The renowned conductor John Andrews, a Loreto College alumnus, has just released a new recording with the BBC Concert Orchestra. After Loreto, John went on to graduate from Cambridge with a master’s degree, and then a doctorate, before embarking on an illustrious career as a conductor, mainly specialising in opera.

The new recording brings together for the first time Arthur Sullivan’s complete incidental music to Shakespeare’s Macbeth and The Tempest, with the narration provided by the acclaimed actor Simon Callow. The Tempest was Sullivan’s graduation work from the Leipzig Conservatoire, and its rapturous reception in London in 1862 launched his career. The Macbeth music comes from the other end of Sullivan’s creative life. Commissioned by Henry Irving for his famous production at the Lyceum Theatre, it includes sublime melodic writing, ravishing orchestration (including the atmospheric use of two harps) and a dark dramatic energy. For both plays, Sullivan interwove music and text seamlessly – most impressively in the scenes between Macbeth and the Witches. Simon Callow’s wonderful performance of Shakespeare’s text makes it possible to appreciate how truly theatrical this music is. This recording restores the composer’s original narrative structure, with sparkling playing from the BBC Concert Orchestra, expertly overseen by John Andrews.

Loreto is very proud of its continued association with John; he visits on a number of occasions throughout the year to deliver lectures as part of the HE+ Cambridge Music Hub Programme hosted at Loreto. The students this year have enjoyed his lectures on topics such as the political circumstances surrounding Beethoven’s work, and the meaning of Classical Music in today’s society. The great track record Loreto has in securing Music offers from Oxbridge is helped by John providing interview coaching for many successful applicants.

John’s new release is available here: https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=2CDLX7331