daniel smith

Here I am, the day before the final concert here in Siena with the Sofia Festival Orchestra. The last seven weeks have been an absolutely incredible experience for me and an extreme privilege to have conducted works by some of the most incredible people to have lived before me (Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Debussy, [...]

So much to write about, I’m not sure where to begin! I’m sorry I haven’t written for a while! What a week it has been! Over the last few days I have had the privilege of rehearsing some of the greatest music ever written – Mahler’s 1st Symphony, Debussy’s La Mer (The Sea) and Stravinsky’s [...]

Well the post a few days ago has stirred up a little bit of fun :P A few emails have been received so I better clarify now that I was not the person in the story “Goodbye Mum” :P Any really embarrassing things that I do won’t be posted here! In particular some of Maestro [...]

Thanks so much for all your comments and emails everyone :) The last few days have been incredible, although I have been sleeping a little less than normal (about 4 or 5 hours a night). Since my last post, I have conducted Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien, Brahms’ 2nd Symphony and Debussy’s La Mer (this morning). What [...]

A young man shopping in a supermarket noticed a little old lady following him around. If he stopped, she stopped. Furthermore she kept staring at him. She finally overtook him at the checkout, and she turned to him and said, “I hope I haven’t made you feel ill at ease; it’s just that you look [...]

Yesterday definitely was a day I will not forget – my first time rehearsing Beethoven’s massive 3rd Symphony, The Eroica. Musicians are athletes. By the end of the rehearsal, I was completely soaked from top to bottom and injured my arm. A weeks worth of running training could not prepare me for this workout. The [...]

What an incredible, incredible time it is right now. Even though I am highly deprived of sleep (partly my own fault of course), I am on top of the world! Over the last few days I have been in rehearsals with Beethoven’s 2nd Symphony and also his Coriolan Overture. Yesterday, the orchestra increased to around [...]