This Cultural Life, Radio 4
Brendan O’Connor, RTÉ Radio 1
Marin Alsop is regarded as one of the greatest conductors in the world.
As a woman, she was first so many times – the first woman to lead major orchestras in the UK, South America and the United States.
In 2013, she became the first ever woman to lead the Last Night of the Proms. She said she was shocked that it was 2013 and women were still having ‘firsts’.
You don’t have to be passionate about music to enjoy the story of her life.
There was a lot of humour and a real sense of how her parents supported her on her journey.
They were both musicians – gigging and teaching too – and she grew up immersed in music. So much so that when she won a place at Yale to study mathematics, the reaction was a little unexpected.
“I must be the only person accepted to Yale University whose parents said: ‘Why do you wanna waste four years going to Yale?’”
Alsop was six when she decided the piano was not for her and retired from it.
She was nine when she decided that she wanted to be a conductor. A teacher told her she was too young and a girl could not do this.
But her parents begged to differ. Her father went out and bought her a beautiful wooden box that she still treasures. He had filled it with conductors’ batons.
Having people who believed in her was vital.
Her parents were her “musicians in the trenches”, she said – they always played for her for free.
There were plenty of stories about her progress as a conductor. She applied three times for a conductor programme and was rejected three times too.
“The road to success is much more profound when you have really dramatic failures along the way.”
She talked about Leonard Bernstein, her mentor, who was both brilliant and terrifying but also an “affectionate, generous human being”.
Her strong commitment to opening up music to everyone – to diversity, access and opportunity – shone through.
Over on RTE, Brendan O’Connor presents an enticing mix of news, interviews and debate.
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