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Meeting the Music of Steven R. Gerber: Conductor Kenneth Woods and Arranger...
Feature Article by Colin Clarke A fair amount of the music of Steven R. Gerber has been covered in the Fanfare Archive, including the First Symphony and Viola Concerto (Chandos, Fanfare 24:2), and a...
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A true story
The worst rental materials I’ve ever been sent where those the Krenek Double Concerto for Violin and Piano, part the Krenek Piano Concertos project that the English Symphony Orchestra did for Toccata...
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What Mahler Tells Me – The Theme of MahlerFest XXXV
It’s that time of year again, when we can feel the rapid approach of Colorado MahlerFest. Here are some of my thoughts about this year’s festival. The committed Mahlerians in our audience this week...
View ArticleThe NPO Blues
I would like to share a few thoughts about yesterday’s Arts Council England announcement of the results of their application process for the new National Portfolio, speaking purely for myself, and not...
View ArticleExplore the Score. Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Symphony no. 45 in F-sharp...
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Symphony no. 45 in F-sharp minor, HOB I:45 “Der Abschied” (“The Farewell”) HEAR IT LIVE 7.30PM 23RD NOVEMBER 2022 GREAT MALVERN PRIORY, CHURCH ST, MALVERN WR14 2AY...
View ArticleGoodbye 2022 – The Year Music Was Made Redundant
Well, that didn’t go to plan. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, it was often said that no sector was hit harder than music. Concert halls were silenced, recordings postponed, musicians furloughed....
View ArticleThe Modern Violin Concerto
There’s an interesting piece in The Strad from Peter Quantrill on the state of the violin concerto. Of course, I remember well the lovely cover feature he mentions from 2017 which focused much...
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Explore the Score – Mendelssohn’s Scottish Masterpieces
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Overture – “The Hebrides” (“Fingal’s Cave”), opus 26 Symphony no. 3 in A minor, “Scottish”, opus 56 HEAR IT LIVE ESTHER ABRAMI @ THE MOUNT WITHOUT 9TH MARCH 2023 at 7:30...
View ArticleWayne Shorter’s Coltrane Tribute
Among Wayne Shorter’s many huge musical accomplishments, one can’t help but be awed by his ability to establish a completely distinct artistic space for himself as a tenor and soprano saxophonist when...
View ArticleRIP Christopher Gunning
It was heartbreaking to learn of the death of Christopher Gunning, although I’d been aware he had been unwell for some time. Chris was the sort of person one felt lucky to know. He could be incredibly...
View ArticleA great night with the orchestra, a bleak morning after
It’s been an amazing weekend seeing Philip Sawyers‘ new oratorio Mayflower on the Sea of Time come to life. Huge congrats to Philip S and to librettist Philip Groom for a piece that blew the roof off...
View ArticleGood news!
I am excited, grateful and relieved to be able to say that the English Symphony Orchestra have received a generous grant in support of our Autumn 2023 season from Arts Council England.Words can’t...
View ArticleThought for the Day – Orchestral Audition Repertoire
Thought for the day. A colleague I admire was talking today about how one might make the lists of orchestral audition excerpts more diverse. I take a different view. The professional orchestra...
View ArticleBlubbing for Beck -Mark Knopfler Revives the All-Star Charity Song Idiom
Maybe it’s the curmudgeon in me, but I was never a fan of the all-star charity track. From “We Are the World” to “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” I always found most of the songs saccharine and cloying,...
View ArticleFrom Wigmore to Mid Wales Opera, and from Oregon to Worcester
What follows is a Twitter thread I wrote in response to some excellent recent essays on UK arts funding. I’ve been thinking about a very important and balanced essay from Richard Bratby on the promise...
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