Lucy is a founder member of the Gould Piano Trio, one of the UK’s most respected chamber ensembles. International competition successes in Melbourne and Florence laid the foundations for the long-lasting career that she has enjoyed since dedicating her musical life to the genre.The Gould Piano Trio boasts an impressive discography of core repertoire, lesser-known works and new commissions and has performed complete cycles of the trios of Beethoven amongst their many appearances at the Wigmore Hall.
Lucy is a principal player in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and often appears as concertmaster with major orchestras. Guest leading has included concerts with the Oslo Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, Proms with the BBC Philharmonic and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and recordings with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. She has performed as soloist in Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
An interest in exploring British repertoire has led to her recording works by John Ireland, Stamford, Robin Milford, Pamela Harrison and Casken. She has also recorded Mendelssohn’s Octet for Deutsche Grammophon with Daniel Hope and Chamber Orchestra of Europe colleagues.
Lucy teaches at the Royal Welsh College of music and Drama and takes an active role in the mentoring of young musicians as part of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe’s Academy.
A day in the life: what does the structure of your day generally look like?
One of the perks of being a musician is that there are very few days which follow a pattern similar to another. Certainly there is no sense of boredom. However, most days, if at home, involve some practice, and some finding anything to do which might put off the practice! This could be anything from pairing socks to cleaning, depending on my mood. All the boring other stuff like emails just get slotted in between.
What was the first ‘spark’ with regards to chamber music for you?
I still remember playing Faure’s Piano Quartet in C minor on a chamber music course at Westonbirt School when I was about 16 or so. Discovering this new (to me) world of chamber music as well as the sound of Faure was definitely a defining moment. It was also so exciting to meet other musicians from different parts of the country with so much more knowledge and experience than me. I would certainly say it ignited a fire…..
How do you visualise music, for example, do you use colours, moods, or stories?
I’m definitely more of an interpreter through moods than colours. But I think this is probably mostly about the harmonic language and the effect that has on the brain. It would be interesting to make a study on this.
What do you keep in your gig bag?
Plenty of things to tie my hair back. Apart from that as long as I have the music I need, I can make do. I once asked an audience member if I could borrow their hairbrush, and have also brushed my hair with my toothbrush when I was really desperate. It actually worked better than you might think.