Classical Music

Describe your instrument
‘A woodwind instrument with a dark singing sound.’

Best thing about it?
‘Its versatility. You can play from classical to jazz.’

Worst thing about it?
‘It can sound very squeaky on a bad day.’

How often do you practise?
‘Most days, and every day when I’m performing.’

Why did you choose the clarinet?
‘My father played it as an amateur and there was one in the house when I was seven.’
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Do you ever wish you played another instrument?
‘If I could have been a really good cellist, that would have been wonderful, too.’

Where do you sit in the orchestra?
‘Towards the back – just in front of the percussion at the back of the woodwind section next to the bassoons.’

What can you hear where you sit?
‘You hear a lot of brass and percussion and not as much of the strings as the audience do, which is a shame. In some music the timpani and brass can be defeaning. But you can’t really perform with ear plugs although, very occasionally in rehearsals in some modern pieces, I have used them.

How much is your instrument worth?
‘It’s one of the cheapest instruments. A very good one, like the one I play on now, would cost about £3,000. But you need two of them, in different keys.’

Favourite pieces for the instrument?
‘Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet and Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony.’

When are you playing next?
‘On Friday at Maida Vale studios with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.’

Tell us a joke about clarinet players
‘What do a clarinet and a law suit have in common? Everyone is relieved when the case is closed.’