EVEN world-class pianists are not exempt from the vagaries of air travel and although now back in the calm of his Lurgan home, Barry Douglas is still trying to shake off the “journey from hell” the evening before.
“It’s okay, though,” he announces cheerily down the phone. “I had a little lie in this morning which was great and now I am up and running. Bad weather put all the planes in the wrong place and, as well as the delay, we had to wait an extra two-and-a-half hours in the cabin because they couldn’t find anyone - in a huge airport - to push back the plane...”
There is a pause and I imagine him shaking his silvery locks in sheer bafflement. Frustration at the delay in getting home from concerts in England to the next important task – preparing for the 25th anniversary celebrations of Camerata Ireland – is understandable, because this is, after all, a momentous milestone for the orchestra he founded in 1999.
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The special birthday is being marked during the eight-day Clandeboye Festival, which opened on Saturday, featuring international guest artists alongside home-grown musical talent – including Douglas as a soloist – and culminating in a closing concert at the Banqueting Hall at Clandeboye this Saturday.
“We have guest artists from many different countries… a Finnish cellist, French clarinettist, English French horn player… so the theme ‘Colourful Connections’ seemed apt,” enthuses Douglas who established Camerata Ireland in positive response to the Good Friday Agreement.
“I think it is really important for artists to comment, to applaud, to maybe disapprove of things that happen politically and socially and when the Good Friday Agreement happened, I thought this was a time to applaud.”
The last 25 years have been “incredible” and a celebratory season this year has already included performances in New York’s Carnegie Hall and the National Concert Hall, Dublin. A major tour of China is planned for later in the year, a significant event, according to Douglas, as it coincides with the 45th anniversary this November of diplomatic relations between Ireland and China.
Back home, Douglas believes the Clandeboye Festival, founded in 2001, is a vital platform for young musicians, giving them the opportunity to perform alongside seasoned professionals, while also providing space to showcase contemporary new works among a predominantly classical repertoire.
“It is really important that we support and encourage new compositions, especially from young people,” stresses the award-winning pianist who attended the Royal College of Music in London and also studied under Italian classical pianist, Maria Curcio.
“This year, we have a new piece in the festival by Belfast composer, Greg Caffrey, which we are excited to bring to our audiences.
“I think this support is really important because what used to bug me was seeing how French people looked after young French musicians, how Americans looked after young American musicians, how the Russians looked after young Russians… and Ireland didn’t seem to be doing that much, to be honest.
“I wanted to base the festival on one in Vermont [USA], where young people would come and play with established musicians – so, yes, it is a kind of mentoring, but it is also good for us older folk to play with young people who are full of energy and full of ideas.”
He may place himself in the bracket of “older folk” now – he is 64 – but he was only 26 when he took the classical world by storm after winning the Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow in 1986. Global recognition followed, establishing his career as an international pianist - and permanently parking early childhood dreams of becoming a truck driver on the hard shoulder.
“In a way, I did become a sort of truck driver,” he interjects, laughing, “because I drive all over Europe – but Dorabella [his “gorgeous” Steinway piano] is never in a truck – she stays at home in the sitting room. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”
Interestingly, he never sits down at Dorabella of an evening and just play for the sake of it. “I never play for fun,” Douglas says seriously. “Playing the piano is work for me, even though it is also incredibly satisfying and fulfilling. If some of the family were here, though, I might sit down and play something short and relaxing.”
Mostly, he relaxes by cooking – “I like to cook, but am very bad at it” – and going on “very, very long walks”, aiming for 15,000 steps per day when he can spare the time. Daily piano practice is also a prerequisite for this multi-talented musician and polyglot – he is proficient at clarinet, cello, organ and timpani and speaks French, German, Italian “and a little Russian”.
“I like to get in three or four hours’ practice every day,” he elaborates. “It is needed for the muscles, but there are things you shouldn’t do. It would be a little risky to go skiing and you can’t play tennis because that develops arm muscles which are contrary to what a pianist needs.”
Even at his level, does he still get nervous before a performance? “Yes, I think it’s very important to be slightly nervous – I am not killed by nerves, but [having some] is essential for trying to get yourself in the zone on the day. I have certain habits – I don’t see many people, for instance, on the day of a concert and I don’t eat. I just prepare for the evening and, hopefully, it all goes swimmingly well.”
On a whim, I just flew off to Paris and checked in to the George V hotel and said: ‘Give me your best suite’
— Barry Douglas
Schedules, routine, practice and preparation are the watchwords he swears by, but Douglas recalls a time when he indulged more of his whimsy side.
“One day in London – I studied in London with Maria Curcio – I suddenly thought: ‘Do I really have to live here?’,” he reflects. “For me, London was too heavy and too big. So, on a whim, I just flew off to Paris and checked in to the George V hotel and said: ‘Give me your best suite.’
“After two days, I panicked, but luckily the brother of an old school friend, a photographer, was living in Paris at the time and took me in until I found my first apartment. I’ve been living in Paris ever since.”
His three children, Saoirse, Fergus and Liam (with his wife, the former Irish soprano, Deirdre O’Hara), were all born in Paris and have now returned to work and live in their adopted city. “My daughter works at OECD, Fergus teaches maths and physics in a bilingual school and Liam – the rock guitarist – is forming a new group in Paris,” Douglas announces with evident pride. “Family time is important and we travel and see them often.”
Are a classical pianist and a rock guitarist at two ends of the musical scale, I wonder? “Well,” he considers, “when Liam had his other group in Dublin – the Plastic Cowboys they were called – we went to see them; they played in Whelan’s a lot. And Liam also wangled me into his podcast during lockdown. I think we have a lot in common – we both need preparation, we both need rehearsal and we both need to perform on the night. It is just a different style of music, really, that is all.”
