A last minute trip to New York set principal keyboard Steven Devine on a path of discovery that led him to the OAE and its distinctive sound world, which has inspired him ever since.
In the concert programmes during our 40th anniversary seasons we are running a series of articles under the title A Seat With a View. Each one provides a snapshot of the story of the OAE in its first 40 years and the musicians who have made it. Now we’re making them available on our blog for everyone to enjoy. Here violinist Kati Debretzeni talks to writer and journalist Richard Bratby.
As a harpsichordist, I wasn’t even thinking of joining an orchestra. I was playing for chamber groups and doing a lot of my own conducting – generally having a lovely time – and suddenly I got this phone call to go to New York at three days’ notice to play the Brandenburg Concertos with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Somebody had dropped out, so I said yes, and flew over. We had a guest director – Rachel Podger – and I just loved the way that the group coalesced around Rachel.
