I had just decided I was going to leave
the BBC to go and do a
degree in anthropology as it happened
which was a non-starter but I did,
and I became a freelance and I
hoped to pay for myself with
just occasional engagements.
And I walked into the BBC Club one day and the
Head of Documentaries - a man called Hugh Weldon - suddenly said
"Daibach!" (he being a Welshman)
"do you want to go to Japan?" and I said
yes, of course I want to go to Japan
"Would you like to make a film about an orchestra?"
"Yes!" - and he said "well you could do both. But you have to leave next week"
and I said "why?" and he said "well, the
manager of the London Symphony Orchestra
who is very keen on the accounts has discovered
that he's got four seats available, vacant
and it really hurts him to think they're
not used so we've come to a deal that if
he gives you your tickets to go, would you direct a film
about the London Symphony Orchestra's tour of Japan?"
Which was the very first time a full blown western orchestra went to Japan
And of course I said fine, and we left three days later.
Well, I had no time to think about
what we were going to do until I
literally got on the plane which was a
big jumbo jet, or a big jet anyway,
and it was full of all the orchestral players.
I'd never travelled with an orchestra before and I had no idea what I was going to do.
I walked down the aisle
and there were all these people
who I've always sort of worshiped
as people in touch with eternity as great musicians.
And there they all were playing cards and drinking
and one thing and another, like normal human beings!
And they said things like "who are you?" 
and "what are you doing?"
“I'm making a programme about the orchestra”
"Oh, you're just going to want conductors blowing their tops and things aren't you?"
I said "certainly not!"
And they said "what's your idea?"
I had no idea really, what it was.
And then before we got there, I thought
I'm going to have to focus on 
some of the distinguished players
the leaders of sections and so on.
And of course Neville was there,
he was the obvious person,
and I picked the oboe player who was...
Roger. Roger Lord
And Gervase de Peyer
And I would film them talking to their,
as it were, equivalents in the Japanese orchestras,
and including masterclasses which they gave, 
and which Neville gave,
and that was the film.
It wasn't a great film, but it was a pioneering film
in that nobody had filmed orchestral rehearsals 
before in that way
There was Doráti, and Monteux, and Colin Davis,
but it was Doráti which in the end we featured.
And it set a pattern -
orchestral rehearsals then could be seen to be rather interesting in discussions.
I remember some quite abstruse Doráti instructions
which made absolutely no sense to me at all
and I don't think they did to the
orchestra really, because
his grasp of English wasn't as strong as all that.
But we staggered through it!
And it wasn't until on the return journey
that I discovered that Neville –
because he was discussing with Roger Lord and with various other people
about rehearsals – 
he revealed that he had this small group
which was just recording, and that was
how I first heard of the Academy.
And then you came to supper, and you probably heard more then...
Indeed
We became friends – firm friends really –
and I knew him, and you, ever since really.
Which is a long time. Lucky for us.
