Violinist Anthony Marwood. Picture: Pia Johnson
Violinist Anthony Marwood. Picture: Pia Johnson

Peta Stewart

For Anthony Marwood, the award-winning British violinist who performs the Elgar Violin Concerto on 5 September, 2024, with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, this concert is very special.

“It’s only the second time I have played a concert in South Africa – I performed on the Concert Series platform a couple of years ago – but I feel this is my ‘soul home’. I fell in love instantly with the country and the people when I first visited more than 20 years ago. I come here as often as I can, and two years ago was lucky enough to buy a beautiful house in the remarkable village of Koringberg in the Swartland. It’s a magical place and I have a wonderful circle of friends who also revel in the breathtaking beauty of that landscape.”

Boston Symphony, London Philharmonic

He says he is delighted to be able to spend a little time there at the height of the flower season before he rushes back to the UK for the new music year.

Having Marwood with the CPO is very special too, for he has such an incredible reputation abroad with so many big orchestras from the Boston Symphony to the London Philharmonic. He was appointed an MBE in the 2018 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List, having already been made a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music in 2013.

Florestan Trio

Marwood was for 16 years violinist of the Florestan Trio which recorded much of the piano trio repertoire.

“I started the Peasmarsh Chamber Music Festival (close to my home in Sussex) which now has an international reputation and has been running for 26 years. I also enjoy commissioning new works, especially from composers I have a close relationship with, such as Thomas Adès, who wrote me his violin concerto. The process is full of surprises – both how they write for my ‘voice’ and what I bring to their compositional imagination. It’s a great thrill to tread such new paths. I have a number of new works being written at the moment, with premieres in Los Angeles and London.”

Although neither parent was a musician, “much to everyone’s surprise, they produced four children who all took up music for a living. Since I am the youngest, I cannot remember a time when music was not all around me. I was very clear about wanting to play the violin, and was frustrated that the local teacher didn’t approve of starting studies before the age of seven. When the time came,  I apparently took to it right away. My local music teachers were exceptional, and I was lucky to live in a locality (not too far from London) where the music-making scene for young people was quite vibrant. I am only too aware that the current generation is suffering from a general lack of funding for music education – it’s shockingly negligent.”

Yellow Barn Festival

Marwood pursued what was then considered an unconventional and diverse path which is says nowadays is considered a strength. “My teacher from the age of 13, Emanuel Hurwitz, was the most inspiring teacher imaginable. His huge breadth of knowledge and experience, great humour and joy really opened up my world, and his holistic approach affected the scale of my musical activities. For a long time the ‘business’ was a little confused  – I mixed solo concerts with chamber music, directing orchestras from the violin, and was even involved with movement-based and theatrical performances. “

Now he enjoys a wide circle of music making internationally as a soloist, chamber musician. He co-chair of Chamber Music at the Royal Academy of Music, he is artistic director, soloist/director with orchestras, participates in several annual festivals like the Yellow Barn Festival in Vermont (he arrived in South Africa after five weeks of festivals in America) a masterclass course at IMS Prussia Cove,

He is now totally consumed by his involvement in music.

“I’ve always been connected to the world of acting, which was my other passion growing up and presented a difficult career choice in my teenage years and I have been surrounded by actors all my life: my partner is an actor, and Prunella Scales of Fawlty Towers (and married to distinguished actor Timothy West) was my landlady in London for 11 years. She’s not at all like the character she played…”

Carlo Bergonzi violin

He has always been impressed with the CPO, having heard the orchestra play often and “the atmosphere at their concerts is fantastic – such commitment and every time a feeling of excitement.”

He is also looking forward to performing the Elgar.

“It is one of the greatest works for violin and orchestra – a huge and profound statement and challenging to play in a satisfying sense. The journey towards the magic of the final cadenza and ultimate blazing reconciliation at the end of the work is monumental, full of tender poetry and fireworks. For this performance I will play on my Carlo Bergonzi violin, made in 1736. Bergonzi was a great and influential Cremonese maker, right up there with Stradivarius and Guarneri. His instruments are rare and have become highly sought after. I was extremely lucky to have the violin bought for me by a syndicate of investors.”

Anthony Marwood will also join John Woodland for the pre-concert talk at 6.45pm.

What: Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra Spring Symphonies
Who: Violinist Anthony Marwood
Where: Cape Town City Hall
When:
September 5, 2024 7.30pm
Tickets: Artscape Dial-a-Seat, 021 421 7695, Webtickets
Dress rehearsal tickets: Quicket for 11 am rehearsal
WS