Madeleine Mitchell lunchtime recital

Madeleine Mitchell violinist
portrait by Peter Rauter

Violinist Madeleine Mitchell will be giving a lunchtime recital at the Wigmore Hall with pianist Nigel Clayton. The programme is based on one which Mitchell originally devised for a concert celebrating the Queen's Jubilee in Rome, A Century of British Music, with music from Elgar through to pieces written for her. At the Wigmore Hall, Mitchell and Clayton will perform Frank Bridge's Melodie and Morceau Characteristique, Elgar's Violin Sonata and James MacMillan's Kiss on Wood which was written for Mitchell in 1995. Bridge's Morceau Characteristique was premiered at the Wigmore Hall in 1908, but was thought lost until Mitchell found the manuscript in the library of the Royal College of Music.

Besides a busy career as a soloist, Mitchell also teaches at the Royal College of Music. Here, she mentor students using the Performance Simulator. This is a specially configured room, which comes with a backstage area, an on-stage area with stage lighting, including an acoustic grand piano. The main feature is a virtual interface which operates either like a concert audience or like audition panel. This setup allows Mitchell, who has a great deal of concert experience herself, to coach the players and provide feedback on playing in simulations of real life situations including orchestral excerpts, (from back-stage to warm up to performance), in front of the virtual audition panel or interactive audience who applaud. Additionally the coaching provides guidance in how to effectively deliver a performance on stage and deal with any issues.