Profiles: Paul Daniel

Megan Peel talks to Paul Daniel, conductor and Hesse Student (1977)

'All roads lead to Aldeburgh'

I caught up with Paul on the Hepworth Lawn during rehearsals for Death in Venice in June 2007, on a beautiful sunny day with the Britten–Pears Orchestra members playing Frisbee around us.

When was the first time that you came to Aldeburgh?

Let's see - it was while I was an undergrad at Cambridge - oh God, you will be able to figure out my age! - it was 1977 and I was a Hesse student along with a few friends from university. The Hesse students travel around in a pack usually, but one day I just went off on my own to help turn pages at Blythburgh Church for a concert rehearsal. It was a crystal clear perfect day, like this one, and I snuck up to the tower room via the spiral staircase with 360º views around the countryside. They were playing the Ravel String Quartet and the music wafted around the church. It was moment when it seemed that all the coordinates fit. Everything was possible, dreams, aspirations everything locked together in one moment. I knew at that time that I wanted to be a professional musician, but I had no idea how I was going to make a living at it, or really how to go about it.

What was the musical highlight for you in that year's Festival?

There was an incredible moment that same summer when Murray Perhaia accompanied Peter Pears doing Schumann's 'Dichterliebe' - you know, the song cycle about a poet's love - just after the year that Benjamin Britten had died. It was extraordinarily poignant and no where else in the world at that moment could this have happened the way that it did.

What was your first experience at Aldeburgh as a musician?

I played the piano in the orchestra for a production of the opera 'Alice' that was written by my mate from Cambridge, Matthew Best and directed by Nicholas Hytner in the Jubilee Hall in 1979. It was quite a risk for the festival people to take with this small chamber opera. I also managed to camp out on the beach between Aldeburgh and Thorpeness and woke up to the sound of curlews or plovers - oh, what is the name of that bird that is not a seagull that runs along the beach? Who can we ask? I know, Rosamund will know.

Did you make your professional conducting debut with us?

Yes, I came back to conduct 'Façade' with the London Sinfonietta.

What is it about this place that makes it so special?

There is a tradition here that is being built on and being evolved all the time. You know that when you are here you will work bloody hard because of the tutors, and you will be brought up with expert help. There is no question about expecting any less than complete focus and concentration. There is a calm that allows you to completely focus on what you are doing.

What is it like conducting the Britten–Pears Orchestra for Death in Venice?

Orchestrally, the standard is going up and there is a worldwide appeal for this sort of experience. They have perspective on what they are doing and it is an enormous highlight for me. Donald Mitchell and I sat down about 10 years ago and discussed doing a cycle of Britten operas and this was to be the end of the cycle. Luckily, Steuart Bedford was here today to help us figure out how to fit everyone into the pit!

Editor's note: We are thrilled to announce that Aldeburgh Festival's Death in Venice has been nominated for an award in the Opera and Music Theatre category in the 2008 Royal Philharmonic Society music awards.

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