BLOG - JANUARY 2009

The first engagement of the year was a last minute one, stepping in to conduct a rehearsal of Mahler 9 with the RPO. Forthcoming conducting dates include Kew Sinfonia on the 7th February featuring my sister Juliet playing the Bartok Viola Concerto, and the Royal Orchestral Society, who have just asked me to be their principal conductor, in St John's Smith Square on the 29th March. The concert includes the wonderful soprano Katerina Mina in the Onegin letter scene and my first performance of Sibelius' 7th Symphony.

The CD of Rachmaninov Op 18 which the ECO & I recorded last year has been released and is available from Novelbond.

Cello work this month includes a tryout of a new Joseph James composition; a string quintet version of the late Beethoven piano sonatas. We are hoping to record them later this year. January finishes with my first concert playing in the cello section of the Philharmonia, and later on this year I'll be playing the Bach cello Suites in around 30 churches (details here).