Clive Barda
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Clive Blackmore Barda (born 14 January 1945) is a London-based, British freelance photographer best known for capturing the performances of classical musicians and artists of the stage (opera, ballet and theatre). During his career spanning over five decades, Barda has created a collection of over a million photographs of performers, composers, and conductors.


Early life

Barda was born in 1945 and spent his early childhood in
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, Egypt, where his father was a lawyer and his mother a painter. The family returned to England in 1956.Exhibition leaflet for ''An Eye for an Ear''. Royal Festival Hall, London (1 March – 8 April 1979). Barda attended
Bryanston School Bryanston School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the ...
and graduated from
Birkbeck College, University of London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...
(
BA Hons A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate education, undergraduate program in the liberal arts education, liberal arts, or, in some ca ...
Modern Langs), aspiring to apply his knowledge of modern languages as a commodities broker in the
City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
. His early interest in photography was mostly documentary; while studying for his degree, he travelled to
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
to photograph the painted monasteries of
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
. When he was twenty, following a friend's suggestion, he attended his first concert of classical music: an evening of Viennese music conducted by
John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 1943 ...
. Soon after, he started attending concerts several times per week, and listening regularly to
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 ...
.


Career

Barda decided to combine his interests in photography and classical music, and a chance encounter with a journalist for ''South Wales Magazine'' led to his first commission: photographing the harpist Susan Drake at home, on 12 November 1968. At the time, Drake's husband, John Wilbraham, was recording the
Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
and Hummel trumpet concertos and the producer asked Barda to shoot the album's sleeve. Retrieved on 6 September 2016. Drake then showed Barda's work to her agent, who recommended him to other artists, thus opening up opportunities for further engagements. Within a few months, Barda had his big break: The rehearsal took place at the
Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...
the following Tuesday, and Barda showed the resulting contact sheets to Barenboim a few days later, in the
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
's green room. There, he also met Peter Andry, a senior executive at
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
, who suggested that Barda show his pictures to the art department at EMI. This immediately led to Barda's first major commission: to photograph
Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...
, at EMI's No. 1 Studio, Abbey Road. During the following decades, Barda has portrayed the world's leading classical musicians, as well as performers in opera, dance, theatre and musicals, as a freelance photographer. In her review of Barda's book '' Performance!'' (2000) 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 ...
'', Charlotte Higgins stated: Barda has been closely associated with major British locations, such as the Barbican Hall,
Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...
,
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 Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...
,
Her Majesty's Theatre His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...
, National Theatre, Opera North, Queen Elizabeth Hall,
Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...
,
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, Royal Festival Hall,
Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...
,
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
,
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
at
Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...
,
St John's, Smith Square Smith Square Hall (formerly St John's Smith Square) is a concert hall in the centre of Smith Square, City of Westminster, Westminster, London. Its name was changed by its current operator, Sinfonia Smith Square, in 2024. Originally a church, ...
,
Usher Hall The Usher Hall (Scottish Gaelic: ''Talla Usher'') is a concert hall in the West End of Edinburgh, Scotland. The hall is owned and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council, and has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1914. Th ...
, and
Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) () is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales. WNO gave its first performances in 1946. The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the ...
. He has also worked abroad: in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, the U.S., and China. He has taken photographs during rehearsals and recordings in the studios of
AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...
, the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
, EMI's Abbey Road Studios,
Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a British independent recording studio based on Church Road, Barnes, Church Road, Barnes, London, Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st ...
, among others, as well as at the home venues of major orchestras such as the LSO. By 2012, Barda had already produced more than a million photographs, and has been referred to as the doyen of British music photography.


Method

When commissioned for a project, Barda asks what music will be played, since it is his understanding of the piece that will enable him to anticipate the decisive split second at which a good picture might be taken. As he explained: "Music is constantly punctuated. (...) There are narrative passages, there are peaks and troughs. The pictures occur at the peaks, the climaxes. Even if you don't know the music—though it helps if you do—you develop a sixth sense for these highs."
Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is a Soviet-born Icelandic pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists. In addition, ...
has stated that one of the secrets of Barda’s success "is his rare gift of being unnoticed, discreet and unobtrusive while doing his work."


Personal life

In 1970, Barda married Rosalind Mary Whiteley; they have three sons.


Exhibitions

After a decade as a professional photographer, Barda began to exhibit his work, in the UK and abroad: *1979 – ''An Eye for an Ear''.
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
, London (1 March – 8 April 1979) *1980 – ''An Eye for an Ear''.
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, England *1981 – ''An Eye for an Ear''.
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Australia (7 February – 2 March 1981)Exhibition leaflet for ''An Eye for an Ear''. Perth Concert Hall, Perth (7 February – 2 March 1981). Hempstead & Associates. *1981 – ''An Eye for an Ear''.
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, Australia *1985 –
Science Museum, London The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019. Like other publicly funded ...
(with
Lord Snowdon Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017) was a British photographer. He is best known internationally for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue (magazine), Vogu ...
and
Patrick Lichfield Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield (25 April 1939 – 11 November 2005), was an English photographer from the Anson family. He inherited the Earldom of Lichfield in 1960 from his paternal grandfather. In his professional practic ...
) *1985 –
Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...
, Bath, England (with Lord Snowdon and Patrick Lichfield) *1988 – Solo exhibition at the
National Museum of Photography, Film and Television National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
, Bradford, England *1996 – ''Bravura!''
Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...
, London (9 March – 10 April 1996)Exhibition leaflet for ''Bravura!''. Wigmore Hall, London (9 March – 10 April 1996). *1996 – ''Music to the Eye''. Inaugural exhibition at Nagaoka Lyric Hall, Japan (3 November – 23 December 1996)Exhibition leaflet for ''Music to the Eye''. Nagaoka Lyric Hall, Japan (3 November – 23 December 1996). *2001 –
Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...
, Scotland *2001 –
Cheltenham Literary Festival ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' Cheltenham Literature Festival, a large-scale international festival of literature held every year in October in the English spa town of Cheltenham, and part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for th ...
, England *2001 – Baroco Gallery, Paris, France *2003 – ''Black & White Photography''. The Van Ludwig Art Gallery,
Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England about south-west of London. It is in Mole Valley, Mole Valley District and the non-metropolitan district, council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs ro ...
, England (17 May – 22 June 2003)Exhibition leaflet for ''Black & White Photography''. The Van Ludwig Art Gallery, Dorking, England (17 May – 22 June 2003). *2005 – Permanent exhibition
Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...
, London *2012 – ''Exposure!'': **
Guangzhou Opera House Guangzhou Opera House () is a Chinese opera, Chinese opera house in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. Designed by Zaha Hadid, it opened on 9 May in 2010. History In April 2002 an international Architectural design co ...
(31 March-1 July 2012), China **
National Centre for the Performing Arts National Centre for the Performing Arts may refer to * National Centre for the Performing Arts (China) The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) (), colloquially described as The Giant Egg (巨蛋), is an arts centre containing an opera ...
in Beijing (5-19 April 2012), China **
Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
Grand Theatre (10 April-10 May 2012), China **
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
Summer Music Festival (17-22 July 2012), England **
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
at
Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...
(14-20 October 2012), England **Tap Seac Gallery (1 November-9 December 2012),
Macao Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world. Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...
*2013 – ''Music in Focus''.
Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...
Music and Film Valentine Festival (14-17 February 2013)


Collections

In 1990, Barda founded the Performing Arts Library (PAL), to showcase his own collection and the work of other photographers specializing in the arts. This project evolved into ArenaPAL in 1997. Barda's work is also held in the following public collections: *
National Media Museum The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum ...
in Bradford, England *
Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...
, in London *
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...
in London


Publications


Books by Barda

* ASIN B00164U1LW. *


Books with contributions by Barda

* * * * * *


Selected exhibition catalogues

* *


Filmography

* ''Trailer for Philippe Monnet's Clive Barda - Photographer'' (2012)


Honours

*
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
. *
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
in the
2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...
list, for services to photography. * Honorary fellowship of the Musicians' Company, July 2016.


See also

* List of photographs by Clive Barda


References


External links

*
Clive Barda - Classical Music Photographer
at ArenaPAL * *
From Domingo to Dudamel: Clive Barda's best photos - in pictures
' at theguardian.com *
Clive Barda – working photographer.
' at photomonitor.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Barda, Clive British portrait photographers Concert photographers 1945 births Photographers from London Living people People educated at Bryanston School Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts Officers of the Order of the British Empire