Between 2007 and 2020, the Academy hosted 40 interviews with eminent musical figures, conducted by Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Professor Raymond Holden and Professor Timothy Jones. These interviews have been edited by Raymond Holden and compiled into a valuable collection of exceptional life stories, offering insights into the changing professional and artistic world of the 20th and early-21st centuries.
Interviewees range from legendary conductors to internationally renowned singers and instrumentalists, including Christian Thielemann, Masaaki Suzuki, Trevor Pinnock, Dame Janet Baker, Dame Felicity Lott, Steven Isserlis and James Ehnes. The majority of these conversations took place at the Academy as part of the Barbirolli Lecture Series and the Principal's Lecture Series, which became popular fixtures in the termly diary of public events at the time.
The book will be available to purchase from Blackwell's. All profits from sales will go towards the Academy’s Student Hardship Fund, which is made available to enrolled students who find themselves in particular difficulty due to unforeseen circumstances.