Jamming in the Summer Sun
VICTORIA KINGHAM interviews the indefatigable Max Baillie, violinist, viola player, virtuoso, musical powerhouse, Founder of St Leonards Concerts and leader of The Fritz Brothers and other ensembles, in the first of a series of interviews showcasing the extraordinary range of exceptional local musical talent.
VK: I first heard of you as the instigator of the St. Leonards Concerts music series. What gave you the idea, and why? How long has it existed?
MB: My first concert in St Leonards was right after gatherings were again legal following Covid, June 2021. I remember walking out in front of an audience of 80 people, and what an amazing feeling it was to be stepping on stage again! Almost everyone I’d made friends with over my first lockdown year in St Leonards was there, and for most of the audience it was the first show they’d been to in over a year. My friend, incredible musician Laura van der Heijden and I played a real blinder of a piece, the Kodaly Duo, a rhapsodic, Hungarian odyssey for violin and cello. To be able to programme the music myself and invite friends and colleagues down to this beautiful place felt like something to build on.
VK: How is St Leonards Concerts funded?
MB: The series has had a small amount of sponsorship, but it’s mostly funded by ticket sales, including paying the musicians. I haven’t been able to pay myself much so far, but that should change as I hope to attract bigger audiences and find further sponsorship. I’m getting great feedback about the events and, as well as attracting new audience, there’s a loyal following growing – so I feel long-term positive.
VK: Do you have administrative staff?
MB: Not yet! It’s still early days, but I’m working on building a local team of people who will help me manage the events. I do have a bit of help, some from friends and some I’ve paid for, but at this stage the administration is still a mostly a one-man-band. Running around setting up venues/ recordings/ticket lists/door staff etc while trying to do a dress rehearsal can be pretty hectic! I’m having to learn new levels of multi-tasking!
VK: How do you decide on content, performance and performers?
MB: This is the fun part! Often I’ve brought programmes that I’m playing elsewhere for a repeat performance. Two of my three bands have visited, as well as other people I work with regularly in other settings. But as things develop, I’m enjoying the chance to explore tailor-made performances. I play a lot of classical music and I want to create the sort of listening environment where audience members feel like they can have an intimate experience, really led on a journey and captivated by a dynamic performance.
I think context is often a barrier to an engaging experience, along with some of the more artificial concert conventions, so I’m trying to make things inclusive and relaxed. For example, with the bigger concerts, I always arrange the chairs in a wide crescent around the performers. It’s a simple change, but it makes a huge difference. As to the music, I have a long list of amazing people and programmes I want to perform as part of the series… watch this space!
VK: Are you national as well as local?
MB: I’m constantly on the road. I play across the UK and Europe. In February and March I’m playing concerts in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway as well as closer to home in the UK. Setting up St Leonards Concerts is partly about being able to play closer to home.
VK: How do you find rehearsal space?
MB: As the Fritz Brothers we rehearsed in my living room! For the recital I did with pianist Ljubica Stojanovic, for example, a local couple kindly made their lovely piano in their front room available. We mix and match.
VK: What’s your opinion of the current local classical music scene?
MB: It’s buzzing! It’s exciting that there is so much going on, and there are loads of great players around and audiences up for going to shows.
VK: Does St. Leonards Concerts do outreach work?
MB: Not yet, but it’s definitely on my radar as something to do in the future. What I would like to do is to bring more younger people and those without classical music or much live music experience to St Leonards Concerts. Sponsorship will also enable me to set up ticket schemes that will subsidise tickets for those who are struggling financially – and I’ve already made contact with a few local organisations, The Refugee Buddy Project for example, and a local school. Access and education are both on my mind as the series grows. I’ll also be looking for partner organisations.
VK: From your website and seeing the Fritz Brothers on only their third outing, it’s clear you are an exceptional musician, intensely versatile and cross-genre. Who do you think influenced you and who do you admire the most?
MB: I grew up in a musical family. My father is a cellist and was a big name on the British classical scene as I was growing up. He’s been a huge influence, but I’ve also looked for inspiration among non-classical musicians. There’s an amazing Romanian Gypsy fiddler from the 1930s whose music and playing I love: Georges Boulanger. The style is quite different from conventional classical violin playing, but actually, there’s loads of overlap. Also my teacher Ivry Gitlis, who died just a couple of years ago aged 96. His maverick lineage includes some of the great musicians of the 20th century, so I’m lucky to have learned from a true legend.
VK: Tell me about your musical education?
MB: I did my A levels at a musical vocational school, set up in the 60s by the legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin. I was precocious, always had an individual style. I won some prizes and scholarships, but real virtuosity has come more gradually to me than some. I’m still fascinated by the violin and how to play it. I don’t think that will ever leave me and will help me always develop. My mother is German. When I was growing up in England, this was still something to be ashamed of because of the WW2 associations and xenophobia from other kids at primary school. Now I’m proud to have dual citizenship with Germany and to be part of Europe. It also helps a lot with touring, post-Brexit, not needing a visa.
VK: I marvelled at The Fritz Brothers. Do you front other ensembles yourself, as well as doing studio work? Do you also play in the orchestra here?
MB: I played with the Hastings Philharmonic last year as soloist for Tchaikovsky’s epic violin concerto. I do regular studio work in London, film scores. I played solo on a big one recently but I’m actually not allowed to say the name of the film!! My regular groups are all chamber music, where leading roles interchange. I like to let rip, have my moment to shine, but I also love the interaction in chamber music.
VK: Is jazz your first love? The arrangements for that band were mostly yours, I think? Are all the arrangements and solo breaks written in, or are you as accomplished an improviser as you are an arranger?
MB: We arrange everything ourselves in Fritz Brothers. Improvisation is very much a part of what the band does. I’m picking up from jazz playing I did as a teenager and learning it afresh – daunting when you have the likes of the mighty Ewan Bleach as your band mate… but I’m loving the process! To me, jazz violin only really makes sense in an old style of playing – sweet and lyrical – and this is what we try to capture in Fritz Brothers. What Fritz Brothers does is mix the music of Rachmaninov and Chopin and other great classical tunes with this old jazz style, particularly Gypsy-jazz and old Swing.
VK: What are your French influences? Do you play jazz on viola as well as violin? How do you find the comparison?
MB: I loved jazz as a kid for sure. But I never listened to jazz fiddlers and, dare I say it, I’m not such a Grappelli fan. I feel like he plays too many notes, too noodly. His bandmate Django [Reinhardt] inspires me much more with his cheeky, rhythmically-concise style. And of course the great horn players like Lester Young, Cannonball Adderly, John Coltrane were high on my listening list. South African Jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim was another big figure growing up. I’m not inclined to play jazz on viola – you really need the extra brilliance of a fiddle for that style, and for the higher registers. The viola will get lost in that context.
VK: Do you have an outlet for your own compositions?
MB: Yes I do – my group, Lodestar Trio, plays some of my music, and I occasionally direct ensembles where I play my own material as part of a wider programme. I also have a duo called Sonnen, with electronic musician Vahakn Matossian, where all the material is our own.
VK: All your musical associates have some level of virtuosity. How did you meet The Fritz Brothers, for instance? And are you all from eminent musical families?
MB: Bass player Misha Mullov-Abbado certainly comes from an illustrious lineage of top classical musicians. I’ve known clarinet and sax player Ewan Bleach for years – actually we played in a rowdy Ska band at festivals through our 20s. I met Frank since moving to St Leonards, and John I know through Ewan as they work a lot together. What makes them brilliant is that they are all skilled improvisers as well as great in written repertoire. I met Frank in a St Leonards garden, jamming in the summer sun! They are some of the best players I know in any field, and part of the aim of the St Leonards Concerts is to bring the kind of performances you would hear at top stages in London or Europe to the doorstep of concert-goers in St Leonards.
VK: Are the other Fritz Brothers involved in St. Leonards Concerts?
MB: I do the programming for St Leonards Concerts, and each concert is so far a stand-alone performance of a band or particular programme. But within each project there is a collaborative input amongst the musicians.
VK: How old are you, If it’s not a rude question?
MB: I just turned 42. Fresh-faced I’m told! Must be the winter sea swimming…
St Leonards Concerts Diary
Next Concert: Sunday 26th March, 5pm, Christ Church, Silchester Street, St. Leonards.
Haydn’s 7 Last Words of the Cross – a truly sublime piece for string quartet performed as part of the Easter calendar with special guests.
• You can make bookings via the St Leonards Concerts website and find details of other concerts to be confirmed.
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