Edward Seckerson is a British music journalist and radio presenter specialising in musical theatre. Formerly Chief Classical Music Critic of the Independent, Edward Seckerson is a writer, broadcaster and podcaster. He wrote and presented the long-running

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

series ''Stage & Screen'' in which he interviewed many of the most prominent writers and stars of musical theatre. He appears regularly on

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 Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

and the conductor

Michael Tilson Thomas Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist, and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of the S ...

, and has been on '' Gramophone Magazine''’s review panel for many years. Edward presented the long-running

BBC Radio Four BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at B ...

musical quiz ''Counterpoint'' for one year in 2007, after the death of

Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of r ...

. He has interviewed everyone from

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

; from

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

: from

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

Journalist and critic

Edward is a prolific writer and journalist. His current posts include: *A member of the review panel for Gramophone Magazine Previous appointments as reviewer and critic include: *Chief Classical Music Critic of the Independent *Chief Music Critic for The Sunday Correspondent *Music Critic for

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

*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, and 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 Pré: Playing With Fire The South Bank Show: Leif Ove Andsnes Maxim Vengerov: Playing By Heart

Podcasts

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British 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. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

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

Acting

Radio: Numerous dramas incl. The Archers, BBC Radio 4: Peter Stephens

Film

Young Winston (dir Richard Attenborough), Julia (dir Fred Zinnemann), and A Bridge Too Far, (dir Richard Attenborough) *'' A Bridge Too Far'' (1977) - British Padre (Last appearance)

Television

The Regiment Get Some In *''

Get Some In! ''Get Some In!'' is a British television sitcom about National Service life in the Royal Air Force, broadcast between 1975 and 1978 by Thames Television. Scripts were by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, the team behind sitcoms such as '' The Good ...

'' (1977) - LAC driver

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

References

External links

Edward Seckerson's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seckerson, Edward BBC Radio 3 presenters British male journalists British radio presenters Classical music radio presenters Living people Year of birth missing (living people)