Harmonically Speaking

My guest today is artistic director of the Wigmore Hall, John Gilhooly.

Hailing from Castleconnell in Limerick in Ireland, he studied history and political science in University College Dublin, alongside singing lessons with the legendary Dr Veronica Dunne.

Following his university studies, he transitioned into Arts Administration, with stints at the Harrogate and Excel centres, before joining Wigmore Hall as executive director in 2000, and then taking up the post of artistic director five years later, aged just 32. Under his leadership Wigmore Hall has increased its public performances, expanded its audiences and repertoire, and has numerous learning and participation programmes.

John has been awarded both an OBE And CBE for his services to music, the star of Italy, German order of merit and Austrian cross on honours among others, and in September 2025 the Spectator Newspaper dubbed him “The man who can save classical music”.

Curious to find out more about his journey and transition into arts administration, what running a world famous concert hall entails, and what he sees as the challenges facing classical music today, I say down with John at his office at 21 Wellbeck Way, where I began by asking about his first experiences with classical music and their influence on him...
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My guest today is Head of Keyboard and piano professor at Cagliari Conservatoire, Giulio Biddau.

Born in Cagliari, Sardinia, he studied there, in Paris, Rome, and Berlin and is a prize winner at numerous international competitions, including Aix-en-Provence, Valencia, Terni, and Tbilisi and performs all over the world.

Most recently he has been pursuing a doctorate in musicology in Zurich and Graz, focusing on Domenico Scarlatti, and the historically informed performance of his works. This research has led to a recent cd entitled “Scarlatti to Scarlatti” where he recorded the same sonatas from two different editions - comparing and contrasting the Hans von Bulow edition of 1864 and the later, critical 1978 version of Emilio Fadini.

Always curious to delve into the world of music research and historically informed practice, and wishing to learn more about Domenico Scarlatti, in July 2025 whilst at the Klaipeda Piano Masters academy in Lithuania, I sat down with Giulio, where I began by asking how he started playing piano….
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My guest today is opera director Caroline Staunton.

Growing up in Dublin, her path to the Staatsoper in Berlin was an unusual one, first studying English and Philosophy in UCD, followed by a masters there in Drama studies.

Whilst teaching English in Gonzaga College, and directing theatre productions, the allure of opera became ever stronger, leading her to take a year out and intern in Berlin and Salzburg, before landing a job in Theater Freiburg, and then at the Staatsoper in Berlin

Eager to know more about her journey, what the day to day life of an opera director is like, and the important role opera and the arts play in challenging outdated attitudes, I sat down with Caroline where I began by asking what first drew her to classical music and opera....
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My guest today is composer and former Professor of Composition and Theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, Frank Corcoran.

Hailing from Borrisokane in County Tipperary, he was always drawn to music, and as a young child wanting to record traditional Irish music created his own method of notation, before going on to study in Maynooth, Rome, and finally in Berlin with Boris Blacher.

In the subsequent years, he found his voice, developed his technique of macro counterpoint, premiered his first symphony in Vienna, and took up a number of teaching posts, in Berlin, Stuttgart, and ultimately in Hamburg in 1983.

Despite being based in Germany and Italy for the last 5 decades, his deep connection to Ireland and its language, history, and heritage, has remained and influences and informs many of his works.

Keen to know more about his story and creative process, the challenges of being a composer in the Ireland of 50 years ago and how things have changed I sat down with Frank, where I began by asking about his first experience of music…
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My guest today is Professor of Viola at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden, Neasa Ní Bhriain.

Hailing from Dublin, she started out playing violin and in 2008 moved to Rostock in Germany to study it. However she had always been drawn to the viola, the critical middle voice of the string quartet, and during her studies there switched to it, before completing further studies in Leipzig and Weimar and then winning the position of solo viola in the Staatskapelle Weimar in 2018.

A passionate exponent of contemporary music and its creative soundscapes, she combines her work as a performer and teacher with a zeal for composition and improvisation, and has written and performed numerous works for viola and pedals.

Curious to know more about her journey, the challenges of switching instruments, and her approach to guiding the next generation of musician, I sat down with Neasa where I began by asking how she starting playing music….
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