Lesley Gwyther - 1st Violin
Q. What is your instrument/ position/ job title in the Orchestra?
A. I have been no.4 in the 1st violins for about 15 years. When I joined the Orchestra many years ago I was at the very back of the 2nd violins and gradually moved across to the 1sts and up through the section to where I am now.
Q. When did you join the Orchestra?
A. I actually joined the Orchestra in May 1978, which to date is 31 years ago, although I can't quite work out where all those years have gone! I must say that even after all this time I still love my job as much now as when I first started.
Q. What was your earliest musical experience?
A. Playing the recorder in primary school ( and actually being quite good at it!). Also, being Welsh, we all love to sing and I'm no exception - I sang in my primary school choir, and competed in lots of eisteddfods.
My earliest experience of listening to music was when I was given a portable record player for Christmas when I was about 6, along with 2 "singles" which I played constantly - one was "Sun Arise" by Rolf Harris, and the other "I Remember You" by Frank Ifield! I can still remember most of the words...
Q. If you could play a different instrument, which one would it be?
A. I don't really have any particular desire to play another musical instrument as I feel like I've spent my whole life trying to get to grips with the violin . . . but I would LOVE to sing in a West End show!
Q. What would you most like to do if you weren’t a musician?
A. I'm a great animal lover and if I wasn't a musician would love to work with animals in some way. Cats are most definitely my favourites,so running a cattery would be a possibility, although I can see I'd never want to give any of the cats back to their owners!
Q. What’s on your record/CD/MP3 Player/Spotify Playlist right now?
A. A variety of things, mostly non-classical aswell. Tom Jones figures very highly, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, James Taylor, quite a bit of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Handel concerti grossi, Boyce symphonies, Brahms violin sonatas and Elton John!
Q. What is your favourite Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra recording?
A. The recordings we made in the mid 1980s of the 4 symphonies by Robert Schumann, conducted by Marek Janowski.
Q. What is your most memorable moment with the Phil so far?
A. I think it has to be playing in Prague in a concert conducted by Libor Pesek, just after the Velvet Revolution, when Vaclav Havel had just been appointed President of the Czech Republic. At the start of the concert we were all on stage waiting for him to appear in his box and when he did the whole concert hall spontaneously rose to their feet,turned to face him and applauded so enthusiastically and for so long - it was incredibly moving. Then we gave a great performance of Smetana's Ma Vlast - it was an amazing night that has really stuck in my memory and I felt privileged to be there.
Q. What do you like to do with your free time outside music?
A. I love cooking and eating and go jogging (sometimes) to counteract that!I teach the violin and play chamber music, read, grow my own fruit and veg in a very small way; love visiting National Trust properties and love going for drives in my husband's Mazda MX5 with the roof down - nothing quite like it for real relaxation!
Q. What do you like most about Liverpool?
A. I love the character of the people here and I'm so pleased that Liverpool is at last becoming the city it always should have been following the Capital of Culture year. We have some great things going on here now, great galleries, museums, theatres, concerts, places to eat and drink, and the best thing is that people around the UK and around the world are now hearing about what a great place it is and are coming to visit us. Long may it continue!
