Stephen Bryant

“…….BEAUTIFULLY INTEGRATED TONE,IMPECCABLE INTONATION AND SOVEREIGN TECHNIQUE…….” THE STRAD.

Tristan and Isolde Fantasy - by Franz Waxman

Franz Waxman - The Golden Age of Hollywood

Stephen Bryant - violin/Simon Mulligan - piano/Leonard Slatkin - conductor/BBC Symphony Orchestra

With kind permission of the BBC

Fresh from a tour of the Far East, and with the Proms fast approaching, Stephen Bryant is a busy man. The leader of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBCSO), Bryant has come a long way from the young pupil who refused to use vibrato: ‘I didn’t like the way it distorted the clear tone of the violin but my teacher, Mr Piper, told me that in order to take my Grade 6 exam I would have to do it. So, reluctantly, I did.’ Despite having risen to the top of his profession, however, Bryant says: ‘I never stop and think, “I’ve made it.” I don’t think I’ve ever looked at things from that sort of angle. I’m always looking ahead to my next concert or project.’ Bryant’s desire for, or as he calls it, ‘obsession with’ clarity of sound came from hours spent listening to recordings of Heifetz, aged eleven, and it has stayed with him ever since. Indeed, clarity of sound is one of the reasons that he prizes the Pressenda he now plays: ‘The sound was the most important thing for me. My Pressenda has a clear, sweet sound with lots of natural overtones and good carrying power. The combination of the sound, its responsiveness and the feel of it under my hand makes it unique.’ It was the third violin he tried out at J.&A. Beare and he is now so comfortable with the instrument that he struggles to articulate what it’s like to play: ‘It’s so familiar and so much an extension of me that I find it impossible to describe.’ Nor does he expend much energy thinking about the people who have played the violin before and those who will play it after him: ‘Being a musician is all about the present – present practice and present performance. I don’t like the thought of anyone else playing it. It’s such a close relationship, a musician and their violin.’

Unsurprisingly, Bryant chooses the Royal Albert Hall as his favourite concert venue: ‘The building has real dramatic impact and the concerts are always exciting because of the atmosphere engendered by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic Proms audiences. The orchestra is doing eleven Proms this year, all of them broadcast and many also televised.’ But Bryant’s musical pursuits range far beyond the Proms: his forthcoming projects include a Radio 3 broadcast of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto with Martyn Brabbins and the BBCSO, and a chamber music concert including Webern’s Rondo for string quartet, Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D minor and Schumann’s Piano Quintet, broadcast from Seoul, South Korea. Bryant also gets inspiration from a more unlikely quarter: ‘Bruce Lee, the martial arts expert, has been an idol of mine for many years because, although he works in a different field, he developed himself through self-discipline, focus and drive to be the best he could possibly be.’ Bryant even confides that he has a light punch bag in his music studio: ‘I have to remember to take my boxing gloves off for the violin!’

Lizzie Davis–The Strad Magazine,August 2010. 

Click here to view PDF

In 2010, I recorded the Khachaturian Violin Concerto with Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra for broadcast on Radio 3.There is of course,already an excellent cadenza by David Oistrakh for this concerto but I wanted to try my hand at composing one myself……

Hitting the right note demands a good understanding of each other, reveals this team from the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Jiri Belohlavek, chief conductor, and Stephen Bryant, leader, BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Jiri: Every conductor has a great concern - the quality of his musicians and especially the leading ones. The leader is the closest the conductor gets to a partner, and this relationship is crucial for the whole collaboration to work. I am blessed to have a great concert master in Stephen. I love to work with him, not only for his excellent professionalism, but also for the way he approaches the members of the orchestra. He has a very specific style - calm but exciting at the same time - and he has a marvellous British sense of humour.

Stephen: Leaders and conductors need to trust each other in order to get the freedom they need to work. Jiri is not only a consummate musician but he knows how they tick. He never stifles the strings and therefore the sound he gets from the orchestra is beautiful. It’s inspiring. Best of all, there’s no ’side’ to him. What you see is what you get and there is none of the ‘bluff’ that some conductors employ and that orchestral musicians see through so easily. He even understands my peculiar sense of humour, although, admittedly, it has taken him quite a few years!

From BBC Ariel magazine 2010

Cantillation for Violin and Orchestra Opus 4 - by Minna Keal

A Life in Reverse - The music of Minna Keal

Stephen Bryant - violin/ BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Nicholas Cleobury - conductor

With kind permission of Lorelt

From the Strad Magazine 

‘…Stephen Bryant was a splendid soloist with a beautifully integrated tone,impeccable intonation and sovereign technique….’

www.classicalsource.com

‘…..when she needed to Schwanewilms projected beautifully, but at all times she was at one with the dynamics of the orchestra; not to mention Stephen Bryant’s exquisite violin solo in the third Song….’

 www.musicomh.com

‘…..giving an arrestingly simple, sincere delivery that was all the more affecting for it. Playing to match was crowned by a beautifully poised solo by leader Stephen Bryant in “Beim Schlafengehen”. Altogether, this was the finest performance of the work I’ve heard in a good number of years…..’

 www.musicweb-international.com

‘…..something which inspired leader Stephen Bryant to a beautifully tender solo (the dovetail with the voice at the solo’s conclusion was perfect)…..’

‘…..for Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel everyone seemed on their toes for this perilous but playful piece. Again, Stephen Bryant’s solo violin was notable…..’

 www.classicalsource.com

‘…..the lighter passages fared very well despite the hall’s acoustic, whith some impressive playing from leader, Stephen Bryant….’

 www.musicalcriticism.com

‘…..The Benedictus was gorgeously pastoral, with a deeply expressive, easily and confidently enunciated ritornello underpinning by the first violinist, Stephen Bryant. The sensuousness of this interlude was further increased by Christine Brewer…..’

 www.classicalsource.com

‘….Stephen Bryant’s wonderful violin solos were another highpoint….’

 www.catholicherald.co.uk

‘….The other ingredient of a great Missa Solemnis is a violin soloist who can float above and through the orchestra in the Benedictus, playing tricky arpeggios while still conveying the peace of the Holy Spirit. Many fine recordings of the mass come to grief at this point but the orchestra’s leader, Stephen Bryant, achieved just the right balance of brilliance and beneficence….’

 www.musicomh.com

‘….mention should also be made of leader Stephen Bryant’s lovely violin solo in the Benedictus….’

From the Mail on Sunday David Mellor writes:

‘……. Job is a tricky work that some consider a masterpiece. There are certainly beautiful moments, as at the beginning of Job’s Dance or the end of the Dance of the Three Messengers. There’s also a reminder of the Lark Ascending in the radiant violin solo in Elihu’s Dance, dispatched with great artistry by the orchestra’s leader, Stephen Bryant….’

 www.independent.co.uk

‘….But, of course, no one does the peace which passeth all understanding quite like Vaughan Williams, and leader Stephen Bryant’s beautiful solo in the starlit nocturne of ‘Elihu’s Dance of Youth and Beauty’ was like a second Lark Ascending, never to return to earth….’

 www.classicalsource.com

‘….Leader Stephen Bryant was admirable in ‘Elihu’s Dance of Youth and Beuaty’, the evening’s most overt incursion onto ‘Lark Ascending’ territory….’

 www.classicalsource.com

‘….Stephen Bryant’s violin solo was winningly poised….’

 www.classicalsource.com

‘….The BBCSO’s leader Stephen Bryant had numerous solos in all these works, including the tone’higher contribution (on a second violin) for Mahler’s macabre second movement and he acquitted himself admirably….’

 www.musicweb-international.com

‘….there was exquisite playing particularly from the strings. Indeed, Stephen Bryant’s violin solo was poignantly expressive….’

Leonard Slatkin writes: www.classicalsource.com

‘….Like the other two works on the program, this one exploits the orchestral resource to the max and is a fine showcase for the BBCSO’s leader, Stephen Bryant, as there is an extended cadenza for solo violin….’

 www.musicomh.com

‘….Concertmaster Stephen Bryant’s solo violin in the second ritornello showed that the BBCSO have a fine replacement for the well loved Michael Davis…..’

 www.guardian.co.uk

‘….and the martial triumphalism of the finale was extinguished by the coda with its reminiscences of the bells of Big Ben and the eerie calm of Stephen Bryant’s violin solo….’

 www.musicweb-intermational.com

‘….the leader, Stephen Bryant, played the various solos enchantingly….’

 www.independent.co.uk

‘…..so much lush effusion, with sumptuous string writing, sparkling solo violin (Stephen Bryant as the mermaid, of course,) …..’

 www.independent.co.uk

‘….before the main protagonist enters in the guise of a fiendishly difficult fiddle solo (boldly surmounted by Stephen Bryant)….’

                                           11th February 2011/7.30/Barbican Centre

            Stephen Bryant,Violin     David Robertson,Conductor   BBC Symphony Orchestra.

 I first met the brilliant German composer,Detlev Glanert at the BBC Proms in 2009 when the BBC Symphony Orchestra were performing one of his pieces.We talked then about the possibility of  playing his Violin Concerto and I am happy to say that it is now going to happen!The Concerto is inspired by Rilke’s “Sonnets to Orpheus” and is full of virtuosic violin writing,sensuous sounds and incredible detail.

Even though I’ve taken part in about 140 Proms (to date!) I still get excited being part of this great annual event. As any Promenader worth his salt knows, the Proms are the world’s biggest music festival and were started back in 1895 by Henry Wood at the Queen’s Hall and then moved to the Royal Albert Hall in 1941 after the Queen’s Hall was damaged in an air raid. Although,acoustically speaking, not always the easiest hall in which to play, the Albert Hall is an aesthetically beautiful building steeped in tradition and atmosphere.

The Proms attract a huge selection of really top notch conductors and soloists but, for me, the best thing about the concerts is the audience. Prom audiences and the famous Promenaders are knowledgeable, informed, open minded and enthusiastic and since I’ve been doing the Proms for a long time now, I recognise many friendly faces each year!

Of course the BBC Symphony Orchestra is proud to play a major role in the Proms, including opening and closing the season with the First and Last Nights. This year I tried to spread my share of the Proms around a much needed holiday! So here are the Proms I did this summer!

Prom 31 August 8th 2010

Sir Andrew Davis (Conductor)  Louis Lortie (Piano)

Messiaen: ‘Un Sourire’-  Mozart: Piano Concerto No.17 in G, K.453-  Parry: ‘Elegy for Brahms’-   Brahms: Symphony No.4 in E Minor. Live Radio 3

I always enjoy working with Andrew-our Conductor Laureate and someone who will always hold a special place in the Orchestra’s affections for the time he was here as our Chief Conductor.He returns for a varied programme including Brahms’ 4th Symphony, a piece the BBC Symphony has performed with him many times.

Prom 36 August 12th 2010

Lionel Bringuier (Conductor)  Nelson Friere (Piano)

Chopin: Piano Concerto No.2 in F Minor Op.21-  Roussel: Symphony No.3-  Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite No.2.  Live Radio 3/Arte TV,France

Prom 42 August 17th 2010

Edward Gardner (Conductor)  Alina Ibragimova (Violin)

Britten: ‘Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes’-  Watkins: Violin Concerto-  Shostakovich: Symphony No.5 in D Minor. Live Radio 3/BBC 4

Ed and the orchestra have a very good relationship-we have just recorded a disc of Lutoslawski with him and are due to make a disc of Britten with him in the Autumn.I’m looking forward particularly to the Shostakovich 5th Symphony which is a tremendous work!

Prom 50 August 22nd 2010

David Robertson (Conductor)  Richard Goode (Piano)

Bartok: Piano Concerto No 3- Bartok: Cantata Profana- Haydn: Symphony No.102 in Bb. Live Radio 3

This is the first of two Proms with our Principal Guest Conductor,David Robertson.

Prom 54 August 26th 2010

David Robertson (Conductor) Gil Shaham (Violin)

Turnage: ‘Hammered Out’- Barber: Violin Concerto Op.14- Sibelius: Symphony No.2 in D. Live Radio 3/BBC4

This is a programme with a beautiful Violin Concerto played by the brilliant violinist,Gil Shaham and a great Symphony.The New York Times described David Robertson’s 2009 Carnegie Hall performance of Sibelius’s triumphant 5th Symphony as ‘the most transparent and riveting account of Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony in memory’

Prom 76 September 11th Last Night of the Proms

Jiri Belohlavek (Conductor) Maxim Rysanov (Viola) Renee Fleming (Soprano) Live Radio 3/BBC1 and 2

Its finally here! A smorgasbord of various repertoire and a Viola soloist! Jiri,our Chief Conductor will be conducting festivities with the usual list of suspects!Sit back and enjoy…

Last September the Orchestra travelled to Besancon in France for the International Conducting Competition - lasting 8 days this competition attracted a lot of press interest with the eventual winner conducting the first half of a concert featuring the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Besancon is a pretty town with houses of brown stone and red roofs - and with the weather on the whole being quite good and the food being very good, we spent a pleasant week there - it being a rare opportunity to stay in one place for a  length of time. There was a lot of media interest in this competition and I must have done at least half a dozen interviews by the end of the week! Below are some excerpts from local newspaper coverage and also  an interview I gave to Arte TV.

‘Brillant BBC Symphony orchestra’

Musique a programme avec Jiri Belohlavec a la baguette. De l’Italie d’Elgar a la Pastorale de Beethoven.

‘L’orchestre de la BBC entre en scene’

‘…..Hier soir encore, la moitie des candidats encore en lice devait tirer sa reverence. Il en est meme un qui a insiste apres du photographe pour qu’il immortalise sa poignee de mains avec le premier violon du BBC Symphony orchestra. Une photo souvenir pour temoigner qu’il a dirige une formation de prestige….’

From: Le Parisien.fr

‘Le Concours de jeunes chefs d’orchestre de Besancon, un ‘veritable tremplin”  de Angela Schnaebele (AFP) - 17 Sept 2009

‘..The BBC Symphony Orchestra is very good training, very flexible. This is an incredible experience that will serve me in my work’ enthuses Japanese candidate Kazuki Yamada, who returns to contest the competition for a second time. Three candidates from Japan had been selected for the competition in Besancon - all are present for the semi finals. ‘A lot of Japanese conductors seem to have high sensitivity and great technical precision’ analyses Stephen Bryant, first violinist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra…..’

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hd2fn0QFcE7Cu4YBcjPfXZ15s-_w