Young Grittleton: Mathilda aged 14

Thanks to Thomastik-Infeld Vienna and their kind bursary I was able to attend Young Grittleton this year, for the second time. Once again, I really enjoyed everything about it!

I enjoyed meeting new (and old) friends, playing music with them, having fun and laughing a lot, singing, improvising….everything!

I sight read through a lot of chamber music on the first few days and then worked on the first movement of the Schubert String Quintet in C major for the concert (second cello part).

I would never have imagined being able to play that piece but I did, and now it is my absolute favourite piece of music. I learnt, particularly, how important it is not to worry about the notes more than the ensemble - the playing together bit is the crucial part of chamber music. When I (we all) concentrated on the music, everything else started to find its place, the tricky rhythms, the difficult notes, the big shifts and the overall structure of the piece.

Thank you so much to Thomastik for their generous support and to the inspiring coaches and also to the JDCMF - I am really grateful to them!

Mathilda (14)