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, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The st ...

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 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition (known as Cardiff Singer of the World from 1983–2001 and BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff in 2003) is a competition for classical singers held every two years. The competition was started by BBC W ...

. 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 o ...

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 based in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of ...

, and has been on ''

Gramophone Magazine ''Gramophone'' is a magazine published monthly in London, devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie who continued to edit the magazine until 1961. It was ...

''’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 that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC ...

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 ...

. He has interviewed everyone from

Leonard Bernstein Leonard 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 the first America ...

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

; from

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

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 seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy ...

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 refused to be limited 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 A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

*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 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. ENO's productions are sung in Englis ...

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 Anja Silja Regina Langwagen (, born 17 April 1940) is a German soprano singer. Biography Born in Berlin, Silja began her operatic career at a very early age, with her grandfather, Egon Friedrich Maria Anders van Rijn, as her voice teacher. Sh ...

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 L ...

'' (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)