LPO Offstage

YolanDa Brown takes us through some of the best bits of Series 7. Why do trumpets transpose, and do they enjoy it? How has recording film music changed over the years? And what does retirement look like for orchestral musicians? Plus, singer Brindley Sherratt shares his top tips on preparing to sing an operatic role.With trombonist Mark Templeton, violinist Minn Majoe, horn pl

YolanDa Brown sits down with three former LPO members - violinist Geoff Lynn, bassoonist Gareth Newman, and oboist Joan Graham - to explore retirement. When they retire, some musicians sell their instruments and never play a note again. Others reduce the amount of performing they’re doing to make more time for teaching. The former LPO members chatting to YolanDa today all ap

YolanDa Brown joins composer Colin Matthews, Principal Conductor of the LPO Edward Gardner and flautist Juliette Bausor to revisit Gustav Holst’s most famous work, The Planets.Faber recently published a new facsimile edition of Holst’s The Planets, edited by Colin Matthews, and today’s episode explores its significance and the unique insights that the original handwritten man

Today we’re dimming the lights, turning off our phones and filling up a giant bucket of popcorn to get the lowdown on music for film and TV.Film score production has changed a lot in recent years, and LPO musicians timpanist Simon Carrington and tuba player Lee Tsarmaklis have seen it all; from Elmer Bernstein’s skilful, old school approach, to the meticulous modern day techniq

Today we’re going deep in the music of Wagner - and specifically The Ring cycle, his collection of 4 monumental operas: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung Even if you haven’t seen these live, you’re probably aware that these are absolute behemoths of the opera house - with heroism, love, death, gigantic orchestras and big tunes that need big vo

Today, another one of our top episodes from the archive… YolanDa Brown joins organist and conductor Anna Lapwood, piccolo player Stewart McIlwham and violinist Martin Höhmann to take a close look at Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No.3 - his organ symphony. They discuss the challenges of communicating with the conductor from the organ, how to get the perfect tempo so those

YolanDa Brown sits down with contrabassoonist Simon Estell and clarinettist Tom Watmough for a deep dive into Brahms’ Four symphoniesBrahms’ symphonies are right at the beating heart of orchestral repertoire for very good reason: audiences love their romanticism and drama, and players can’t get enough of those gorgeous melodies. But how do you keep the music fresh when it’s

YolanDa Brown talks to trumpeter Anne McAneney and cellist Francis Bucknall and explores Stravinsky’s Firebird. The Firebird is a hugely popular work, but what makes it so enduring? Anne, Francis and YolanDa discuss its story, Stravinsky’s revolutionary writing, and how to keep the music sounding fresh on stage and in recordings. They also mention a number of related works

YolanDa Brown joins violinist Minn Majoe and horn player Mark Vines to share their touring tips and tricks.Hot off the plane from their recent tour to Asia, Minn and Mark share the highlights and lowlights of the trip with YolanDa, who brings in her own touring experiences. They discuss the difficulties of transporting large instruments, suitcase essentials, and how to navigate was

YolanDa Brown joins harpist Rachel Masters and trombonist Mark Templeton to talk all things festive in this special Christmas episode. In this episode of LPO Offstage YolanDa and her guests share their favourite musical Christmas memories. They discuss the magic of carol singing, the pros and cons of seasonal gigs, and their favourite Christmas repertoire including some amusin