Sentimental Work: Schubert’s Eighth and Ninth symphonies

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It might seem strange to some people for me to come to Schubert after so many years playing Baroque and medieval music. What they don’t realise is that I started learning the cello aged 15, and the pieces I was playing were full of Romantic music. I only started studying the viola da gamba when I was 24. So for me, it’s very special to return to this kind of music; and I feel like I’m approaching it from a different direction from most conductors, who are more familiar with Stravinsky, Strauss, Bruckner and Brahms. Maybe they’re used to orchestras of 120 players, whereas Le Concert des Nations is three times smaller than that. Moreover, I was one of the only people in the ensemble who’d played Schubert before – the repertoire was quite new to almost 90 per cent of the players!..