Tune in – SPRING / SUMMER 2019 –
LPO people
backstage Did you grow up in a musical family? Did you always want to play the tuba or did you start with something smaller? Music was played in our house on a daily basis but just on my dad’s record player – nobody played an instrument. I started on the tuba on my first day at secondary school and it was love at first sound! We had a brilliant music teacher, Mr Cook, who managed to get over 50 of us playing in the school band. This was a quarter of the school!
What has been your most memorable experience in your 19 years with the LPO? I’ll never forget performing Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony with Kurt Masur at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2002. Masur wasn’t well and he hobbled on to the podium ... he didn’t look like he was going to make it to the end, but on the contrary: he created absolute magic, and an hour later stepped off the podium more youthful than ever! Another vivid memory is Mahler’s Second Symphony with Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Choir at Royal Festival Hall in 2009. Such a brilliant combination of forces! I’m so glad this concert was captured forever on the LPO CD label, as it was such a special experience.
Can you tell us about your instrument? I actually play two instruments in the LPO, depending on the repertoire. One is a British-made Boosey and Hawkes E flat tuba which I’ve had for 35 years, and the other is a Yamaha copy of a 1920 York contrabass tuba which I’ve owned for 10 years, and which I use for larger weighty repertoire. Which composer (living or dead) would you most like to meet? Prokofiev – I’d love to ask him why he wrote such amazing bass lines, often for us tubas! He must have had very good players at his disposal, as it’s always a challenge playing his bass lines.
– lee tsarmaklis – Lee has been the Orchestra’s Principal Tuba since 2000. Born in Athens, he moved to London as a young boy, and later spent six years as Principal Tuba of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
What do you think makes the LPO special? The LPO is an amazingly talented musical outfit with a spirit second to none. I’m constantly amazed and inspired by the music-making of my wonderful colleagues, despite sometimes challenging conditions. What are the best and worst things about life as an orchestral musician? The best thing is being part of a team that has been performing since 1932, and will hopefully keep going for hundreds of years
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What alternative career might you have liked to pursue, had you not become a professional musician? Definitely a chef – but I would probably eat too much food, therefore wouldn’t make any money, so on second thoughts … Which spring 2019 LPO concerts are you most looking forward to? Vladimir Jurowski conducting the second of Wagner’s Ring Cycle operas, Die Walküre on 27 January, is bound to be an incredible experience. I’m also looking forward to Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 with Robin Ticciati on 2 February. The LPO always sound marvellous playing Bruckner’s music, so I can’t wait to hear it! meet our members lpo.org.uk/players
Photo © Benjamin Ealovega
Earlier in your career you were Principal Tuba of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. How does life in a UK orchestra differ from your experience in Hong Kong? I spent six wonderful years in the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and my last performance with them was playing for the handover ceremony when Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 – an experience I’ll never forget. I was just a few yards away from the Union Jack as it was being lowered for the last time. The LPO is a much busier orchestra with up to three or four different programmes to get to grips with some weeks. Touring schedules in the LPO can also be very demanding. In Hong Kong we’d often rehearse for four days before performing a single programme and repeating it the following evening – a luxury that none of the self-run London orchestras enjoy!
more! One of the hardest things is juggling family life with a busy schedule – it can be really tough at times, especially when we’re on tour.