大象传媒

This new series of online interviews will reveal more about some of our players, their musical motivations, most memorable moments and the relationship that they have with their instruments.

This week we had a chat with 大象传媒 NOW cellist, Sandy Bartai, and discovered how music runs in his family, why he loves the social aspects of being a musician and how he enjoys creating art with homemade inks…

大象传媒 NOW: Hi Sandy, thanks for this long-distance interview for 大象传媒 NOW! Hope you are doing well. Can you explain how you started playing the cello please?

Sandy Bartai: My Dad, who is a double bass player, taught lots of cello pupils in the house when I was little. I was fascinated by the instrument and started asking to learn when I was too small even for the smallest size cello; I had to wait a couple of years until I was 6.

大象传媒 NOW: That’s a young age to start! You must have really connected with the cello as an instrument to choose to play it so young?

Sandy Bartai: It was a natural choice since my parents played bass and piano and my sister was already learning the violin. My younger brother plays the viola but although we often played chamber music as a family, we never quite got around to the Trout Quintet!

大象传媒 NOW: So, the cello has been a big part of your life for a very long time – how has it made a positive difference to you?

Sandy Bartai: Being a musician is such a sociable thing to do. From when I was very young - 7 or 8 years old - I was already playing some chamber music and I had so many opportunities to play in school orchestras, youth orchestras, and later in rock bands and working with dancers and film makers. Also, I'm very lucky that I've been able to travel to parts of the world that I might never have seen - for instance, Patagonia, where the orchestra did an unforgettable tour in 2015.

大象传媒 NOW: Playing music has led to some good experiences for you then – but how do you think what you do has helped others?

Sandy Bartai: One of my favourite things about being a musician, is hearing from members of the audience that they were moved or inspired by a performance. As I carry my cello out of the hall after a concert, people often stop to talk to me about what they've just heard, and it reminds me what a privilege it is to be a part of this.

大象传媒 NOW: Hearing feedback from our audiences is always a joy! Does the cello you use to perform have any special history or stories behind it?

Sandy Bartai: My cello was made in the 1870s in St. Petersburg. That's quite unusual - I don't know anyone else who plays on a Russian string instrument! But St. Petersburg was a major musical centre at the time, with some of the greatest Romantic composers, including Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky, working there. I like to imagine that my cello could have been used for early performances of some of their orchestral works!

大象传媒 NOW: From Russia to Wales - and who knows where else - that’s a well-travelled cello! What piece of music do you most enjoy playing on it - and why?

Sandy Bartai: It's far too difficult to choose just one; the repertoire is so full of highlights! But some of the most rewarding music to play is from the late romantic period and the early 20th century, which is often full of drama and a huge range of orchestral colours. The cello parts can be technically challenging but use the instrument in the most satisfying way. The composers I look forward to most include Brahms, Mahler, Debussy and Stravinsky.

大象传媒 NOW: You must have had many amazing times playing your cello, but can you tell us about your single most memorable moment?

Sandy Bartai: When I was a teenager, playing in my first Prom, I took part in a performance of Schonberg's 'Gurrelieder' conducted by Pierre Boulez and with a superb cast of singers including Jessye Norman. To work on this epic piece with such amazing musicians made a huge impression on me and showed me how exciting orchestral playing could be.

大象传媒 NOW: You have an obvious love for your instrument, but is there anything frustrating about it?

Sandy Bartai: It must be travelling with it! There's never enough room in trains to find a corner to put a cello, and I'm just grateful that I haven't had to fly anywhere with it for several years!

大象传媒 NOW: Yes, that must be tricky!

Sandy Bartai: Thankfully, for orchestra trips, larger instruments travel separately under the supervision of our incredible stage crew, and we are re-united when we arrive at the hall for the first concert.

大象传媒 NOW: Our stage crew are unsung heroes – and they can pack up an orchestral stage in record time! So Sandy, what would you say to encourage young cello players?

Sandy Bartai: It's not as difficult as you think! Something I always try to emphasise to my own students is that the right way to do lots of things on the cello - for example, finding a smooth, even bowing action, or the right movement to make a shift - is often the simplest way. Of course, it takes persistence to learn how to do things in this seemingly effortless way!

大象传媒 NOW: And you certainly make it look effortless – we can’t wait to see and hear you play again. But what plans do you have to keep practising your instrument during the break in 大象传媒 NOW performances?

Sandy Bartai: Practice time can be hard to find when the orchestra is busy, and so during the break in performances I've been working on studies and digging out some pieces that I've never learnt. My home is full of music at the moment; my 11-month-old daughter is always interested in the sounds things make and we've got lots of egg shakers and bells and other simple percussion instruments for her to play with. She's fascinated by the sound of the cello, and that's a great incentive to keep working!

大象传媒 NOW: She might be a future 大象传媒 NOW player! What do you enjoy doing when you aren't performing for 大象传媒 NOW Sandy?

Sandy Bartai: I love drawing and painting. Recently I've been experimenting with homemade ink, made of oak galls and rust - it's a fun, old fashioned method and it's particularly rewarding to make pictures using materials that you've created. And I love walking in the Welsh mountains; I will miss them while we're locked down, but I have plenty of books full of new routes to explore when life returns to normal.

大象传媒 NOW: Finally – what are you most looking forward to about playing again with 大象传媒 NOW in the future?

Sandy Bartai: One of the best things about playing for 大象传媒 NOW is the wide range of different work that we do - a single month might include education concerts, symphonic music, soundtrack recordings, maybe even collaborations with musicians from different fields. And our repertoire is so varied that there's always the chance that we'll discover a great piece by a composer we've never come across before.

大象传媒 NOW: Thanks Sandy for your time and look forward to seeing you again soon!