49:51.590 --> 00:49:54.920 which is robertemery .com. Perfect. That was 00:49:54.920 --> 00:49:56.820 going to be my next question, is your social 00:49:56.820 --> 00:49:59.840 media. So you've got the website and I know for 00:49:59.840 --> 00:50:03.699 a fact people can then click on the various other 00:50:03.699 --> 00:50:06.119 social media from your website. Nice and easy. 00:50:06.420 --> 00:50:09.119 They can indeed. Otherwise I'm on Twitter. I 00:50:09.119 --> 00:50:13.639 think it's at Rob Emery, R -O -B, and I think 00:50:13.639 --> 00:50:15.739 all the other socials are Robert Emery official. 00:50:16.239 --> 00:50:18.059 I should really unify them, but I never have 00:50:18.059 --> 00:50:21.849 done so. Life's too short. Robert, it's been 00:50:21.849 --> 00:50:24.170 absolutely fascinating again, and thank you for 00:50:24.170 --> 00:50:26.269 coming back on Shatterbox, and we look forward 00:50:26.269 --> 00:50:28.489 to the next time. Yeah, the next time. My pleasure. 00:50:28.550 --> 00:50:30.610 Thank you for having me. Thanks so much. Thank 00:50:30.610 --> 00:51:13.469 you. Thank you, Robert. Bye -bye. Bye. You have 00:51:13.469 --> 00:51:15.630 been listening to the Chatterbox Relax Podcast 00:51:15.630 --> 00:51:18.030 with Sue and Nick and today our special guest 00:51:18.030 --> 00:51:22.050 was Robert Emery. If you're interested in becoming 00:51:22.050 --> 00:51:25.030 a future guest on the Chatterbox Redux podcast 00:51:25.030 --> 00:51:27.570 or the radio show Chatterbox UK, you're welcome 00:51:27.570 --> 00:51:30.429 to submit songs, books or whatever it is you 00:51:30.429 --> 00:51:34.090 do and send us a CV, synopsis or press release. 00:51:34.380 --> 00:51:37.380 However, we receive several thousand such press 00:51:37.380 --> 00:51:40.340 releases every week and it's impossible to reply 00:51:40.340 --> 00:51:43.480 to each one individually. Why not email us or 00:51:43.480 --> 00:51:45.519 leave a comment because we'd love to know what 00:51:45.519 --> 00:51:48.199 you think of the podcast. Our email address is 00:51:48.199 --> 00:51:52.440 nickelbum at myyahoo .com. 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In the meantime, 00:52:29.909 --> 00:52:32.389 take care, we thank you for your company and 00:52:32.389 --> 00:53:09.940 we catch you then. Bye bye. This is Nick and 00:53:09.940 --> 00:53:12.940 Sue with Chatterbox giving you all you need to 00:53:12.940 --> 00:53:21.920 know about musical entertainment Chatterbox the 00:53:21.920 --> 00:53:27.519 best interviews with Nick and Sue The best news