Welcome to Benjamin Marquise Gilmore and Andrej Power, our new Leaders

At what age did you start playing the violin, and what made you choose that instrument? Were there any memorable early experiences that made you realise you wanted to do this as a career?

Benjamin: My first love in music was opera (specifically ‘Non piu andrai’ from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, which I had on cassette tape) so originally I wanted to be a singer, but that was not to be. My aunt taught the violin at a music school and provided me with my first eighth-sized instrument, and my grandfather had been a violinist prior to becoming a conductor, so the violin was a natural choice. I had a false start aged four and picked it up again about three years later, having in the meantime learned a bit of piano. The decisive moment came when I went to hear Ruggiero Ricci give a solo recital of Bach and Paganini. Later on, when I was a student at music college, I got to have a lesson with Gordan Nikolic, who was then Leader of the LSO. He was not only an extraordinary violinist but also one of the freest and most original musicians I had ever encountered, and any preconceived notions I might have had about orchestral playing being something limiting or restrictive were shattered. That was when I first began to dream of one day joining the LSO.

Andrej: I was three years old. Everyone in my family is a musician; my father, grandfather and great-grandfather all played the violin, which makes me a fourth-generation violinist. I was absolutely convinced everyone in the world played an instrument until I was about five years old. Music was always a big part of everyday life in our family so I knew early on that this was something I really wanted to do!

Do you have any violin heroes?

Benjamin: When I was in my teens I was obsessed with the ‘old masters’ – Jascha Heifetz, David Oistrakh, Ginette Neveu, Joseph Szigeti and going back to Eugène Ysaÿe and Pablo de Sarasate – so much so that there was a time when I didn’t want to hear the sound of the violin unless it had the hiss and crackle of early recording technology in the background. I eventually got over that particular proclivity, though I still love all those old recordings. Today a lot of the playing I’m most fascinated with is in the field of historical performance: Giuliano Carmignola, Fabio Biondi, Shunske Sato and many more. I also love Leonidas Kavakos’ playing and have been lucky enough to accompany him in concertos on a few different occasions, and Isabelle Faust, who for me is the ultimate ‘renaissance musician’ among violinists, combining the greatest imaginable stylistic versatility with a unique and unmistakable voice of her own.

Andrej: Many! But if I had to choose a few they would be Jascha Heifetz, Leonid Kogan and David Nadien.

Are there any standout moments from your experience playing with the LSO so far? And what are you particularly looking forward to in the future with the LSO?

Benjamin: I’ve already mentioned my love of opera, so unsurprisingly I had an amazing time playing Janáček’s Katya Kabanova with Sir Simon Rattle, and the haunting and relatively little-known Dallapiccola’s Il prigioniero with Sir Antonio Pappano. I also tremendously enjoyed playing Bernstein’s Divertimento and Gershwin’s American in Paris with Gianandrea Noseda, and the recent Schubert/Zimmerman programme with François-Xavier Roth. Next season I look forward to working again with Nathalie Stutzmann, and for the first time with Barbara Hannigan. It’s always a privilege to travel the world and see different places, and as a musician one can sometimes take it for granted. I visited Seoul for the first time last year and can’t wait to return; I loved the city’s vibrancy, the food (of course), and the amazing mountains which begin right on the outskirts of the city and are very easy to reach. Closer to home, Paris is hard to beat, so I’m glad the LSO plays there quite regularly.

Andrej: I’m very much looking forward to working with Sir Antonio Pappano in October. I’m particularly excited to play Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony during that period.

What advice would you give to young people hoping to pursue a career as an orchestral musician?

Benjamin: I can’t pretend that timing and luck don’t have a great deal to do with it, it certainly feels that way for me. I think that in today’s world versatility is becoming increasingly important; the repertoire that orchestras play is gradually changing and expanding even if it may seem to be doing so slowly, modern instrument ensembles are working more and more with conductors from the world of historical performance and sometimes vice versa. In my own case, I definitely feel that openness to different stylistic approaches has been a huge asset. But I think one should always try and simply enjoy the music to the full.

Andrej: Practise!

Are there any other interesting things about you we should know?

Benjamin: My wife Hannah and I enjoy hiking whenever we can, particularly in her native South Carolina. I also enjoy cooking and mixing cocktails, and I am a mediocre but enthusiastic cyclist (my modest ambition in that field is to one day get to the top of Highgate hill without stopping and/or collapsing).

Andrej: In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family, cooking with friends and playing different types of games. I also have a great passion for cars!