In this episode of Future Classic Women Awards, host Stefania Passamonte speaks with cellist Julia Morneweg about her experiences during the pandemic lockdowns and her work as artistic director of Chamber Music Box, a successful chamber music festival featuring artists from across the UK and Europe. Julia shares candid insights into how the three lockdowns affected her differently—from the initial novelty of stepping off the “conveyor belt” of constant touring, to the mental toll of repeated cancellations and uncertainty in the final lockdown.
Julia discusses the complex challenges facing the classical music industry post-pandemic, including the nightmare of Brexit combined with constantly changing quarantine rules and varying vaccine recognition across countries. She explains how these obstacles have made it nearly impossible to book international musicians, as the costs of testing (often exceeding £500 per artist), accommodation, and isolation periods make performances financially unviable. The conversation also touches on how Chamber Music Box was inspired by an organic vegetable delivery service—the idea of bringing curated surprise and variety to chamber music programming, moving away from repetitive standard repertoires.
The episode features a beautiful live recording of John Ireland’s Sextet for String Quartet, Clarinet and Horn, performed by musicians from a recent Chamber Music Box concert. Julia’s passion for both music and cooking shines through as she reflects on the resilience required to keep classical music alive during unprecedented times.
Main Topics
Julia Morneweg is a cellist and co-artistic director of Chamber Music Box, a chamber music festival featuring diverse artists from the UK and across Europe
The three pandemic lockdowns affected Julia and her partner Yuri Kalnitis very differently—the first felt like a sabbatical with good weather and practice time, while the third was mentally exhausting due to constant postponements and uncertainty
Brexit combined with pandemic quarantine rules and varying vaccine recognition has made booking international musicians nearly impossible, with testing costs exceeding £500 per artist
Chamber Music Box was inspired by an organic vegetable delivery box service, creating a model to showcase non-standard chamber music combinations and diverse repertoire beyond typical piano trios and string quartets
The financial viability of international performances has collapsed due to cumulative costs of flights, testing, accommodation, and mandatory isolation periods that prevent the quick turnaround typical of touring musicians
Julia's realistic predictions about the pandemic's trajectory proved largely accurate, highlighting the importance of understanding epidemiological data for arts organizations doing long-term planning
Julia balances her performing career with teaching and artistic direction, though even with these varied income streams, the pandemic created unprecedented challenges for music professionals
Full TranscriptHello and welcome to future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte, owner, women's radio station the program ...▼
Hello and welcome to future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte, owner, women's radio station the program where we search for the most amazing new female artists on the classical panorama. Today on future Classic Women Awards, we will be talking to cellist Julia Moneweg. Good morning, Julia. Good morning. Very happy to be with you, Julia. Did I say your name right? No, pretty good. Good. Oh, so lucky. Julia is an amazing cellist. She's also an artist artistic director together with a partner, violinist Yuri Kalnitis, of the very successful music festival Chamber Music Box. That is a chamber music series that brings together artists from the UK and all across Europe to perform very diverse programs. Julia, where are you now? Right now I am at home in London in my office. Oh, wonderful. Okay, so how was your lockdown, Julia? Have you been in London for the whole time or you've been going somewhere else? No, in London the whole time. Obviously. You know, we had three in total and they were all, I would say they were all quite different. The first one was I think, almost a sort of, well, welcome novelty. I think the first one, we both, Yuri and I, we treated very much like a sabbatical, which, you know, when you're doing the job we are doing, both of us constantly being on the road, constantly, you know, working, working, working. We had very often sort of in the preceding two years talked about, you know, just taking some, taking some time out. Wouldn't it be nice to just have time to, you know, be at home together, read some books and also, you know, they also just be able to, to practice without deadlines. Yeah, because, you know, practice isn't practice. There is always, you know, the day to day life of a musician. It's very much okay, what do I need to play tomorrow, what do I play, need to play next week? What do I need to play? It's very much nude factory. Yeah, you have to keep up. And when the first lockdown came around, it was almost like, you know, being able to step off that conveyor belt for a little while. And obviously the first one was greatly helped by the fact that, you know, the weather was great, time at home in the garden, you know, got, you know, got lots of really good practice done. You know, it was, it was actually, it was actually, you know, despite obviously the horrific situation, it was actually quite, for us, quite nice. And then the, well, the second one in November was fairly, yeah, it was fairly short. And, and then the, the last one from January was totally. It couldn't have been more different really. I think at that point you know, in. In January, February. I think what would really ground us down was not knowing even when we might be starting again. Yeah, it's been much easier if somebody had told us, you know, at the beginning of January, you won't be playing another live concert until June. Then you can sort of mentally work around it. But you essentially, we ended up in a situation of having stuff postponed time and time and time again. You know, you get one email, okay, no, it's now been moved to March. Oh, no, it's now been moved to April. And your entire. Also your whole workflow sort of practicing wise is completely haywire because you don't know which you're working towards. So I have to say, the last one. The last one was really, I think everybody I spoke to in the profession, mentally, it really ground everyone down. Yeah, true, true. It was very tougher, particularly when, you know, your career is mainly performing. I mean, you are also a teacher, so. So you were able to teach, to create, to do things, I guess. But many performers that they just performed, suddenly they had nothing else really to support them as well. So I think it was a very, very tough situation. Also, I don't know you, but me personally, I was hoping so much about the vaccine and thinking that with the vaccine, this Covid would have been just a bad memory. Instead, we had not just one lockdown, but three lockdowns, and. And people are talking about a new wave and with the delta variant, et cetera. So it's hard to predict, isn't it? It's very hard to predict. And obviously for me, you know, as you, as you mentioned, I'm not just a cellist, but I'm also artistic director of an organization, and it makes planning extremely difficult because at present, you know, purely. I mean, from a. From a business point of view, because every time you are having to cancel events, it's a huge financial loss because you have an outlay in putting, you know, creating them in the first place. Yes. Throughout all of this, you have to more or less sort of predict what is likely to happen on the, you know, on the pandemic front. Actually, on the epidemiological side. Yeah, we all become expert, isn't it? I mean, you essentially end up, you know, really delving into, you know, the signs, into the statistics, you know, what is happening in other countries, where are they, you know, to predict what's likely to be going to be happening, happening here. And I'm very glad to say that over the last year, I think. I think I've always, from all My Yuri and my colleagues will tell you that I've been on the more sort of pessimistic end of the spectrum, or maybe I would call the realistic end of the spectrum. And pretty much all the sort of predictions, you know, I worked with in my head turned out to be to be reasonably. To be reasonably accurate. Yes. Yes. Well, yeah. I mean, also with that, if you think about concert abroad, I mean, is your concert season mainly here in the UK or you also plan exchange with other concert seasons abroad? Well, we. Our series is based in the uk, but we normally play with a lot of artists from all over Europe. Yeah. So Brexit, pandemic, everything becomes a big mess, isn't it? It's a perfect storm. Because now, especially with all the, you know, constantly changing quarantine rules and, you know, this country not recognizing the vaccine of that country and so on, it's become an absolute nightmare. I mean, from our point of view now we, you know, it absolutely breaks my heart, but at the moment we, we can't really use players who aren't based in the UK because UA may end up in a situation of, you know, booking flights and them not being able to come, you know. Yeah. Organization losing money. But also, you know, with, with everything that's happening, you never know, you might have to replace someone two days before. Yeah. And that, that's happening on the entire circuit at the moment, you know, left, right and center. I mean, there's not especially, obviously in the opera world, everything where people for every production come together from. From all over the place. It's incredibly difficult to run anything like that. Yeah, yeah, I know. I mean, myself as well, I have to perform a couple of concerts in a month's time and I have no idea if I would be able to make them because of the quarantine. I have to go maybe too early and I don't have the time because normally our job is very fast, isn't it? You go, you do the concert and then you come back or you go somewhere else. You don't stay in a place for two weeks and then you perform. It would be too expensive. Well, that's precisely the problem, you know, because you. It just, it becomes completely unviable, you know, if you have to first of all find accommodation for someone where they can isolate for 10 days or whatever, it. It's not. And actually more and more, I've also spoken to other UK artists with, especially in the UK because the testing is so expensive. Yuri has done it quite in the last months and each time he went to Belgium and Holland RESPECTABLY, for three days at a time. And each time he paid in excess of £500 for tests. Gosh. Gosh. And you know, if you add that to the cachet, to the fees of the concert fees, it becomes really too much. It's more than you need to put the travel you need to put the testing you need to put. Then people won't call you, isn't it? No, because what we essentially. What we would need to earn for the concert becomes absolutely ludicrous. And otherwise we end up essentially paying on top because of. Because it's not just the impact of what you're paying for the testing, but also the fact that you have to. Well, certainly had to, up until recently, spent a minimum of five days at home. Yeah, those are five days where you can't work. Exactly. Exactly. Well, you know what, let's first listen to an extract from one of the concerts that you organized. So it's a live performance recorded of John Ireland is the first movement of the sexet for string quartet saxophone. And I don't remember the other instrument, it's for string quartet, clarinet and horn. Completely wrong. Kalarina horn. Would you like to tell us who are the musicians? Yes. So this was recorded actually two weeks ago at a live chamber music box concert. And we have got Peter Sigleris on the clarinet, Mark Smith on horn. Two violinists are Tom Aldrin, Tanya Sweary and it's Lisa Bucknell on the viola and myself on cello. Ah, wonderful. So let's listen to John island, the sext for swimporter clarinet. And four. How beautiful. Now, I was reading on the wonderful website of the Chamber music box. I recommend everyone to go and have a look. It's chambermusicbox.com how these chamber music box started. Would you like to tell the story yourself? Yeah. So that's a. That's a little bit of a. Of a funny one. So I'm very much. The one thing I do in my. In my spare time a lot is cooking. And you know, like so many others now, I. I at the time used to get every week my delivery of my organic veg box delivered to my house. And I kept getting this and I was thinking it's so amazing because, you know, they send you stuff and you don't necessarily know what's going to be inside the box. I got so many fantastic ingredients that I never cooked with and it really sort of sent me onto this journey of. Of discovery. And I don't quite know how, but I remember actually one day sitting in, in a concert, actually in chamber concert, as a listener. And as I was switching my phone off, I, I had a text from this, you know, company saying, oh, whatever, you know, I'm afraid this week we have to, I don't know, you replace your courgettes with kohlrabi or whatever. And somehow or other, you know, sitting in this, in this concert and seeing this thing, I said, it's sort of, I made this connection. Wouldn't, wouldn't it be, wouldn't it be great to have something similar, you know, for having something similar? Actually, for chamber music, there is, there are so many fantastic works out there. The island that you just played being a brilliant example of, you know, the non standard combinations. I had by that point worked in a piano Trio for over 10 years. And you know, and of course it, I absolutely loved it. It's great. But you, you almost end up, through sort of no fault of your own, being asked to play the same repertoire over and over and over and over and over again. And I, I started to saying, you know, wouldn't, wouldn't it be nice to. Yuri and I, we keep working, you know, with all these incredible colleagues, musicians in different contexts. And wouldn't it be nice to have a series where we can actually bring all of that together and actually play a much, much wider variety of repertoire rather than just putting on, you know, piano tree or string quartet or cello recital or violin recital or whatever. And so, yeah, that somehow it went from vegbox to chamber music box. I love the name. I love it. It's so, so clever, you know, And I love the fact also that you love cooking. I do too. I see also that you have ambition for the MasterChef. Do you? I think, I think I would probably need, need another. Say it out loud. But I would prob another lockdown or two to, to perfect the pastry skills. Oh, beautiful, beautiful. I follow the master chef. I love cooking. Not at that level, but it's, it's kind of magical. And I think it's very similar to what we do with music as well. We put together the notes as you put together the ingredients, and then you create something that make us feel so, well, so good, isn't it? So tell me about Yuri. I mean, I've known Yuri, I remember still, when I was a student and I was living in a student house down in South London, the famous Henry Woodhouse. And Yuri would come visit a friend, I think, I don't remember if he was a violinist or something. So we've known since then. So let's say almost 20 years. Gosh, time flies. So how did it happen? How is it to be a couple and work together as well and. And then build up these things and so be on all the time, basically? It can be quite intense. I think, you know, it's as. I think anybody else, you know, in the same setup will tell you. It's. It's really something you have to learn. Because obviously, the thing is, you know, whatever. You know, whatever disagreements you may have in a rehearsal, it's very difficult to necessarily always leave them in the rehearsal. Likewise, whatever disagreements you may have had in the morning about who needs to empty the dishwasher. Yeah, no, but actually, I would say, you know, we certainly, you know, I think now, you know, we are quite. We're quite good generally at, you know, managing that. And obviously, it helps very much if you have a. If you have a joint goal. So the other great thing about it, I think, especially probably, you know, in a situation like during. During lockdown, because we are. We are both very, very driven and we are both, you know, sort of heavy. We both practice a lot. You know, we are both, you know, working really, really hard. And I don't think either of us could ever get complacent, because whether you like it or not, you know, you can't ever really just, you know, practice without someone listening to get into. To let anything slide. And actually, I think Yuri would probably agree that actually, in the long run, it's made both of us actually, you know, better players and better musicians because we have this constant exchange, you know, and, of course, both being string players as well, you know, I think we're both quite geeky as well, so there is an awful lot of talk over the dinner table over, you know, oh, wonderful. Of playing the violin or the cello. And. Yeah, so, no, that's. That's great, actually. And obviously it means we get to play an awful lot of concerts together, which I think, in a way is a luxury, because it means we actually get to spend more time together than if we were doing completely divergent things. Yeah. Now, the next piece we're going to listen to is you and Yuri playing at home now, are not gonna be playing the cello. You're playing the piano. I mean, you're both the cellist and the pianist. Well, I actually studied. Yes. I studied both instruments at the. At the Royal College of Music. And I have to say, playing the piano is actually something I only really very much sort of got back into during lockdown, very much out of necessity, because. Because While all of this was going on, Yuri still had to produce some tapes to send off for various things. And of course you couldn't meet with anyone else. So here we were. And he was like, darling, I need to. Whatever. I need to record this for that. I need to record this for that. Here's the music. So, yeah, but this one was one we did speak specifically actually during lockdown, which we had actually recorded sort of as a little gift for our chamber music box followers. So, yeah, it's something. I think you are only going to play the music part. So the whole thing is on YouTube. It also includes the talking beforehand and, you know, sort of the glasses, the glasses of wine and our washing machine. Lovely to be watched then. Okay, so let's listen to an extract from their YouTube video of Kreisler. Grave After Bach with Julia, with, gosh, Julia Morneweck at the piano and Eureka Nitisp violin. Sam sa. Sam sa. Sam. Sa. Well, very beautiful. This was Grave by Kreisler with our guest fantastic cellist, but also pianist, in this case, Julia Bornewek and Yuri Kalnitis at the violin. Now, Julia, when did you decide to become a professor? When you started to learn the cello and the pian, when you actually decided that you would make a career out of it? Well, I think for me it was in a way, probably more. A more natural choice because my late father also was a cellist. But I would say my past wasn't particularly conventional as a musician because I started playing the piano when I was about, I think, probably seven or eight years old. And looking back on it, actually, I think, you know, I was very, so very natural in it. But it wasn't anything sort of, my parents actually ever particularly sort of pushed, never had any sort of proper lessons or anything. And I didn't, I didn't start playing the cello actually until I was 12. Very, very late, especially for someone, you know, going on to become a professional. Professional. Yeah, I ended up having to do an awful lot in a very short. In a very short space of time. So, yeah, so it wasn't. It wasn't the sort of traditional, what you would expect sort of hot housing from a very young age at all. And so, I mean, your dad was a professional cellist. He was a cellist in the WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne in Germany, where I grew up. And. Yeah, and so. And also my. My grandfather had been principal double bass in the same orchestra and other members of the family. My. My mother formerly was an opera singer, so I come from A very musical background, but yeah, still sort of didn't sort of come to it very seriously until quite late. Very interesting. I mean there is people that they want to do it very much, you know, when they're younger, others that they just grow into it somehow. It was kind of natural as well, normal as a job to be a musician. You know, coming from a known family, a non musical family, the music career could look like something quite alien. Isn't it Quite strange as well? It's not like becoming a lawyer or becoming a doctor. Being probably daughter of musician is just a normal way of. And a beautiful way of living as well. Yes. I mean, funny enough, I mean in my case actually that, what you just said, that was very much actually a sort of bone of contention with my, my school because I went to, I went to a very academic and I was, you know, was what, what you would sort of in England describe as very, as very academic and. Yeah. So when, you know, I, or rather my parents announced when I was, you know, 16 that I would be, be leaving to, to go to music college, let's just say that didn't go down too well really well. My school just considered it as, you know, an enormous waste. All the greats. You can do whatever, you can become a doctor, a lawyer, you know what, whatever you, whatever you want. Why on earth would you do that? I, I vividly remember my headmaster saying this sort of, to my, to my dad knowing full well, you know, that my dad obviously was a musician. So. And that is still, look, that is still very, very much, you know, the perception and, and it's still, you know, not, not easy. And obviously now I see it through a different lens, you know, as a, as a teacher now, working very often, you know, with very talented, very talented young students. And as soon as you, you know, suggest sometimes to parents that, you know, they might want to, you know, consider actually, you know, going on to, to professional training, that's very often, you know, where it's like no way. And look, I, I mean I can't, I can't lie. I, I do have a certain amount of, I do have a certain amount of sympathy for that argument as well. Yeah, well, you know, it's easy, it's not an easy life and it's also, you know, in comparison, especially in the uk. Yeah. Economically, not the best career choice you can make. Well, I think anyone in the world really. Because when we find ourselves in this situation and then for example the politician, they say that music is the least useful job, but then they ask Musicians to perform for free, to keep the spirit high. That really doesn't go in balance, isn't it? And that's why I'm sure, you know, I founded this new music conservatoire, Delano Performing Academy of Music, where I want to create a new generation of musicians that, like you and like me, they're not just incredible musicians, but they also can do other things inside the music industry. Being artistic director, being a radio broadcaster, being a music lawyer, music manager. There is so many other things, and among those as well, talking about politics and the importance of music in politics and in society. And that will bring back the job of the musicians to be at the level of being a doctor or being a lawyer. But, you know, funny enough, I also have a degree in law, because when I was in Italy, I finished my conservatory and advanced academy when I was very young, was just 18, so I had time, I was performing concerts and competition, and so I had time also to do the university for something else. And I did law, and I really liked law. I specialized on the right of musicians, also to understand better our job and our career. When you talk, you know, with lawyers, with agents, when you sign contracts and copyrights and everything. But when I came to this country, country, I started teaching children because I had a friend who couldn't teach those children. And I thought, okay, it's a good way of paying my rent, for example, as a student. And I was talking to my dad and saying, you know, I want to do this and that, I don't have enough time. Because the students kept growing so much that in the end I founded the London Piano Master. It's another music academy here in the UK for students of any level. And my dad was. Was telling me, because my dad was a musician, but then he had to get a proper job when the situation, the music industry was very bad. He was in commercial music, there was a lot of electronic music in the 80s. So he got a job in the police. And he told me that I was very lucky that I was working with angels instead of working with the criminals if I wanted to pursue, for example, a career as a lawyer. And that sentence really struck me, because it's true, when you are teaching music to children, it doesn't matter which age or which level. In a way, you are talking about soul, you're talking about angels. The world outside doesn't exist anymore. It's all about the beauty of the music, of the lines of what you are creating there. Do you feel the same? Yes. I mean, for me, I have to say, for me Personally, the sort of. Many musicians somehow regard the sort of, you know, playing, performing and teaching side of things as two separate entities. Yes. And for me it's always been very, very much two sides of the same coin really. Because for me, for me my teaching is just a very natural extension of my own practice as a, as a performer really. Because it makes me, you know, it makes me constantly analyze and question my own, my own process. And you know, having this especially of course if you teach at a more advanced level, having this constant sort of exchange, you know, and, and, and for me I could, I don't think I could ever do one without the other. So you know, I, I know know lots of, lots of people, you know, who regard, who regard teaching very much, you know, as a. Well, I don't want to call it a chore, but you know, you're right, you're right. Yeah. To pay, to pay, to pay the mortgage. And for me, I'd say it's never been like that really. I have always so much enjoyed this process and I, I think I personally as a player would have to work a lot harder. I'd have to practice a lot more if I, if I didn't have the side to it. Because you know, never, you can never sort of become complacent in how you yourself do something. Because when you're having to really break down and you know, analyze processes and you're having to explain it to someone else finds what you refines what you yourself do. So for me it's always been an absolute privilege. Wonderful. Well, you know, the next piece we're going to listen to. It's mods are the first movement from the flute String quartet in the major. Would you like to tell us about this performance? Yes, that was actually recorded at our very first live concert after the last lockdown on 21st of May we have a residency with Chamber Music Box at St. Caspar's Church in Earls Court. Our first live concert after a very long break. Just shy of six months. Yes, and I think the piece is so fitting because I can't really think of a sort of more life affirming, joyous piece of music than this Mozart Flute Quartet so that's why I chose it. Let's listen then to the first movement of the flutes imported in the major Bimodartz art. It. Sad. So beautiful. This was Mozart. The first movement from the flute String Quartet in the major live performance from the chatter Music box with Julia. And was Yuri playing as well? Yurikanitis. Yes. So that was recorded with Catherine Thomas playing flute, Absolutely amazingly. Yuri on violin. And Matthew Quimby on Violet. Fantastic. Very beautiful. I think there is nothing like mods after to make the spirit high. I remember I was going on the tube. It was. I think it was for work. I don't remember if it was just before the lockdown or soon after the lockdown. And the chip was completely empty and I was listening to Mozart Piano Concerto because of course, as a pianist I listened to piano music. So. Piano Quartet. Piano quartetto Trio Piano solo or with the piano. And the music was so somehow so incredibly the opposite, you know, it was so light and so celestial and so uplifting. And to view the tube completely empty and desolated, it really struck me, I have to say I had trouble containing my tears thinking about how life could change so enormously in such a short period of time and in a way that no one would have ever imagined. But during the lockdown, actually we had people that. They said, like, in your case, you find a way, you know, to learn music, to practice, to concentrate on your performance, forming and planning. Others managed to organize online concerts thanks to technology with artists that they were on other sides of the world that they would have none otherwise been able to be in contact with. What I mean is this lockdown has had, as you said, horrific consequences for some people, but also had the good side of it that was to allow us to take some time to slow down from a very frenetic type of life and enjoy what we actually have. Yeah, I would totally agree. I mean, I think, you know, what's obviously important to remember at the moment is, you know, I think there is a general perception sort of that, you know, well, the rules have been dropped, you know, and it's all. It's all back to normal. And I mean in our. As you yourself, you know, will well know, and I mean in our industry, that, that couldn't be any further from, from the truth. You know, while obviously you see, you know, stuff happening there, the. The reality is that vast weight of the, you know, the profession are still not working and probably won't be, you know, won't be getting back to anything resembling normal for, for a very long time to come still. And, you know, I mean, now, now actually we are having, well, with, especially the decision the UK has taken to. To drop all restrictions last week. That has actually, for us in the, in the classical industry almost created another problem now for live concerts, and that is that a lot of people don't feel safe going to something that isn't, you know that doesn't have social distancing measures in place. Organization at Chamber Music Box have actually taken the decision to, to continue with those measures so to, to just. To really, you know, enable anyone to come, you know, however, you know, healthy or other otherwise they are. Yeah, so, so because obviously a lot of our audience, you know, in the classical sector, you know, often tends to be, tends to be a little older. Yeah. And by therefore, by definition a little bit more. More vulnerable. Delicate. Yeah. Yes, exactly. So for us that was really very much a no brainer to continue with sensible measures so that actually people feel safe coming out. Absolutely. Well now this is the last part of our interview and we go to the funny questions. So I'd like to ask you. You already said that you have passion for cooking. Is that your main hobby or do you have others that you like to, you know, follow for relaxing and to free your mind from music if ever you manage? You know, if we're talking about sort of, you know, pre lockdown life, I mean time, time to do really anything else was pretty, was pretty scarce, you know, was pretty, pretty limited. So. So yeah, I would say cooking is very much the main one and obviously that's something, you know, that's very often combined with, you know, especially when you have a lot of people around to, to rehearse. So you know, everyone, everyone usually ends up getting fed. And, and so, so for me that is I think for me the best part of way to, to unwind, you know, to just sort of. It doesn't matter how late it is when I come home from a concert, I still enjoy just, you know, getting in the kitchen and, and making something and otherwise. Yeah, I would say the only other thing I do is I'm a very, very avid reader. So. So yeah, and those are, those are, I think the, the main ones. See, the exercise front is sorely lacking at the moment, which I can tell on my clothes. I related to that. Everything now is tight. I think it's also the fact that we're not running up and down London, the city and everywhere. You know, the fact that we just stay comfortably at home, that's taking away big part of our everyday exercising in a way. And so do you have any ritual or superstition before going on stage? Like a favorite dress, a favorite color, having to have a cup of tea or. I don't know. No. Funny enough I'm. It's very, it's very funny because Yuri is very superstitious. Is it? But that's part of, that's also you know, part of, part of Russian culture, very much there. There are lots and lots and lots of superstitions there. And I, I am the complete opposite. For me, there isn't, there isn't really sort of any particular, you know, any particular ritual sort of. I need to, you know, I need to be there and good time, have a, have a good warm up. I very much have kind of, you know, on my, on my instruments kind of once I, Once I warm up, you know, there are certain things I need to. I need to cover, to feel in, to feel in shape. But no, other than that I'm, I think, for, for the musician, remarkably unsuperstitious. Wonderful. Well, it's always a strength, isn't it, not to have to relate to something because there is people that they're really going to panic if, if they miss, you know, the favorite pair of earrings or necklace or whatever. So this is a very good lesson to learn for everyone. And do you have any embarrassing moments that you can share with us during your career? For example, you know, forgetting the music or, I don't know, forgetting the shoes for the concert. I have nightmares about that. Do you? All of these, all of these have, all of these have definitely happened to me. Forgetting, you know, forgetting part of my, you know, especially when you're wearing trousers, you know, forgetting. Forgetting the trousers or it's all, it's all happened. But no, I think in terms of, I mean, embarrassing, funny. I think, I think probably one of the, One of the funniest ones for me that stick out is quite a few years ago now, it's over 10 years ago, I had a cello on loan, and it's a very nice Italian cello on loan, which I was looking to. Which I was actually looking to potentially buy. And I was playing in the middle of July, very hot, at a festival somewhere down in Sussex, and I, you know, spent two hours in the car, very hot, got into this very, very cold church afterwards to rehearse. And this particular instrument, it had a, you know, just to explain, obviously, these strings are held up by pegs, the scroll of the instrument. And this particular instrument had a very funny sort of set of metal. Normally they're. Normally they're wooden and it was sort of strange sort of metal mechanism, whatever. They're not very, very widely used anymore. And so I start rehearsing and suddenly one string. Clack. Goes down. Oh, no, try to tighten it. And another one goes. And another one goes. And because obviously the sort of massive temperature difference and because it was, it was metal, it Just couldn't cope with that whatsoever. So I spent about half an hour doing everything I possibly could, you know, shoving, pushing, tucking, trying every trick in the book to get these strings to hold up. And they just simply. They wouldn't. Whatever I tried, they wouldn't. So I was faced with the situation half an hour before the concert. I had to actually come clean to the organizer and say, look, this has never happened to me in my life, but I cannot get this instrument to stay in tune. So I don't know. I don't know what to do. And he says to me, he goes, don't, don't worry, I've got one at home. I'm just gonna go and get it. All right? So he comes away. No, he can't. He. He just. He lived locally in the. In the village somewhere. He got. He. He said, oh, yeah, I'll be. I'll be back in 15 minutes. Okay. 10 minutes before the concert, he turns up with. I will call it a cello. It's the most peculiar looking color. I'm not even going to get started on the sound, but I had no option other than to play this concert on this instrument. And then afterwards, he told me that this cello had been acquired for £2 in an antique shop in Plymouth and he didn't like the color of it. So it had. He stripped it and rep it with. With fence paint. Oh, my gosh. So, yes, I think in terms of absolutely hilarious, bizarre experiences, that must be the top. Oh, my gosh, I can't believe you managed to take out a good sound out of it. I don't necessarily think. I'm not sure it was necessarily good. But, you know, there are. This is very much, you know, I think whether, you know, you work in, you know, in music or in theater or in broadcasting, there are just situations where you need to accept. Gosh, you just have to go on with it. That is the beauty, you know, of live performance. Oh, wow. Stuff happens. And you have just got to deal with it then and there. Oh, wow, very funny. Now, what is going to be your next project? Is the festival finished now, the Chatterbox Festival, or you're going on with new content? As part of. As promoters of U.S. chamber mythic box, we promoted a quite large festival last month, the Dramata Festival, which was very, very special to me because it wasn't just music. What we did was we brought together, well, a series of concerts over a weekend, together with an art exhibition entirely consisting of artwork, visual artworks created by musicians during lockdown. Oh, my bellissimo. Wow. So anyone visiting our website, there is still, it was a live exhibition, but we also have a huge online gallery where people can view and purchase I think close to 200 items. So this was a fantastic project which we launched last month with the festival in London and I'm very much hoping to, to repeat this over the course of next year in other locations in, in the uk. Fantastic. And possibly abroad. So, so this is very much, I mean we had, we decided to run with this idea at the end of March and the festival started on the 25th of June. So it was a absolutely mad dash to try and put this together. And so we are hopefully going to create more installments of that. And then obviously our chain Mimick Box concert season will restart in September. So we're just about to put new dates on sale and we are also launching several new venues in different parts of the uk. Fantastic. Beautiful. Well, can't wait to see your new concert season and I hope I will be able to come to one of those concerts in person. So congratulations with everything. The last piece we're gonna play today is an extract from Ravel Chansons Maricas. Would you like to tell us. So the title is O something like that. So obviously this is a, a wonderful song cycle for a very interesting combination of meta soprano, flute, cello and piano by, by Rabin and and so this is the. There are three songs in total and this is the, the second one and it was equally recorded as at the same concert as the Mozart. And so in this we have got the wonderful mezzo soprano Emily Gray singing and so it's Kathryn and myself together with the wonderful pianist Dina Dusen. Wonderful. So let's listen to Ravel de Chanson Maricas Agua Sam. Sa. And this was Ravel the second transform by Cast hour from the chapel Music Box from the Chatter Music Box with Julia Mornewek. That was our fantastic guest. If you have any questions that you would like to ask to our guest or nomination for our future Cassigue Awards, please email presenters@womensradiostation.com or tweet us. Womensradiostn Again, a very big thanks to our guest Julia. Thank you so much for having me. It was a great pleasure chatting with you. It was wonderful and I recommend everyone to go and visit Chatterbox Music music Julia, how is it? Chambermusicbox.com chambermusicbox.com and if you've been listening to future classic men awards on women's radio station live every day at 10am and 10pm London time and if you would like to listen to it again or catch up on our previous programs. You can head to my presenter page, Stefania PA Future Classic Men Awards on women'sradiostation. Com. Thank you for listening.
