Page 12 - BBC Music (January 2020)
P. 12
A fresh perspective:
the CBSO maestro wins
the Royal Philharmonic
Society’s Conductor Award
RPS Music Awards 2019
Following her victory at this year’s Royal Philharmonic Society
Awards, conductor Mirga Gra!inyt"-Tyla talks to Freya Parr
Conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla CBSO violinist Kate Suthers. ‘Her musical The orchestra’s two-year-long centenary
‘When I first came to Birmingham, the vision and energy set her apart. She never celebrations, which began last autumn, are
orchestra and I both had a huge appetite loses sight of what she’s looking for’. the perfect way for Gra!inyt"-Tyla to reach
to explore one another and all the This clarity of vision is not just limited out more to Birmingham’s communities.
possibilities within the great orchestral to the concert hall, Gra!inyt"-Tyla She is, she explains, currently in the
repertoire’, says Mirga Gra!inyt"-Tyla. explains. ‘We are, first and foremost, the process of working out what can be done
‘It was like creating a fine wine – we orchestra for the city of Birmingham. Our for the orchestra and the city – over the
had all the different grapes but had main challenge is how we can focus on our next 100 years. ‘I want to move as much as
no idea what it would create’. city and its people and what we can do for we can towards the musical culture you
Since taking the reins as music director them.’ In awarding her the top prize, the see in German-speaking countries, where
of the City of Birmingham Symphony RPS jury paid tribute to Gra!inyt"-Tyla’s music-making at home is nurtured and
Orchestra (CBSO) in late 2016 at the age of commitment to ‘captivating the city’s music plays a vital role in the community.’
just 29, the Lithuanian conductor has been imagination beyond the concert hall’. The With 40 new centenary works
shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic CBSO’s new Youth Ambassadors scheme commissioned, Gra!inyt"-Tyla is the ideal
Society Conductor Award three times, is proof of this, offering young people the conductor to be at the helm as the orchestra
this year resulting in victory. ‘She’s not like opportunity to plan, programme and marks this significant milestone. She
any conductor I’ve ever worked with’, says host full-length concerts. has long been an advocate for new music
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