Hello and welcome to Bittersweet Symphony, a podcast where classical musicians share the bitter, the sweet and the bittersweet of life when the concert halls shut their doors and the audiences vanished. In this episode I’m chatting to Yseult Cooper Stockdale, a freelance cellist and member of Kirkos, one of Ireland’s leading experimental music ensembles. She is a regular guest with orchestras across the UK and Ireland. As a member of the Spero Quartet, she performs frequently in chamber music festivals and series around Ireland. Exciting plans for this year include a spring tour with her quartet and joining forces with the Vanbrugh String Quartet for concerts in the Autumn. Yseult is both a composer and a performer with Kirkos, and is currently the recipient of a co-commission award from the Arts Council of Ireland, as well as an Agility Award to continue her study of the baroque cello.
In this episode she shares her sweet memory of the sensation of security and warmth she felt while cooking dinner for her flatmates during the first lockdown. Her bitter experience is the distance the pandemic brought to some friendships, while her bittersweet is of a house concert in her home. She found herself moved to tears with joy and sorrow by the music, the poetry, and the people she was sharing it with.
This episode was recorded in September 2021.
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CREDITS
Thumbnail Art || Colm MacAthlaoith
Writers || Mick Jagger, Richard Ashcroft, Keith Richards
Violin || Cliodhna Ryan
Production || Cliodhna Ryan
Mastering || Patrick Stefan Groenland
