Future Classic Women Awards – Lizzie Ball, Violinist

Hello and welcome to the 6th edition of 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 very happy to introduce you to a wonderful guest, violinist Lizzy Ball. Hello Lizzy! Hey there, how are you doing? Very good. Very nice to talk to you. We've been trying to chat for a long time, actually. So I'm very excited we're doing it over the Women's Radio Station and for this very special program. I know, so to the people that are listening, Lizzy is an incredible violinist. She's a crossover, classical trained. So tell us a little bit about you, Lizzy, first of all. Um, you were born as a classical violinist, I might guess? Yes, I started out very much as a classical violinist. Um, I grew up in the north of England, had a very sort of, you know, rural life with horses and dogs and kind of lots of mud and wet rain and wet puddles and things. So quite a normal kind of— what I say, a normal kind of, you know, countryside background. Um, but I showed really early on like massive interest in classical music. Um, Then actually, you know, fast forward all my training, I actually added singing into my career. So I'm actually— I actually say that I'm actually a vocalist now as well. So that's something that I do in most of my shows. I sing as well. And so that's something to mention, but that came a little later. So the violin was like always the focus. And I started out in a very normal school, like a really great state school, as we call them here in the UK, just a normal day school, lots of very normal friendship groups. So I was very much the fish out of water with my music, like no one else around me was really doing what I was doing. And so eventually I found my little tribes of players and like-minded friends in Sheffield, which was my closest hometown. For those listening, Sheffield's a very sort of well-known city for music in the UK. We've, we've had some incredible bands, you know, like Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, all those guys all grew up through this. So there's a, there's a strong history of like loving music in Sheffield and it being quite, um, wide. So I It's important to mention that because I came through the kind of scene of Sheffield playing classical, but kind of being very much exposed to that scene of pop and rock and people being very open-minded, which was always how I felt about classical music. So, you know, I'd be playing classical concerts and competitions, and then the next day or the next weekend, I'd be playing in a band in the local pub, you know. So I did that from the age of about 13. So I was always very much foot in both camps, you know. That is amazing. You know, it's nice. Yeah, I have to say, you know, I'm Italian, so I was born and raised in Italy, and then I came to London to do a postgraduate at the Royal Academy of Music. Nice. And I now have international students at the Conservatoire de la Performée Academy of Music that I founded. And these students coming to London, they all agree with the same experience I had 20 years ago, that is the fact that this countries, I would say the only one in Europe that is allowing classical musicians to appreciate and mix with any other style, you know. In Italy there is a huge division between, or in France, or whenever, there is a huge division between classical training and doing songwriting or, you know, pop, let alone crossover. So this is really the, the, the the most exciting place where to be a classical musician, I think. That's so interesting, Stefani, because I didn't know that. And actually, that makes a lot of sense because I think for me, I never saw any reason not to do both because of how I was brought up. I think also it's important to mention my parents were, you know, very open-minded. You know, my dad, my late father, was a jazz pianist. My mum was a huge opera fan. So, you know, there was this real sense of, you know, you'd put on Madam Butterfly and then you put on, you know, uh, Charlie Parker, and that was really normal for a kind of Saturday afternoon. So, you know, I grew up with this very sort of like, let's listen to Puccini, let's then listen to the Beatles. So I think speaking to a lot of my classical friends, you know, that, that was the difference for a lot of them, because their parents were very much only into classical music, so then they only heard that, you know. Because I think that, that is your biggest influence at home as a kid, is what you're listening to at home as well, you know. I think so, yeah. You know, it's all you've got. So I think, you know, and also, you know, Don't get me wrong, I mean, that I still did like rigorous training, you know, like yourself. And when I did, you know, I actually did a degree at, um, Cambridge, so I chose that route. So I did a music degree, which I loved because it gave me the freedom for my performance to do what I wanted. But I still had an excellent teacher, which I had, you know, I had to travel to London for lessons every week. It was quite a lot of pressure because on top of writing lots of essays and studying, I had to also keep my practice to a level of a conservatoire students. So there was a lot going on, you know. And then I went to the Royal College for a postgrad to kind of tighten up stuff afterwards. So that was a nice way. And for me, that was great because I like to be around people. I've always liked to be around people doing other things. I've never thrived well in a musician-only environment. It just doesn't suit me at all. So that's something I learned very early on about my character. And I was lucky to have quite an open-minded mum who sort of saw that in me and sort of said, oh, you know, just go for what you feel is you. So I was very lucky to know that early on, you know. Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know, you talked about having a jazz father. My dad was a jazz musician as well. Oh, I love it. I love it. And so I grew up as well listening to not just jazz, but also popular music. Yeah. He had a big band and they would play the classic or the also ballroom music, if you like. So it was a mix of everything. But somehow. I had clear in mind my favorite game was to pretend to be a concert pianist. Yeah, I really got that out of nowhere. It was just me who wanted to be a classical concert pianist. Did you have the dream of becoming a classical violinist? I don't know. I did, actually. I did, I did. I kind of— I never like thought— I never thought in terms of classical. I suppose this is the other thing. I don't know why, I just— I always thought music was music. But of course, from as long as the age where I could understand there were different terminologies for music, then I sort of realized, classically, I really loved it, you know. And, um, so the two things I think that really sparked my kind of violin journey— the first was, it's quite funny, you know, everyone's always like, oh, there must be some amazing story about you, like, you know, just wanting to play the violin. I was like, well, I did really want to play the violin, but I think the reason was that the boy at school who I had a crush on played the violin. Ah, that's a good thing. So basically, like, he was like 3 years older and he was taller than me and like he had a violin and like we used to share the school lift like in the car because we were in the middle of nowhere in the countryside so we used to have to drive to school and we shared like the school lift as we call it with the other mum of him so you know from I was about 7 and he was 10 and I remember him having his violin and I said my mum so I used to sort of say oh I want to play the violin like Peter so I'm like thank you Peter wherever you are if you're listening for being the reason why I'm now doing what I'm doing That's, that's beautiful. That's Peter Play. Do you know if he became successful? No, I think he was very sensible and became a doctor, which is actually probably a good idea. It is a good job, I would say. It's very— yeah, I know, but music is very useful too. I mean, there is so much, um, um, research right now into the music therapy and the power of music on mental health, and not just mental health. I had my mother-in-law, she had an open-heart operation and they kept her awake. That is, for me, wow. Yes, for me, it's out of this world. But she was saying that they were just listening to music, the surgeons, while they were operating. And that was making her as well, you know, to be relaxed. And I mean, well, I don't know how you, I don't know with you, and obviously everyone has a different birth story, but when I gave birth to my son, it was, it had to be a cesarean section because of complications. So I knew it was going to happen, you know. You know, so scheduled I had to do it. And, um, and I remember at the last minute, and I was the sort of, you know, you have to, you know, have to be there at sort of, you know, 7 AM or whatever. So I was at 6 AM, I was about to leave the house, and I thought, oh, I didn't do— because everyone's like, oh, you know, in like antenatal classes they're like, oh, make a playlist, make— and I didn't because I was like, oh, I don't need a playlist, you know, that's for non-musicians. I don't know, I was just like, whatever, you know. And then at the last minute I was like, you know what, I better just make one. I did it really quickly because of course As musicians, we know our favorite music straight away. We don't have to think about it. So I was like, boom, boom, boom, and I chose like 7 tracks, like really quickly, just instinctively. And I grabbed my big speaker thinking, oh well, I better just take it in case the hospital system isn't working, you know. Sure enough, I swear to God, that music was what got me through. I, I was desperate for it. Like when I was in there lying down. Yeah, they started because of course you're awake when they're doing it. It's a bit like the thing I said, my mum was my birth partner and I said to her, Mum, put the music on now. And Mum said I was literally like shouting at her to put the music on. She's like, okay, I'm going to put it on, you know? And it was literally like I had to have it. So it's kind of amazing in a way, like that's that, that really deep connection we have as musicians. You know, your ultimate moment as a woman to give birth and you are desperate to hear that music. And I was— I'm so happy in a way that I— that's what happened, you know, that it really proves how deep-rooted I am as a musician. Well, you're very lucky. I just had to have it. Yeah, we're very lucky. They didn't tell me about these. So my operation lasted an hour. I didn't have a C-section. We had another complication and then we had this. So for an hour I was sitting on this hospital bed while they were doing everything and even more. And with no music. No music. I'm so sorry. That makes me so sad for you. That was really bad. I was chatting. I mean, my husband was trying to chat with me. Yeah, just to keep you like preoccupied. Yeah, exactly, like trying to keep you distracted. But it does— it's all— that's so sad. It does prove that, doesn't it, music? I mean, you sort of— in those moments, it reminds you why it's such a privilege to do this job, because it is in those human moments of need that people need it. And I think that's really nice to remember, you know. Well, let's listen to the first track that we chosen today. And that's, I would say, actually, shall we start with Piazzolla? Because Piazzolla was a classical composer. He had this huge ambition to become a great symphony composer. And I remember I saw this beautiful documentary on him meeting with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. And she told him, look, you need to write something that belongs to you, to your essence, that makes you different from Stravinsky or Prokofiev because you are Piazzolla. And so he composed this beautiful piece called Libertango, and it's one of the most amazing pieces ever. And so let's listen to Piazzolla, um, Libertango with arrangement by James Pearson, performed by our wonderful, um, Lizzy Ball and her debut album Hasta Siempre. And so this was Piazzolla's Libertango from the album Hasta Siempre by our wonderful guest Lizzy Ball. Um, Lizzy, really wonderful. Piazzolla's Libertango is one of my favourite pieces ever, and it's used nowadays, every day if you like, in the classical concert hall, uh, is, is used in popular music. It's everything. So, um, you— I, I would say this is something that represents pretty well who you are as a violinist. So you— yeah, yeah, I think so. Yeah, I think it, I, it, that album is quite old now. I was just saying to you before, my biggest sort of need and ambition in the next few years is to release some more material because it's been— I've had a bit of a hiatus in the studio for my own stuff. But I've been doing a lot of stuff for other people, so that's been fun. But I think Libertango, especially when I did release, I think I was very much in that frame of Latin American music. It was a big part of my career. I actually lived in Buenos Aires for about 7 or 8 months. Oh wow. Yeah. So I had this very strong connection with Argentina and particularly actually Argentinian folk music that's lesser known. So obviously Pizzolla, Libertango, as you say, it's almost kind of synonymous with it's almost like, you know, an anthem of classical music, isn't it? It's so incredible. But, um, I was also really into like some of the, the lesser-known but beautiful, like, vidalas from like the north of Argentina, for example, are really stunning kind of styles of folk song and stuff. So I got really immersed in Argentina and all the music there. Um, but now I'd say like I still feel like it's a staple of my repertoire, but I've moved away a little bit into other vibes and things. But for sure, I still feel like it's like a sort you know, like a desert island disc or whatever, it kind of be like the one I'd take. I'd probably take it if I was stranded, you know, I'd probably take it. It was a part of your playlist when you gave birth, was it? It wasn't actually. I think because it more, it more fits my kind of performing. I think it's interesting you asked that actually, because I think there are sort of gut feelings about music. Some music, you know, I wouldn't want to play live, but I feel like it's part of me. So I think that playlist was more about those pieces, although there were a few things that I've played, but there weren't, there wasn't anything by me. It was more just stuff that I loved. That's exactly my question, you know, because I know that, you know, it's hard for me to go and listen to— I basically never ever go back to listening to my album unless I have to practice for a concert and I have to play pieces that I already recorded. So instead of listening to someone else, of course I listen to myself. But it's fun. Once I was at a party. And a friend of mine put on my album and I didn't know it was a mix with other music. And I said, oh gosh, I like this Chopin sonata. Who's the pianist? So that's me. And it was you. I was like, okay. So that was quite fun. But you know, I don't know you, but I always listen to it, you know, like, reading it. Did I, did I, do I still like the way I recorded it or? Would I want to do something different, particularly when there is some time passing, isn't it? Yeah, I'm sort of— yeah, I've never— oh, it's so funny you mention that. I've never been a fan of listening to my own stuff. I think I've got better at it because you have to. And I mean, the great thing about this day and age is everything's recorded, everything's videoed, everything's, you know, Instagrammable. So I think we've all got a bit better at kind of listening to our own voices, listening to our music. You know, we have to, don't we? Especially in the pandemic, we were forced to do that. Which also I hated the forcing of it because, you know, we had to, but it was not exactly enjoyable at times. But no, I'm better at it now. I think now I feel like a lot of that material, particularly that you're hearing today, a lot of it is quite old. So I do feel that I've moved on so much that I— it's quite nice to just acknowledge and be sort of, be sort of positive about the point it was, where it came from and where I was at in my life, you know. Now, quite a few years on, I'm kind of— I can't wait to release some new stuff because I feel like I have so much more to say in a very different vein. My voice, my voice, if you like, I don't mean literally, I mean like my musical sort of expression, voices, is very different now. Yeah, well, you know, I remember very well when I was younger, there was a masterclass with a great pianist, and he was saying, telling the students, you know, you need to live a life to be able to give an interpretation of the music that you're playing by the great composers, for example, particularly when you're playing a mature piece from someone who passed through so many things in their life. And then, you know, you don't have to be doing exactly what the composer might have gone through, if you like, you know, you might have your own original interpretation, but it would be respectful at least to understand and to try to make it justice. And as you said, you know, I'm sorry, we did speak off air, so we have to tell our audience, we're both mama. And we both went through a challenging birth. And there is little you can do when you become a mama, you become a different person. I didn't think that would happen. I always thought, you know, I am what I am. I had my daughter, you know, not very young. I was 36. And so if you like, I wasn't a baby mama. But so I thought, you know, I'm strong enough. I have a career. I know very well who I am and I know I can just add to this a baby. I wanted to become a mama. But then, then it's not like that, you know, actually having a baby, it changed your life forever. And there is little, you know, to say to people that, you know, that happens. You wouldn't know until you actually do it. So the way you play as well changes, I think. For example, I realized that until having my baby, I only had the most revolutionary, dramatic, passionate pieces ever. And then I realised I had nothing sweet and tender that I could play and practice with my— while my daughter was sleeping in the cot, for example. Yeah, exactly. So did you have that? That's so sweet. It reminds me actually of, I don't know if you know Tom Poster and Elena Urioste, great, great friends of mine who are a married couple, wonderful artists. Tom, I know Tom. I've seen Tom. Yeah, exactly. So he— what I just reminds me of, you know, when, when Tico, his son, was born, that he posted a photo of him practicing with Tico asleep in the sling on him. And being a pianist, I was really jealous of this because you can practice with your baby on you, you know, whereas obviously with a violin it's pretty tricky, like you can't quite fit. So I used to be like, I'm so jealous that you could do that. But also it was so touching to see. I mean, it literally just made me cry seeing it because it was so beautiful to see this sleeping baby and Tom was playing, I think— oh, is it Trauermarsch? Sorry, I always pronounce that wrong. That beautiful— yeah, the lullaby, you know, and it was just like, oh my God, this is what this piece was written for, you know? And it was such a lovely— and it's funny you should mention that. Yeah, I feel that certainly what's changed for me is an approach more than anything else. I think repertoire-wise, you know, you'll hear with my music, it's incredibly, you know, in many ways it's very non-classical. I mean, I'm very much a rooted, highly trained classical musician. My music is not as such. My music's I hate the word crossover because I don't think it really explains it, but it's sort of more in that camp. But, but I think that, you know, it's, it's something to do with the approach. I think for me, the biggest thing that motherhood has given me is perspective, and I was hungry for that. And it's one of the reasons I chose to become a mother is I really felt that my life had a sort of limit. It was almost like having one of those noise limiters, you know, those awful things they put on a DJ sometimes at parties. It's like you can't go any further than a certain level of something. I just thought, I can't get any further on my emotional journey in this world, in this life, unless I do this. And it just was such an inner need for me. And because I'm actually slightly older, Madina, I'm in my 40s, so I had him quite late, whatever that means, you know, in terms of, you know, there was a sort of window where maybe it wouldn't even be possible at a certain point. So, you know, I feel like that decision was very conscious and it has absolutely given me that. That's the only certainty that has remained from before. Like I said to you off air, you know, I thought everything would be the same and nothing would change. Everything else has been turned on its head, but that actually has been the one thing that has remained what I expected, in that I expected this perspective, and my God, I got it in spades. I got it in spades, which is nice, you know. I think it just makes you look at life and go, God, I really sweated the small stuff a lot. And there's nothing wrong with that, but I mean, really, like, if your kids— I mean, I think about friends who've had like really sick kids that have been properly unwell with, you know, of terminal illness. And you think, if that happens, like, nothing else matters, you know? And it's sort of just that perspective of actually what's good about that is it makes you play with a much more grounded kind of like outward approach. That's what it's done for me. I really, I really love performing concerts so much more, even more than I used to now, because I feel like there's a sort of different place that I'm in. I don't know, it's hard to put it in words, isn't it? No, absolutely. Well, why don't we play now, uh, a song that you composed that is called Where He Used to Play. Would you like to tell us about this song? I would actually, because it has quite a poignant background. So I am very lucky to collaborate very much with the artistic director at Ronnie Scott's, James Pearson, who you mentioned before, is the arranger for a lot of this album that you're playing some tracks from. Amazing musician, amazing pianist. I'm sure you would love— you guys would have great fun playing duets. He's, you know, he's both jazz and classical. Classical, but he's such a rare breed of someone that can play both really excellently. Um, and so we do a lot of stuff together, and this album was with him and the band that play at Ronnie Scott's. And I actually wrote this song— it was very sad— in 2013— the— 2010, sorry. The drummer of James's trio was killed in a car crash. Oh. And he lost his life, and it was a real tragedy. And he was one of our best friends and was basically a bit of a figure in the Soho music scene. Everybody knew Chris Dagley. He was wonderful drummer. We still miss— I still miss hearing him. He was one of those musicians that when he played the drums, you were like, wow, that is just— he was born to do that. And I still want to hear him. It sounds odd, but you know that sound of someone that's so unique. So I was lucky that he, um, he played on my previous album, but obviously this one I made after he died. And I wrote this song about him actually, so it's, it's sort of just— it's like a reminisce about, you know, imagining where he is now and just sort of like a memory of where he used to play. And that's why the song is called that. So yeah, this is a memory of the wonderful Chris Dugley. So let's listen to Where He Used to Play by Lizzy Ball. Under the moonlight, where the stars shine so sweetly, she dreams of Whole day lost in his love. Eyes closed, remembering all the joy that he gave us. Sadly, she watches where he used to play. The music he loved made him free like a bird. Now all that's left are the memories once had, gone in the night's Suddenly out of sight. Who could believe it was true? What would she give to be back in his arms? Anything, just for one more time. If only she could start to breathe. And feel free just for that moment and let the pain leave us all. And then she remembers under the moon. Night where the stars shine so sweetly. She dreams of old days, lost in his love. All that remains What remains now are the memories of those days. Sadly, she watches where he used to lay. And this was Where He Used to Play by Lizzie Ball from her debut album Hasta Siempre. Absolutely wonderful piece. Now I'm gonna ask you if, you know, we mentioned about, you know, motherhood, changing in lifestyle, if you like, but still the passion for performing. So what would you say was the most exciting place you performed? I think so. My career has been really, really diverse. So everything from, you know, being concertmaster of Nigel Kennedy's Orchestra for 10 years and playing in, you know, the Berlin Philharmonie several times with him. And, you know, I played concertos with him in the Royal Albert Hall. You know, that was pretty much a high point, you know, of my career, playing concerto. Yeah, important to mention, actually, earlier I was going to mention when you talked about childhood inspiration, Nigel was actually my childhood inspiration. So I was obsessed with him, and I went to all his concerts. It was all I wanted to do. My mum said, what do you want for your birthday, Christmas? I say, tickets, see him. And so when it actually turned out that I ended up working for him, it's still something that I really feel so incredibly honored and privileged to have been able to do, because it was a long story as to how we got there. But essentially, it was a real kind of set of circumstantial things, and it led to a phone call from his team saying, look, you know, we need a leader for our orchestra. We— the leader that was hired for some reason couldn't do it, and 'You know, would you be interested to do this?' And of course, I just couldn't actually believe it. I was like, it was such an extraordinary thing that I never thought I'd get that kind of phone call, you know, back in the day. But it changed my life, it changed everything. And then that, from then on, I never really looked back, and I had some really amazing opportunities that opened out from that. So that was— those concerts with him were phenomenal. And then also, I played for a couple of years in Jeff Beck's band, the famous rock guitarist who sadly died last year. Very out of the blue, very suddenly he died. Um, and we played the Madison Square Garden, so that was quite something. And that was— I was featured in his band, so I opened our entire set with a massive kind of Irish violin solo, which if you look on YouTube you'll find it. It was— I would look for it. Yeah, yeah, it was for Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival. So it's a very famous festival that Clapton does every 4 years, and we opened our set with me, this huge violin, you know, these huge screens behind me and the whole thing. It It was so exciting because I'd never done anything like that at that point. I'd never done anything as big as that, you know. And it was like literally, I don't know how many people, 20,000 people, something like that. I don't know. Wow, that's not something that happens for classical music, isn't it? And rarely you have such a large audience. Yeah. Were you nervous when you did that? I was in a funny way. I think more because the context at the time was out of my, you know, I hadn't done anything that big before. I hadn't played in venues that big. I think if it had been with Nigel Kennedy, I would have felt less nervous. Does that make sense? So because it was with a rock star and all the people on stage were rock stars and all the people on stage were rock musicians, or, you know, you know, that era, I was absolutely the only classical musician there. I mean, there was no one else at all like me. So I felt really like, oh God, you know, a bit of the imposter syndrome, you know, kind of, am I good in all this stuff? So, so it's all that stuff, you know. And the funny thing about Madison Square Garden is they have this incredible stage that it revolves. So they set two bands up at the same time. So while the band is playing— in a festival where you've got, you know, 20 bands in one night, which is what they did, they did 20-minute sets of everyone, you know, the band behind us were playing and we were set up ready to go. So when they finished, they just swing the stage around. It's unbelievable. So it's a rotating stage, so you're ready, but you have to be ready for like 15 minutes. I was literally standing on my stage spot. Oh no. Oh my God. And like all the roadies were sort of sitting there on the flight cases eating their lunch, you know, because it was all— but we We were behind the stage, obviously, and then— do you see what I mean? They like flip it around, they press a button or whatever, and the stage spins round, and it's so slick, it's so brilliantly done. But that was terrifying because I was like, oh God, I just want to play a scale, and I couldn't— I had to stop warming up, you know. So I was like just standing there freezing cold, you know, like desperate to play something because we were all ready to go. We weren't allowed to make a sound, you know. That was hard. Yeah, yeah, that was hard. And also you turn around and then you're by a massive wall of sound, isn't it? Of all the audience suddenly screaming. That's something massive. And he, of course, is a huge— was, you know, was— sadly was— was a huge icon. So of course the screaming for him, it was really deafening because he doesn't play at that point. He hadn't played in public that much for a while. So of course every time he did, it was this huge moment where all the kind of big guitar fans would go mental. So it was just— it was just mental. It was amazing. It was amazing. It was brilliant. It was brilliant fun. Well, you know, the time just flies. We don't have much time. No. Oh my gosh, I told you I talk too much. Let's listen to— what would you like to listen to? Let's listen to Bésame Mucho, shall we? Yeah, let's do it. Okay, so that's again an arrangement by James Pearson and from Lizzy Ball, the album Hasta Siempre. Bésame, bésame mucho, como si fuera esta noche la hora de morir. Bessame, bessame mucho. Que tengo miedo a perderte, perderte después. Quiero tenerte muy cerca, mirarme en tus ojos, verte junto a mí. Piensa que tal vez mañana yo ya estaré lejos, muy lejos de ti. Besame. Bésame mucho, como si fuera esta noche la última vez. Bésame. Bésame mucho, que tengo miedo a perderte, perderte después. Quiero tenerte muy cerca, mirarme en tus ojos. Verte junto a mí. Piensa que tal vez mañana yo ya estaré lejos, muy lejos de ti. Bésame, bésame mucho. Como si fuera esta noche la última vez. Bésame, bésame mucho, que tengo miedo. Que tengo miedo a perderte, perderte después. Que tengo miedo a perderte, perderte después. And so this was "Besa Mi Mucho," arranged by James Pearson, performed by our wonderful Lizzy Ball from her album "Hasta Siempre." Lizzy, this is the last section of the interview, and normally, I mean, we had already so much fun, so I don't know how much more fun we can do, but You know, I normally ask, first of all, if you have any hobby apart from, you know, just doing music that you like to do for relaxing, you know, for freeing your mind. Yeah, well, I have a 2-year-old, so at the moment it's not much time. Yeah, it's sort of like, you know, hobby. The thought of hobbies makes me want to sort of almost cry with excitement, you know, because I just have no free time. But actually, the thing I've always loved is horse riding. I love it. And I'm desperate to get back to it. I was very lucky to grow up in the countryside, so, you know, but it was very grand, like lots of farmers and farms, and, you know, I'd ride the local farmer's horse and stuff like that. So that was kind of how I grew up. So I, I do miss— if I live in London, I love it, but I do miss that, that sort of side of the countryside living. And I really hope when Tommy gets older that, you know, if he's up for kind of getting involved as well, maybe he'll be interested in doing it. And I suppose my dream would be actually if he was up for riding one day, maybe we'd do it together. That could be amazing. Yeah, amazing. I did with my daughter, you know, I just moved out of London. I lived for 20 years in London and now I'm in France. I'm nice. Countryside, the horse riding, exactly that. And so, you know, holding the pony while my daughter is riding. So nice. She must love it. Oh, it's the perfect age to do that. Yeah. And so, and if you have to share an An embarrassing moment, something funny that happened going on stage. Oh, wow. God, I have to think about that. Um, oh gosh, I don't know. I mean, there's so many things that happen over the years, but I'm just thinking what I'm able to share publicly because there's a couple of things that happen. I'm not sure whether it would be the best thing to share. I don't know. I'll give you some hints. So we have someone going on stage forgetting the glasses and so tripping into the step. Oh yeah, no, I've definitely done— I tell you what I have done a few times is when I'm mic'd up, so when I have to wear a microphone, I sometimes forget to switch on the pack. Oh my gosh. So, you know, you've got a battery pack that's attached to a wireless microphone. If you're playing a concert where you're mic'd up as a violinist, you'll have a a wireless microphone so that you can move around, you know, because a lot of the stuff I do with that is more, a bit more rock and roll. I'm moving around a bit, kind of, it's a bit more fluid. And I— you have to switch the little battery pack attaches to your dress, so you put it on your dress, you have to switch it on at the top. And a couple of times I've literally just forgotten to switch it on. So like halfway through the song you're like, why can't anyone hear me? And then I realize it's like because I just switched on. Because this— we're talking about big, big venues where you wouldn't— a classical violin wouldn't be heard otherwise, you know, it wouldn't actually be heard properly. So because you're playing with like a band, so, you know, the natural sound of the violin would be drowned, which is why you have to be mic'd up. So that, that kind of thing is so classic to do as a mic'd up violinist. So many of my friends who are the same are like, oh, we've so many times we've forgotten to do that, you know, really embarrassing. And you're like, you're starting to get angry with the sound engineer in your head. You're like, oh, what are they doing? And you realize it's you. Yes. Like, I'm sorry. That's actually my fault, you know. Oh yeah, that's, that's cool. And what would you say instead was the most challenging moment in your career or challenging place to perform or audience? I don't know. Oh, different things, you know, not to get too morbid. I sadly, my father passed away 13 years ago. I played at his funeral. I think that was actually one of the hardest things I've ever done. Oh yeah. As you can imagine, and without wanting to get morbid about it, it was just because he was a musician and I played one of his favorite songs. I just felt I really had to do it. It wasn't even a question of like, I must do this. I was like, I just have to do this for him. Yes. And I did. I played with the aforementioned James, you know, who played piano. And I think that was actually a beautiful reminder of like, we are, we are absolutely about our collaborations. For me, my entire mantra as a musician is about who I'm working with. Like, I'm not a solo artist in the sense of I cannot work well on my own. I have to have people around me, even if it's, you know, I'm working on something on my own, but I know that the end result is going to be with a team. That's me. That's absolutely where I live. And in that very moment of emotional— the biggest emotional challenge I'd faced really to date in my life, you know, there was my favorite collaborator next to me. So I feel like that's something to mention. But yeah, fun, you know, things like that, it's often not the big stage stuff because you're trained for that. And I think I've been very fortunate not to suffer with stage fright. You know, I, I don't know if you know, but my other sort of sideline is I'm actually a coach and a mentor as well. And I do a lot of, a lot of coaching of some music graduates. And I sort of combine the teaching with the coaching and the holistic side. And, you know, a lot of them come to me with stage fright, and we work very hard on that. And I sort of feel, gosh, I'm so fortunate that I've never had to go through that. So touch wood, I've never had a moment of terror where everything goes blank, or, you know, I know that that can be just so terrifying when you're on stage. I can't imagine anything harder than that in a way in the moment. But like I said, I think for me it's more the unexpected things. I suppose obviously playing for a dear one's funeral, that is obviously going to be challenging. But there are other moments like smaller concerts even where I'm like, oh gosh, actually, why did I find that so hard? And it's often the context of what you're going through in your life, isn't it? It's not necessarily the thing itself, I think. So the big stuff like Madison and Albert Hall, yes, it was scary, but I sort of— I was excited by it. As well, so I didn't find it too daunting, you know. Yeah. So, so, you know, it's very good to say you're a mentoring and coach. If you had to give an advice to your younger self, what would that be? Stop waiting for everything to be ready. I think I've always been too much of a perfectionist. I think that's held me back in certain places in my career. I think sometimes you just got to go for it and not worry too much if it's not perfect. I think there are opportunities that come. There are— there's progress that can be made by making decisions quickly and just keeping going. I think decisions for me have always been a bit of a challenge, and I overthink them all. Whereas, you know, my brother, my brother, he's, you know, we're very close. He says he's very good at making decisions. He says, Lizzie, that sometimes it's not about what the decision is, it's about making it. Often it doesn't even matter if it's right or wrong, you just have to make it and move on. And then in doing that, it becomes a practice muscle. And I think as musicians, we're trained to be— we're very artistic in our thinking, we're very long thinkers, we're very languishing thinkers. So it's sometimes quite hard to sort of switch to that kind of, right, let's get this done, let's do this. You know what I mean? So I feel— Yes. Yeah, I would advise my younger self to just go for it even more and actually not be afraid to be as ambitious as possible. I think, you know, many ways my confidence took a long time to grow. I think being a woman in this industry can be very challenging, and I did have a few moments that knocked me, and I think I didn't realize at the time how much they did. And I think, you know, it's so important to realize that you actually are able to achieve anything if you just set some time and focus to it. And if you're good enough, you know, granted you're good enough to be a good player, then you don't have to be the best player in the world. You can literally just be super focused. And I think that's something that I, I have been, but my confidence and my sort of lack of, you know, perhaps esteem at times got in the way of that focus, you know. And I think some people don't realize that that's, that's something that can happen. So that's also why I love being a coach, because I see like me reflected, you know. I see people coming to me at sort of 25 and think, God, I totally know how they feel. You know. Yeah. And I feel I can help them and hopefully try and shape them with my life experience to sort of be the best version of themselves, you know, not be afraid. Beautiful. Well, we are at the end of our interview. We're going to finish by listening to your recording. My funny Valentine, sweet comic Valentine, you make me smile with your heart. You look so laughable. Unphotographable, yet you're my favorite work of art. Is your figure less than Greek? Is your mouth a little weak when you open it to speak? Are you small So don't change a hair for me, not if you care for me. Stay, little Valentine, stay. Each day is Valentine's Day. My funny Valentine, sweet. Comic Valentine, you make me smile with your art. You're so laughable, unphotographable, yet you're my favorite work of art. Is your figure less than Greek? Is your mouth a little weak when you open it to speak? Are you smart? So don't change a hair for me, not if you care for me. Stay, little Valentine, stay. Each day is Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, the interview is already finished. The time goes too fast. If you have any questions that you would like to ask to our guest or nomination for our future Classic Women Awards, please email presenters@womensradiostation.com or tweet us @WomensRadio. STN. Again, a big thanks to our guest violinist and songwriter Lizzie Ball for the great chat and the fantastic music play today. Thank you so much for having me. I've had so much fun. Thank you. Ah, thank you, Lizzie. You've been listening to Future Classical 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, you can head to the presenter's page, Stefania Passamonte, Future Classical Women Awards, on womensradiostation.com. Thank you for listening.