In Good Hands: The Making of a Modern Conductor

(Paperback, Main)

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Writing with refreshing passion, and with her own personal story at its heart, Alice Farnham sets out to explore what it means to be a conductor in modern times. Uniquely, she draws on a wealth of insights from fellow conductors, each with their own perspectives and specialisms - from luminaries such as Antonio Pappano and Jane Glover, to a new generation making their own distinctive mark on the profession.This is not a guide on how to conduct: for music lovers and music makers, not least aspiring conductors, it's a frank, fascinating portrait of what conducting really entails today. Beyond that, it's a book about leadership, full of timely sentiment on who gets to lead, and what it takes to unite and inspire people.'A book that will fascinate and enthral anyone interested in music. Alice Farnham's enchanting blend of insight, experience, musical understanding, sparkling good sense and intelligence brings alive and demystifies what it is to be a conductor.'Stephen Fry

Author Bio

Alice Farnham is listed in the Classic FM Today's Ten Best Women Conductors and in the BBC Woman's Hour Music Power List. Recent engagements include concerts with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, and Southbank Sinfonia. She has been a Guest Conductor on productions at Royal Opera House, Mariinsky Theatre, Calgary Opera, Folkoperan Stockholm, Wermlands Opera Karlstad, Grange Park Opera, Singapore Lyric Opera, and Teatru Manoel Valetta. She was Music Director for award-winning productions at Welsh National Youth Opera and returns for Shostakovich's Cheryomushki in 2022. Alice has conducted much of the standard ballet repertoire with companies including the Royal Ballet Covent Garden, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Danish Royal Ballet. In 2022 she conducts Swan Lake at Opera de Rouen. She is Artistic Director of Women Conductors with the Royal Philharmonic Society and National Concert Hall Dublin Female Conductor Programme and is much sought after as a teacher. She was Organ Scholar at St. Hugh's College, Oxford University and trained for three years with the legendary pedagogue Ilya Musin in St. Petersburg.