Harmonically Speaking

My guest today is the Lithuanian pianist, pedagogue, and presenter Gintaras Januševičius.

Hailing from a musical family his career to date has been defined by versatility and constant innovation.

A graduate of the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover, and prize winner at multiple competitions, Gintaras now sits on numerous international competition juries and is artistic director of the Klavierstadt Einbeck series of competitions.

Alongside a busy performing career as a solo pianist, chamber musician, and soloist, he runs a successful private studio in Hannover, and gives masterclass all around the world.

In 2017, and seeking to equip young artists with all the skills necessary to succeed in the modern world, he founded two international piano academies - Klaipeda Piano Masters in Lithuania, and the invite only Feuerwerk Einbeck in Germany.

In early January of 2024, I visited him in his private studio where I began by asking what drew him to the piano...

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My guest today is the Austrian clarinet maker, Gerold Angerer.

Hailing from the town of Fritzens in the Tyrolean Alps, he first served an apprenticeship with Hammerschimdt in Wattens, later spending time with Howarth of London, before embarking on his own path and founding Gerold Klarinetten .

In the more than twenty years since, his instruments have become some of the most exclusive and sought after world wide and as of time of recording, are no longer available to order, so long is his waiting list.

I myself am lucky enough to own a set of Gerold Soloist d’arte clarinets, and on a trip to his workshop to collect them from some much needed care and attention, we sat down to talk about his career, his process of building instruments and how he manages to constantly innovate. I began by asking about his first encounter with the clarinet...

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Hello and welcome to Harmonically Speaking, the podcast that meets high achievers from the field of music and gives you an insight into their lives.

I'm clarinettist Macdara Ó Seireadáin, and my guest today is violinist Maighréad McCrann. A native of Dublin, she studied Music in Trinity College Dublin and was a student of Brian McNamara at the then College of Music in Dublin before going to Vienna to study with Ersnt Kovacic.

She is currently first konzertmeisterin of the ORF Sinfonieorchester Wien (Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra). In addition to this she is Professor of violin in Graz, and artistic director of the Neuberg masterclasses.

I have always been curious about her experience of moving and studying abroad, winning the audition for her job, and also her pedagogical approach to training the next generation of musician.

Therefore, I was delighted to have the chance to talk to her where I began by asking how she came to play the violin.

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Hello and welcome to Harmonically Speaking, the podcast that meets high achievers from the field of music and gives you an insight into their lives.

I'm Macdara Ó Seireadáin, a clarinettist in the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and my guest today is internationally renowned Irish pianist Finghin Collins.

Born in Dublin, Finghin studied in the RIAM and the Geneva Conservatoire, and is a multiple competition winner, most notably winning the Clara Haskil Competition in 1999. As a soloist and chamber musician he performs worldwide, and alongside this busy performing career, he is artistic director of the New Ross Piano festival and Music for Galway, and is chair of the jury for both the Clara Haskil and Dublin international piano competitions.

In early 2024, during a tour of Ireland with the Ficino Ensemble, where we were performing Penderecki’s magnificent sextet, we sat down to talk, and I began by asking what drew him to the piano, and when he decided to pursue a life in music.

He also talked about the importance of finding the right teacher, what he listens for when sitting on a competition jury, and how he would like to see mental training for musicians become more commonplace.

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Hello and welcome to Harmonically Speaking, the podcast that meets high achievers from the field of music and gives you an insight into their lives.

I'm Macdara Ó Seireadáin, a clarinettist in the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and throughout the series I’ll be talking to orchestral musicians and soloists, conductors, administrators, instrument makers and more, finding out what sparked their passion, their career to date and their plans and hopes for the future.

We’ll also hear about the challenges and setbacks they’ve faced along the way, the lucky breaks and any advice that they wish to pass on.

So whether you a fellow musician, an aficionado, or simply curious I invite you to join me and hope you find these conversations insightful, educational and inspirational.

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