Rachael, you brought up Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite in your audition for Sinfonia Smith Square, and now your recommendation is part of this programme – why were you drawn to that piece?

Rachael Watson: I’ve always liked Ravel’s music. It’s funny, actually… I think even in my biography I say that my favourite composers are Ravel and Stravinsky, so it’s great but they’ve both ended up in this programme – even more so because as much as I like their music, I’ve never had a chance to play very much of it. 

I feel that everyone always talks about the beauty and the technical mastery of Ravel’s orchestrations, but for me it’s always been much more fundamental: I love the rich colours and textures that he creates. I guess that was part of my motivation for picking his Mother Goose Suite: while you can obviously get those sensory experiences from listening to the music, I was sure that they would be heightened when I was actually within the orchestra, actually being part of that texture.

In my interview, I talked about how it’s a real asset that we get to play with the same orchestra for the whole year. That’s something that I think everybody feels is a really important part of the Fellowship, as it’s not something you get to experience when you’re at college or when you’re freelancing – you play with a group of people for a few days and then you go somewhere else. Therefore, I thought that the Ravel would be a good piece to explore as it gives us some space to start to build foundations as an orchestra, and start trusting each other to take musical risks.

I think that contrasts quite nicely with the Stravinsky, because there’s a bit more complexity going on there, and a bit more rigour, both harmonically and rhythmically. It’s a different sort of orchestral discipline – if the Ravel is a bit more like theatre, you know, it’s freer and in-the-moment, and relies on in-the-moment acts of trust, the Stravinsky is more like film: there’s a very set, scripted goal to aim towards, and you have to have lots of technical processes working in absolute harmony to get there.

It’s funny, when I was thinking about what I could suggest in the interview, I was trying to think outside of the box and I had a whole list of things, but then I kept just coming back to music that I actually just really like and would want to play… and so I decided that that would be Mother Goose Suite.

Does your experience of playing an instrument inform how you listen to music? For instance, the Mother Goose Suite in this case, are you listening to it as a flautist?

Rachael: I guess you can’t help but be aware of your own parts when you’re listening to some music. But for me, at least, it deepens my enjoyment – for example, this Mother Goose Suite was originally a piano duet before it was orchestrated, and because I’m hearing the flute orchestrations specifically, I can tune into how those colours are translated to the orchestra from the piano.

When you’re in an orchestra, you actually end up listening to music in a profoundly different way than you would as an audience member. I think that’s why so many audiences are really buying into concerts with exploded orchestras, like our last ConcertLab – it lets you get closer to the music.

Hannah, Eliza, and Rachel, you’ve all chosen Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, but are all approaching it from completely different sections of the orchestra. How have your instruments had an influence on that choice?

Hannah Harding: I always say that, as a bassoonist, you’re picking up different parts at different times; whether it’s blending with the cellos, blending with the other winds, or any variation of other things, you’re constantly taking on so many different roles within the orchestra, and you’re often trying to compromise to another part’s sound. 

What I love with Stravinsky is that, for the most part, he just lets you make a bassoon sound. I think he writes so well for the bassoon, he understands its character and the way it articulates: that’s especially true for the Pulcinella. 

Rachel Newbold: I agree – he really lets you have these distinctive virtuosic moments within that lovely neoclassical sound. There’s a warm woody richness to that sound – for me, it’s really clear that Stravinsky’s thinking about not just sound but colour and tone too, and he’s exploring what a modern idea of an old sound feels like, and that’s such an interesting juxtaposition.

Eliza Talman: I love that the piece gives an opportunity for all the people in the orchestra to have their own moment – ones that you wouldn’t normally get. As Hannah said, the bassoon gets its moment, and then the double bass gets a moment, and then the trumpets too.

That’s one reason that I brought it up in my audition – it’s great fun as a player. I also studied it at A Level, which is how I found it. I feel like that knowledge is a huge part of it being fun though. This piece has got so much of a storyline – it’s based around the character Pulcinella, from 17th century comedia dell’arte, and that character on his own is so funny and so compelling. That knowledge enhances your listening experience so much. I always find that going to a concert is so much more enjoyable if you have really good programme notes; they allow you to find out so much more about the history and story behind the piece.

If you had the opportunity to curate another concert, without any restrictions on size or style, what sort of things would you want to put in there?

Rachel Newbold: I’d love to do some orchestrated Bowie.

Rachael Watson: There’s this piece that I’ve wanted to play for the longest time by George Crumb – Vox Balaenae (or Voice of the Whale) for flute, cello and piano. It’s fantastic, but there’s so much specified, and it’s so complex, in terms of lighting and performance and costume, so it would be such a huge commitment to learn, programme, and perform something like that. Maybe one day!

Hannah Harding: Frank Zappa did some crazy stuff with full-scale orchestras, which would be like an absolute bucket list thing to do – in a perfect world, he’d be alive and then he could conduct it as well.

Eliza Talman: I would love to do the huge, huge stuff like Mahler’s Second Symphony or Ein Heldenleben – the latter because it’s just such a good piece of programmatic music (even if it’s about himself).

I just love the stories behind the music – both from the composers and the people playing it. When those come together you can create something really special.

Stories is coming to Smith Square Hall on Thursday 21st November, at 7pm – tickets are available below.