Edward Seckerson is a British music journalist and radio presenter specialising. He is currently the Chief Opera critic for The Independent

The Independent

The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

. He wrote and presented the long-running BBC Radio 3

BBC Radio 3

BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...

 series Stage & Screen in which he interviewed many of the most prominent writers and stars of musical theatre. He appears regularly on BBC Radio 3 and 4. On television, he has commentated a number of times at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition. He has published books on Mahler and the conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, and has been on Gramophone Magazine’s review panel for many years. Edward presented the long running BBC Radio Four musical quiz Counterpoint

Counterpoint (radio)

Counterpoint is a BBC Radio 4 quiz. Questions are about music, from classical, jazz, pop, musicals, and all other forms of music. It was originally hosted by Ned Sherrin...

 for one year in 2007, after the death of Ned Sherrin

Ned Sherrin

Edward George "Ned" Sherrin CBE was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC...

.

He has interviewed everyone from Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...

 to Liza Minnelli

Liza Minnelli

Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....

; from Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

 to Pavarotti: from Julie Andrews

Julie Andrews

Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...

 to Jessye Norman

Jessye Norman

Jessye Norman is an American opera singer. Norman is a well-known contemporary opera singer and recitalist, and is one of the highest paid performers in classical music...

.

Journalist and critic

Edward is a prolific writer and journalist. His current posts include:

• Chief Classical Music & Opera Critic of The Independent
• A member of the review panel for Gramophone Magazine

Previous appointments as reviewer and critic include:

• Chief Music Critic for The Sunday Correspondent
• Music Critic for The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  
• Classical Music Magazine
• BBC Music Magazine
• Hi-Fi News & Record Review Magazine
• The Strad
• Has written also for The Times and The Sunday Times

Broadcaster

A wide range of programmes on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4 as writer, presenter, commentator and critic, including:

BBC Radio 3

Stage & Screen - Writer and Presenter

This long-running series included Edward’s acclaimed interviews with Julie Andrews, Angela Lansbury, Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, Barbara Cook, Michael Ball, Stephen Sondheim, Elaine Paige, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Elton John

Presenter Weekend Morning on 3

Presenter of The BBC Proms
Afternoon Performance
CD Review – incl. Building a Library and the annual ‘Critics Choice’
Nightwaves
The Changing Voice
In Character

Mining The Archive
Performance on 3

BBC Radio 4

Presenter of Counterpoint on BBC Radio 4, 2007
Kaleidoscope special with Sir Paul McCartney
Woman’s Hour with Elaine Paige

Television

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World coverage
Julie Andrews sings Richard Rodgers - Polygram Video/TV Special
Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note
Jacqueline du Pre: Playing With Fire
The South Bank Show: Leif Ove Andsnes
Maxim Vengerov: Playing By Heart

Podcasts

English National Opera

English National Opera

English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...

Glyndebourne Festival Opera
London Philharmonic Orchestra
City of London Festival
Joseph Weinberger Ltd (all also available via The Independent Online)
Stage and Screen Online

Public appearances

Judging panel for The Voice of Musical Theatre Competition in Cardiff
Judging panel for The Sondheim Prize
Moderated public interviews with Stephen Sondheim (Queen’s Theatre, London) and Charles Strouse (Shaw Theatre, London)
Pre-performance events for the BBC Proms, English National Opera, Cheltenham Festival, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: public interviews with Bryn Terfel, Renee Fleming, John Tomlinson, Jonas Kaufmann, Juan Diego Florez
Wigmore Hall: Evenings with Anja Silja and Margaret Price

Film

Young Winston (dir Richard Attenborough)
Julia (dir Fred Zinnemann)
A Bridge Too Far, (dir Richard Attenborough)

Theatre

Bristol Old Vic
Tyneside Theatre Company
Timothy West Company at the Billingham Forum
Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Publications

Mahler: His Life and Times (Omnibus Press)
Michael Tilson Thomas: Viva Voce - a collection of conversations with the American conductor (Faber and Faber)

Liner notes & EPK Promotional Videos for Deutsche Gramophone, EMI, Decca, and others.

Essays on Leonard Bernstein’s Candide and The Merry Wives of Windor in Music for the Edinburgh Festival and Royal Shakespeare Company programmes

External links

• Edward Seckerson's official website
• Bio on the BBC