Interview with Jonathan Bloxham

"Conductors should try to help each musical ensemble preserve its unique identity."

After turning to conducting in his mid-twenties, Jonathan Bloxham served as Assistant Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Mirga Gražynite-Tyla from 2016 to 2018, assisting Paavo Järvi, and was invited several times to conduct the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Since then, he has conducted various orchestras across Europe.
He has recorded albums with the London Symphony Orchestra (2022) and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (2021, Strauss and César Franck), the latter described by Musicweb International as "irresistible."
As Artistic Director of the Northern Chords Festival, he has commissioned works from young composers such as Vlad Maistorovici, Jack Sheen, and Freya Waley Cohen. Jonathan Bloxham studied conducting with Sian Edwards, Michael Seal, Nicolas Pasquet, and Paavo Järvi, after having studied cello at the Menuhin School and the Guildhall. A former cellist, he made his concert debut at the Berlin Philharmonie in 2012.
Jonathan Bloxham is currently the music director of the Lucerne Theatre.

You were initially a founding member of the Busch Trio, with whom you performed regularly at Wigmore Hall, the Southbank Centre, and on BBC Radio 3. Why did you want to become a conductor?
As soon as I could play a few notes on the cello, I joined my local youth orchestra in the north of England. I immediately fell in love with the symphonic sound, the energy of playing together, the concentration, the discipline, and from a young age, I would look at scores to see how everything fit together. A few years later, while studying at the Yehudi Menuhin School, I told the music director that I would like to try conducting one day... and his advice was very clear: Wait! And that's exactly what I did. I spent most of my twenties playing chamber music, learning to listen, to adapt, to compromise, how to work together... I believe all these skills are very important for a conductor. When I was 26, I had the opportunity to conduct a student orchestra in London, and even in those first moments on the podium I felt at home.

Do you still play the cello today?
Not enough! I'm very fortunate to still play some chamber music concerts. I miss that repertoire. And I love the physical contact with the instrument. But when I decided to switch from cello to conducting, I knew it had to be 100%. Conducting demands my complete concentration, and for me, pursuing both professionally would be a compromise.

Your conducting career began with an invitation from Paavo Järvi. How did that come about?
I was very fortunate to participate in masterclasses with Paavo Järvi in ​​2015 and 2016. His clear, practical, and technically oriented advice has had a tremendous influence on my conducting style. He then kindly put me in touch with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, who booked me for their summer festival concerts—the very series that Paavo first conducted with them. I must say that I also learned a great deal from this orchestra—conducting it is like driving a super-fast sports car!

How did you come to conduct opera?
I fell in love with opera while studying at the Royal College of Music. As fate would have it, many of my friends from my first year in London were opera singers. Before that, my musical world was centered on solo and chamber music for cello. As a cellist, I tried to play more and more like a singer, with the bow being the breath, the articulation being different vowels or consonants at the beginning of a note or word. In the summer of 2018, I assisted at the Glyndebourne Festival, a magical world of opera, and I think it was a natural progression from there... I was hooked!

Since the 2023/24 season, you have been Music Director at the Lucerne Theatre. What are your ideas and goals for this theatre?
This first year was about getting to know the theatre and the city, listening to my new colleagues, and of course, our audience. I was made to feel very welcome here! It's important to me that we always maintain a very open and creative approach to opera and encourage a willingness to take risks in rehearsals and performances. Trust is so crucial for this – between musicians and directors, between the orchestra and the singers... we all need to support each other. From a musical standpoint, I'm very happy that we're opening the next season with Mozart's "Idomeneo"!

Which works do you enjoy conducting most?
That changes almost daily – the quick answer is: whatever is on the music stand in front of me! But from an operatic perspective: if bel canto operas and Mozart are on the program every season, that makes me very happy!

You have conducted in many places around the world. How do you experience the different cultures?
I am very fortunate to be able to travel a lot for work. Of course, every country has a different culture, but what is perhaps even more wonderful is that even two orchestras in two neighboring cities have completely different cultures – a different approach to sound, to interpretation, to rubato... I think it is so important that we conductors try to help each musical ensemble
preserve its unique identity.

What other passions do you have besides music?
I'm probably a cliché – wine (mostly red!) and food! During the COVID lockdowns, I organized a Zoom cooking competition that got quite serious. Professional chefs came to judge our culinary creations – unfortunately, of course, only based on our descriptions and presentation!

Interview by Florian Schär | Classicpoint.net | July 1, 2024
© Image: Kaupo Kikkas