A CHAT WITH PAVLO BEZNOSIUK What part did music play in your life when you were growing up?

I am of Irish/Ukrainian heritage, and was born in London, England. My mother was determined (for whatever reason) that she would have musicians in her family so there was always music in the house, the opportunities and encouragement were always there. With my sister Lisa, who is a world-renowned performer and teacher on historical flutes, and me on the violin, my mother got two out of four  —  that’s a pretty high strike rate! From my dad’s side of the family, I was also exposed to Ukrainian music, mostly through the church. That archetypal bass-rich choral sound is very much part of my childhood.

How did you come to play the violin?

My father was actually a talented violinist as a teenager, and although he chose a career in science he always loved the violin. He would take out his fiddle

every so often and play to us. When the opportunity arose to learn the violin at school it was hardly surprising that my hand shot up. I was incredibly lucky, as our local education authority made music available to all. There was a bank of instruments we could borrow from, and nobody had to pay to learn music and play an instrument  —  it was all part of an enlightened approach to music education. There was also a Saturday morning music school run by the borough with four separate orchestras, brass bands, wind bands, a jazz orchestra, theory lessons, piano lessons (never my strong point!): an incredible wealth of opportunity. Many of my contemporaries went on to become professional musicians; one was a tuba player and conductor named Bramwell Tovey, now conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra! It is a small world …

Every child has a right to learn music. Nowadays, music is disappearing from the schools. Culture is dumbing down, and it is such a shame! This is a talking point, a huge concern. As you see, I can’t remember when music was not part of my life.

In a previous interview, you stated, “I think in one sense that HIP (historically informed performance) is a victim of its own success.” Can you elaborate?

When the HIP movement really started gaining momentum in the 1970s it had a similar feel to the experimental movements in contemporary music, progressive rock, and avant-garde theatre. It was new, exciting, and often controversial, with charismatic figureheads like David

Munrow, Christopher Hogwood, and Frans Brüggen. What started as a revolution has become widely accepted, even mainstream, which is great but dangerous. You don’t want to just replace one orthodoxy with another. The best state for a musician to be in is slightly uncomfortable, questioning, unsure, and inquisitive, not mainstream; otherwise you lose freshness. We must not lose that spark and must try to retain the pioneer experience. Music should never become a job  —  it must be new every time.

How did the Theatre of Magic programme evolve?

There were numerous email exchanges with Jeanne Lamon who proposed a “British Baroque” programme. After some thought I decided to hone in on the British love of drama and literature. The programme captures a little of the musical variety available in the “Golden Age” of British Baroque, from the spare genius of Matthew Locke’s theatre music through to the dashing bonhomie of William Boyce via Purcell and London’s adopted son and giant of opera, Handel.

What about Tartini?

Tartini is the odd man out in the programme, but Jeanne had asked that I play at least one solo violin work and I enjoy this piece. Tartini is an underplayed composer and his music is somehow “other.” There’s an elusive quality to him which marks him out as very different from, say, Locatelli or Vivaldi. His virtuosity never seems gratuitous.

What have you heard about Tafelmusik?

Of course, I have heard the incredible recordings. Tafelmusik is a renowned, prolific orchestra. And they are always pushing the envelope, exploring music with new concepts. I love the idea of all the musicians playing by memory, which brings a whole new dimension to the music and to the concert experience. One day, I would love to perform all the Bach suites from memory …

What has music taught you?

I have trouble answering that. It is like asking someone, “what has language taught you?” Music is inseparable from me, from my life.

Name your favourite composer to perform.

This is another impossible question! I love playing and conducting Haydn and Beethoven, but I would have to say that my favourite composer is the one whose music I am currently working on. My focus is more on the preparation and build-up to a musical event, the concert, getting the atmosphere right, establishing a group feeling, whatever the music being performed. I want every concert to be an event.

But you perform a wide range of music, including modern composers, don’t you?

Yes I do. I once presented a programme that included Bach, Bartók, and Berio, playing both baroque and modern violins. It damn near killed me, but it was hugely rewarding. I like making connections. Bach had a huge influence on so many composers. For instance, Berio’s Sequenza was inspired by Bach’s D-minor Ciaccona. It was fascinating to juxtapose Bach’s

music with two masterpieces of the twentieth-century literature. Again, that was a way of presenting music in a new light.

Do you have a pre-performance ritual?

I like to be quiet and visualize the moods, sounds, and colours of the programme, in sequence, over and over, in order to create a musical momentum that’s much bigger than me, something unstoppable where I can’t get in the way and nerves become irrelevant. I do get fluttery at times. I just try to remain quiet, using shallow breathing to slow down my pulse rate. If you really analyze it, performance anxiety is a function of vanity: will they love me? Am I better or worse than …? Will I be loud enough? Do I really have anything to say? All these “I”s take you away from what you’re actually there to do. I just try to return to and immerse myself in the music. In the end, it’s not about me.

Irish/Ukrainian violinist Pavlo Beznosiuk enjoys a busy international career as soloist, chamber musician, concertmaster, and director. In the 1980s he was involved in pioneering work in the use of renaissance violins with The Parley of Instruments, and was a key member of the groundbreaking medieval ensemble The New London Consort, playing vielle, rebec, and lira da braccio. He has a long association with the Academy of Ancient Music, and over the last ten years has been a frequent soloist/director with the group, performing throughout Europe and Asia. Recent recital work has included performances of Biber’s complete cycle of Rosary sonatas, and concerts combining solo violin music of Bach with that of Berio and Bartok. He is a founding member of the early improvising group The Division Lobby. As Musical Director of the Avison Ensemble he has completed an exhaustive recorded survey of the music of Charles Avison, and in 2010 released a recording of Handel’s Op.6 Concerti Grossi. Other recordings include Biber’s Rosary Sonatas, Vivaldi’s Op. 8 and Op. 12 Violin Concerti, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante (on viola), and works by Corelli, Walther, and Westhoff. His recording of Bach’s solo Sonatas and Partitas has been highly praised.