Meet Our Artists

 

	James Rhodes			Boris Giltburg
	Leif Ove Andsnes			The Swingle Singers
	Evelyn Glennie

James Rhodes

Described as the classical pianist with “a rock-star attitude”, James Rhodes has redefined the audience which young classical musicians can attract. In 2010 he became the first classical pianist to be signed to Warner Bros Records, his first album reach number one on iTunes’ classical download chart and, most importantly, he made his Cheltenham Festival debut.

James Rhodes extract (Gigue from Bach French Suite No.5, Signum Classics SIGCD153) by Cheltenham Festivals

Q & A

At this year’s festival, I absolutely wouldn’t want to miss…
The LPO with Jurowski. Brahms’ Fourth Symphony is a total legend of a piece.

At which event in musical history would you most like to have been present?
Any of Liszt’s piano recitals (rather wish girls threw underwear at me like they did him …)

Concert halls in 2050: packed, half-empty, or derelict?
Rammed to the hilt with an average age of 30

Where will your next stop be after Cheltenham?
Home to practice. There’s no after a concert, only before the next one.

Maths at school: loved it/hated it?
Hated it at school, loved it in my own head.

Funeral music – a playlist?
The Adagio from Ravel’s G Major Concerto, The Luckiest (Ben Folds), Chopin’s Barcarolle

Right now I’m reading…
The Education of Hyman Kaplan (Leo Rosten). Funniest book ever written?

Unfulfilled ambition…
Playing Mozart’s Double Piano Concerto with Grigory Sokolov.

Career highlights…
Playing at the Roundhouse and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, having my own TV Series on Sky and signing to Warner Bros.

See James Rhodes in his concerto debut at the Pittville Pump Room on 3rd July, 8.30pm. Buy tickets

 

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Leif Ove Andsnes

Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes is Norway’s prince of the keyboard and a true classical superstar. The current Artist-in-Residence for the Berlin Philharmonic, Leif joins us for his Cheltenham debut amid an A-list tour of Chicago, Ansterdam and Vienna. 

Hear samples of Leif's music on his website

Q & A

At this year’s festival, I absolutely wouldn’t want to miss…
The London Philharmonic Orchestra with Jurowski performing Brahms’ Fourth Symphony. I played Brahms’ Second Concerto on tour with them this autumn, and it was a treat. Also I see that my friend the Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth is performing, and she is not to be missed. She is unique!

At which event in musical history would you most like to have been present?
When Beethoven had all these pieces first performed in one evening: Fifth and Sixth symphonies, Fourth Piano Concerto, the concert aria Ah, Perfido, Choral Fantasy and more … and then he improvised. I would have loved to hear that!

Maths at school: loved it/hated it?
I rather disliked it, maybe because my father is  rather good at it, and I clearly had inherited my mother’s lack of talent for it.

Right now I’m reading…
Murakami’s Kafka on the beach

My most cherished landscape is…
The Lofoten Islands in northern Norway.

Where will your next stop be after Cheltenham?
Believe it or not, the Lofoten Islands.

See Leif Ove Andsnes play in a programme of Bach, Beethoven and Schoenberg on 5th July, 7.30pm. Buy tickets

 

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Evelyn Glennie

For over two decades, Evelyn Glennie has been the percussion world’s most distinguished ambassador.  As one of the most eclectic and innovative musicians on the scene today she is constantly redefining the goals and expectations of percussion. 

Q & A

At this year’s festival, I absolutely wouldn’t want to miss…
Leif Ove Andsnes on Tuesday 5 July

At which event in musical history would you most like to have been present?
The premiere of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

Concert halls in 2050: packed, half-empty, or derelict?
Half-full

Maths at school: loved it/hated it?
Wasn’t too keen!

Favourite performance space?
It depends which instruments I am playing but  cathedral type spaces are such where one can really experiment with the acoustics.

Funeral music – a playlist?
I’d want all the attendees to bring drumsticks and play the pews

My most cherished building/landscape is…
The view of the Old Man of Hoy in Orkney

Career highlights…
Every day is a career highlight as each day is full of opportunities

Unusual fact…
I collect modes of transport, own over 1800 instruments, love sports cars, used to ride motorbikes, have a second jewellery range being designed this year, dislike the dark, like gardening, and collect drum practice pads and metronomes

Unfulfilled ambition…
A collaboration with Eminem.

Right now I’m reading…
Becoming Animal by David Abram

Where will your next stop be after Cheltenham?
Belgium.

See Evelyn Glennie in the world premiere of a new work by Jospeh Phibbs at Cheltenham Town Hall on 1st July, 7.30pm. Buy tickets

 

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Boris Giltburg

Pianist Boris Giltburg made a huge impact at the Cheltenham Festivals from 2005-7, and he returns this year for a Rachmaninov concerto with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. 

Q & A

At this year’s festival, I absolutely wouldn’t want to miss…
Peter Harvey and the Madgalena Consort – some of my favourite works by Bach, and Peter Harvey is one of my favourite Bach singers

At which event in musical history would you most like to have been present?
Hearing Bach improvise live 

Favourite performance space?
The Royal Albert Hall – for the utter coolness of playing for 5,500 people

My most cherished building/landscape is…
All sorts of nature landscapes, with a special fondness for those that resemble the Shire from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings

Career highlights…
Winning the Santander competition in 2002, my CD with EMI in 2006, debut with the Philharmonia in 2007, Proms debut in 2010

Press quote you are most proud of…
‘Richter and Rubinstein are this pianist’s keyboard gods, and his playing has already been plausibly compared with theirs; here his weightless, crystalline sound brought out the purity of Liszt’s lyricism and the luxuriance of his effects … it was breathtaking’ The Independent

Maths at school: loved it/hated it?
Loved it, except for geometry and stereometry

Something else…
I’m a computer geek and can build and overclock computer systems. I translate poetry as a hobby (from German, English and Russian into Hebrew) and I’m an OK swimmer.

Right now I’m reading…
Colleen McCullough’s The Thorn Birds, Terry Pratchet’s Soul Music, and The Diary of Anne Frank

Where will your next stop be after Cheltenham?
The Lichfield Festival, then Johannesburg.

See Boris Giltburg perform with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra on 8th July, 7pm. Buy tickets

 

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Swingle Singers

The Swingle Singers are an a cappella group who constantly re-invent their sound and wow audiences across the world. Their eclectic set in Cheltenham could feature stylish reworkings of Debussy, Bach, The Beatles or Bjork. The Swingle Singers are Sara Brimer (soprano), Joanna Goldsmith-Eteson (soprano), Clare Wheeler (alto), Lucy Bailey (alto), Christopher Jay (tenor), Oliver Griffiths (tenor), Tobias Hug (baritone/vocal percussion) and Kevin Fox (bass/vocal percussion)

Swingle Swingers extract (Eleanor Rigby from 'Ferris Wheels') by Cheltenham Festivals

Q & A

At which event in musical history would you most like to have been present?
Sara: The first performance of The Rite of Spring. I’d love to have witnessed the mayhem.
Lucy: I would have loved to have heard Eva Cassidy perform live – she was incredible!
Oli: I would love to have seen the Beatles early on in an intimate gig, or perhaps a Queen stadium gig– both ends of the spectrum!
Kevin: Alison Krauss and Union Station’s live album recording
Tobi: The first time human beings sang in harmony together … and the first time they beatboxed!

Concert halls in 2050: packed, half-empty, or derelict?
Jo: Packed! You’ve got to be optimistic haven’t you?
Oli: Packed – people want to engage with something real.

Favourite performance space?
Lucy: La Scala was a very special experience, but I would love to perform somewhere like the O2 Arena one day!

Funeral music – a playlist?
Jo: Lux Arumque by Eric Whitacre is beautiful.
Clare: I’d definitely want some Bach in there.
Lucy: Eva Cassidy’s version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. It’s perfect.
CJ: Faure’s Requiem. Followed by James Brown’s Get Up Offa That Thing.
Kevin: I’ll fly away, and anything by Stevie Wonder

My most cherished building/landscape is…
Clare: I love the view of Mount Kilimanjaro at sunset. Nothing has beaten that yet.
Oli: The south Cornish coastline
Tobi: The Black Forest
Sara: a spot on the Nolichuckey River on my friends’ farm in Tennesse.

Right now I’m reading…
Clare: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Jo: Vogue, but Paulo Coelho is next!
Tobi: On The Road by Jack Kerouac, The History of the America People by Howard Zinn and Ethics for a new Millenium by the Dalai Lama

Where will your next stop be after Cheltenham?
The Elora Festival, Canada.

See The Swingle Singers take to the Town Hall stage in our Festival Finale on 9th July, 7.30pm. Buy tickets