From the Leader's Chair

Kenneth Sillito is internationally recognised as one of Britain's most distinguished musicians. Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he studied with David Martin at the Royal Academy of Music, and in Rome with Remy Principe. His first major appointment was as associate leader of the newly created English Chamber Orchestra in 1960. He was subsequently appointed leader and remained with the orchestra until 1973, during which time he established a worldwide reputation as both director and soloist. In 1967, he founded the Gabrieli String Quartet, which swiftly established itself as one of this country's leading chamber ensembles. With the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, which he joined in l980, Kenneth led and directed innumerable distinguished recordings and performances until his retirement in 2012. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy in 1971 and awarded the highly prestigious Cobbett Medal in 2017 by The Worshipful Company of Musicians for his services to chamber music.

In this absorbing memoir, Kenneth Sillito looks back over a long and distinguished career that saw him emerge from the coal-mining towns of the northeast to become one of the most admired violinists of his generation. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 1971 and awarded the prestigious Cobbett Medal in 2017 by the Worshipful Company of Musicians for Services to Chamber Music. As leader of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the English Chamber Orchestra and Gabrieli String Quartet, Kenneth takes us behind the scenes of a golden period in British music-making. Illuminated by fascinating recollections of the many legendary artists he worked with, he brings to life an extraordinary career that embraced everything from performing in Carnegie Hall to appearing in Paul McCartney's Give my Regards to Broad Street.