It calls for a special courage to give up playing for teaching, yet in 1921 that is exactly what harpist Gwendolyn Mason did.
Today there are few orchestras in the country that have not been influenced by her. In 1960 she was awarded the OBE. She is the only person still living to have played with Ravel; she played, too, under the legendary Richter. Yet, as she recalls in conversation with Jeremy James, her career as a quite exceptional harpist began entirely by accident.