Can you have Midsummer Magic in December? Spencer Down and the Dockland Sinfonia certainly provided it – to 1600 East End kids, at the the Great Hall in the People’s Palace, Queen Mary University, London. With a little help from Mendelssohn of course. And a little film about the day has just been released. I will […]
Category: Musical Notes
This is a blog post category for Music & Concerts.
Autumn/Winter roundup
It’s been a busy and chaotic Autumn. Some things have gone well; some haven’t. There have been illnesses and cancellations. But to end the year on a positive note, here are the things that DID work out (more or less). They are all concerts, but next year will be a year of books. In October, I […]
Russia comes to Regis!
Yesterday I joined my friend and colleague, the pianist Alexander Ardakov, for a concert at the Recital Hall of the Regis School of Music, in Bognor Regis. With Alexander at the piano and me at the easel, we presented Mussorgsky’s original piano version of Pictures at an Exhibition. The exquisite recital hall was full to the […]
The mysterious Mr. Mussorgsky
Amongst Russian 19th Century composers, Mussorgsky is held in particular high esteem. In his short life he achieved extraordinary things, despite limited time (he was first in the army, then a civil servant), poor health (depression and alcoholism) and a lack of a complete formal musical education (although this may have been an advantage in some respects!). Through all […]
Musical Murals in Cheltenham!
As an addition to the music and art workshops in Cheltenham, for the Music Festival, I proposed a variation this year. As much as I love the individual art created by youngsters, I suggested it would be worthwhile exploring collaborative art as well. Using vast hardboard panels, an abundance of emulsion paint, two schools and 200 […]
Reaching Out in Cheltenham
For a third year running, in advance of the magnificent Cheltenham Music Festival, I’ve been invited into Gloucestershire schools as part of a major educational outreach project. In most of the schools I’ve been giving art and music workshops, with the children drawing and painting along to music from the BBC 10 Pieces collection, on […]
Mussorgsky’s “Pictures” in Cheltenham
I am really happy my association with the Cheltenham Music Festival continues to grow. This year, I will be joining the magnificent Flowers Band – one of the U.K’s top brass ensembles, for a roof-raising performance of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”. Here they are, outside the Royal Albert Hall: This wonderful work has become […]
Russian Pictures in Oxford
For the finale to the Children’s events at the Oxford Literature Festival, I was extremely honoured to work with the internationally acclaimed Russian pianist Alexander Ardakov on a performance of Pictures at an Exhibition. The concert was completely sold out some weeks in advance and I could not have asked for a lovelier or more amenable […]
A Manchester Pastoral
When Vaughan-Williams wrote “A Pastoral Symphony” it was widely misunderstood to be a reference to bucolic countryside scenes, like Beethoven’s 6th Symphony. In fact it was a response to the desecration of nature in WW1, which Vaughan-Williams experienced first hand as a stretcher-bearer in the trenches. When conductor and head of music of the world […]
de Havilland Heroes!
Howdy Pardners! The Heroes and Villains concert was a rip-roaring success, with two fantastic performances by the de Havilland Philharmonic under Robin Browning’s baton. Or should I say batons as his energetic conducting resulted in breaking a baton in two! I offered a paint brush as a substitute but, supreme professional that he is, he had […]
