Exhibition 2: Classical in the UK

After the launch of the Fly On The Wall project in 2015, we began a broader look at the extraordinary fabric of the British classical music industry. Reaching out to producers, engineers and artists, we went behind the scenes at studio sessions and private locations across the UK to capture the artists in their daily lives.

This second collection presents a gallery of these moments. Uncut performances from a Hyperion recording venue at Wyastone with Ibragimova, Gerhardt, Hamelin and Tiberghien. A flawless audition tape by the Maxwell quartet from the Menuhin Hall. A quartet session with the Dorics for Chandos. The unrivalled excellence of Angela Hewitt in London. A private trio performance with Pavel Kolesnikov before a BBC live broadcast. And the return to the concert stage by industry icon Richard Goode at London's Royal Festival Hall.

On 25th May 2015, we began a series of videos shot at Wyastone Concert Hall in Wales. Hidden deep in the Monmouth valley, the hall is a gem of a recording venue, used by many of the key independent classical record labels. This first video is of violist Alina Ibragimova and pianist Cedric Tiberghien, rehearsing Mozart the evening before their recording sessions were to due to begin.

The Wyastone collection came about following the launch of the Fly On The Wall project online three months earlier. Excited by the response to our first five videos, we decided to reach out to our network of contacts. We heard about the Wyastone venue, and the immaculate Hyperion recordings produced there.

The hall itself was built in 1992 by Nimbus Records, during the golden age of recording. After 17 years producing records from the site, the label decided to build a studio of uncompromising quality on the estate. Based on the classic shoe-box design, it was to be unrivelled in both acoustics and location providing artists with a perfect sanctuary in which to focus and engineers with ideal acoustic conditions. Soon after, with the formation of the Nimbus Foundation, the hall was offered to other labels to share the benefits of the hall.

This film is a clip from our third Wyastone session. On the evening of the 25th, Alina and Cedric had just arrived following the 3 hour drive up from London. The project was a part of a series of Hyperion releases of the complete Mozart Sonatas for violin and piano and plan was to quickly rehearse the following day's works. When we arrived the duo had been rehearsing in the hall for a couple of hours.

We decided to capture this moment. So we dimmed the lights, put up a couple of spotlights and quickly put some microphones in place. We asked the duo to play one piece a couple of times.

And we filmed.

On November 4th 2017, we met violist Elliot Perks during a private recording at the Menuhin Hall, the centrepiece of Yehudi Menuhin School. Elliot was a member of the Maxwell String Quartet, a young group who had just won first prize at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition.

Elliot had been a student at the school himself, and was also now teaching there. The quartet used the hall for rehearsals when they could. From 2017 to 2019 the quartet would tour extensively, culminating in a USA debut in January 2019 and a debut CD release on Linn Records due for March the same year.

The hall was built in 2006, satisfying a need by the school for a dedicated performance space. Today it is used regularly for external recordings and by staff and students to further the mission of the school.

The video was shot there on February 17th 2019 in one single uncut take of Haydn's Op.76 No.5.

The third film in the collection was filmed on May 25th, 2016 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The pianist is Richard Goode, captured the morning ahead of his evening recital.

The hall holds an iconic status in the UK classical music scene. Built in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain, is has a capacity of 2700 people and is one the most important venues for orchestral concerts in the UK. For a solo pianist, it represents a setting of huge significance.

Richard is a legend amongst pianists. However, even though he had reached his early 70s, he had rarely agreed to be filmed. In light of this, we were approached by his UK agents with a view to including a short film in our project. They told us he would be performing a major concert at the Royal Festival Hall. He would also be alone in the hall at 9am.

The film here captures that moment. Richard had just arrived on stage and was acclimatising himself to the piano and the cavernous space, discussing the sound with his wife Marcia. In the background, staff quietly continue to prepare the hall. Placing the score on the piano, he asks if we'd like him to play. One private performance, from one of the great masters of our time.

The fourth film in the collection is a performance of Rostropovich's Moderato by cellist Alban Gerhardt. The film was shot on 26th September, 2015 as part of the Wyastone Concert Hall series.

In this film, we see Alban immediately after the end of the studio day. The album being recorded for Hyperion was the complete set of Rostropovich's Encores and this was the piece's first known recording. This live performance was captured immediately after finishing the recorded takes.

In May 2016 we were approached by the Doric Quartet's UK agent. They told us about their client - an 'exciting and tenacious' string quartet and that they had seen our series online. The group were about to record their fifth album with Chandos Records and invited us to document the moment.

This film was shot on May 24th, 2016 during sessions at Potton Hall in Norfolk. Formerly a barn, the studio has been operating since its conversion in the early 1990s when an amateur organ collector who stored instruments there was convinced by a friend to convert it into a recording studio. It remains a staple in the UK recording scene to this day.

The music performed here is an excerpt from Schubert's Quartet in G major.

The third film included from the Wystone series is a performance of Gershwin's Lisa by legendary pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin.

Marc is a key solo recording artist with Hyperion, with over 89 albums to his name with the label. On this occasion he had joined forces with the Takacs Quartet to record an album of music by César Franck and Claude Debussy.

After three days the quartet had physically and mentally invested all their energy into the project. Marc had been involved in just the Franck. And so, as the quartet retired after the final take to their hotel, Marc stayed behind with us for a personal performance.

While we were initially worried Marc might be tired, it quickly became clear - as he chatted with his producer over the talkback - that we were witnessing a moment of natural, playful music-making. A moment of release for the pianist.

The music performed here is the second of two films, Gershwin's Lisa, arranged by Earl Wild.

In 2018, we were introduced to pianist Pavel Kolesnikov. A superstar soloist, he had won one of the world's most important piano prizes in 2012, the Honens piano competition. Now, six years later he had formed a new chamber group, Trio Aventure, with violinist Elina Buksha and Aurelien Pascale. The group wanted to make a film in private, ahead of a round of radio broadcasts and festival appearances.

So we set up a session. The film was shot on 27th March 2018, and features a radical interpretation of Rameaux's La Livri. Originally for trio, the version here begins with the version for solo harpsichord. However, as the opening concludes the music morphs into a version for trio once more.

On 22nd April 2021, we filmed Angela Hewitt performing Beethoven in a private session in London. One of the world's greatest pianists, Angela's touring schedule had been heavily affected by the global pandemic. She told us how in particular, it had been impossible to attend her scheduled performance at New York’s 92nd Street Y. And how the venue had organised a series of exclusive live-streamed concerts direct from artists' home-cities to share with its audiences.

This selected piece was the Rondo from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28.