Tracks Of My Years: Alan Smale

Get into the grooves…

ith his mighty Degani Ensemble returning to The Whale on Sunday, for a special Music From The Movies concert to mark Mother’s Day, we asked Alan Smale to reveal the music that has inspired him.

We were expecting, of course, some Billy Ray Cyrus, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and Ufomammut, but the Delgany dynamo surprised us.

Turns out, the fecker likes classical music.

A lot…

When I was about 9 years old there was a good peripatetic violin teacher doing the rounds in South Devon touting for students, and for no really good reason I put my hand up. At twelve or so, I started getting serious about music and got my first private teacher, a wonderful man called Harold Petts, near my home in Torquay, Devon.

The violin was my saviour at school – Torquay Boys Grammar, where I was unhappy and a total dud at most of the core subjects but found an outlet in the music room, where we had a fine teacher who also conducted the orchestra. At 16, I couldn’t face another 2 years of school torture, and managed to get myself a grant to study at the Leeds College of Music, hundreds of miles away. I had a fantastic time there, and unlimited opportunities to study and perform. The Royal Academy of Music accepted me on to their performers course in 1972. Interesting footnote – I was there at the same time as Annie Lennox. I remember her queuing in the common room for practise room keys.

I graduated in 1976 and got my first jobs freelancing in London. David Martin, who wasn’t even my violin teacher, recommended me to Colin Staveley, who was then Leader of the RTESO, and looking for a co-worker leader. I auditioned in the Autumn of ’76 while on tour with The Royal Ballet, got the job, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Elgar Violin Concerto
I fell in love with this piece through listening to Yehudi Menuhin’s 1932 recording with the composer conducting. I played it for my final exam in London and it was my first professional concerto performance, in Dublin in 1978.

Chopin Etude in C Major, opus 10 no. 1
I’ve always envied pianists for the immense power and range of their instrument. I love the virtuosic recording of Andre Watts, a phenomenal musician I had the privilege of working closely with in Dublin, London and on tour in Spain.

Thomas Tallis 40 part Motet
Renaissance vocal music is an obsession of mine, and this piece is as good as it gets. Serene and ethereally beautiful.

Tchaikovsky The White Swan solo from Swan Lake
My favourite of all the solos I played with the RTE NSO, in concerts and with the Bolshoi, Kirov and Russian National Ballet Company’s visits to Dublin.

Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis
The most beautiful piece of string writing ever, and one I love to perform.

You can catch our October 2017 video chat with Alan here.