Robert Manasse (interview)
Robert Manasse
Position: Sub-Principal flute
What year did you join the LMP?
2006.
At what age did you start playing?
7
Apart from the London Mozart Players, what other musical activities are you involved in?
I play freelance with a wide variety of orchestras including Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields, English Chamber Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Wales National Opera, English National Opera, City of Birmingham Symphony, etc. as well as chamber music with Ensemble 360, Jane’s Minstrels etc. I teach at schools in Oxford and at the Oxford International Summer School.
What do you love about your instrument and why?
It is old, silver, has a history and will have a life after me, and it can make a lovely noise.
Which player of your instrument do you most admire and why?
There are many players I admire hugely (some for more reasons than their wonderful playing).
What is your favourite piece of music and why?
No one favourite – I usually just really enjoy the repertoire I am playing at the time.
What other types of music do you listen to?
Apart from classical? Fats Waller, Henri Salvador, and very rarely one from a tiny collection of ‘pop’ records I have including 10cc, Pink Floyd and Supertramp…
How do you spend your spare time, if you have any?
Creating, repairing, wandering, tilling and outdoor swimming might sum it up I suppose.
