Monday, 8th August.  This afternoon I finished my first draft of an article about leadership, drawing on my experience as a membership of the London Symphony Chorus.  The article will be published next week, on Discuss HR as well as here on my blog.  I mentioned a number of conductors I worked with and wondered, afterwards, if any of them have spoken about leadership.  My first stop has been YouTube, which is such a fabulous resource.

Perhaps because he was one of the last conductors I mentioned in my article, I looked first for interviews with Antonio Pappano.  It has been a rare treat for me to sing under Pappano’s baton and I feel blessed every time.  I always find myself thinking of Pappano as having something of the ice-cream seller about him – there’s something about his Italian/Essex/American accent and his looks that makes me think gelato.  This takes nothing away from my deep respect and affection for him – in truth, these are simply qualities he transmits in abundance and which I mirror back.  I found a number of interviews with him and dipped into one in which he talks about the genre of verismo in Opera – just follow this link to hear him.

It led me in turn to another in which I listened to Jonas Kaufmann singing Vesti la giubba under Pappano’s baton.  Kaufmann’s singing is powerfully emotional and – as Pappano describes in his interview – nonetheless perfectly controlled.

Now… back to leadership.