Viola da gamba player Liam Byrne

»I love performing in front of audiences that know the music that I’m playing, but I also really love performing for audiences that have no idea who I am or what I’m doing at all. It’s sometimes terrifying as a performer to throw yourself into this sort of situation where you are feeling vulnerable, but I think that’s also exciting.« – Liam Byrne

Viola da gamba player Liam Byrne is one of the most versatile exponents of his craft. He talks to Steven Walter about the different types of music he moves between. In recent years, he has been involved in an almost unbelievable variety of festival concerts. For example, in 2022 with harpsichordist Elina Albach in the instrumental version of Claudio Monteverdi’s opera »Orfeo« or with the avant-garde ensemble Alarm Will Sound. Or in 2024 for an all-day installation at the LVR-LandesMuseum in Bonn.  

Liam Byrne has never been interested in confining the viola da gamba to a historically ›authentic‹ repertoire: »I’m obsessed with the viol. I’m obsessed with its sound ... Fidelity to the historical musical text of a work is less important to me.«

The podcast was recorded in 2022  – listen to learn how Liam Byrne got from the double bass to the gamba, why the gamba – historically speaking – is younger than the violin, and which of his many concerts at Beethovenfest 2022 is his favourite.

bee.contemporary is a podcasts by Beethovenfest Bonn. We invite guests from the areas of music, culture and society to talk to us about new artistic projects and contemporary discourse.