It seems that accessibility is a real buzz word for people involved in managing arts organisations. And quite rightly so; in a world where classical music is no longer the exclusive privilege of the wealthy there is really nothing stopping anyone from listening to classical music. But, the question is, do they really want to?
In part the image of snobbery does still persist. Recently after an IBP concert I was told by a friend that she had really enjoyed it, but then she qualified this by saying “oh, but I don’t know anything about it” as if that somehow made her opinion less valid and less important. Unwittingly she had set my mind working. Perhaps this is a common perception – that one needs to know something about classical music in order to be able to enjoy and appreciate it.
In my opinion this view is totally redundant, but part of making what we do truly accessible must involve debunking this myth. There is surely a way of doing this without caving in to unimaginative programming based around a romanticised version of Pachelbel’s Kanon. In fact, how about setting our sights much higher and aiming to build on the existing knowledge of our audiences at whatever level, without excluding the classical music “virgins”. In an age where digital downloads are a rapidly growing form of distribution, an orchestra these days has to appeal to the younger demographic as well as preserving established older audiences.
Sir Henry Wood seemed to find a fantastic solution to this problem of accessibility in the 1890s by putting on his Promenade concerts, which we now know simply as the Proms. The premise was excellent, basically telling the masses “we’re all having a massive musical party, why not come on down and join us?”. This has created a truly accessible forum for musical excellence to the exclusion of none, and gives out an all-embracing image of classical music.
So how can we do this today? Which methods do we have at our disposal to reach out to audiences? Well, of course, to begin with we have the ubiquitous Facebook. And every group these days seems to have a website within ten minutes of first playing a note together. The technology here is helpful in providing a try before you buy option with access to videos, MP3s, pictures and biographies. A comprehensive overview is available instantly. This is a fantastic aid for anyone clinging to the side of the classical music swimming pool. And for those wishing to ditch their arm bands entirely there is always iTunes just a click away. There are no barriers for people who wish to take the plunge.
But of course, whether virtual or physical, you need to get your audience there in the first place. In terms of working this one out, it seems that Gabriel Prokofiev knows a thing or two, as shown by the huge popularity of his NONCLASSICAL nights in which is pioneering work has taken contemporary music and stretched it to its absolute limit. Perhaps the biggest difference between that and strict “classical music” is a question of relevance. NONCLASSICAL gives us classical music for this generation and, understandably, people want to know what music of our generation sounds like. Demonstrating the relevance of classical music is a trickier issue. And here we are, back in our beginners swimming lane, puffing furiously into our arm bands.
The fantastic truth of it seems to be, however, that you don’t really need to know anything about classical music to be able to enjoy it. That’s the job of the musicians! I might go and see some ballet and enjoy it but I don’t know the first thing about it. If you go to a concert no-one will quiz you on the lost works of Hasse, your opinion of Robert Levin’s reconstruction of Mozart’s C Minor Mass or your thoughts on Bach sung in English. We only hope that you enjoy our concerts. The Baroque era gave us the most musically accessible works available. There is no catch.
Based on the optimistic idea that everyone has a sense of humour (apart, perhaps, from people working at airline check-in desks when confronted with an instrument) we’ve been promoting ourselves using cartoons. And for our upcoming Journey of Discovery series we’ll be collaborating with a photographer to bring you some extraordinary landscapes in the spirit of discovery. It is probably also worth pointing out that, despite being musicians, we really are fairly normal. In fact we go to the nearest pub after every concert, and invite you to join us. Musicians and beer have been inextricably linked throughout the centuries and we are delighted to report that we are no exception. It’s another part of historical performance which we zealously respect. Although none of us has yet become so drunk as to start a fight with a bassoonist, as J.S. Bach one famously did outside the Black Bear pub in Weimar.
So, do keep an eye on us! We’re always happy to hear from you and it’s crucial in shaping what we do. If only I had a swimming metaphor with which to finish. Ah well, I suppose we’re only human.

The International Baroque Players are a talented group of “smart and stylish twenty-somethings” that formed themselves out of one of the EUBO incarnations and Aldeburgh. Although they have a recognised director in Johannes Pramsohler, they give the strong impression of working as a collective – and gain musically as a result. Their concert at St Giles in the Fields (18 Feb) had the title of “Friends for Life – Handel and Telemann”, a reflection on both the two composers, and, it seems, on the nature of the group itself. They particularly impressed in Telemann’s three Concertos for Four Solo Violins – not only extraordinary works in their own right, but a real test of the depth of musical talent in the orchestra, as every one of the violinists had a chance to have their solo spot. And it was clear that there were very obviously no “back-desk” players – all excelled. The evening opened with Handel’s Overture to Orlando, a taste of the high musical standard to come. Even for the most experienced of players, the first few bars of a concert can be fraught, but these talented young players demonstrated perfect blend and cohesion from the start. Telemann’s well-named Sinfonia Spirituosa in D was a rousing opening to the second half, as was the following Handel Sonata a 5 (HWV 288), giving Johannes Pramsohler a prominent solo role. They also played a couple of Handel Concerti Grossi. This was an excellent concert by some very talented and enterprising players.

A group of twenty-somethings playing in Soho hotspots and commissioning cartoons as publicity: not your average baroque ensemble, perhaps. The International Baroque Players (IBP) is the latest group to take an up to date approach to promoting and communicating classical music. And it has the walk to match the talk, with all members, drawn from nine countries, in demand among the top European period bands.

The group was formed late in 2008, following a Britten-Pears Young Artists Programme in which the bulk of the group was participating. “It was one of those courses where everything comes together brilliantly, musically as well as socially,” explains general manager and viola player Aliye Cornish. “We substituted in a few people from the European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO) , because quite a few of us had done that as well. Because we all knew each other, we were all excited about embarking on this adventure together. That was what made people want to come back and play for free, sleep on sofas for a week, and all sorts of things.”
The group’s emphasis is on communication, youthful enthusiasm, and putting on well-known music alongside more unusual repertoire – including a recent performance of an unrecorded violin concerto by Pisendel and a “Fast and Furious” programme of Italian virtuosity. Other engagements include an appearance in February at London Limelight, the 100 Club’s night of “classical music in a rock and roll setting”, with a programme of Vivaldi, Hasse and Platti. “It’s a great opportunity for us”, says Cornish of the Limelight gig, “because you get to reach a whole new audience – people that wouldn’t necessarily go to a concert and sit down and listen to a symphony all the way through. So we decided to put together a programme showing why we love playing baroque music – little gems that help to explain the allure of the baroque era to those that haven’t necessarily explored it much before.”

Putting concerti grossi in a bar setting could be cringeworthy in the wrong hands, but one suspects IBP will be wise to its audience. “We’re hoping to get people laughing and really engaging with what we’re doing” says Cornish. “I don’t think anyone wants to hear us talking about biographical detail in that sort of setting. The idea is to have a bit of a laugh and a really good time playing some wonderful music.”

And the fun doesn’t stop on-stage. IBP has commissioned cartoon publicity from a German graphic-designer contact of Johannes Pramsohler. “He did one for us for a concert of Music for the Dresden Nobility in September, so he had four composers on a plane drinking champagne and gin and tonic, with some saucy looking air stewardesses. People don’t tend to promote concerts like that, they don’t bring out the fun element in what they do, and we just think that’s a terrible shame.”

IBP is currently planning projects for later in 2010. For more information, visit www.internationalbaroqueplayers.com.

Chris Elcombe

We have a little diversion here on the IBP blog from our usual sales pitches and the like. We're going to start publishing articles here (from time to time) from members of the ensemble on different aspects of what we do, whether it's performance practice, the role of the performer, why we do what we do etc....

We'd like you to step aside for the moment and consider the idea of spontaneity in music, put to you by one of our viola players and General Manager, Aliye Cornish.

All too often I find myself in situations where I am listening to a performance and, by all accounts, it is very good. The playing is technically assured, the sound can be manipulated to great effect, the intonation is flawless and the performance is carried off with panache and personality. Yet somehow I’m not transported, I don’t shiver and I don’t feel genuine excitement for the music. Is it naive to expect this from every performance? Perhaps, but when I have been fortunate enough to attend a performance which inspires all of these things I feel that something different is at work. There seems to be an extra-musical element which inspires a different energy in the audience. Often these performances are distinguished by a sense of spontaneity, where the audience is literally hanging on for the next part of the story. To communicate effectively this is surely a crucial part of the performance. In my opinion the difference in these performances comes down to different attitudes in the musicians.

The way in which we prepare for a performance is inevitably going to influence the performance in terms of our technical ability and accuracy. However to be truly free and spontaneous in a performance one must have less attachment to a particular musical outcome. When the desired view of how a piece should sound is set in stone in the mind of the performer then it is likely to only ever deviate from this in a minimal way. A more open approach should not be confused with a casual attitude towards the music, rather the opposite. It is caring about the music which should be one’s motivation for addressing their attitudes towards its execution. This openness of attitude relies to a great degree on a solid technique, as more freedom can emerge when a player has a full artillery of tones, textures, articulations and other musical nuances at their disposal. Thus the time spent in practice rooms is used to its maximum advantage and the musicianship of the performer(s) is given more of a chance to be demonstrated. To a degree this is still possible in larger ensembles although obviously more aspects of the performance such as articulations, bowings and breaths need to be standardized in advance. Here the extra-musical element is heavily reliant on the director, which is generally easier to detect for the audience. For example, Bernard Haitink is internationally known as a “great” conductor. In rehearsals he will never over-rehearse, supports the musical intentions of the players during solo passages (even when they are 60 years his junior and far less experienced) and will often cast a magic spell over an audience with his complete control juxtaposed with a large degree of musical freedom. This to me seems like a marvellous example of the synergy possible between creativity and accuracy in performance. I suspect that part of this comes with maturity as a person as well as a musician, and therefore to expect to encounter it constantly would seem ridiculous.

I suppose that as an ensemble one frequently seeks to attain this experience. This is one of the aspects about the work of the International Baroque Players that seems to make it stand out - in a chamber ensemble of 20 or so players it can be rare to experience a sense of risk and danger! This is part of what we are constantly building for ourselves and it is one of our best attributes. To challenge our pre-conceptions, to take a leap of faith as an ensemble and to frequently surprise ourselves. These are all things that help keep our work fresh and stimulating. We hope that if you haven't yet encountered the group that this might inspire you to do so. And if you have, well, we hope that we've provided food for thought.

Aliye Cornish

Well, it's nearly the end of the month and so we're looking ahead to everything that we have to look forward to here at IBP. There's a small feature on us in the next issue of Early Music Today, and the Feb 13th issue of Classical Music Magazine will feature an in depth look at the ensemble. This is all part of the build up of course to our February concerts!

We're looking forward to returning to London Limelight, the informal classical music night in the heart of the city. If you like what you hear that night and decide to come to hear us in St Giles in the Fields a couple of days later we can give you a ticket for £5 if you present your Limelight ticket at our box office. Well worth it for a night of top-notch entertainment. We like to look after our audiences wherever possible!

With four concerts in a week and plenty of media attention it's inevitable that the IBP are becoming ubiquitous! So join us, it's always a good night when we're around...

Firstly, a huge thank you to everyone who attended our concerts in Oxford and London this week. We had two wonderfully enthusiastic audiences and we hope that everyone enjoyed it as much as they seemed to.

The Oxford Times reviewed our concert on Monday 18th January in the Holywell Music Room. The text of it is included below.



Money-savvy Bach, and cash-strapped Scarlatti: they may not have had much in common financially, but they had musical links, as this concert set out to prove. Other links in the musical chain were Vivaldi, Corelli, Bach, Geminiani, and a rarity: Charles Avison, who was born in Newcastle on Tyne in 1709, and studied in London with Geminiani.

An obvious link between the composers was that three of them were represented by Concerti Grossi, each scored for string orchestra, and each featuring trademark contrasts between slow and fast movements. Corelli’s op 6, no 1 came first, and rapidly got into its stride with an energetic and furious Allegro, followed by a dreamy Largo that could easily have been penned by Vivaldi. The string sound, gutsy where appropriate, was most effectively backed by Christopher Bucknall’s harpsichord and Magnus Andersson’s theorbo.

There were appropriate contrasts, too, in the next linked piece, Avison’s Concerto Grosso after Scarlatti. Avison must have had some top-notch musicians under his command if the virtuoso Con Furia and Vivacemente movements were originally played with the clarity and speed given to them here. After a piece inspired by Scarlatti we heard the man himself – his Concerto Grosso no 3, which has a jolly opening Allegro, then a more contemplative Largo, then jumps back to another Allegro. Scarlatti can sound austere, but he seemed most approachable in this performance.

Two concertos for solo instruments were included in the mix, Bach’s Violin Concerto in E major, with Johnannes Pramsohler as a discreet soloist who sometimes retired a little too much into the background, and Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in G, despatched with confidence by Tomasz Pokrzywinski.

Drawing all the musical strands together in conclusion was Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso after Corelli. The Players seemed particularly at home in this piece, and their enthusiasm conveyed itself to the audience very effectively

Giles Woodforde, Oxford Times

If you're based in or around London and like being entertained then please join us tomorrow! We're playing at St George's Hanover Square at 7.30. All the details are on our Concerts page and you can find a taster of what we do on the Media page.

We played in the Holywell Music Room in Oxford last night and had a great time, despite the cold hall! It always strikes us how much people enjoy International Baroque Players concerts - the feedback is markedly more enthusiastic than other concerts that we participate in. Talent, hard work, multi-cultural approaches and friendship. A heady mix! And when one throws in boundless enthusiasm and fantastic music the potential is truly extraordinary.

So please, if you're free tomorrow night do come along. We're fun, we're exciting and although we're dedicated to our work we certainly don't take ourselves too seriously. We hope to see you tomorrow and have a glass of wine with you in the interval.

Well, half a glass maybe...