TONY BANKS SIX PIECES FOR ORCHESTRA CHARLIE SIEM VIOLIN MARTIN ROBERTSON ALTO SAXOPHONE THE CITY OF PRAGUE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA PAUL ENGLISHBY Tony Banks (b. 1950) SIX Pieces for Orchestra Tony Banks During the last Genesis tour (2007) at the end of many originally played on both piano and combinations of interviews, each of us was asked what we intended to do orchestral samples. The final versions of these are more Tony Banks is a founding member of Genesis along with Mike next in our solo careers and in order. I think, to say similar to the demos although Paul has worked his magic. Rutherford, Peter Gabriel and Anthony Phillips and, after a few something rather than nothing, I would say I wanted to do With all the arrangements we had lots of going backwards incarnations, the band evolved further with the introduction of Phil another orchestral work. I am not sure the idea was that and forwards between us, only falling out occasionally as Collins, and with Steve Hackett who replaced Phillips. Genesis concrete in my mind then but I did know that at some I tried to protect some of my more exotic chords. became one of the major exponents of progressive rock music in point I wanted to continue, as I had learnt such a lot from Recording in Prague gave us the opportunity to have the early seventies. In 1975 Peter Gabriel left the band to pursue a my first attempt, Seven, and felt I could approach a new rehearsal time with the orchestra, allowing us to remove solo career and Phil Collins replaced Gabriel as lead vocalist. project with more confidence. At that time I had only a all the errors in the scores which seemed to take up so Photo: Stephanie Pistel Genesis went on to become one of the most commercially little music actually written down but when I started much time when recording Seven. It also gave us the successful bands of the 1980s and 1990s with albums such as composing specifically for this recording, ideas seemed to chance to hear things before recording, therefore able to Duke and We Can’t Dance. Tony Banks has pioneered many come thick and fast. As with Seven, producer Nick Davis make adjustments to the score and try alternatives. Using unique keyboard and synthesiser sounds throughout his career. has given me invaluable help throughout but the rest of the Prague orchestra was very refreshing for me as not Music historian Wayne Studer referred to him as “the most tasteful the personnel are different from before. only do they have some great players, but they also had a keyboardist of prog rock”. In addition to his five solo albums A With Seven a couple of the sections were genuine enthusiasm for the music. Curious Feeling (1979), The Fugitive (1983), Bankstatement arrangements of older pieces that had originally been I have known Martin Robertson, saxophone, for most (1989), Still (1992) and Strictly Inc (1995), Tony Banks composed piano-based but this time everything was written with the of his life as his mother was a close friend, and have seen the soundtrack for The Shout (1978) (with Mike Rutherford), orchestra in mind. I also had the idea that this time I him perform many times, starting with a rather curious starring Alan Bates, Lorca and the Outlaws (1984), and Quicksilver would like to have solo instruments, saxophone and early piece by Mark-Anthony Turnage, while still at (1986), starring Kevin Bacon. The music from these two latter films violin, leading one or two of the movements. The college, featuring Mark on piano, Martin on clarinet and a ended up on an album entitled Soundtracks (1986), with Toyah approach on the two solos, however, was very different. shop bell, played at apparently random moments by Wilcox, Fish from Marillion and Jim Diamond. When Michael For the saxophone-led piece, Siren, the melody was either of them. It was not obvious where either of them Winner invited Tony Banks to write the score for his film The written as an integral part of the composition, later were heading at that moment! Since then he has become Wicked Lady (1983), starring Faye Dunaway, it gave him the embellished but in all the sections the basis of the melody a top player, having done a lot of work with Mark as well opportunity to work with an orchestra, which he had not was always in my mind. With the violin-led piece, Blade, as numerous other projects, film scores and so on. experienced before. The arranger Christopher Palmer was brought the whole melody was written on a framework that was Charlie Siem, violin, was suggested to me as a possible in to orchestrate his piano scored music. In 2004, as a result of that finalised before the existence of the melody; incidentally soloist and listening to his playing I consider myself lucky experience, Tony Banks was inspired to record his first orchestral this is the way many of the instrumental sections of to have someone so obviously in the ascendant on this album Seven: A Suite for Orchestra with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, for Naxos. Ivan March in his Gramophone Genesis songs were originally written. Indeed this is record. I think what finally convinced me was seeing a clip review said of Seven, “A rock musician goes ‘classical’ – with pleasing and often effective results… for Banks has a perhaps the only piece in this suite that would have of him playing some Paganini variations in the back of a genuine melodic gift… The recording is good, … acceptably spacious …” www.tonybanksmusic.co.uk worked equally well in the rock idiom, perhaps led by black cab while driving around London in one of the Black guitar. These two movements also changed the most Cab Sessions. from the demos as my original arrangements featured The titles of the movements refer to the elements of a piano quite heavily, although I always knew I wanted to universal story: seductress, journey, hero, quest, decision try and do them without piano. Fortunately with and goal. I leave it to the listener to fill in the details, orchestrator Paul Englishby, I had someone who could although really it is just music, a story without words. help me to interpret them differently but still remain true to the original composition. The other four pieces slowly Tony Banks crystalized out of a series of improvisations over a period, Charlie Siem The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Concert-master: Lucie Svehlova Charlie Siem was born in London to a Norwegian father and a British mother and began to play the violin at the age of three. He read music at Girton College, The City of Prague Philharmonic Cambridge, furthering his violin studies with tutors from The Guildhall School of Orchestra was founded over sixty Music and The Royal College of Music under Itzhak Rashkovsky and Shlomo Mintz. years ago and features His 2008 début CD featured violin sonatas by Grieg and Elgar. Throughout 2009 his predominantly Czech classical reputation as one of the brightest new classical artists grew with prestigious and jazz musicians, with guest Photo: James White concerts in Paris, London, Oslo, Bergen and Basel. He has since enjoyed a very players selected from musicians successful career, appearing with major orchestras and at festivals around the studying at the Conservatory in world. In 2010 he signed to Warner Classics and Jazz, releasing a critically Prague. The orchestra was acclaimed album, including repertoire by Paganini, Sarasate, Wieniawski and originally the in-house orchestra Kreisler. Also released on Warner Classics, recorded with the London Symphony for Barrandov Film Studios, Orchestra, is Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, coupled with Ole Bull’s Cantabile regularly playing for film and doloroso e Rondo giocoso. Charlie Siem plays a 1735 Guarneri del Gesù d’Egville animation productions made at violin, once treasured by Menuhin and now owned by the Elderberry Foundation, the world famous Prague studios, which is on loan to him. www.charliesiem.com www.facebook.com/charliesiem and for television. Fully privatized after the Velvet Revolution, the orchestra took its new name in 1992, and now provides music both for the Czech Republic market and for clients and media productions throughout the world. Martin Robertson Paul Englishby Internationally renowned soloist Martin Robertson began his solo career in 1986, two years after graduating from the Royal College of Music where he studied As well as being an orchestrator, Paul Englishby has composed award-winning and saxophone and clarinet under Stephen Trier and John McCaw. Since then he has critically-acclaimed scores for film, TV, dance, theatre and the concert hall. Among worked with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Most notably he has performed his film credits is the Oscar-nominated feature An Education, scripted by Nick as a soloist with the Berlin, Los Angeles and London Philharmonic Orchestras, BBC Hornby and directed by Lone Scherfig. He was awarded back-to-back ASCAP Symphony Orchestra and the Ensemble Intercontemporain. He has worked with Awards for most-performed works in the USA, with his score for An Education in internationally prominent conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Andrew Davis 2010, and for his score for Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, the previous year. He and Vladimir Jurowski, as well as seminal composers such as Mark Anthony Photo: Livia Malkman composed the music for the David Hare film, Page Eight, starring Bill Nighy and Turnage. His musical experiences are rooted in Jazz which, combined with his Ralph Fiennes, the prime-time BBC sci-fi thriller Outcasts, the psychological crime classical training, have provided him with a platform from which to explore the full drama Luther, starring Idris Elba, and for the BBC crime drama Inside Men.