Maya Magub joined the London Mozart Players in 1995-ish
Where else do you teach/play?
In the Mainardi piano trio (with Sarah Butcher, No. 3 cello!); Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique; various others... I teach at Imperial College, London.
Where were you born?
London. (Boring! Sorry, not Timbuktu.)
How old were you when you started playing, and why did you take up the violin?
I was five when I finally wore my dad down and persuaded him to teach me. My parents were always playing sonatas in the front room and it was infuriating to be left out!
What has been your most fun/interesting musical experience so far?
Tied first place: Playing Dvorak’s Romance in the Royal Albert Hall when I was 17, and watching Yuri Zhislin [ex-violinist in the LMP] sing Nessun Dorma at the Fairfield Halls in one of Alasdair Malloy’s children’s concerts!
Who have you enjoyed working with the most and why?
Yehudi Menuhin, Joseph Silverstein, James Ehnes, Howard Shelley, John Eliot Gardener and the Mozart Players chamber ensemble(!). All for very different reasons... James Ehnes was the most recent discovery: none of us had really heard of him until he came to record the Hummel CD with us and within seconds we were all sitting on the edge of our chairs feeling like we were part of something quite extraordinary. I was in John Eliot’s orchestra for performances of the complete Beethoven symphonies in the Musikverein in Vienna, which was a fabulous experience. I remember rehearsing the Pastoral Symphony one gorgeously sunny morning and, whilst walking in Heiligenstadt that same afternoon, hearing the very same brook and the great-great grandchildren of the very same birds he was portraying.
Do you play any other instruments?
No, I played the piano fairly well until I left school and have since forgotten every note!
Do you have any hobbies you manage to fit into your spare time?
I make cards, jewellery, love ceramic painting, that kind of thing. Nothing that I can’t finish in two days or it’ll never get done! My husband calls me 'crafty', but I’ve never worked out if that’s a compliment... I also love cooking Indian food – got very inspired on a trip to South India one Christmas. Oh, and um ... shopping...
Where is your favourite holiday destination?
South India (Kerala), Egypt (Luxor), Scotland (west coast).
What's your favourite sound?
.....clapping???? Oh, I don’t know, the sea, cow-bells, silence...
