Future Classic Women Awards – 2020 Crossover Winner

Hello and welcome to Future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte, on Women's Radio Station, the program where we search for the most amazing new female artists on the classical panorama. Today I'm excited to reveal the winner of the crossover section of Future Classic Women Awards, but before I tell you who she is, I would like to listen to her first piece of today's interview and let you guess who she might be. And this was Piazzon, L'histoire du tango, played by the winner of Future Classics Award crossover section, Philippa Ma. Hello, Philippa! Hi, it's really lovely to hear from you. Well, congratulations! Thank you so much. It was completely out of the blue, so I'm really surprised to have the call. Well, I'm so pleased. I mean, as you know, the winner of the sections are decided by the public, by the audience, the listeners of our program, and you won with an incredible, you know, support by your fans, and we're very pleased. I mean, uh, You deserve it as everyone else. So they were all fantastic nominees and fantastic finalists, but you know, there you go. So where were you when you received the call that you won? Well, I was in the middle of cooking actually last night, and then it was all very confusing. So it was just, it was, it was wonderful just having a bit of a restful evening for once. And, um, and then yeah, that totally woke me up. So it was a really big surprise. Wonderful. So what are you now, Philippa? Are you London? Yeah, in London. Because I was following some of the pictures on Instagram and there were these incredible, you know, settings in Brazil recording. So when did you come back from Brazil? Actually, that was a trip a little while ago and it was an amazing trip, very, very exciting. And I hadn't had a chance to, you know, really talk about it much or share the pictures. I thought now would be a really good time because I wanted to, you know, I wanted to have a way of linking, you know, being part of this radio programme with work that I've done in the past, and I thought, you know, the pictures are a real illustration of one of the more exotic things I've been able to do, to travel and play abroad. So, yeah, it was really nice to be able to share them. And Piazzale goes perfectly with it, really. Yeah, so the project was to go there to record record 4 pieces of music. And when I arrived, we had the challenge to find some locations to make the video recordings. And it was all really spontaneous. But we actually did a sound recording in this wonderful concert hall, the Cidade das Artes, which is a really beautiful building. It's concrete, very modern, brutalist architecture. And the concert halls themselves are really, really fine inside and outside. The acoustic is wonderful, and we used the smaller chamber hall, which is absolutely perfect for duo combination, and recorded the sound. And then, in fact, we filmed the Piazzolla outside the concert hall because it has wonderful spaces, different levels, and the way the building is constructed, it casts incredible shadows. There are pools of water underneath which allowed us to play with reflections. And we used the building from dawn one day, and so the setting is actually in the middle of a motorway cross-section, but you don't feel that when you're inside because it's all quite distant. But in the far distance are mountains, and it was a beautiful day that day. So to see the sun coming through and us playing, and particularly Piazzolla, it was very sort of fiery and tempestuous in this wonderful setting. It was really exciting. Wow. I mean, you understand why that type of music comes from a setting like that as well. I mean, sometimes I think the music reflects— I mean, composers are really inspired by what is around them, isn't it? Yeah, and I think the South American temperament is something that I don't know well, actually, and so it's the first time to visit the country, and the chance to be there to play is already exciting, but then to actually explore Rio a little bit and see the colours and hear the sounds and have a taste of what it's like to be in a very, very different country to the UK, it was wonderful. Well, the UK are quite special, but London in particular. You know, I had friends from Brazil here in London and friends from Cuba, from, um, actually from all around the world. And in a way, everyone is bringing a little bit of their home country inside them, isn't it? And, um, I don't know if you had the chance to meet with Brazilian people before going to Brazil. Actually, very few, but, um, but you, you said you've got some Brazilian friends. Yeah. And I mean, what is incredible is when then you go there, in a way you understand better the way they are expressing themselves, or the feelings, you know, why they come out with a different energy as well, isn't it? Yeah, and that's one thing I particularly love about London and the music scene in London. It's so mixed and varied, and as you say, it's always inspiring to meet people from different countries and, yeah, feel the different flavours of influence that they've had. Yeah, I mean, it's like a microcosmos in a way, and I mean, particularly now with the fact that we cannot travel, the dream of meeting with different food, with different music, with different languages, all, you know, at your doorstep. It's quite special. I don't know your street, but in my street I got neighbors that are French, the other one is Spanish, and then I have someone from Thailand, and it's all from everywhere. It's the same, and it's, it's, it's not even an adventure walking to the tube that you're going to hear several different language. Yeah, I really love that. Yeah, and we have parties and, um, and they like to play my music. That is so funny. So we listen to Western European music eating food from anywhere, and it's very special. So, so I wanted to ask you, I mean, um, I know you— I mean, maybe not everyone, um, heard your very first interview, uh, but you had this incredible, you know, experience of going, uh, to China to be able to learn Chinese, now you've been in Brazil. I mean, did you learn some Brazilian as well while you were there, or it was too short? Actually, I have to say I did, but I've forgotten it now. All I can say is I'll just have to go again at some point, because I would love to see the place again. That's a good excuse. Yeah, no, it's one of these things when you go to work, that's the priority, and then everything, you know, takes second place. To it. But yeah, I truly loved it. Yeah. So, I mean, you've been to Brazil, you've been to China. Which other places have you been that are as exotic? I also had a tour in Australia a couple of summers ago that was wonderful in a different way than the normal kind of tour. I went with a wonderful composer and pianist, Wendy Hiscox, and we gave piano and violin recitals. And the way the concert series worked in this area of New South Wales, the concerts were really spaced out. So in fact, I went for an entire month and had quite a few free days in between each concert, which is a real luxury that, you know, we're not often afforded on tour. And so it was a chance to breathe and, you know, prepare for each concert with plenty of time and explore a little bit as well. Really enjoyed Australia. I loved the coast where we were staying, and she took us to see some caves more inland, so wonderful colors of the landscape, and actually to see kangaroos in the wild was really exciting. And so that, that was a lovely trip and more restful than, you know, often they are, but had a chance to make some friends and also see how music societies are really thriving there. And it's the same kind of energy that we have here. A lot of people in the community gathering together to support artists, their local artists, or, you know, the odd international visitor. So it was, it was a lovely welcome, beautiful country. And yeah, I'd also love to go back there. But yeah, I've been really lucky with where I've got to travel. And actually, that's something I've felt particularly over the last few months, that we're all in the same situation now. It's become ever so difficult, and it's quite hard to look ahead to see when the next opportunities will be as well, because obviously we're all so uncertain about what will come. And yeah, so these last few months have been quite interesting and very different than, you know, the past few years. It's been a complete change for all of us, hasn't it? Yes, absolutely. I mean, it's unbelievable to think that we started in March and basically all of the 2020 is going away like that by being home and reflecting on, on life and the future. And I've been reading a lot about, you know, people, the mental health, and that is something that we support a lot with our program and with the whole women's radio station and the men's radio station. And You know, I just found out myself reading an article about the fact that people are getting into the habit of reading too many doomed news about the lockdown. And I thought, oh gosh, I'm among those people. Somehow I can't end the day without looking at what's happening. And not that I want to be doomed, but because I'm looking for some hope. And I think music is something that can really help us, isn't it? I felt that so much over these months. And so, you know, obviously, like all of us, I've missed the performances that should have happened. I've been really sad about that. I've been really worried about the ones that may not yet take place. But, you know, I have my instrument with me and I've been practicing regularly and, you know, up and down with that because I think it's been really hard to keep consistent and keep optimistic and also I do realize that, you know, the preparation for a concert or for recording or for a date is a very different— it gives you a different mindset than if you've got a slightly, you know, bigger amount of time to fill. You're more open. I mean, it's been a gift actually to have this time and have a bit of peace and, you know, just to escape from the usual running around. But at the same time, I realized I quite like the running around and I quite like the, you know, the pressure. And so to lose that has been a struggle some days. So I was very worried about having time, too much time. So I have done various things during lockdown, and actually I took a job for a while that was totally separate from music in a funeral home because I wanted to fill my time with something that was a really interesting few months spending time with people I never would have met otherwise and dealing with bereavement and dealing with loss and dealing with all the things we've all been very scared about these months as well. So I think it was very interesting and it, you know, I was able to keep up practice as well at the same time, but it was a few months being part of a different organization and lovely to see the care that they were offering families and the support to each other and doing a bit of manual labor as well, which was really good for me. And so that was part of the time. And then I've been involved in a wonderful project with Constella Opera Ballet, a company— I know Leo Geyer very closely, he's a composer who's written for me, and he had the concept of setting up homes, concerts with care homes, and linking up individual performers with individual care homes, and sometimes individuals in those care homes, and giving live concerts via— I did it via Zoom. So actually, I have been performing online in wonderful settings to people over the age of 100 in Cornwall. Oh, wow! And That's amazing because it doesn't matter where we are to connect. And been playing them pieces just solo because there was nobody to play with. So choosing pieces with wonderful melodies, pieces that were special to me, and ones that I thought were a nice mix of optimistic, lively music and soothing works as well. And listening to what the audience wanted to hear and having a lovely conversation. And I've met some really nice people doing that. So that's become a regular part of the week. And that was really, really nice. And then I've had a couple of recordings that were broadcast as part of festivals where the festivals couldn't happen in person. So I was really honored to play with violinist Darren Morgan for a festival, Chamber Music on Valentia, which is a beautiful festival in Ireland celebrating Irish composers, and they couldn't be there. I'm not actually sure how long the festival's run for, but it has been present for a number of years, and so this year was very special for them that they couldn't be there. And we used the picture gallery in the Royal Holloway University, which is a beautiful setting. And so there's been the odd highlight in these months of music, certainly. But yeah, I'm looking forward to more. That's all I can say. Absolutely. Well, it's wonderful what you're telling us. You've been super busy, actually. And that's wonderful because, you know, we never stop in a way, isn't it? You're not just stopping on yourself and, you know, longing for what we've lost or what could have been, but you're creating new things, and that's the most important part. In particular, I think as well performing And for those people, personally, you know, it's not like recording a video and putting on Facebook or YouTube or whatever. That's something that is just, it is in a way equal to recording a CD. Instead, like, that is more personal because you're really performing for them. So I don't know if you were also able to see them while you were performing. Yes. Yeah, yeah. And so it was really connected, I felt. Yeah. It's quite magical as well. This connection, this relationship between a performer and the listener, as it is for us with the radio station, with anything really, it's something that cannot be changed by a prerecorded thing that will go, you know, that will be there for forever and ever. I think the recording in a way is a wonderful tool to capture a moment, but it would never be replacing a live performance. Yeah, and actually it's been— I mean, I don't know about you, but it's been wonderful to see the level of creativity that's been coming from musicians on all sides with home recordings and with with, you know, daily performances as well, and sort of quite long-lasting performances that have been their contribution over this time. And it's been absolutely wonderful, all kinds of levels, all ages, repertoire. So yeah, it's been amazing to see how unstoppable music is and how optimistic it has stayed even in the face of everything looking quite grim in terms of venues being opened. And yeah, and I know what you mean about the news, and it's quite addictive. It's quite important, I think, to keep abreast of what we're being told, you know, to make our own judgment on, you know, how we can go forward best in our lives at the moment with restrictions and how to cope with that. I think it's been an incredibly taxing time. It's put a lot of pressure on people in, you know, many different ways. So Yeah, it's kind of shown how resilient we can be, I think. Well, before we go on with our interview, I'd like to listen to our second track for today, and that's Schubert, the Ave Maria. Would you like to tell us something about this recording? Yeah, so this is a beautiful piece. It's very, very well known. It's used in all kinds of settings. I most recently discovered it's used in a computer game called Hitman. No way! It takes it completely out of context, but it's given comfort to so many people around the world, and it is just a genuinely beautiful melody. In this arrangement with marimba, we just wanted to play something beautiful that actually coincided with a festival in Brazil of Maria. And so that was the reason we chose the piece. And we recorded this piece again in the concert hall, but then we made a video to accompany it and found the most incredible setting, which was underneath Christ the Redeemer, the statue, which is on a mountaintop on the coastline of Brazil. And we found a helipad that was on a peak very close to it. So from that sort of flat place, we could look up to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer. And so we played there at sunset and it had been, I think it was the same day that we'd already recorded at dawn in the concert hall, the Piazzola, so we moved from one location to another. And so we set up the instruments and actually just played a number of times as the sun went down. And if you can imagine the sight, to one side was the Sugarloaf Mountain and the sea, and gradually the light was dimming. It was a very beautiful sunny day at that point, but over on Christ the Redeemer Peak, there were clouds swirling around, vultures in the air that are grand, sort of soaring. Wow. And actually we had wanted to play there, but you obviously need permission to do anything in such a site, and we didn't have enough time to secure that. But we were lucky because it was so cloudy around there that actually the violin wouldn't have been able to come out because the moisture in the air would have been too much for it. So we got the vision of it, and then we got a clear bit of air where we were standing and just got to play and play and play the 'Ave Maria'— I don't know how many times for the recording, 8, 9, 10 times— and just watched the view around us. And the sun sank down behind the mountains, and it was absolutely breathtaking. Actually, then the full moon came up, and we couldn't have asked for any more beauty in one day, I think. So that was when I felt really lucky to play the violin and to have had the opportunity to go there. And so, yeah, the piece is is incredibly special to me as a result, I think. Absolutely, and incredibly special as one of the most beautiful pieces ever written for— in classical music. So let's listen to Schubert's Ave Maria. And this was Schubert's Ave Maria performed by Philippa Maw with marimba player Ronnie Wenzel. Philippa, marimba and violin is not really a combination that is very common, isn't it? No, it really isn't. And actually, one of the things I was thinking back over the last couple of years is I've really enjoyed exploring working with different instruments in duos. And before lockdown, I was doing a concert series that was really to celebrate that and inviting different instruments to feature. So I had guitarists, cellists, a countertenor, And I think marimba was a lovely exploration into the world of percussion. I've played one piece, actually it was in my debut in the Wigmore Hall with violin and percussion, a set of variations, and absolutely loved the colours and the variety that playing with the percussion can bring. And I've always wanted to do more of that, and usually our chance to do that is in concerto repertoire, but I thought it was really interesting to see how that duo worked, and I think it brings something very new to the pieces we worked on. I think it's a lovely gentle colour, and I guess, you know, one of the things I find really exciting is just playing with one other player, getting to know them really well, and really getting to know the instrument. Harp was another favourite. I played with the wonderful harpist Olivia Jaegers, and both in repertoire written for violin and harp, and also experimenting with making arrangements of other works as well. And I think we're allowed to have this freedom now, we're encouraged to as artists to sort of explore and push boundaries a little bit. And I think, you know, occasionally it really doesn't work, but I think it's always worth trying. And actually countertenor was very interesting. I've made a two programs with the incredible countertenor William Towers, who's an operatic superstar, but he also loves the idea of chamber music. And just bringing, you know, his voice with violin, we weren't really quite sure what we're going to come up with, but he made some arrangements of Hildegard von Bingen, which ended up being very moving because they were so stark and you know, they're very sort of pure, pure pieces of music, and they're really expressive. And I think exploring with these different voices and instruments has given me, you know, more interest in the violin, actually, what the violin can offer. And actually, it brings me to the fact that, you know, one of the performances I did during lockdown with another violinist is part of, you know, a big part of my life I played with two violins in the group Rhetorica, two identical instruments, and all the challenges that brought. But I love the purity of two violins and the fact that composers then have a constraint. They don't have a bassline, they don't have a piano to fill out huge accompaniments, they have to be extra inventive with their composition. I think through that time discovered lots and lots of great music. Written for two violins. So I plan on doing a lot more of that because we recorded several pieces, but the repertoire is huge and very unknown to audiences, and sometimes played as part of a string quartet. They'll put in a violin duo here and then, but actually it's an enormous body of work that really deserves to be heard more. So I think, yeah, duo playing in particular really interests me. So yes, I've really enjoyed that. So exactly as you said, not the traditional duoplane, not the violin and the piano. And being a pianist, I'm very curious. I mean, I understand perfectly because the piano is such a big instrument, isn't it? It's so complex, and there is always the problem of being too big in a way sometimes, you know, when you're playing with the violinist as well. I remember I was performing I was practicing the Chaconne by Bach in an arrangement for solo piano by Busoni. Yeah. So it's, it's made gigantic, is made with the piano that already is loud, but it gets even louder. And I had a wonderful friend who was performing the Chaconne for her violin class, and she's an incredible soloist. And so we said, you know, let's try playing it together. I want to see where it goes. And she was playing super loud, and so I was going in for it as well, right? And then she was like, you know, you make me deaf. And I was like, I thought it was the other way around. I think it's fantastic to play, you know, full volume sometimes and absolutely let everything out. That sounds really fun. Well, what's happening when you're playing full on, you know, when you're playing the fortissimo, even when you're singing super loud, in a way the music takes you and lift you, isn't it? And you become music. Yeah, so that's the power of it. It's such a physical experience sometimes, isn't it? And I think it's— I've just started teaching again, and my students at Leeds Conservatoire, we were talking last week about how to prepare for the year ahead, and I think I'm going to talk to them about physical fitness and just really looking after themselves because it's— I think, you know, it's something really important that but if you're taking on a big program or even just taking on a big day of practice, I mean, all the aches and pains that we can easily pick up along the way, I think it's important to be talking about that as students, that actually you could do something about that and you can protect yourself, you can protect your physique and make yourself more prepared to deal with demands of the instrument. So yeah, I think it's really necessary. Absolutely. I think, yeah. Well, you know, the ancient Romans— and we're talking about more than 2,000 years ago— they have this saying that was 'mens sana in corpore sano.' It means a healthy mind in a healthy body. Yeah. And that hasn't changed because the body, the human body, was the same 3,000 years ago as it is today, and it will be in the future. And playing music is particularly physically demanding. There is this sort of myth, right, of the classical musician that is all pale because he stays indoors practicing hour and hour and, you know, just living and breathing out of music. But the body won't be able to create that music unless it's perfectly healthy and perfectly strong. We need to be super strong, isn't it? Yeah. Even for playing the violin. I mean, the violin in theory is a light instrument, or the flute. You know, thinking about the lightest instruments you can think of, but in reality, holding the bow for so many hours and the violin, and at the same time being agile and moving, I mean, the strength and the physical, you know, challenges that we have to go through. Yeah, it's immense. And I think another thing that I've always been inspired by is the wonderful musicians who continue performing into, you know, really old age and just have so much to give still. I watched Mitsuko Uchida in the— Oh yeah. Beautiful playing, and I particularly loved a performance of Kuma Chung a couple of years ago in the Barbican where she performed the entire sonatas and partitas by Bach, and that is such a feat, and I think it was amazing to see that in person and just see her delivering an entire evening of utter musicality and utter commitment to the music, to the violin, to her audience. It was a really memorable night. It doesn't— I don't think one has to do that to prove anything, but I think the fact that she could offer that was very, very special, wonderful to be part of. Exactly. But apart from the endurance, I mean, apart from the fact that she survived such a strong programme, something that someone in their 20s, you know, at the— on their 30s, at the height of their physical strength, they can't— they, they can't really, you know, uh, um, perform as well, you know. Apart from that, there is also the fact that the way you perform at 20— let's say the Ave Maria, for example— the way you play it or sing it at 20, or you sing it at 30, or you sing it at 40, or you sing it at 70s, it's completely different. You're in a different time of your life, and so the experience that you bring into the piece, the life experience, the life feelings, you know, they're completely different. Yeah, and I think that's really worth celebrating. And I think, um, you know, somehow as time goes on, more license to, to be free and to accept your own interpretations. Because I think I remember as being a student, you quite worried about whether you're allowed to do this a certain way. Yes. Whether you should go against the tradition that's been there for many, many years before you. And there does come a point, and I do see it in other players as well, that it just becomes a point where it's enough to be themselves. And I think that's possibly when you start feeling like an artist. And then you have the journey way beyond that of working out whether what you've got to say is worth saying. But I mean, it's just It's just the moment where you're going to leave, like, the sort of, you know, the presence of your teachers slightly more behind than they were before. And I think that's one thing I really love about contemporary music, that you do come to things newly and freshly, and there is not a burden of what's gone before, previous performances or expectations. And actually I'm really excited at the moment. I've got a big project. The composer Paul Pellé has written a solo work for me through lockdown. It's called 'Twisted Meditations' and he was writing a movement and then sending it and then writing another one and sending it. And actually he wrote— he's a wonderful composer and so intellectual and expressive and he writes very fast when he's sort of burning with an idea. So I haven't kept up with learning them as quickly as he wrote them, but it was— the piece grew out of an expectation that he wasn't going to be able to see his wife, who's in America, for these months. And actually they've been apart for, I suppose it's 6 months now. So his response to being alone and missing her, and her sort of frustration of not being able to to be together with him, and I think that's happened to a lot of people also in lockdown. So it's— he's also responded to political events as well, so it's a really important piece, I think, and I plan to record that very soon along with the Telemann Fantasias as well. So trying to work out a way to knit those two pieces together, but it's going to be wonderful to be the first person to explore his music and, you know, make my stamp on it before it gets sent out, you know, to any other violinists. Who want to try it. But I do love that newness of new music. I think it's really important for us all to engage with and try and encourage listening of as well. So I'm pretty hot on my school students listening to as much variety of repertoire as they possibly can. Wonderful. Well, you know, we don't have that to listen because now you're making me very curious, and I'm sure our listeners as well, but we have William Craft, the Sonata, the Fourth Sonata opus 3 for two violins. And this was William Craft Sonata 4th, Opus 3, for two violins. Um, Philippa, so we're actually going from, uh, contemporary, I don't know, we could say like experimental in a way, because they're very innovative, this duo that you're doing, to Baroque basically and classical repertoire, to Kur. What would you say is your favourite ground to perform really, if you had to choose one? It's a really hard question, and sometimes when people say, what's your, you know, who's your favourite composer, it tends to be what I'm working on at the time. But I think one of the really exciting things is building a programme and incorporating lots of variety. I really— I do adore Baroque music. I love its clarity. I think Bach is probably one of my very favourite composers. So I love performing Bach and working on mainly the solo repertoire, but I've also enjoyed that in duo combinations. But I think probably— I don't know, because I absolutely adore the romantic repertoire too. So I think it's— and I've actually just been working with a friend on her first debut album, which was, you know, much more sort of pop contemporary and improvising violins, violin lines, and being very much helped by the band's fiddler extraordinaire, who helped me with Stars of the River. Of bluegrass and Parisian jazz as well. So I don't know, it's really hard to choose. And I think probably our luxury of being musicians, we don't have to choose. We get to do quite a bit of everything. So I think I just really love immersing myself in, you know, the different repertoire and the qualities it needs. So I love the purity of the Croft that you've just heard, tiny, tiny little piece. So playful, so sort of sweetly written, but really demanding to play and to balance that out and to sort of bring out the detail without overplaying it. So I love that aspect of violin music. And also, you know, one of my very favourite works for violin and piano is the Respighi Sonata, which is almost on a sort of Wagnerian scale. It's absolutely hugely romantic, very virtuosic. So the the challenges of that and trying to bring out the warmest possible sound from the violin. And then, you know, the different demands of contemporary music that can be often, you know, incredibly hard work mathematically working out rhythms and, you know, the precision that that takes. So I often find contemporary music is much more of an exercise for the brain before before you start investing the sounds with the characters. So of course that's a real challenge too. And I work with a lovely ensemble, Uproar, based in Cardiff. And we work on new commissions for chamber ensemble with solo voices, solo instruments. And that sharing of that intellectual challenge is really demanding because when in a group of incredibly bright musicians who, you know, are really able to tackle anything, everybody's on edge trying to get their part absolutely right. In an ensemble situation, that's really exciting, and the performance is always very thrilling. So I think, yeah, I didn't really answer. I couldn't really choose. I think I'd sometimes think about desert island discs, you know, what I would choose to bring with me as a piece to play rather than a piece to listen to, and I think it probably would be Bach, because I think somehow, however long ago he lived, he's managed to give us all so much to think about and so much to explore in his music, that I think that's a rather perfect form of composition. If you had to choose a colour for Bach, what would that be? Goodness. Ever thought of Bach in terms of actual colour. I mean, I think— I don't know, I would have thought something— I think green is a favourite colour of mine, so I think a variety of greens, sort of from very, very deep velvet, dark sort of forest greens, up to sort of, you know, bright spring new leaves. Yeah. Do you think in colours with music? No, but right now, you know, if I had to, you know, I'm looking out of the window Yes. And the sky is that strange white-gray color, white-blue, light gray. And that somehow, it's more than that, is the color of the rain and the— how do you call it— the steam on the window, you know, because outside it's cold and inside is warmer. So that's, that's a color, and that's the color I see the lines of the Bach for solo violin for example. Yeah, if it was at the piano, it would be a different colour, but in this case, yeah, so that's, that's my colour, is that bright grey, white, blue. But it's interesting because the way I see— I think you see the colours, it's a different way of feeling as well. And that's something that goes very much with, you know, music. It's it's all the senses. It's not just the ears. It's not just the listening, isn't it? And it's our mood that we come to it that day. So we bring our own mood to the music. It infuses us with its mood. And there's this amazing exchange that happens as well. Yeah. All right. Well, the last piece of today, it's going to be McCabe, Les Matinées Noires for two violins and strings. Would you like would you like to tell us something about this piece? Yeah, well, John McCabe was a really important friend and mentor effectively to me for a number of years. I first played a solo piece of his, Maze Dance, for him at the London College of Music, and he attended the performance. And then since then, he was incredibly encouraging in my exploration of contemporary music, in the exploration of the violin duo. He was closely affiliated with Rawthorne. And so we then went on to record the Rawthorne's Theme and Variations for Two Violins. And so, and then John actually wrote a duo for mich spielend, which means playing, for two violins, which was typical of him. It was full of wit, humor, wonderfully, so succinctly written. And so I've been involved with his music for a number of years. After he sadly passed away, I have performed his Concerto de Martinet Noir in a festival in Sweden, and we recorded this with Orchestra Nova and George Vass in Henry Wood Hall a number of years ago, and the piece is just delightful, it's full of energy. John really loved watching swifts from his garden, and actually I love watching swifts too, and he speaks in the programme notes about the piece of their energy and their speed and their command of flight, and their wonderfully sort of weaving, fast-moving birds. So I think the way he writes that into the music, the violins are sparkling with energy and then flying after each other the entire time, and the violins are always playing as a duo rather than as two players sort of answering each other. It's the two violins against the string orchestra, really. So it was a wonderful concerto opportunity um, both to perform it live and to record it. So it's, it's a really wonderful piece. I really— let's listen to it then. Okay, let's listen to Le Martini Noir by Mecape. And this was McCabe, Le Martinet Noir for two violins and strings, played by our winner of the second edition of Future Classic Men Awards in the crossover section, Philippa Maw. Philippa, thank you again for being with us today. Thank you, it's been a huge pleasure. Thank you very much for letting me be part of it and giving me your support. Thank you. Congratulations on this incredible achievement and You've been— if you have any questions or you would like to ask to our guest or nomination to our Future Classic Women Awards, please email presenters@womensradiostation.com or tweet us @WomensRadioStationSTN. Been listening to Future Classic Women Awards on Women's Radio Station live every day at 10 AM and 10 PM London time. And if you would like to listen to it again or catch up on our previous programs, please add to my presenter page Stefania Passamonte, Future Classic Women Awards on womensradiostation.com. Thank you for listening.