Members from Apollo’s Cabinet tell us what to expect from their concert on 21 November.
Tell us about how the ensemble was formed.
We’ve been playing together since 2018, and all met in London. Some of us met during our studies, and others through mutual projects, and we enjoy a shared vision of bringing early music to a variety of audiences in an imaginative and interactive way.
How did the idea of a programme recreating Frederick the Great’s Birthday Party come about?
The initial idea came about by reading a book about Frederick the Great, and we were intrigued by his court musicians and how much music was happening there. Further research led to finding a publication about the order of events at his Birthday celebrations in 1758, and who doesn’t enjoy a good party?
Tell us about your ‘Master of Ceremonies’ Johann Joachim Quantz – as a character and a composer.
Johann Joachim Quantz was a fantastic flautist and composer, and also Frederick the Great’s flute teacher. This came with the privilege of being one of the only people who could tell him off and correct him, and there is many a funny anecdote about their witty exchanges.
How will be the royal party mood be created, on a cold Thursday evening in Cambridge?
With plenty of joyful celebratory music, some interactive party games, singing and even a musical quiz!
What’s been your personal favourite concert the ensemble has given?
We’ve had so many experiences, but the Vienna Konzerthaus main stage concert was one of our highlights this year. Every concert is special and we’ve had so many unique experiences: playing in a beautiful mountain church in Vorarlberg, Austria after a dip in the lake, a magical late-night concert outdoors in Estella, Spain, in the Railway Museum in Utrecht, The Netherlands, playing a spooky midsummer concert at a festival organised entirely by teenagers in Köln, Germany, a musical murder mystery inside a London pub, which gets the whole audience working together to solve it, the list goes on…!
What are you enjoying listening to at the moment (for pleasure rather than work)?
Rita Payés, Manouche Jazz, Chopin Nocturnes & Sonatas, Frank Sinatra, Dateline Podcast, New Yorker Poetry Podcast, Lodestar Trio, Punch Brothers