We Are Family – the 1979 hit song – could have been penned for Freddy Kempf and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The relationship between the concert pianist and the Orchestra goes back to 1985 when, aged just eight years old, Kempf made his concerto debut performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.12 in A major, K.414.
He’s the son of celebrated concert pianists, the grandson of a talented cellist and the great grandson of an equally talented organist, but Alexander Shelley, the newly appointed Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, is very much his own man – and poised to open a new chapter in the RPO’s glittering history.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is proud to announce the appointment of Alexander Shelley, ‘a conductor of superlative gifts’, as its new Principal Associate Conductor. Already appointed as Music Director-designate of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, he will join the select list of esteemed artists who currently conduct the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Following his performance with the RPO and Natasha Paremski last month at the Royal Albert Hall (The Great Classics), conductor Eduardo Portal talks to Hannah Nepil about what it takes to be a professional conductor.
Who can resist the whiff of danger? For Eduardo Portal, it’s exactly what makes his job so thrilling. ‘Conducting is high risk,’ he says. ‘Only yesterday, when I was conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, I felt that the concert was entirely in my hands because the players were reacting so accurately to my slightest gesture. So I felt that if I performed well, then the concert would be a success. But if I made a mess of it – well…’ He trails off.
