The late 1990s in Manchester was a halcyon time for chamber music. Flourishing in a Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) department led by the inspirational and much missed Christopher Rowland, Magnus Johnston and the Johnston String Quartet (renamed Elias upon his departure from the group) followed in the footsteps of the Sorrel and Nossek Quartets, performing and competing internationally. Later playing in the Navarra Quartet and Aronowitz Ensembles, Johnston has spent his whole career predominantly as a chamber musician, so some observers may have been surprised when the Royal Ballet & Opera announced the violinist as its new concertaster last autumn. ‘Just before the pandemic, I got a call to come and lead The Magic Flute, which was pretty exciting because I’d never done any opera. I’d spent a lifetime playing chamber music and then I got a taste for this large-scale chamber music, which is what it feels like performing opera with singers. I feel like the skill set is well placed.’

The Royal Opera has a history of appointing young concertmasters. Vasko Vassilev was just 24 when he got the job and Johnston is another youthful choice. ‘I didn’t know that there was a position available at the time. I just took the opportunity because of The Magic Flute. Who gets to lead that? My naivety probably helped me!’ Johnston’s respect for the company is clear. He says that seeking advice from more experienced orchestral colleagues has helped him with a steep operatic learning curve. Johnston enjoys a good relationship with both the outgoing music director of the Royal Opera, Antonio Pappano, and Koen Kessels, music director of the Royal Ballet, and frequently seeks their counsel, too.

As a contemporary of Johnston, I recall his first year at the RNCM. Such was the interest in this talented young musician, fresh from the finals of the BBC Young Musician competition, that the Lord Rhodes Recital Hall was standing room only – unprecedented for an internal recital. The violinist has been forced to contend with such pressure throughout his career. He mentions the experience of auditioning for the concertmaster role, while simultaneously working as a guest with the orchestra: ‘I remember that my ROH audition was on a day in between a Lohengrin and a Swan Lake. I had to do my audition, which was two concertos, a full 60 pages of excerpts, and I’d never done an audition before!’ Johnston recalls a chamber music lesson from Christopher Rowland who told him that ‘When things are not going well in a performance, imagine that your favourite violinist is sitting on your lap, playing along with you.’

Regarding favourite violinists, Johnston mentions the late Hugh Maguire as being a constant source of inspiration to him. ‘I spent my whole life talking myself out of auditions, but Hugh Maguire was a concertmaster here, and he played quartet as well. I just thought, it’s an opportunity that I have to take for myself. It’s a huge comfort, sitting in that chair knowing that Hugh had sat there too.’

Johnston advocates the practice of visualisation. A sports enthusiast himself, he bemoans the fact that unlike our sporting counterparts, classical musicians are rarely trained and supported in the psychology of high performance.

On reading an article by the Rugby Union player George Ford, Johnston wrote speculatively to Ford’s mind coach Don Macpherson, looking for assistance dealing with performance pressure. The pair subsequently worked together and in addition to preparing on the violin, Johnston now spends time visualising everything from the walk to the orchestra pit, shaking the conductor’s hand, to the realisation of a fiendish orchestral solo.

‘When the moment comes, you’ve been there. You’ve experienced it. It’s like a mental rehearsal. This is how I now prepare all solos, Swan Lake solos, all the pressure moments.

‘This is what all top sports people do, but as musicians we’re just expected to get out there and do it!’

One aspect of opera performance that Johnston relishes is the opportunity to play a great work several times in a run of performances. Johnston views the season as a ‘series of mini orchestral courses.’

He seems as enthusiastic about the preparation, the rehearsal periods and Sitzprobe as the shows themselves and describes a ‘sweet spot’ of repetition which affords artists the opportunity to experiment when feeling comfortable enough in their grounding and familiarity with a piece.

Johnston speaks with such admiration of his colleagues that it is easy to imagine him being a popular and approachable leader in the pit. Clearly honoured to be at the helm, he is ebullient when discussing his future with the orchestra and the remarkable repertoire he is still to learn.

Being part of a supportive musical family is something that may come naturally to Johnston, because of his own upbringing. Magnus and his three siblings are all musicians, most notably his younger brother, cello soloist and educator, Guy Johnston. Their parents founded Musicale, the Hertfordshire based music school and shop and Johnston has found his own family to be a source of encouragement and support.

‘You know, whilst I never did it just to make them happy – it’s wonderful. For years I was very much chasing… and I didn’t quite know where I was headed. The quartet world was tough and hard to sustain, so my family were just really delighted for me to have a kind of real sense of direction now and structure to life which I’d not had.’

As for his own young family, Magnus is married to violinist Marije Johnston and their two children’s first experience of the Royal Opera was watching Humperdinck’s fairytale masterpiece Hansel and Gretel. This introduction to opera was all the more special for Johnston’s eldest daughter, who had learned the theme on her own violin, with her parents.

What would his mentor, Chris Rowland make of Johnston’s rise to concertmaster of the Royal Opera House?

‘When I left the Johnston Quartet, I remember him saying, “What are you going to do? What are you going to do with your life? You’re a quartet player, what are you going to do?” I always wondered what he would have thought about where I’ve ended up now.’ I am convinced that Rowland would have taken great pride in his student being the custodian of a seat that the likes of Hugh Maguire had previously occupied.

Being concertmaster of a fine orchestra opens up other opportunities to connect with the past. Thanks to J & A Beare, Johnston has been performing on the 1699 Stradivari violin which was played by Ida Haendel, a musician he had played chamber music alongside at Prussia Cove. He is looking for a patron to enable him to continue playing the instrument. Any enquiries should be directed to maja@beares.com 

This article originally appeared in the Autumn 2024 issue of Opera Now. Never miss an issue – subscribe today