He was already improvising on the piano as a toddler, fell in love with George Gershwin’s music at an early age, and discovered conducting rather by chance. A conversation with Wayne Marshall about key experiences that marked the beginning of something new.
Wayne Marshall, you were already playing the piano by ear at the age of three and only learnt to read music later on. Was that difficult?
Yes! My mum played the piano and my dad sang. I’d listen to them making music, imitate it straight away, improvise over it and develop it further. Then, when I was eight, I started having professional piano lessons. After about three weeks, my teacher said to me: ‘Wayne, if you want to get anywhere as a musician, you’ll have to learn to read music.’ That was tough, because I could already play. But of course she was right. So I practically had to start from scratch, forget everything I’d picked up instinctively and get to know music all over again – note by note. In the process, I realised I had perfect pitch, which helped me enormously along the way.
So both your parents were musical. What are your earliest memories of that?
Music was simply part of our everyday family life. My parents had emigrated from Barbados to the UK in 1957. I was born in 1961, and every Sunday we’d go to church, which was right opposite our house. I was constantly hearing choral singing and organ music. At home, too, there was always music being played. Both my sisters went on to become singers.
Was there ever a Plan B for you?
No. Never! Even as a child, I knew: music is my life. I’m 65 years old now – and nothing has changed.
Wayne Marshall discovered his talent for improvisation at an early age – and has retained it to this day. When asked how he knows what to play, he replies: “For me, improvisation is a kind of spontaneous composition. I never plan ahead, but react to the moment, the space and the atmosphere. It’s something very instinctive. Often, it all stems from a small impulse, such as a harmony, a rhythm or a melody. From there, the music unfolds quite organically. I know an incredible number of pieces from jazz, classical and church music – all of that flows in subconsciously. And the best thing is: there are no mistakes, because it’s improvised, after all. I love this boundless freedom!”
You first heard Gershwin’s Concerto in F when you were eight years old. That was clearly a defining moment.
Absolutely. My parents immediately got me a recording and the score. I listened to and studied the piece for hours on end, even though I could barely read music. We always had music playing at home anyway. On Saturday afternoons, we’d watch those big MGM musicals on the telly. I was fascinated by the orchestras, although as a child I thought all those sounds came from a single person playing a keyboard instrument. (laughs)
And when did you realise what an orchestra really is?
In my home town of Oldham, near Manchester, my parents once took me to see a musical – specifically *The White Horse Inn*, the Broadway version of the operetta *Im weissen Rössl*. Suddenly, I spotted my piano teacher sitting in the orchestra. That came as quite a shock to me. I thought: ‘Wow, there are so many musicians!’ In my next lesson, I said to her, absolutely thrilled: ‘Miss Bush, I saw you!’ It fascinated me incredibly.
As well as the piano, you also learnt to play the organ at an early age. What prompted that?
The church. I used to sit there as a little boy and was desperate to try out that huge instrument. Then came that magical moment: during a choir rehearsal for a school service, my teacher suddenly asked me, ‘Wayne, can you play a G major chord on the organ?’ For me, it was as if someone had said: ‘Here’s a million pounds.’ After that, you could hardly get me away from the organ.
So your parents obviously didn’t have to persuade you to practise.
No, not at all. The one thing they actually never had to say to me was: ‘Go and practise.’ Quite the opposite, in fact. The problem was more when I wasn’t allowed to practise. When I had to do my homework or go somewhere, even though I wanted to play. Then there’d be an uproar. That was a red rag to a bull for me.
Then, in 1986, you discovered your passion for conducting during a performance of Gershwin’s *Porgy and Bess* at Glyndebourne. How did that come about?
At the time, I was accompanying my sister on the piano whilst she was auditioning for the opera choir. Simon Rattle was conducting the audition. They were looking for someone to play the role of Jasbo Brown – the pianist on stage. Simon gave me the score, I played it – and got the job. He also hired me as a répétiteur.
And then?
Suddenly I found myself right in the middle of this production with Trevor Nunn and Simon Rattle. For me, it was like going back to school. I hardly knew *Porgy and Bess* at the time. But the crucial moment came during the performances: my part on stage was over after just seven minutes. So every evening I went down into the orchestra pit and watched Simon conducting.
And that’s when you developed the desire to conduct yourself?
Exactly. I’d never really given it much thought before. I was actually training to become a concert and church organist. But now I wanted to be closer to this music, to hear the orchestra and see how it all came together. A seat had been specially reserved for me in the pit. I sat there night after night, soaking it all up. The rest is history.
In December 2023, Wayne Marshall performed Gershwin’s Concerto in F on the piano at the Tonhalle Zurich, as well as improvisations on Bach’s ‘In dulci jubilo’ and Widor’s ‘Toccata’ from his Fifth Symphony on the new Kuhn organ. He is also very familiar with the earlier instrument by Kleuker and Steinmeyer. After this organ left its home at the Tonhalle to be moved to the Cathedral of the Assumption in Koper, Slovenia, in 2020/21, Wayne Marshall gave a concert there in May 2024: ‘The organ looks simply magnificent in the cathedral – and it undoubtedly sounds fantastic!’
