We’re so excited to welcome back Music Director Laureate Nicholas McGegan (Nic) for his 1000th concert with PBO: The Surprises of Love,’ a full program of French Baroque dance music.
We interviewed Nic before the show:
1. What does this music mean to you?
I have always loved performing French music and PBO has always played it very well.
2. What is your favorite baroque dance, and why?
Each baroque dance has its own character: some are elegant, some wild & vigorous, some delicate. If I have a favourite, I suppose it would be the Loure. It has a very individual spiky rhythmic signature and it is wonderful to watch a professional dance one. It takes a lot of energy even though the tempo is quite slow.
3. Tell us about a fond memory with Philharmonia
Since I have given about a thousand concerts with Philharmonia, choosing one fond memory is a bit of a tall order. Obviously any performance that involved Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson must be in my top ten. One that also stands out was performing Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream on the 200th anniversary of his birth and knowing that one of his descendants was in the audience.
4. What living person do you most admire, and why?
Mark Morris, of course, because performing with his dancers is always so inspiring. Their expressive gestures are the physical embodiment of our musical ones.
5. What is the first album that you ever bought?
My parents gave me a beautiful recording of Mozart’s marriage of Figaro when I was about six years old. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Irmgard Seefried and George London were in the cast; Karajan conducted. I am happy to say that this recording is still in print after at least sixty years. I still listen to it.
6. What is your most treasured possession?
Several women in my family were artists, including my mother, her aunt and one in the early 19th century. I have inherited a lovely collection of their work which we proudly display in our homes in Berkeley and Scotland. There are other examples in Art Galleries in the UK and the US. A few years ago, I was delighted to find that the DeYoung Museum has one by my great aunt.
Make sure to grab tickets to this delightful program—click here to learn more!
