Continuo Connect talks to award-winning guitarist Declan Hickey and harpsichordist Nathaniel Mander ahead of their exciting upcoming 'Dukatenkonzert' in London. Declan Hickey has appeared at a string of major British venues and festivals, and live on BBC Radio 3. As both a soloist and chamber musician, he has won awards from organisations including the Worshipful Company of Musicians, the International Guitar Foundation and Help Musicians. Nathaniel Mander is widely regarded as one of the leading harpsichordists of his generation, having won first prize at the Early Keyboard Ensemble Competition and the Broadwood Harpsichord Competition. Read on for more personal insights into their buzzing careers, the fascinating instruments they will be playing and a new ensemble!

1. Your concert is entitled Dukatenkonzert. Where does that title come from?

DH: I first came across the term when reading Lindsay Jones’s article on the musical hinterland of the Congress of Vienna. Lindsay offers a vivid account of the public concerts in private homes that took place while Europe’s statesmen redrew the boundaries of a post-Napoleonic continent. These Dukatenkonzerte took their name from the going rate for a ticket (one ducat!) and featured many of Vienna’s most celebrated performing musicians—the pianists Johann Hummel (1778–1837) and Ignaz Moscheles (1794–1870) and guitarist Mauro Giuliani (1781–1829) among them. Having been a devotee of house concerts for several years, I couldn’t resist the temptation to recreate a Viennese Dukatenkonzert with Nathaniel, the Hummel to my Giuliani!

2. Tell us about the instruments you will be playing.

DH: I’ll be playing on a 19th-century guitar made by William Hanbury. In the 1830s Hanbury built guitars on Denmark Street, which is still the heart of London’s ‘guitar district’ today. I bought it a few years ago from the guitar world’s authoritative organologist, James Westbrook. The guitar is undated and information on the provenance is scanty, but James has masterfully reconstructed the original label from the mere fragment that survives—a single letter, barely the size of a thumbnail! Hanbury worked for the better-known luthier Louis Panormo (1784–1862), whose style he closely followed. I recommend James’s magnum opus, Guitar Making in Nineteenth-Century London, to all who want to know more!

NM: Hello there! I’m delighted to be performing on a charming early-romantic square piano from the Broadwood workshop, made in Soho and purchased in 1814 for a reasonable £39. Aside from its clear, glittering tone it boasts some lovely cast gilt metal decoration on the body of the instrument and six turned and reeded legs, very typical of the period. It also features the then fashionable addition of the extra half an octave in the top register which I’ll be using to lovely, glassy effect.

3. How did you come up with the programme? Are there pieces you are especially excited to perform?

NM: We met up last year with the idea of trying out some of the lesser-known piano-and-guitar repertoire. Equipped with two lovely period instruments and open minds, we started reading through a selection of the many pieces for our combination. This repertoire fulfilled a very specific need for salon music during a period in which almost every middle-class home featured a piano or a guitar. The music is wonderfully satisfying to play. It’s not too demanding to pull off, nor does it claim to push the boundaries of artistic expression into untold realms, but rather offers a bright and breezy style guaranteed to appeal to any listener. It lives in the moment and is great fun for both players to perform. I’m most looking forward to showcasing a piece by Mertz, a musical depiction of a pleasure trip out on the lakes—shimmering textures and romantic melodies abound!

DH: The first consideration was to make sure that the repertoire worked on our instruments. The Broadwood has a compass of five and a half octaves, so we avoided pieces that require a wider range. But more importantly, we wanted a balance of style and proportion. The Diabelli sonata is playful and light, while the Beethoven variations (arr. Ferdinando Carulli) are weightier and offer our audience something familiar. And, of course, the two names are indelibly linked in people’s minds thanks to the monumental Diabelli Variations, so that’s a nice connection. The Mertz meanwhile is a gorgeous tone poem that depicts a boat trip on Austria’s Traunsee - a welcome programmatic inflection amidst the sonata- and variation-form works. And we couldn’t have all this Austro-German music in an early 19^th-century programme without something Italian and operatic: the Rossini (arr. Fossa) was too much fun to resist.

4. Is there a piece you find particularly challenging or demanding to bring to life on period instruments?

DH: Some of the virtuoso solo pieces that I learned first on modern guitar, like Mertz’s Fantaisie Hongroise, can be tricky on an old instrument. Modern guitar aesthetics prioritise volume, attack and speed, and guitars have evolved to match those priorities. Playing on old guitars doesn’t necessarily compromise these qualities, but I’ve had to adapt my playing technique to achieve them.

NM: Playing historical pianos always comes with certain challenges, but I tend to find that once you’ve made friends with each other (which I know to do very quickly these days!) you can work around your respective quirks and requirements, and focus on bringing out the particular lovely traits which make each piano unique.

5. What is most important to you when playing on period instruments? For instance, do you change the way you approach phrasing, tempo or ornamentation compared to modern instruments?

NM: This comes back to my previous point: you’re always trying to get the best out of whichever instrument you happen to be playing in that moment. Having spent some time with the Broadwood for this recital I know that it has a very expressive and delicate upper treble register, so I’ll be voicing that sympathetically with the resonant bass. It’s to all our advantage that we’ll be performing in a small domestic setting; you’ll be able to hear every little detail and inflection.

DH: I always refer to historical sources as a stylistic guide. Commentators in the early 19th century who were favourable to the guitar spoke of its singing quality, its tonal variety, and its intimacy—these are the things I try to achieve with my Hanbury. Especially when playing with Nathaniel, so much of the music - phrasing, articulation, dynamics, and so on - becomes a live and flexible dialogue. I think that’s how it should be. As for the mechanics, each ‘period instrument’ is different. My Hanbury, just like most Panormo guitars, is very accessible to players used to modern instruments. I would say the bigger difference comes with the gut treble strings I use. These require a deeper stroke to be fully activated, but the results are marvellous.

6. What would you say to someone attending this kind of historically-informed performance for the first time, who’s unfamiliar with this repertoire?

NM: Now this is a very interesting concept. Anyone who has never heard a historical piano before might well be surprised by the completely different tone and colour palette of such an instrument. Certainly, don’t come expecting to hear (or even see!) a sleek and full-bodied Steinway, but rather let yourself be disarmed by the rippling old-world romance of these charming 19th-century instruments. I love their delicate and fragile human quality, and they really do speak from a different age—the age of elegance!

DH: As with any performance, go in with an open mind and treat the music on its own terms. And be prepared for a much closer interaction with the performers than is possible in a concert hall.

7. What do you hope audiences take away from hearing music performed this way?

DH: I try to offer escapism from the drudgery of everyday metropolitan life. Listening to a live concert is one of the few modern experiences unsullied by technology. It is a chance to be both stimulated and relaxed, but always fully engaged. Using these special instruments in domestic spaces, just as they did in London 200 years ago, adds an almost ghostly quality to our performance—a portal into another world. I think that’s a rare and magical opportunity.

NM: Like with all my performances I hope to leave the listener enriched and uplifted, perhaps moved, and above all inspired.

8. Nathaniel, as a solo harpsichordist you have a busy calendar, but the audience will have the opportunity to hear you playing a historical piano for this event. How does it feel to adapt to a different instrument?

NM: Yes, the solo harpsichord repertoire occupies most of my career and focus, but I often perform on pianos too. It’s always a delight to join forces with another artist, especially with Declan and his beautiful, silvery tones. Executing fine early piano playing I find to be very similar to harpsichord playing, so I’m quick to adapt these days. You need an equally light and active touch and you’re working within a more intimate sound world than with later instruments. This requires you to listen in a very intense way which I find deeply satisfying and, should you manage to make the concert yourself, I hope you’ll find the same!

9. Declan, you’ve recently relaunched your group, Harmonicon. What's the story behind the name? And what upcoming plans do you have for the ensemble?

DH: The Harmonicon was London’s leading music journal in the 1820s. I fell in love with this period of musical literature as an undergraduate and have ended up pursuing a PhD on the related subject of the 19th-century musical annual. More than simply an homage to British musical and literary life in the early 19th century, however, the name Harmonicon encapsulates the journal’s miscellany and humour that our group aims for in its musical activities. I like to integrate readings and audience interactions into the group’s performances - quips from Harmonicon reviews, poems, prose extracts from Dickens, and so on. Modern concert etiquette is far too stifling! In its new incarnation, our group has upcoming plans for more salon-style performances, a series of ‘Regency Lates’ in pubs, and, I hope, recordings of some major 19th-century works. We’ve also just acquired a gorgeous 1790s piano that the wonderful technician Yvonne Cheng is restoring for us - much fun to be had!

Nathaniel Mander and Declan Hickey's upcoming concert, 'Dukatenkonzert', will take place on 25 October 2026 in a private home in Gospel Oak. More information and booking details can be found here.