Friday
My new project for cello, electronics and visuals, Light Stories, opens tomorrow at Southbank Centre (SBC), and today is the get-in. It’s a complicated show with two screens, two projectors, a laptop running audio and foot pedals controlling various parameters of the sound and audio.
We negotiate a tricky moment when we realise that for me to sync with the video, I have to be able to see one of the screens and then start the audio just as an arrow flies towards the corner. The conversation turns to giving me a small screen monitor, and how the cabling will work for that, and possible issues of latency. I wonder out loud if a small “driving” mirror on the ground might do the trick? Problem solved!
With my own sound and lighting crew (who will be with me for subsequent performances) working alongside the SBC crew, the day actually goes very smoothly. The sound is fantastic—all the techies are just brilliant, and I really could not ask for more. Also, it’s amazing to have a whole day to get in and set up—it would have been very stressful without. The stage looks amazing, with two black screens that reflect light perfectly, slightly angled towards the piano stool I sit on, and the computer table, both draped with black cloth.
Saturday
The premiere is at 5.30 pm, with a second show at 9.30 pm, on the opening weekend of SBC’s classical season—very exciting. The album officially launched yesterday, and I have some lovely shiny copies. The live show is a huge step—there are so many things that could go wrong with the tech, so many foot pedal motions to remember and 72 minutes of music to memorise (I did run the whole show a couple of weeks ago, but not from memory). It’s a huge emotional journey to go on as the music I’m playing is an autobiography of some very powerful, traumatic moments in my life. Writing the music has been cathartic, but what will it be like to play it live? And of course, being London, which is in my hometown, there are so many friends, family and colleagues coming.
It’s wonderful, but it does add to the pressure.
It turns out well—I really enjoy both performances. Of course there are small things I could improve, but nothing the audience would notice. With some projects, you don’t truly understand them until you get on stage, and this was quite an Aha moment—I think it works!
Sunday
This is my first real rest day in such a long time, and it is so welcome. However, throughout the day I am aware of things I need to work on to make the next concert even better—things in my playing and aspects of how the audio is set up and run from the computer. I always feel a particular kind of glow after a concert that has gone well, and today is no exception, but I know from experience that it never lasts more than one day.
Monday
Today, it’s back to work. I practise in the morning, concentrating on the bits that could be improved, and warming up really slowly and carefully beforehand. In the afternoon I make some calls to the tech team and spend a long session at home updating my computer programme to make the audio sound even better—it’s really fun.
Tuesday
More practice and online meetings with members of the tech team. I drive to Cardiff in the evening, listening to Shakti’s latest album, This Moment, twice on the way. Shakti’s blend of joyful virtuosity, jazz sophistication and Indian classical nuance and brilliance—what a mix! It makes the drive go by very quickly.
Wednesday
I give a masterclass for 18 cellists at the Royal Welsh College—what a delightful bunch they are! I’d already decided not to go the conventional route of selecting a few to play Bach or Beethoven. Instead, we all get our cellos out and sit in a huge circle for a few hours, improvising, discussing technique and delving into questions like why they play music and what it means in their lives? We also explore the importance of creativity to human beings, and how it forms a central part in how we bind ourselves in community and understand ourselves.
By an amazing coincidence, my stepson Misha Mullov-Abbado and his wife, Bridget O’Donnell, are playing in Cardiff this evening with Sinfonia Cymru and I have a great time at the gig.
Thursday
A relaxed morning often prefaces a good concert and today the set-up is a dream—the college team are helpful and know exactly what they’re doing. The hall is well equipped, and I like the acoustics in the Dora Stoutzker Hall very much. Getting past the first performance is always a milestone, and tonight everything settles in so nicely—I absolutely love playing this programme. The audience is warm and enthusiastic, and I drive back to London after the concert with more Shakti, arriving home in the early hours, feeling deeply nourished by the miracle that is music.