Mindpoke

Bruckner: Crass Summaries

2012-01-26T13:39:00.000Z

I'm a bit uncomfortable - I'm becoming critical of Bruckner's works which suggests that the love affair is over. To be honest I've never really got on with the Masses - I have them by Jochum and Best but neither manages to convince me that the drama isn't awkward.

So as I reflect on his symphonies I'm drawn to making now - so sweeping, grim and dismissive statements about some of them which unsettles me. I figure writing them down will expose me as an idiot or reinforce my view and therefore ease the angst.

Symphonies 0 and 00 - dull and dulldull

Symphony No 1 - glorious, dramatic, full of energy

Symphony No 2 - Middle movements more interesting than the outer ones - how does that happen?

Symphony No 3 - train wreck of indecision, first 5 and last 5 minutes are grand - but that's not enough

Symphony No 4 - moments of inspiration but generally banal

Symphony No 5 - a great symphony if you're a little bit obsessive - just need patience

Symphony No 6 - peaks too early - first two movements have all the great ideas, finale perfunctory

Symphony No 7 - like No 6 but first movement ideas even greater - third movement awesome

Symphony No 8 - first full symphony - though first version sounds like it. Great symphony.

Symphony No 9 - perfect as far as it goes...but perfect nonetheless

This has happened before with Mahler and I was swimming with a tide which said Mahler isn't all that. Now the tide is going the other way so I keep sheepishly quite about it...for now.

Darkness Illuminated

2012-01-22T21:06:00.001Z

Mozart: Serenata Notturna, K334

Ives: Central Park in the Dark

Debussy: Nocturnes

Takemitsu: Quotation of Dream

Sibelius: Nightride and Sunrise.

BBC Philharmonic conducted by Juanjo Mena

Noriko Ogawa and Kathryn Stott (pianos)

20 January 2012 - Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

This concert kicks off a festival of Debussy's works being given in Manchester early in 2012 under the title "Reflections of Debussy" - Noriko Ogawa is a leading light in this celebration of the composer's 150th birthday. There was a broad nocturnal theme to this concert and all but one cases the pieces have a highly visual element to them.

It began with Mozart's Serenata Notturna - a domestic serenade but somewhat bolder than I'd want in my house in the middle of a party. Mena has - like many conductors and soloists - appropriated the best bits of historically informed practice to shape a lean sound from a full modern symphony orchestra. Its always struck me as a rather comical piece in the wrong hands and Mena was far from that. It was spruce and ship-shape but ultimately it stills flits from soloist to ensemble with such lack of ease that I worry one day everyone is going to play at once. The single bass instruments either struggle to be heard against a modern ensemble or dominate in an artificial way. It was nicely played here but I still wouldn't give the piece house room were it not for Mozart's beguiling, smiling melodies. So he wins - again!

Coming out after the Mozart Mena announced they were to play an extra item - and what a treat it was.

Charles Ives’ Central Park in the Dark is no more obscure in its description than Nightride and Sunrise. But Ives is a deal more interesting especially in his harmonies; usually best appreciated after the initial shock of his music wears off. The gentle distant slightly foggy opening. As a depiction of darkness, it is anything but natural, set in that huge park in the middle of that sprawling city. There is much to enjoy as the music of that city are approached as our subject walks through the artificial-natural environment - the casinos, bands, instrumentalists firing out popular songs, fire engines, singers all come into view and fade from it. A similar technique is used by Takemitsu incidentally - as though walking in a garden. As a national radio orchestra we have come to expect our BBC bands to be able to play Mozart one minute and Ives the next but when you hear it as I did tonight - it does seem to me remarkable that the players can do this with such facility. Mena knew just when to let Ives’ chaotic side go and the central section was suitably wild and raucous and the darkness descending was a little bit fresher for the outbursts. A fine addition to the programme - I wonder how and when they decided to put it in?

Almost immediately the orchestra took up with another grand piece of impressionistic music, Claude Debussy’s Nocturnes - three pieces which so nearly make a glorious symphony but never quite get their act together. There are three sections Nuages (clouds), Fêtes (Festivals) and Sirénes (Sirens/Mermaids). In my view this is a fantastic work of great beauty, simplicity and import - this latter because it does not describe in any great detail an event, but very much the evocation of the sensations of a place. The timeless moments such as the stasis of a cloudscape, are so beautifully realised but its seems to run against the very principle of music to hold time still.

Mena has a particular wizardry in soft, slow music. He builds a strong layer of sound from the low strings upwards and it has a fantastic plastic quality about it. Here he used that to vary the colour palette too. In Nuages it is a water colour wash, in Fêtes it is the background for colourful splashes of bright oils and in the diaphanous world of the sea the pastel shades of the sirens as the ride the waves is against this deeply alluring foundation colour.

His reading was more interesting than most too - a more complex story of the sirens who are at first sung, where marked as marked fortissimo, with clear almost bold lines, against a sparkling sea. This gives the piece much more mystery than any other reading I’ve heard compounded with (if I dare use the term) a disturbing under-current where their voice still alluring in a sea that’s not so inviting with patches of darker water. It was played beautifully too - in the first movement with a colour which surpassed my reference recording that by Haitink and the Concertgebouw. It was fascinating to hear the last movement revealed as something a little bit sinister - just heightens our interest.

In the interval on Radio 3 we had Debussy's piano music played by Noriko Ogawa. Further set up for the next of my musical treats.

Takemitsu’s Quotation of Dream is a double piano concerto - the pianists were Noriko Ogawa and Kathryn Stott. The work was premiered in 1991 in London, five years before the composer’s death. It began with much laughter in the Bridgewater Hall as Ogawa struggled with a recalcitrant piano stool, and eventually another had to be found for her. My last hearing Quotation of Dream must have been ten or so years ago and much as I love Takemitsu it had fallen off my radar. To hear it live - indeed to hear any Takemitsu live is something of a different experience. In the concert hall spatial awareness comes into the mix but on the radio the extra drama of a live performance comes over quite well - piano stools aside.

The work shifts restlessly between quotes from Debussy’s La Mer and Takemitsu’s earlier work. And its form is rather like a fitful dream especially as it’s quotes are sometimes life sized and distinct but at others distorted, half heard and disordered. The work comes from a time when Takemitsu was taken up with “sea” related works. But it is also a work of the uncertainty of night time and the dreamscape which also preoccupied the composer at times.

This performance was compact and timeless. The soloists and Mena never languished in Takemitsu’s “warm bath” harmonies a feeling of movement didn’t diminish the making of complex and intriguing textures, with fleeting melodic lines like wave tops. It feels like this is music that an orchestra inhabits. Like Debussy’s Nuages, the composer contrives for the players to take us out of our time: moving our temporal appreciation from marked time to experienced time. Lost in this I forgot at times I’m listening to a score being interpreted not that it sounds improvised, but that it sounded spontaneous. It is enigmatic in its mood and we struggle like the dreamer to make sense of all these parts The two pianists move - sometimes together and sometimes independently, weaving into teh complex orchestral textures. It is gently disorientating and slightly perturbing: like that moment when we struggle to recount our dreams - real for a moment then suddenly illusive. I must not wait so long for re-acquaintance.

Not content delivering so much of my favourite repertoire, the concert ended with a different view of a difficult Sibelius tone poem - I have to say I could be fonder of this piece but this reading did cast it in a different light.

Nightride and Sunrise doesn’t get many outings in concert or on record. It is profoundly pictorial but surprisingly difficult to unravel. The key here may by Sibelius’ desire to demonstrate just how uncomfortable a sleigh ride through the night to St Petersburg was. Certainly the first section is a battle for the conductor, according to Sir Simon Rattle. Mena delivered it at speed and the orchestra maintained their razor sharp response despite the heavy load that had preceded this one. Subtleties abound in a score smothered in notes - I relished the double bass interjections, almost disdainful.

The central section has a contrasting stillness to the lumpy earlier ride; its folksy melody sympathetically delivered: in these moments one is reminded what a top rank orchestra the BBC Philharmonic are now. And in truth one of the things I was waiting for - having heard their tremendous contribution to the Adagio of Bruckner’s Sixth before Christmas - was the radiant glory of the brass in the sunrise. Mena and his players delivered a different view of the piece, concentrating on the creeping illumination of the dawn embodied in the woodwind. It revealed more than I expected. Returning to the score I found Mena had interpreted as written and that where others have forced the brass - in the score its the woodwind choir which heralds the new day.

If nothing else this concert was confirmation of a growing ambitious and adventurous partnership between orchestra and conductor. Despite the challenge of these pieces, the players took the audience with them on each journey - those who listened in the hall did so in rapt silence mostly and given that its the season for chesty colds in Manchester that was no mean feat. If you haven’t heard them I would recommend them and my next step will be to hear them live.

Another friend of mine...

2012-01-16T11:53:00.000Z

i wrote the other day about a friend of mine who's gone. people read those words and, some knowing much and others knowing little, drew conclusions and some appreciated them. i said i had to write them 'cos sometimes that's all you can do. Some people drew breath, others found more disquiet. One aired his dis-ease with a common sense balancing that there are two sides to this story. In fact there are more, but as i type i'm thinking of one particular person.

There are times when you pinch yourself: when life throws a blinding hand. So it was one Southport dance when i danced with a woman of grace, elegance and humour for the first time after many months of marvelling at her dancing. She smiled at my nerves, she tolerated my mistakes and she moved as if she were a blossom dancing in the lightest breeze. She and i danced more over time to my astonishment she would ask me to dance: i got less nervous and she maintained her tolerance and encouraging smile after each. i am not close to her but she was always friendly to me.

She lies in a hospital bed and has done so for some time now. She has serious injuries: she has a long hill to climb to recovery of her physical abilities. i wish her strength in that climb - all my strength, all our strength and all the strength in the world.

At this point, let me be clear: any sadness i feel about my dead friend does not cancel out any feeling i have for my living one. The is no limit or boundary to our grief.

And to elaborate, my thoughts for him do not just centre on his death: though it may be that i don't know all the facts of that. A man crosses a line when he decides to do whatever heinous thing is in his head. my grief and sorrow begin when a mind conceives to do the inconceivable. The man I know dies the moment he picks up the weapon with intent. i mourn the man i knew. But a life cannot be defined by one act - much as we might like that for the bad people - would we want that for ourselves? A great thinker once said "There is no crime of which I do not deem myself capable." - it is only how we deal with circumstances that steers our path.

So my friend is hurt and scarred and i am helpless here. I could speculate that damage wrought goes beyond the body - who of us can conceive of those moments. i can marvel at her courage. What in life prepares anyone for this situation? She has perhaps seen and heard what has happened and what has been said these last two weeks. She may be swirling in a maelstrom of emotions - pulling first this way then another. We have been there in our own neat worlds but she has a thousand and one things in her head to compound this horrific occurrence. And it is a horror: I have no doubt. Words like "sadness", "grief" even "anger" do little justice to her burden.

How can she look forward? She will have to find her own way. But I can do more here than elsewhere. I have already signposted the simple act of acknowledgment that from this unforeseen tragic and horrific event good can come:

- The people at Victim Support can not only help my friend, but all those who find themselves as victims. Please donate your money or just let others now this organisation is here to help.

- We can urge those who are suffering violence as a day to day commodity to seek help.

- More than that, we can look to a future where this wonderful dancer joins us again if she can and if she wishes that to happen. It is an uncertain enough future without the worry of acceptance.

The label of "victim" similar to the label of "perpetrator" do us no good. They are hangovers from a time when we were defined by what we do in such a one dimensional way. i have shaken hands with two "murderers" so far in my life - one a charming man of inspirational clarity, thoughtfulness and optimism, the other a practical man with joke and a laugh and flamboyant approach to problem solving. i met one knowing that he had committed the crime and the other (my boss) before he battered my colleague to death. We cannot let those labels for one act define all of their lives - it doesn't work.

- So, my final thought, i refuse to define my friend for the rest of our friendship as a victim. As she recovers from what has happened to her, i will acknowledge her journey and her battle and her many qualities and, not least, look forward to another dance.

A Friend of Mine....

2012-01-11T22:14:00.001Z

a friend of mine has gone, he has died and he has gone. its hard to believe. i feel sick - not sad - but sick in my guts. it was horrible and it still is.

i have a vivid memory of his handshake and his smile on the 28th of december 2011, and a chat about the state of the world and the music that night and the dancing and the overcrowding. we laughed, we were wise and slightly patrician. we were having a good time....

and then someone took me away to dance and so that's the last we spoke, me and Rob. i saw him leave and i waved and i think he waved back and i think he was wearing a hat and i said bye....now you know..... i'm not sure. the mind is cruel like that. like dozens of his friends i didn't get the chance to say goodbye properly. how could i? i didn't know he was going and I don't know if he knew.

once a few years before i sat down on the deck of hms president, permanently moored on the side of the thames in london and a man who later i came to know as a friend, was sat there in his cool shades. i said hello Rob - he seemed surprised. i was surprised i'd said it too because he had a reputation for candour. we chatted for about an hour in the sun, his shades came off and he toyed with them as we discussed dancing and dance venues. this was a pattern we were later to follow. seldom did we stretch to the personal - though he once said something funny about my father's birthplace near his birthplace as it happened. they are both "yellowbellies" except Rob has gone.

Rob in sunshine - in london and southport - I will remember. I will remember him practicing moves with C in a corner of the blues room in southport 'til sun up with a teacher of sorts putting them through their paces again and again and again. i found it hard to tell if he was devoted to the dance, devoted to the woman or devoted to the success.

He was engrossed: Rob was engrossed

i am fully prepared that there will ever be an answer to why he's gone and why he chose to go. we seek these things as though there is always a reason, always an action and an equal and opposite reaction. this isn't physics. over time i may forget to ask even if people know i may not know. i won't know what happened.

and how will i remember him - the shades, the smile, the laughter as pure as a child's delight, that smooth dance style and the quiet confidence (or at least its appearance)? all of those but how will i bury the recounted story, the end of that smiling friend who shook my hand and always always chatted for a while? i don't know - maybe with a wince, a quickened pulse, a look aghast in a corner of a room where i used to see him. he's gone from there. Rob's gone.

His candour, his humour, his wit, his sarcasm - memorable. His words could be cutting, to the bone, to the quick or to the nub of pomposity, self-aggrandisement and cant. He was held at a distance by some. He was always polite to me, funny and never cruel.

a group of my friends knew him far better than me - they are suffering terribly now. time will heal their wounded hearts. tomorrow they will see him off. that ceremony is not for me - he's gone - gone already by my reckoning. i recall when in a death-filled house a dog barked at a spirit as it tarried. they should go. the native americans have a saying - pertinent sadly "do not go where you are not invited" - it works both ways. the dog knew that.

i stand by for my friends - if they need me.

Rob was always very friendly towards me, he was not a close friend but he was a good friend and i will miss his laughter his grace and his concern to get the best out of the thing we both enjoyed. His constancy will remain as smiling memory.

i cannot conceive of how sad his family will be and how confused by the loss and sickening at the needless lack of reason. The shock will always be with them. to lose a child is, they say, the worst thing. Their pain will be numbing, unutterable and eternal and my thoughts - useless as they are - will be with them.

And i believe there is another victim in this - another person i know - i am not sure if i will ever see her again. and when i do she will not be the same woman i knew before. whatever the circumstances i am sorry for what happened and the violence of it. She will live with that - i send her all the strength i can muster.

And for me - well - Rob has gone. But if he were here, he'd say we'd better go and dance. So i will.

Top Dance Experiences

2011-12-11T12:02:00.000Z

My Top Dance Experiences

New additions in italics

Curly Wurly Sundays - I'm pretty sure that even if I sat here for a week I couldn't come up with a word or couple of words that sums up the Curly Wurly Sunday experience. One might conclude that Lisa Garydon's ideas all contribute: social media discounts, the unique chocolate focus brings in some, the half time jelly is essential refreshment for others, the location in Huddersfield, midway between Manchester and civilisation, helps too. Many will point to the music and I'd agree that Dave Graydon has the most astonishing talent for mixing music across the dance spectrum and finding tracks including obscure cover versions of unique quality. He's certainly a DJ we want and need to hear at weekenders. The quality of the dancers there is special - brash show-offs would not find this venue conducive to their needs. Good humour is a must, reticence will not serve you well here. Quality music also deserves acute musicality too: bass beat demons will not enjoy an easy ride. But I suppose what Dave and Lisa maybe don't realise is that this night can never be copied because they are the key ingredients about this night. It is extraordinary and you should try it.

Rochester - The Dance Junction venue is a superb facility for dancing - the floor and sound are great, the bar is big, the chill out area is capacious, parking is free and its right next to the motorway. The themes of the freestyles help jolly things along - if you like that sort of thing - bringing a special buzz to the night. But the themes also allow Garry Turner to search out gems from a life time of musical interest and business. What Garry finds is a key part of this night: it maybe very familiar - but he will build around that the rarely heard and distantly remembered but it will all be eminently dance-able. Steve Thomas is a genial host - who puts a deal more thought into these enterprises than many and Alison Saunders provides the kind of glamour which frankly eludes Messrs Turner and Thomas. Once again this is a place where the dancers just get on with it: locals, Londoners and invaders from Essex and beyond beat a path to this venue cos they are guaranteed a great night. And those of us who stick around a bit later are grateful that the art of the good kebab is not lost locally too.

Swingers Hour Southport - a short mention here for what I know for many is an acquired taste. Swing music and the forms of fast popular dance music that it stems from and that came after it are if nothing else, a test of one's stamina. To dance at Southport in the sun to fast tracks is brilliantly exhilarating and challenging. The ladies who chose to dress in big colourful swirly dresses have turned the session into a spectacle and its a joyous fun-filled blur of colour, music and movement. At its heart lies two contrasting DJ's - both fantastically knowledgeable about the music but both brilliant dancers who know what will work when. If you can't do the dance - come enjoy the tracks that Mike Ellard and Chris Uren play. If you can do the dance - come enjoy the life-enhancing thrill of surviving this session - which, after a midday breakfast, is the only way to wake up!

Sunrise in Southport – there are few experiences quite like dancing outdoors as the sunrises at the seaside. There’s not much that can beat that soft glow as the sky brightens and the committed but maybe exhausted dancers who enjoy slow tunes. The Southport weather and the vagaries of dew on the floor sometimes prevent this kind of dancing - but when the humidity and temperature are right, it is a unique experience. Dancing, like the music which drives it, is but a passing moment. Dawn heralds a new day of such experiences and to see that new day begin as you dance is certainly “of the moment” - as all our dancing should be. That dawn is unique -as every dance should be.

The Blues room at Berko - for relaxed dancing the Blues room at Berkhamsted (Berko) is an oasis in the barren dancing landscape that is Sunday night. Its a regular Ceroc night with classes but in a back room, like-minds get together to do Blues dancing - generally aided and abetted by Ms Rachel Pears and Mr Marc Foster. It is not cliquey or generally very busy: but it is calm and relaxed and friendly. There's nothing loud or brash here: indeed it might even be called sedate, but there's a place for quiet calm in our dancing and its surprising how far people will travel to find it.

S’Funk with Vince Silva - by contrast to the calm of Berko there is the exuberant joy that brings countless weekends of dancing to life when Vince is in charge of an afternoon S’Funk session - whether in the dark basement of Camber, the bright sunshine of Southport or the air terminal waiting area that is Brean’s Blues room. Vince brings energy and variety to the weekender with choices from a collection which can marry Donny Osmond with Stevie Wonder. The emphasis is on life-enhancing music; driven, optimistic and happy - and dancing has to match that. Its not to everyone’s taste: but if you dive in wholeheartedly, it is infectious and it sets you up for the rest of the day. And if Ceroc isn’t working for you: try good old fashioned handbag dancing!

Sara Whites Blues night, Buckden - there are two remarkable features of Sara White’s Blues nights - first there’s a level of care about proceedings and people involved that can only be described as exemplary. Sara notices things and puts them right: and she works with a team of people who share the belief that everything is about making the dance experience the best it can be. So once in their care, all you need to think about is the dancing. The second feature of any night run by Sara is a feeling of adventure in particular pushing the dance boundaries, of challenge and a glorious sense of exploration. The music is challenging because the DJs Sara puts before us are trying to push those boundaries too. A regular set will not do. And because like minds are gathered, the whole room is full of dancers pushing themselves to try something different. The sense of exhilaration at the end of such a night is fantastic and shared. Its a remarkable thing that Sara does with so little fuss or fanfare - but it is to be treasured. Sara's thought provoking, dance provoking blog is here

Minstead, New Forest - is one of dancing’s best kept secrets. In the New Forest, in a quaint village of chocolate box cottages, the small traditional village hall stands surrounded by ancient woodland. It is a 1920’s type build, four feet or so of brick and a wooden shoebox shape on top. All of this is important in making one of the best dance venues I’ve visited. The hall is effectively on top of a huge resonant space which holds the sound and also allows for a sprung floor -well those are my theories anyway! It is an intimate but glorious setting for dance: it does get hot but the porch allows one to cool off looking out into the forest. The dancers of that part of the world have been well served over the years and a Friday night freestyle is packed with great dancers who treasure this venue and its long tradition in one of those special places in the Forest.

Hogmanay, Perth: I think its safe to say that there is nothing quite like dancing with the Scots in Scotland: they have a national tradition of dance which puts the English loss of its folk dancing roots to shame. Their dancing in my experience is unabashed, cordial and generous as a result. And there is nothing like a party (as they call freestyle dance nights) hosted by Franck Pauly and Sheena Assiph. And there is absolutely nothing like seeing the New Year in Perth at an event hosted by Franck and Sheena. In 2009 Perth was 8 inches deep in snow as a backdrop to Hogmanay, there was dancing (Ceroc, line- and trad Scottish), there was/were stovies to warm and energise the dancing, there was laughter and most of all there was hospitality beyond measure.

In 2010 the weather was kinder and the night enlivened by the prescence of more Englanders. It was a fine party, filled with a communal joy which is a shraed sense of being together that dispersed peoples enjoy and a natrual aspect of living in Scotland. Aleks and Izy enthralled us with their showcase and joined in teh traditional dancing before midnight. Its a hoot!

The Boat, London: there are - to be blunt - a lot of reasons why you wouldn’t go dancing on HMS President - it’s often crowded, the dance surfaces can be dodgy and even treacherous, there are other things to do on Sunday afternoon and there is free cake and tea so you might just end up chatting and do no dancing at all. On the other hand: there are very few other opportunities to dance on a boat with its cambered floor in the ballroom and its a great social event bringing people together from far and wide. In the summer there are few things nicer than being out on deck in the cool air on the mighty Thames and in the winter the views as dusk falls and London is lit up are breathtaking. And for London residents we often forget we dance in the centre of one of the most vibrant cities in the world. The Boat is a unique experience and we should treasure it.

Welsh Champs - The first Ceroc Welsh Championships may seem an unlikely contender for inclusion in this list. There's little of a proven track record to go on....but sometimes you work into a place and the atmosphere hits you with a sledge hammer and it just feels right. Lyndsey, Mark and team created the day out of nothing: teaming up with Franck and Sheena was a masterstroke. They chose a fantastic venue in the Coal Exchange in a newly redeveloped part of Cardiff but a venue that still retains much of its Gothic Revival architectural splendour. The competition aspect was well fought and victories hard won. The large contingents from Scotland and England made it a truly a UK Championships - not to mention dancers from France and Poland gracing the later stages in several categories. But what made this event and the freestyles between and at the conclusion - was the atmosphere, the friendliness of the Welsh dancers and layout of the space - the audience were in touching distance of the dancers on three sides and up close and vocal. An electric blend of partisan support, technical appreciation and tangible crowd/competitor interaction made for a exhilarating experience. What is most important for me - as someone who isn't really into competitions is that all these aspects split over into the freestyles which were similarly highly charged. The day flew by and the celebrations and commiserations were heart-felt, but even those who didn't compete felt like they had played a part in a real and important event. It raised the bar for these events and I fully expect next year to be even better.

In 2011 Mark Kerr, Lyndsey Chivers and their team moved to a different venue, Barry Memorial Hall, and spread the event over three days - an ambitious undertaking. The Coal Exchange was an intimate venue and some of that was lost in Barry. The new Hall was packed and this was tribute to the success of last year's event - but some of the atmosphere was lost - the gain was a bigger and better competition. Steve Thomas co-hosted and demonstrated that his huge natural talent once more.

The dance highlight of this weekend, for me was Sunday's tea dance - in Pennarth Masonic Hall. Mark Kerr and Nick Stephens combined to provide 4 hours of funk in a venue with one of the best floors I've danced on all year. And the bleary eyed party animals, judges and competitors let their hair down between cups of tea and gorgeous cakes. It was another great combination of the right music and the right atmosphere and I'd been keen to go there again.

Burton Upon Trent: Fresh 3 - this is a big event. Its ambitious: with three rooms for fast/classic Ceroc, Tango and Blues. The rooms are well filled and the DJs work hard to maintain a balance between new and familiar tracks over a long sets (5-6 hours). Even weekenders don't offer such easy access to different forms of music so close to each other. The experienced dancer can be assured that the best from both East and West Midlands are available to enliven their evening and for the less experienced it a chance to try out something new without the perceived intensity of a weekender audience. The welcome is warm, the atmosphere friendly and rooms lend themselves to socialising as well as dancing. The tone of any good freestyle is set the moment you walk in the door: the hard work is not just set up of the venue but the smiles with which each new dancer is met. Kali and Jeff get the balance just right and I would recommend it very highly if you haven't been.

The Admiral Lord Nelson School in Portsmouth is home not only to a great dance venue but some inspiring dancers who mix Jive with all manner of dance styles, a friendly bunch too. And this venue also has a great dance teacher, Kev Hembry. Saturday nights at ALN come with showcases of all sorts to inspire and this just adds to the creativity on show. Couple with this the inspired "temporary" bar and the super organisation by Modern Jive Portsmouth and it makes for a grand night out. The hall is a big school assembly room, high ceilings and wide floor makes for spacious dancing and superb sound - because the speakers are big enough to fill it. Too many venues skimp on sound systems - but the system at ALN makes a lovely noise. The walk to the loos reminds us we're in a school and the kid's art work generally lines the walls: its kinda inspiring. It's well worth the trip.

Nalli aus Manchester

2011-12-11T00:15:00.001Z

Ives: Three Places in New England

Adams: My Father Knew Charles Ives

Gruber: Nieblesteinmusik (Violin Concerto No. 2) - Olivier Charlier

Von Einem: Concerto for Orchestra

On Friday 2 December, the BBC Philharmonic gave a concert of music by Charles Ives, John Adams, HK Gruber and Gottfried von Einem under the baton of HK Gruber (aka Nalli), their composer in residence. It was a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and I listened at home.

Gruber speaks with great insight and humour about music and it was good to hear him talk about the music he was about to conduct and in particular to enjoy the insight and affection for the music of his friend Gottfried von Einem. Von Einem is largely uncelebrated outside of Austria and was a profound influence on Gruber.

The older composer’s Concerto for Orchestra (last on the programme) is quoted in Gruber’s violin concerto Nebelsteinmusik. It is hard, even now, to reconcile von Einem’s meteoric rise in wartime Germany and equally abrupt fall from grace at 25. His Concerto for Orchestra, which was commissioned and premiered by Herbert von Karajan in 1944, but promptly roundly condemn as “degenerate music” and he became recorded by Gœbbels acting on a tip off that is was “jazz” from the Nazi’s wife. It is a energetic and sparkling work, memorable not just for an array of choice moments but for the compact way they are put together. The jauntiness of mood is never at odds with his easy passage from formal late romanticism to jazz-based freedoms. Though I never feel it strays into jazz itself in this work. It shows influences of von Einem’s teacher Blacher plus Stravinsky and Hindemith. Where it can it bustles along. The BBC Phil showed off their skills in all four pieces in this concert and von Einem perhaps came off best of all - not least I guess because of Gruber’s care for a favourite piece of his friend and mentor.

To begin the concert we had Charles Ives “Three Places in New England” - this is now a workaday piece - its lost much of its wow factor which is a shame. It is a moody and funny piece by turns and although one might reflect on the crazy overlapping of familiar tunes in Puttnam’s Camp, one might also get over that novelty and listen more carefully to the exotic impressionism of The Housatonic at Stockbridge. Heady stuff and in Gruber’s hands it was too clinical either. He brought out a rougher warmth to the music - a welcome reminder that these were real places depicted with real people in the scenes. I liked it more than many other versions I’ve heard.

As balance (and continuing a proto - generational theme) we had John Adams piece “My Father Knew Charles Ives” a reflection on both the American voice as interpreted by Ives and refracted through Adams’ idiom. And I think it is also reflective of times past for Adams - especially a fresh look at the landscape which Adams and Ives shared, but more importantly that Adams and his father shared. The ascent on the mountain musically bridges the gap between Adams view of landscape and Ives view of people-scapes. The Adams piece is tremendous and the orchestra played with great presence and humanity under Gruber: never letting slip the horrid truth (that, regrettably, John Adams’ father didn’t know Charles Ives).

It only remains to dwell on Oliver Charlier’s intricate and finely judged playing of Gruber’s Violin Concerto No. 2 of 1988, Nebelsteinmusik. This piece has more decadence about it than the von Einem and is all the better for it. It was my first hearing of it and despite Gruber’s referencing of von Einem in it I felt this was a much more personal voice than the Concerto for Orchestra or Three Place for that matter. The inner pieces of this concert programme were for me the highlights for this individual voice which Gruber seems to find and promote.

I suppose this was the kind of programme only a radio symphony orchestra would get the chance to play and as ever, they didn’t seem to put a foot wrong. In the main radio orchestras don’t. Gruber is a feisty and especially personable conductor and the results drew out the rich quality in the rarer works and new views on the more familiar one - you can’t ask more than that.

Weekend with the Berlin Philharmonic

2011-12-03T15:36:00.001Z

Late on Friday I bought a 48hr ticket to access an online archive concerts in the Berlin Philharmonic concert hall . It proved to be a life enhancing £10 spend - way over and above my expectations. Over the last two days I have immersed myself in the sights and sounds of the Berlin Phil. in concerts conducted by personal favourites like Neeme Jarvi and Gustavo Dudamel and by Sir Simon Rattle. The players have change a good deal from the 1980s and 90s and bring myself up to speed with the personnel was helped not just by watching them, but reading bios on the Berliner Philharmoniker website but also because all of the concert interviews are done by players.

Its a slick marketing operation but it works. Its a glorious tribute to the far sightedness of this orchestra which may not be the longest lived, or the best loved orchestra - but as a fantastic institution which mixes art and commerce, it is the bee's knees.

Highlights amongst the concerts I watched:-

Skrowaczewski: Bruckner and Hartmann the 87 year old Polish conductor was a marvel in Hartmann's proxy Sym No 9 - I first saw in 1984 conducting the Halle in Sheffield. And in Bruckner Sym No 3 he brought the house down. Two aspects thrilled me about this. The cameras were kept rolling as the audience gave this smart and spruce old man a curtain call after the orchestra had left the podium. Nice touch. Nicer still, his interview was undertaken by BPO Concertmaster, Daniel Stabrawa a fellow Pole in Polish.

Jarvi: Brahms, Weber and Greig I saw Neeme Jarvi conduct the Peer Gynt suites with the Gothenburg symphony in Birmingham in the early 90s. He is a fantastic conductor but its hard to know why - I'd describe his approach as genial but never too sweet. Anyway he is in top form here standing in for an indisposed colleague and on one rehearsal giving beautiful performances of Brahms Overtures, Weber's Oberon overture and the Grieg. What's more as always it appears - he adds an encore in this case the first time the BPO have played Andante Festivo by Sibelius. His interview which runs for 20 minutes is fascinating and he touches on the online venture with insight into the business.

I also caught the live concert this weekend, Ivan Fischer and Stabrawa in Dohnanyi, the Violin Concerto No 3 by Hubay and Dances and Symphony No 5 by Schubert. This concert was shown live, with an interview of Stabrawa - and then on the archive website in under an hour! You can find it here - the miracle of streaming HD TV to my PC with first class sound bowled me over: it was in truth better than being there. I look forward to finding a cinema showing a Rattle concert live in January!

Finally - and somewhat to my surprise given I don't ordinarily find much comfort in Sir Simon's conducting of the Romantic and post Romantic repertoire. Two concerts featuring late 20th century music. His Late Night Concert features not only Magdelena Kozena in Berio and de Falla, but also Dallapiccola and a fantastic performance of Berio's Sequenza V (for trombone) by another BPO Principal, Olaf Ott. Rattle for my money excels in music of this period. So it was with some confidence I set out to end my stay with another Berio piece, his monumental 1970s accreative composition Coro - I was completely engrossed in and awestruck by the piece and the performance of it. The cameras revealed so many details which make a concert memorable: the singers using tuning forks against their heads to maintain the right pitch in a mass of sound, Rattle's quietly spoken "Bravos" to the performers at the end and the nervous looks on singers and players throughout.

And unlike all the other concerts I have attended: I can recommend these to you knowing they will stay in the archive and be available while-ever the BPO wishes it to remain. That is a fantastic thought, a valuable educational resource and a lesson in how to make music accessible, affordable, and beautifully realised.

And all for a tenner!

Ring Cycle 2011 - Violated Nature

2011-10-08T10:48:00.001Z

Every year I sit down and over a period of days or in this case weeks, listen to Richard Wagner’s four operas which together are known as the Ring cycle: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdammerung. Today I completed the tetrology for 2011 and I thought I’d write about it this time because its had a bigger effect on me than in previous hearings.

The story needn’t detain us here. Its a long complex tale of heroes, Gods, monsters, greed, revenge, love and hatred - befitting the 843 minutes of its telling. I listened to it in chunks comprising the scenes and acts of the individual operas. The set, known as Der Ring des Nibelungen , written over a span of years between 1848 and 1874 is as you might imagine varied and compelling in both its orchestration and libretto and it is demanding of performers and conductor alike. I listened to the DG set conducted by Herbert von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra recorded in the late 1960s containing such great singers as Jon Vickers, Zoltan Keleman, Dietrich Fischer Dieskau, Christa Ludwig, Helge Denesch and Gundula Janowitz.

It is worth picking through the operas because my reaction to them over time has changed.

Das Rheingold, the set up to the story is full of other-worldy locations which the composer masterfully paints in sound. Everything is supremely illustrated musically - from the opening scene with the river Rhein, a descent by the Gods into the underworld, to the menacing lumbering presence of two villainous giants. But beyond that it is the place, I now see more clearly where all the tensions which motivate the characters throughout the rest of the cycle are set up subtly by the composer. But there is measured and restrained expression here - it is almost a classical opera of both the scale and sensibility of an earlier era. Most of all from this I take the begins of an exploration of a more human angle - the ruinous effects of greed and anger, mediated through the Godly acts but later to be writ larger and in human forms.

Die Walküre is in a sense three parts of the story. It begins with one of the wildest and most violent pieces of music I know - a manhunt, to the death, is in progress on a storm night. A man and a woman meet and fall in love and only later discover they are brother and sister. The woman’s husband intervenes and what started as a fanciful atke of Gods and dwarves suddenly takes a very human and quite modern turn. The mortals are impeded in their progress by the Gods, men die but not without the quality of human love being explored. The Gods begin to argue too and in the end Wotan’s daughter, who has saved the woman and her unborn child, Siegfried, is punished with a sleep surrounded by a ring of fire.

The whole emotional switchback of this part of the cycle is telling, both appealing and appalling and it gets to the heart of Karajan’s description of the whole cycle as an examination of violated nature. Unnatural acts are all punished eventually in this world. But the ferocious writing, unforgiving tension and hideous choices make for an uncomfortable journey. The trick here I think is to hear beyond the Ride of the Valkyries, the Magic Fire Music and the portentous prelude to Act 1 to the familial tensions and split loyalties. I found it exhausting to listen to this time as my appreciation of the predicaments and decisions of the characters was heightened and the unusually subtle musical tension which matches the story. It is a full blooded almost Italianate reading of a set of situations which are almost classical in their depth and consequence.

The third opera, Siegfried remains the most difficult for me and the hardest to unpick. It is a series of set pieces between singers most in sung conversations. Its musical highlights are almost surreal - the casting of a magical sword, the slaying of a dragon, bird song in the forest and the awakening from her sleep of Wotan’s daughter, encased in flames by the hero Siegfried. They are not accompanied by grand dramatic action but by lots of discussion. At the same time these musical highlights are musical and narrative hotspots. I recall telling friends about the sheer tedium of Act 1 and the subsequent Acts didn’t rock my world either. But musically the adventures of Siegfried are supremely well illustrated and the frisson builds to a peak with the instantaneous passion of Siegfried and Brünnhilde. It is the opera to which I will have pay even more attention next year and the one where I will have to seek further riches.

Finally this week there has been Götterdammerung, The Twilight of the Gods. This work as we know from the story has a almost supernatural relationship to greed and evil. It is from the first full of portent at thee vil acts that await us. Nothing helps really in the inescapable moral decay fueled by greed for the ring and enable by potions which work to exploit love and passion and thrown it all away for marriages of quasi political convenience. Siegfried’s murder can’t come too soon for me: but it never does and the unbearable weight of the knowledge of the end point of all these machinations. For the listener who has journeyed with these characters and their forebears, the undeniable despair and anger at the fate of the hero and heroine is tinged only with human folly and particularly greed. By the time of Siegfried’s demise, I wanted revenge to on human hands that were carrying through some ill conceived end game.

What redeems it then? Well Wagner’s supreme musical skill weaving themes from across the four operas to make a musical narrative as rich as the verbal one. And at those set pieces which we all know - and many we don’t hear too often - the scale ambition and modernity of the music is striking. The cast is big and includes a chorus for the only time in the cycle - and the singers are given no quarter - it is the longest opera, the hardest and the one with the most telling emotional effect.

As the murderous plot unravels and Brünnehilde jumps on her horse into Siegfried’s funeral pyre, the music becomes an almost perfect synthesis of the technique that Wagner has used to move from one theme to another, peppering the orchestra with motifs the meaning of which may be lost on us but the significance is that they are remember form parts of the story told hours before. I listened to this music in London, Scotland, Cardiff, Somerset and Sheffield. But as the orchestra depicts the flames destroying Vahalla, the lovers and the waters of the Rhine reclaiming the gold and the ring, disposing of the villains and returning a natural order to distorted nature I was stood in a garden of my childhood home facing the setting sun with the wind in my hair. The effect was overwhelming emotionally and I still tremble with the complete synergy of music and my senses in that time at the place.

I have a very strong response to music but never so much willful distain, hatred and disgust as I feel in parts of these operas. But the pay off is the surging rush of that great, engulfing ending in these supremely sensual circumstances. The effect is one I never expect to capture again, next year will be different. But the lesson I have learned is that this is indeed a story of violent distortion of goodness, and that by grounding it, especially at its end, in Nature merely increases my impatience to do it all again. I’m hooked.

CD review: Echoes in Time

2011-06-30T22:18:00.000Z

Echoes of Time

Can be found on Spotify Here

Lisa Batiashvili

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen

Pianist: Hélène Grimaud

There’s an air to this disc - its haunting and sometimes oppressive. I can’t put my finger on it - the acoustic of the Munich Herkulessaal play its part in the orchestral works. There is something utterly direct about Batiashvilli’s playing which I’ve found utterly compelling since i heard her as a BBC Young Artist play the Beethoven Violin Concerto at the Proms with Vänskä in 1990

The music is a fascinating collection which spans with across a Soviet-Russian-Georgian axis and puts Stalinist USSR in the dock somewhat.

The CD begins with Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto which was written in the late 1940s but withheld for performance until after Stalin’s death. The history and analysis of the work is well described here.

Batiashvilli is brave to launch her career as a Deutsche Grammophon artist with this concerto - the Universal company’s German heritage has always been very shy of the Soviet composers and still has no Shostakovich symphony or concerto cycle in its catalogue. But it is a resoundingly convincing and characterful launch to this aspect of her career. The opening Nocturne is worthy of study in itself not just for the artistry of the soloist - ambiguously slipping between reverie and nightmare (like Mahler), or the delicate support of the orchestra and its conductor but also a lesson in how to make a distant intimacy real within the limitations of stereo sound. It is very creepy at times, but warms and wavers like a breeze.

The rumbustious scherzo is typically Shostakovich and its in these moments orchestras and soloists have time to show their muscle. This violinist has an awesome punch - like a martial arts expert extending their arm to that last inch which reveals their true ferocity. The soloist isn’t crude or harsh though - its a steady, grounded, precise tone and hold on the music. Agility and power are required in equal measure and all of this is met with fantastic precision from the orchestra. The slow Passacaglia, layered with meaning and implication is the heart of this piece and might be described as at the heart of the composer’s response to the post-war climate of fear and intimidation he lived in. It is - in the best way - ambiguous and deeply moving music and Batiashvili’s talent here is, I think, not to overplay the hand. It is music which one might imagine held so much for those who knew the composer: in many ways they may have been too close to it. And each was playing with fire in Soviet Russia at the time but those nods musical nods and winks and knowing looks only go so far with modern audiences and will eventually be part only of the folk law around this piece. This is an exceptionally poignant movement and Salonen and Batiashvili make a very fine job of presenting both text and sub-text.

The riotious last movement, Burlesque, is shorn of the contrasting slow introduction we hear in other DSCH playground pieces. True enough it is comedic and upbeat - but to bring it off with such reckless pace takes true artistry and once more the orchestra are spot on.

To say whether this is a reference modern recording is beyond my experience - but it is a very fine piece of music making and as the entry onto the big stage of one of the few concert violinists I’ll pay to see - its a grand entrance.

The move from one form of expressive ambiguity to another quite different one is quite a stride: Giya Kancheli’s V and V is an extraordinary piece ambiguous in the sound world it conjures and in the conclusions it reaches. it is not long but has a heavenly length that many great masters aspire to create but few can manage. It sits alongside the time dilating skills of Bach, Chopin and Debussy for me.

Key to the piece is a taped recording of the voice of Mr Gonashvili, a Georgian singer of world renown until his accidental death, falling out of an apple tree, in 1988. Search YouTube for his singing and you will find a soft cool tremulous tenor which excelled in Georgian folk music and beyond. Kancheli cites this is the voice of eternal heaven in a piece which pits that peace against the violin and orchestra representing our real and all too unheavenly life. The piece was premiered in 1995 with Gideon Kremer as soloist and Yehudi Menuhin as conductor.

It is a bitterly haunting piece which finds no resolution - but very beautiful too. I admire Salonen unreserved presentation of the orchestral dischords and Batiashvili’s unwavering line. It holds my attention and makes me uneasy in equal measure. For me it is a great discovery.

There follows a sweetmeat - the Lyrical Waltz from Seven Dolls’ Dances by Shostakovich arranged by Tamas Batiashvili. Another poised, flexible and elegant side of Batiashvili’s playing is showcased.

The next piece requires another gear change. Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel is played by Batiashvili accompanied by Hélène Grimaud - and recorded at IRCAM in Paris. Like many pieces by this composer we do sometimes get a feeling of outrageous simplicity but it is like a prayer - the more we mediate upon it the greater complexity it reveals and in doing that truths come to mind and heart.

The control shown by both players in this piece is pretty amazing and one would credit the nerve of any classical music superstar in recording this piece because one could see it being dismissed as a party piece. So little happens - but buy into it and it is full of wonders.

Part’s work, to my mind, is a spare, thoughtful reaction to modern life where we hear so much sound - taking up from John Cage. His meditations bring much of that into stark relif and one wonders if it does the same for the players too.

Too thoughtful artists act together in this one and for those who think Grimaud a bit of a flat track bully - this should balance that bias a little. Batiashvili controls those long slow notes perfectly with a exquisite discrete vibrato ending each.

Finally as if her artistry hasn’t been fully explore Batiashvili presents a transcription of the Rachmaninov Vocalaise with Grimaud as accompanist. This gives her full license to deploy her singing tone. Deeply responsive and assured, never overly expressive but strong and firm and telling. These are her finest qualities as a violinist - she does not wring out the instrument or tug on the heart strings - it stands alone, perhaps sometimes even lonely, but always true to the composer, never interposing - and long may that continue - for that is noble artistry.

Radical re-assessment: B Minor Mass

2011-06-10T22:37:00.000Z

Bach: B Minor Mass

I've read the books, and especially John Butt's excellent Cambridge Music Guide on the piece, its composition or maybe that should be its assembly, its reception and chequered history and reputation and for over 20 years I've listened to recordings and broadcasts of the piece, but it was only on 8 June 2011 that I "got" it.

And its a shame but now I have "got" it - it all makes sense.

I could lay the problem firmly at the door of Herbert von Karajan - who's recording started me off on this journey, but before pointing fingers and throwing mud, I will describe the problem so you can see just how unfair palming if off on someone else is.

I never really got the B Minor Mass because I couldn't make sense of it after the first half. Indeed I would regularly listen to the Kyrie and Gloria and then slowly tune out of it, maybe skipping to the Et ressurexit and then not even bother putting on the second disc. The music of the second half seemed remarkably bland to me - out of kilter with the Gloria and its great drama.

After I read Butt's book I realised there was a complex and sophisticated vision in Bach's mind - this was after all an assemblage of existing movements and new work, but it was only later that I realised the B Minor mass is designed to demonstrate the rich variety of Bach's talent and the rich wealth of European culture at the time by borrowing style sand producing pastiches of them in the main sections of the work. It felt disjointed because that was partly a design element. The Gloria's style is supposed to stand alone.

But listening to Richter's version (Disc 9 and 10 of this set)

I was struck that I was very attentive to the inner workings of the movements: I was involuntarily listening closely. Richter demands this in a way Karajan does not (hence my problem with the Karajan versions). the result was that layer upon layer of music was stripped off - familiar stuff, but the revealed complexities of fugues and balances, inner writing and out momentum. It added up to new music to me and caused me to re-evaluate.

I commend Richter because - like all the greatest performances of masterpieces of classical music - we hear more than we knew before. In my case this was all the more important for the pleasure of a piece which worked and for no longer feeling I'm a lap behind!

The Dharma at Big Sur - John Adams

2011-05-07T09:49:00.013Z

A dramatic, atmospheric piece in the context of the Buddhist idea of "the Dharma". Its a rich confluence of musical styles with a solo part on the electric violin. Intricate writing builds over two movements to a grand climax derived from the idea of approaching the Big Sur (below) - the edge of a continent

There are two recordings, both available on Spotify

Los Angeles Philharmonic/John Adams (live recording of the Premiere)

and

BBC Symphony Orchestra/John Adams

Movement I - New Day

The music opens not unlike Das Rheingold - full of expansive prospects and unusual sounds. An exotic feel to the sound here - sets the backdrop for the piece. Adams' extraordinary attention to the harmonic aspects were so taxing for the orchestra when first formulated he had to re-write and limit the playing with temperaments and the like to a few specially prepared instruments. In years to come we may hear this as Adams intended but for now the sound is inviting and curious.

The electric violin, with its limitless possibilities, enters and we are in an uncertain world - its hard to put a foot down, metaphorically speaking, on the soft earth. In terms of any programmatic aspects we are seemingly approaching the Big Sur - the end of a continent with huge precipices marking the distinct between ground and water with vast emphasis but on the other hand doing so with no pictorialism and no solid playing back of Romantic musical devices. This is not the rocks and sea of Bax's Tintagel, but something much more based around that exhilaration, fear and trepidation on a cliff edge.

Adams in his writing on this piece emphasises a number of influences at work from Indian music to jazz and the uncertainty of the area between the notes and the precocious moments of beauty when sliding between them. The electric violin (six strings, solid instrument controlled by a mixing desk in the auditorium) is just the instrument for this compromised world of both physical and spiritual possibilities. The level of attack used by both violinists in the recordings (Tracy Silverman and Leila Josefowicz) - is subtle and by turns rhapsodic and improvisatory. I'm taken in this opening with the emerging quality of large landscapes - realised in a different way to any other composer I know. There is in the background just hint of another California "landscape" in the haunting sonorities of the low register I sense a bit of a debt to Ingram Marshall's Fog Tropes I - a work capturing the befuddling quality of foggy landscapes.

Against these shifting harmonies - many spiced up - we have the long dreamy line of the violin. Repeated auditions have still to see me settle on the on or the other as the narrative line in this first section. But this opens space each time my attention flits from one to the other. After nearly 8 or so minutes, the violin drops out and the orchestral strings echo the style of the soloist but en masse they have a more eastern quality than the jazz inspired virtuosic style of the solo electric fiddle. It's a pivotal moment of tension: not drama in a Beethovenian sense, but doubling the quality of anxiety - too many options amongst equal and myriad possibilities.

Here - in the same way the end of the continent conjures, as Adams puts it, a "shock of recognition", the Keroacian vision of a moment on the journey and a rejection of the certainties of Western musical convention - Adams creates a space in which many more possibilities are open to us. Its not a moment for a decision, but a time for the contemplation of a decision - a very different thing.

The violin returns and the rhapsody becomes more agile, lithe and alert - I'm suddenly put in mind of bird song (melodic but without musical boundaries). The ringing staccato orchestration builds with percussion and keyboards pinpointing the diverting sound options with descending scales as the soloists weaves upwards, like the lark. The obstinate builds, the shorter notes drive the music to a great climax where the orchestral strings take over, Thicker bass reminds us that heavy swell beyond the land of the continent and the whole moment suddenly dissolves into a Part-like tintinnabulation. This section does nothing but reemphasise the gulf between the choices we have. But the physical certainty of the Big Sur does nothing to help us - save our awe at the great choices before us.

On one hand earth, sea and sky show the simplicity of one path, and the Dhamma of Buddha, the anti-conventionalism of Karouac and uncertain prospect of departure from the West Coast - all only go to confound decision making.

The second part, Sri Moonshine, immediately impresses with its energy. It kicks off with an extension of the the preceding sparkling backdrop but with vigour and vitality. Climbing to high laying registers and steely sonorities. The interjections from the violin lengthen and there follows a passage of rhythmical dynamism punching away at the high held shimmering chords from horns and strings then full orchestra. Its a kind of ecstatic journey now but much more propulsive and heady, working its way, in the middle of the movement to something slower and more ethereal. The low effects here both for soloist and orchestra are not forbidding but they are ready to go forward.

The last five minutes of the piece lose all the uncertainty of its earlier progress. It is onward and upward literally. Its a heady movement for the soloist - strong orchestral support points the way in a massive brass and percussion introduction to a coda (of sorts). The violin exhorts, asks questions and resorts to figurative teasing to build a dazzling progress to resolution. This is more typical of raga our more widely understood musical traditions. The ostinato pushes forward - it has a massive sensual buzz. The soloist fans these fires, stoking the climatic elevation. The strange currents of before now become our bedrock the soloists gyrates and cavorts slipping from one phrase to the. Percussion bring it all the way to the 21st Century in a Salome like dance of sensual overload. Its dazzling and provocative and ultimately a journey taken to a higher level beyond those seas and rocky shores of the Big Sur. To this end and many others we must take the "Dhamma" of the title very seriously, Adams follows Kerouac and Lou Harrison and Terry Riley (the dedicatees of each movement) into a world of East meeting West.

This music was commissioned by the Los Angeles philharmonic Orchestra and their chief conductor, Esa Pekka Salonen for the opening of the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Hall, the LAPO's concert hall and was premiered in 2003. It has been recorded once, by Adams the BBC Symphony orchestra and Terry Silverman, and DG released a recording from the premiered at the opening of the hall with Adams conducting the LAPO and Leila Josefowicz on electric violin. In an eloquent sleeve note Adams describes the influences and the process of making this piece. I haven't seen the score but one imagines it to be hideously complex for conductor and players alike.

The qualities of the two readings we have are probably worth a small mention but this big little piece (about 25m duration) needs more attention. Adam's first reading - from the premiere and mostly live (probably) has a dashing soloist who is a little more literal with the notes than Silverman - though that's perhaps understandable in the live context. The orchestra offers a subtle response to the score and is spot-on as far as one can tell without a score. The direction of the music is never uncertain and it has a certain frisson of sunshine bursting through cloud at the end. The composer is more detailed in his realisation of the score - recorded in a studio following a BBC Proms performance. I feel his reading is slightly slower and his soloist has greater nuance in his playing given less driving it forward. At the end of the piece Adams raises the roof several feet higher than the earlier version - and on balance i like that better. Adams reveals as the power of arrival (if indeed that is the right word).

It is perhaps no accident that I think at the end of this piece not of 21st Century anxieties,or 20th century angst but 19th Century ecstasy. This piece has a touch of Wagner beneath the sullen swell, but for me yields an ecstatic release in its progress. Adams doesn't steal away from that and the euphoria is probably well informed by the sensuous approach to the end of the continent and all that conjures up and the inner life of the pursuit of the Dhamma. It feels like a whole piece and the movements through distinct are not defined. Had Adams wrote it following the musical equivalent of Keroauc's entreaty to "remove literary, grammatical and syntactical inhibition" then I think the result would have been less effective. By securing it firmly in three realms of the Western musical sonorities opened to new sounds and timbres, the Eastern expressive idiom and the free-form of jazz techniques - he secures a detailed and essentially repeatable voyage of discovery on his themes.

We will each get something different from it - as we do with other ecstatic responses in "free form" such as Debussy's La Mer. But it would be wrong to dwell on structures, expressive means and musical analysis concerning this work. It is about release and that huge moment when familiar ground ends at the edge of a continent. It sparkles and shines and cajoles and eventually intoxicates and like much that its best in music, leaves us surprised and yet familiar at one and the same time.

Pärt: Symphony No 4 (2009)

2011-02-20T13:27:00.004Z

Pärt: Symphony No 4 (2009)

This is new music. It is probably the best modern symphony I’ve heard and that is why I’m writing about it. I’m intrigued by the link with angels - our need for angels and to express the idea of angels. This territory seems to be linked in the minds of various composers including Pärt and Rautuvaara and I enjoy their explorations. I would be interested to hear views on where, for you - angels appear in this piece. But I hope this note helps you enjoy it.

In a short interview broadcast on Radio 3 in Summer 2010, Arvo Pärt corrected the interviewer who asked about the idea of the angel in his Fourth symphony, Pärt replied that this “was not an idea - this is reality”. The symphony was getting it’s UK premiere at the 2010 Proms and Pärt went on to say that “they are all around us and even if we don’t see them everyone will wish it could be so” and went on “it will be very useful for every people to think about our guardian angels”.

The symphony is subtitled “Los Angeles” and is both a meditation on angels and a tribute to the symphony’s commission from the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. I came to hear the work on Radio 3 conducted by the Salonen and played by the strings and percussion section of the Philharmonia.

You can watch Salonen conduct the piece here with an excellent commentary on the work and its performance from Peter Stark: here

There’s also a recording of the premiere of the work which Salonen gave with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on 10 Jan 2009 at Walt Disney Hall and Spotify links to that recording are given for those with the facility.

Although its not necessarily obvious on first hearing this is a simply structured symphony with standard sections which can be easily delineated through instrumentation, mood and to a certain extent tempo. The elements which are not obvious are melodies or rather big tunes, but what happens seems to have a melodic relationship which over time gives a structure. less obvious is a sense of where the music is going harmonically.

Pärt delivers his thoughts on angels with an typical and admirable element of space created by silence and spareness. His view of our angels is, I take from this, one where their simple works exist in a crowded and complex landscape which is not completely understood and in which travelling is hard and worrisome. The symphony offers now ending in paradise: ever pragmatic Pärt encourages to soldier on.

First Movement

On Spotify here:

This movement is split into three sections: an opening “Con sublimità” section of highly concentrated stillness, a central section - march-like and defiant and a final section of peace - but I’m yet undecided whether this is peaceful compliance or a more resigned aspect.

The music opens in a hushed and still tone - progress and atmosphere are glacial - and like a glacier the simplistic beauty is so overwhelming as to be strangely threatening. For a full 6 minutes or so the music sets long sustain strings notes of delicate constitution against, at first pizzicato punctuation from low strings then later interjections from harp and bells. The process entails a gradual descending scale and a muted but restricted mixed sense of darken timbre and crescendo and decrescendo. The character of the music here is full of potential but sets up none of the immediate drama of a classical or romantic symphony. As so much of Pärt’s music it pervades the scene with so little sense of movement arising from its own substance it may as well be mist or perhaps more potently, smoke from an unseen censer. It would be easy to conclude this music goes nowhere, but Pärt has that knack of slowing us down to a near standstill but keeping us going.

A pause provides the most intense dramatic device in the movement, the silence is broken by hesitant timpani strokes which build and usher in more vigorous music. String phrases of formidable power stride out but in a variety of rhythmical groups, disorientating the listener searching for patterns. Each strophe is marked with percussion. There’s not security here in harmonic, melodic or rhythmical terms - a sense of our own uncertainty is redolent in the music. And just as the head of steam builds it thins to a mist and then complete transparency before another pause.

Its often reported that it is the space/silence between the notes that should be important to the Mozart pianist. And so its true here: the full drama of this piece is revealed when we listen to the silences and appreciate them for what they are - a potential for sounds to come.

The final 5 minutes or so is more familiar and although still exotic - the string textures remind us of Wagner or Vaughan Williams but the tone is utterly resigned, sad and tear-stained. These familiar pastures give us an emotional foot hold of sorts. The harps tolls like a bell and the bells are silent - its all about resonance. Its an opportunity to just absorb Pärt’s sound world and each time we listen more and more detail about each of these chords becomes apparent. And when high strings supplement the low ones a little before the end of the movement, the ambiguity is compounded. The harp is key here and the writing for it is telling - almost more like an organ with its suspended sound floating. The dimming threads of sound, slow again and a there’s an ominous empty feeling when the music stops, hushed but in mid air.

Second movement

On Spotify here

This movement opens with a slow but more defiant approach. Marimba, sizzle cymbal and crotales (small bells) replace the harp and bells in this movement and the marimba immediately signals a different mood. The figures on strings move between a healthy ostinato, the triplets on the low strings and more spread expansive chords. The score marking is “laboured” and the defiance is short lived as hesitancy seems to limit progress. These are all personal traits applied to what seems to be a very individual struggle.

There’s a broader sweep here - almost behind the hesitancy - this combined with the seemingly ad hoc percussion interventions add an eerie quality (bordering on sinister) - one might come to hear this as a voice struggling to be heard against a sound. Maybe this is a emotional link to Pärt’s dedication of this work to a “political” prisoner in Russia. These swimming figures become more oppressive with the introduction of a bass drum rolling beneath the high strings like the dull roar of heavy traffic. A drum roll punctuates in more emphatic fashion but the music is very liquid at this stage and the apparent formlessness extends for bar after bar. Whist this is mysterious its is earthbound, dynamic and static, recognisable and yet shapeless and resilient but also full of stress. It is another reminder of the environment in which all our angels have to operate. The silence here becomes a huge part of the sound picture - fuelling the nervous tension but woven in with such a high skill that it is both a barrier to progress and movement itself. After a time the interjections quicken and a nervous anticipation fills the air.

About three quarters of the way through (at about 12 mins) - there is an event - decisive in the terms of the symphony. It is a musical pivot point throwing us forward. The crescendo on bass drum followed by telling strikes which echo around (in performance very carefully judged). The strings shiver as if in shock is followed by a low pedal note both of which cleave the progress of the earlier hesitancy. This mirrors out lives in some many ways - sudden events propel us out of routine. A soft less hesitant melody on violas and falling strings which fade complete the transformation. This marks a move to the final section of this movement, marked sorrowful. The music drifts off - the pedal giving us more security: previous hesitancy now more like the deep breaths within the music. And yet the tailing off seems to be incomplete again. we are becoming accustomed to Pärt’s view of continuity and completion.

Third Movement

On Spotify here

In an echo of the first movement both harps and bells are back in this movement.

A spread chord is punctuated by the harp: the writing is more familiar. The high and low strings have thicker textures and this in turn seems give the silences more weight. But we are in the same mood as previous movements, but the uncertainty is less febrile. Nervousness has given way to portent. A heavy low sustained string chord and agitated strings bells and drums combine with urgency and intent we haven’t heard before. There will be dis-ease in this movement but it will be of a different type. The result is a surprising A minor chord on the harp followed by a delicate and beautiful sublime violin solo.

This movement is bitonal - the two tonalities of A minor and A major jostle for primacy in the strings. When A minor appears in this pool of light it has a substantial effect which is probably only fully experienced once the working is under your skin. But it feels as though the music has at last found a home or a base, some security at least. The strings descend slowly but in doing so twist outward with great poignancy. Ambiguity returns - our moment of security is slipping through our fingers and we sit on the sea of uncertainty again. Hesitancy returns: a moments calm and rest slides away. The solo violin seems to have lost traction too. A percussion interjection takes us swiftly to the coda of this movement and the epilogue of the work.

There are other models for bitonal conclusions: when Richard Strauss penned Also Sprach Zarathustra the dichotomy between man and nature had been written large by his inspiration, Nietzsche. Vaughan Williams “resolves” with nothing less than the orchestral equivalent of a pistol shot to the temple in his bitonal Fourth Symphony. Pärt is closer to the latter, but chooses a different route.

A decisive marching rhythm starting low on harp and basses builds in volume and substance. The mood seems resolute. As the higher strings join in group by group, ambiguity is maintain with the A minor/A major conflict, but there is heightening certainty. But as the low instruments drop away and the violins play high notes and then extend the harmonics the lead proves to be false, the intent a red herring and the resolution a false dawn. At its highest the music becomes tissue thin and diaphanous. The silence into which this falls is a hole - no delicate weaving here. And the last harp chord and the response from the percussion seal the fate of us all, angels and those who call upon them. It is done.

In closing I’d like to point up three things about the Fourth Symphony by Arvo Pärt.

First - here is work written in the last 5 years which is, I have little doubt, a masterpiece. On inspection and familiarisation, it yields subtleties and treasures.

Second - it is eminently performable so it will endure, and not just with Salonen’s advocacy, but can and should be taken up by others. Audiences will come to it on disc and in the concert hall as a mature work of one of our finest composers of our age.

Thirdly - this is a three movement symphony with two outer movements divided into three parts and a central movement which contains a climactic fulcrum. There’s nothing complicated in that - or novel. It is novel in so many other ways and it is in a distinct instrumental voice; it could be by no one else. In this era all of these qualities are to be welcomed.

Stephen North
Feb 2011

Short Account of my Scottish Trip Hogmanay 2010/2011

2011-01-16T15:30:00.001Z

It started with a perilously stupid idea that there was a way to combine dancing, birdwatching and photography in a few days break from work after Christmas. Scotland and indeed England had been griped in icy temperatures and snow feet thick for most of the fortnight before. I arrived at a even more perilous idea which involved driving to Scotland, and around Scotland, whilst I was here - it would allow me to take my pick of locations for all three activities.

I started out on New Year's Eve with spectacular intent by leaving just before 10am after a hearty breakfast (these were to be a feature of my trip). The drive up was super smooth and I was able to take in Gromley's magnificent "Angel of the North" (no relation) though missed out on Durham and Berwick, which for reasons best known to their city fathers, don't allow the A1 to pass through their precincts. The approach to Edinburgh filled my heart - as though coming to an adopted home - in a way that the Hatfield tunnel and Wandsworth roundabout don't. It was nice to be back.Perth was swathed in mist and night was falling but the first sound I heard as I got out the car was a Common Buzzard calling: this set the tone of the trip nicely.

Hogmanay at The Hangar, a dance hall in the buildings associated with Scone airfield (airport is over-egging it a bit) was not new to me. In 2009 I had travelled up to be greeted with 8 inches of snow and a taxi driver who was livid about teh lack of gritting but game to give it a go to get to the venue. This year under my own steam and with Kev and Dr H as passengers we set off for Hangar around 8pm. Kev was in Scotland for the first time and to celebrate he wore a kilt. Photos will testify that he looked dashing. Dr H look gorgeous too but has had much more practice at that than Kev has at looking dashing in a kilt - there were all the kilt practicalities after all.

The Hangar is not a large venue but it is the very beating heart of all that is great about Ceroc Scotland. Franck and Sheena ensure a warm welcome and order of business which moves the evening along with humour, style and plenty of opportunities to dance. I couldn't possibly list all the friends who were there, but worth noting two showcases from Alex and Izy dazzled the assembled admirers. Stovies baffled some of the English contingent - but were well met. And dancing and dancing and dancing went on until 2am. There were subsequent discussions in a non-too distant hotel room regarding translations for the concept of 'boobies", the utility of carrot sticks and the return of Alan's joke for its second year - it remains the funniest thing every said by a Scotsman even when repeated by a Frenchman!

New Years Day 2011

Breakfast and lunch were combine but not in a brunchy sort of way, taken with with Kev and Dr H, at a time which could broadly be described as both too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. I solved the problems that are occasionally thrown up by the Springer Weekender Meal Classification System by having both breakfast (smoked salmon) and lunch (roast chicken) in a contiguous taste experience.

And thence I went to a relatively safe house where understanding friends and some people I'd never met before, allowed me to relax: sitting in the comfort of chairs whilst watching others play Twister, dance whilst avoiding some heavily engineered paper aeroplanes and browse on various savouries. A handsome night was hosted by a lady who can pick up a stamp sized piece of cardboard from the floor using only her lips - which is an admirable talent - but amongst our number not a unique talent.

At 2am there was a rush and commotion as someone suggested stovies should be made and they were - and the party went on. I left and was home before sunrise - which was at 8am so that doesn't say much.

The morning was dull and kind of becalmed: inside my head and out of it. It was with great pleasure that I met my next host in Brechin: joy unconfined at the quality of my accommodation. Then straight down to Rosyth for a Mariachi (with stovies). This Mariachi comprised a wide variety of guitar based dance music (for those who haven't been to one before) and was served to us in a fantastic venue by fantastic hosts. The phalanx of familiar, and new, faces - not only with their generous spirit, their creativity and humour but what was now obviously a clear commitment to the proper pronunciation of the word cus-Tard (emphasis on the last syllable please! And that's emPHAsis btw). Cee Jay's Mariachi was a great success and I wish the venture well in that very fine venue. We finished late.

2 January 2011

Monday was to be a rest day - no long drives or dances. First stop was Montrose - in the January gloom it was with some relief I found that not only were Tesco serving breakfast but it was proper Scottish breakfast with square sausage, black pudding and fried tatty scones - amongst other delicacies. I could sit here and praise the health benefits but I don;t want to bore you....Needless to say the quantities were healthy and that's all that matters (isn't it?)

Montrose harbour in the sleet was my first attempt at proper birdwatching on my trip - there were many Eider Ducks heading inland on the South Esk - smart unlikely coloured males dotted across the estuary were easy to pick out. But these warmest of cold weather ducks seemed obviously to the biting wind. Plan B - Lunan Beach was a beautiful place but now the sleet had turned to rain and the only wildlife in prospect was the ubiquitous roadside Buzzards - they were hungry (following days of snow covered fields) and so easily seen on the roadsides - clearing up rabbit and other carcasses. Plan C at St Cyrus was a wash out - but I will visit this fine reserve some other time.

Chasing light I attempted to go to into the Cairngorms via Fettercairn only to be thwarted by snow gates - the roads were still snowy and think ice underneath. This was combined with fresh water streams across the road cutting the ice into steep sided blocks made for challenging driving but even in the car the remoteness and wildness of these places came through.

Back at base I enjoyed fresh fish and chips and a pickled onion so potent that the man in the shop used tongs and suspended it in a cyclotron magnetic plasma stream to get it out of the jar and into the cardboard box.

3 January

Tuesday was a Bank Holiday which meant the Tesco's cafe was proper busy with many of the same faces that had been there the day before - in groups, chatting over coffee, toast or mountains of heathy portions of fried meat. Are these venues becoming the new pubs?

Stoneheaven harbour - though quaint and sheltered - yielded few birds but my reticence to get cold was a major problem. I overcame my reticence when I got to Dunnottar Castle south of Stoneheaven, this gothic ruin is supremely evocative even in the wintry gloom - and maybe more so with distant streaks of sunlit clouds on the horizon. Its a wild place and redolent of the kind of atmosphere typical of a Scott novel or a BBC Scotland July weather forecast - horizontal rain and limited visibility. Photographic possibilities were endless especially at a distance.

Moreover the birdlife was rich: Hooded Crows and Carrion Crows scrap and argue, Jackdaws negotiate the blustery winds like stunt pilots and large gulls wheel around inspecting the cliffs. A flock of birds which in any other circumstance might have been town feral or racing pigeons but here were almost certainly their original ancestors - Rock Doves were skittish - suggesting a Peregrine may also be there.

A expeditionary trip to Banchory turned into a hugely rewarding drive along the A93 to Braemar - the combination of the river Dee, snow capped hills and mountains and a setting sun provided some excellent sights to photograph and locations to stop the car, get out look around and breathe deeply. What an astonishingly beautiful country.

The road hugs the course of the river now and then but is hideously devoid of stopping places and its no surprise I suppose that the notices about private land and paucity of lay-bys is at its height near Balmoral.

My next photo project was the ships docked in harbour in Aberdeen. What an imposing city Aberdeen is. This is stature is largely because - as Jonathan Meades has pointed out - all the granite buildings look new, fresh out the box, because of the way the granite, of which they are built, withstands weathering. There were ships to be photographed: all equipped with strong lights which every now and then illuminated seagulls - which I at first mistook for owls! A group of drunks smoking outside a bar took a dislike to what I was doing and so I headed off to the dance.

Peterculter near Aberdeen is home to the Culter Mills Club - this social club is a very fine dance venue, with a fine floor and seating each side of a long dance floor. Lorna Baker teaches there and her enthusiastic crowd are keen to dance. Indeed the whole class seems to exude the good humour of their teacher and have her same feeling for styling to the music. The art of dancing to the music is sometimes lost amidst the complexity of Intermediate move combinations (and maybe more so now Advanced moves are being taught too) - but not here. Scottish dancers seem to have more musicality - maybe borne of greater exposure to dance as children. Lorna's venue is a gem.

4 January

Wednesday was a day for Dundee based activities but on the way from Brechin I slipped off the motorway to find the RSPB reserve at Loch of Kinnordy. Not a big reserve but with water and birdwatching hides I though a good place for wildfowl. The snow started falling as drove through Kirriemuir, the eerie sound of snow falling in a wood deadened the usual sounds of the countryside but birds loitered round the feeding station. The scene that greeted me in the first hide set the seal on the day because there was no water and no water fowl aside from a pair of Gossander which rose from a sliver of free water at the side of the hide. The scene was unfeasibly alien - no water, no birds, the only sound coming from rooks in trees nearby. Completely useless for the birdwatcher and photographer (as teh snow still fell) but somehow wonderful to sit and savour. And an unlikely scene for comedy yet as three pheasant trie dot walk across the ice they slipped and slide and trembled on the ice like a child on roller skates, and I laughed out loud.

The prospect from all three hides was the same: snow, ice, quietude and by this time, cold too. I departed for Dundee.

I spent some time in MacDonald's savouring the fantastic dance tracks they play whilst browsing the internet and writing the first entries of this diary. Time passed - too much as it turned out - as when i returned to my car it had been locked in the car park. A taxi to the dance venue and a quick call to a Travelodge sorted my predicament. And once I'd stopped swearing I settled down to enjoy another evening's dancing in Scotland.

Social clubs are an under-rated community resource - the Dundee Social Club on Thistle Street is another fine dance venue even if it is unassuming from teh outside. Its ideal to house Sheena Assiph's class on a Wednesday night and a great place to see familiar faces. Not just from Hogmanay but from other venues in times past.

Sheena is DJ of renown with an ear for the right combination of tracks and a wide repertoire. Shes also a very fine teacher and her class is friendly and willing to accommodate visiting two Englishmen and a Frenchman on the night I was there with bon hommie and gusto.

I really enjoyed myself and settled down for the night with my head full of great Scottish dance experiences. A half seven start was required to make an early start for England via the car park in Dundee where my car had, I'm pleased to say, been sealed from prying eyes overnight. The morning was wet and gloomy and once on the road to Perth the signs warned of black ice. Beyond Perth the cloud lifted and it was a gorgeous bright morning, I decided that this might be a good opportunity to explore the RSPB reserve at Vane Farm - 20 miles north of Edinburgh and 3 miles off the motorway. The hills around Loch leaven were covered with fresh snow and in the sun for the first time in the week the bright crisp covering looked magnificent. The omens were good as I passed a field full of Pink-footed & Greylag Geese. The reserve was still an hour from opening when I arrived so I dived into a the first hide to find another frozen Loch before me. A few pools of open water were evident with a handful of ducks including Red Breasted Merganser, teal but most Mallard. But the feeders along side the hide were busy with choice birds including both Brambling and Siskin. And the view was magnificent. The Assistant Warden popped in and she told me about the two White Tailed Sea Eagles which had been visiting the loch. With fish inaccessible they had been taking ducks from the margins of the few pools which were open. One eagle had also been eating a dead swan.

As we chatted about the east coast release scheme for eagles the warden spotted in the distance - about half a mile away - one of the eagles. Binocular views showed a Buzzard in attendance which was dwarfed by the beast. The ducks close to us cleared as the eagle began to fly towards us. The view we had on that cold clear morning were fantastic - even the young birds of this species (the fourth biggest eagle there is) are enormous and like a flying wardrobe it flew over the hide and high to our right probably over the hills behind the reserve centre. I was thrilled. And all because I'd forgotten my car in a car park in Dundee. The cup of tea I had in the excellent reserve cafe caused me to pause and think on my life in "that London" as they say in Yorkshire. Sophisticated - no, exciting - not very, capable of inspiring awe like an eagle flying over your head - never!

So a great end to a dancing holiday - by no means the last I intend to have in Scotland.

Gringley Road Garden list 2010: Commentary

2011-01-12T12:44:00.008Z

By my reckoning my parent's house in North Nottinghamshire has had a really good year for birds.

62 species observed in about 30 man days of effort in a setting of a large garden with mixed trees including conifers and a large pond, paddock with hedges and mature broadleaf trees bordering onto a managed waterway.

Highlights have been

1) regular sightings of Common Buzzard - a new resident in the area,
2) the calls and sightings of both Willow Tit and Marsh Tit,
3) high counts of Fieldfare and Redwing in the winter snows and an almost resident goldcrest.

Red list birds show the rich avian selection of birds in the area: Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow, Bullfinch and Turtle Dove, all present and the first four mentioned were breeding too.

A multiplicity of owls were perhaps a sign of the biodiversity. Tawny owls were not sighted but heard frequently in the mature trees in the fields around the house. As if from nowhere, though probably long established and unobserved, Little Owls appeared in the hedges of the same fields. But it was an Owl box which provided our inspiring link with the natural world. In February an adult Barn Owl appeared roosting in the box, only very much later in the year did we see two adults and then the furry faced youngsters appeared. 'Scope views showed three and the feeding demands meant there were plenty of views of adults too. The day before the owls dispersed all three youngsters we seen in the same tree testing flight feathers between the boughs. And then they were gone! Typical survival rates for owlets is low: 60-60% die in their first winter, but it was a harsh winter in late 2010 and our local taxidermist had 7 dead barn owls brought to him. We won't see those chicks again and we await to see if either of the adults will return to the Owl box in 2011.

Another nest box was home to kestrels for the third year running we think there were 4 chickens and despite their box being attacked by woodpecker - the brood did well.

Feeding birds has continued throughout the year bringing larger birds like pheasant and stock dove into the garden in numbers. This also accounts I believe for the continued presence of Coal Tits and healthy populations of Long Tailed, Blue and Great Tits. Feed is also enjoyed by corvids and pigeons/doves. Common Finch numbers have been strong but rather disappointingly winter flocks haven't included either Siskin or Brambling.

On the decline -

1) Collared Dove numbers continue to fall - largely due to sparrowhawk predation,
2) Greenfinch numbers varied widely (suggesting no substantial resident population has re-established itself after numbers were decimated 2 years ago)
3) Swift numbers were very low

Birds I might have expected but elusive in 2010 include:-
Meadow Pipit (once the host of choice for cuckoos in the area),
Peregrine (seen flying high from nearby sites)
Grey Partridge - common or at least not rare on nearby farmland
Mute Swan - given the rivers and canals locally

2011 has started with more cold weather - we await to see what the seasons bring

Final 2010 Garden Birdlist - 62 Species

2011-01-10T12:56:00.003Z

Canada Goose (10+)
Mallard (2)
Red-legged Partridge (4)
Pheasant (7)
Cormorant (1)
Sparrowhawk (3)
Buzzard (1)
Kestrel (4)
Moorhen (3)
Coot (1)
Black-headed Gull (4)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (3)
Herring Gull (2)
Stock Dove (4)
Woodpigeon (4)
Collared Dove (3)
Turtle Dove (1)
Cuckoo (2)
Barn Owl (5)
Little Owl (3)
Tawny Owl (2)
Swift (3)
Green Woodpecker (1)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (1)
Skylark (1)
Swallow (1)
Pied/White Wagtail (1)
Wren (1)
Dunnock (4)
Robin (4)
Treecreeper (1)
Blackbird (14)
Fieldfare (7)
Redwing (4)
Song Thrush (1)
Mistle Thrush (1)
Reed Warbler (1)
Blackcap (2)
Whitethroat (1)
Chiffchaff (2)
Willow Warbler (1)
Goldcrest (2)
Long-tailed Tit (4)
Blue Tit (4)
Great Tit (4)
Coal Tit (3)
Willow Tit (1)
Marsh Tit (1)
Magpie (4)
Jackdaw (10)
Rook (2)
Carrion Crow (3)
Starling (3)
House Sparrow (7)
Tree Sparrow (5)
Chaffinch (10+)
Greenfinch (10+)
Goldfinch (14)
Bullfinch (7)
Yellowhammer (3)
Reed Bunting (2)

Coaching for those in a hurry

2010-12-26T22:16:00.003Z

1) think of what you want
2) think about whether it's really realistic
3) work out what's stopping you getting it
4) think of several ways of getting the barrier(s) out of the way
5) work hard but with focus and patience on removing the barriers

The hardest bit is 2)

2010 Garden Bird list - Gringley Road

2010-11-18T16:51:00.003Z

Canada Goose (1)
Mallard (2)
Red-legged Partridge (1)
Pheasant (3)
Cormorant (1)
Sparrowhawk (3)
Buzzard (1)
Kestrel (2)
Moorhen (3)
Coot (1)
Black-headed Gull (1)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (3)
Herring Gull (2)
Stock Dove (4)
Woodpigeon (4)
Collared Dove (3)
Turtle Dove (1)
Cuckoo (1)
Barn Owl (3)
Little Owl (2)
Tawny Owl (1)
Swift (1)
Green Woodpecker (1)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (1)
Skylark (1)
Swallow (1)
Pied/White Wagtail (1)
Wren (1)
Dunnock (4)
Robin (4)
Blackbird (2)
Fieldfare (1)
Song Thrush (1)
Mistle Thrush (1)
Reed Warbler (1)
Blackcap (2)
Whitethroat (1)
Chiffchaff (2)
Willow Warbler (1)
Goldcrest (2)
Long-tailed Tit (4)
Blue Tit (4)
Great Tit (4)
Coal Tit (3)
Willow Tit (1)
Marsh Tit (1)
Magpie (4)
Jackdaw (4)
Rook (2)
Carrion Crow (3)
Starling (3)
House Sparrow (4)
Tree Sparrow (2)
Chaffinch (4)
Greenfinch (4)
Goldfinch (4)
Bullfinch (2)
Yellowhammer (2)
Reed Bunting (2)

Symphonies - Great Symphonies

2010-08-06T21:05:00.002Z

There are dozens and dozens of symphonies to be heard dating back hundreds of years, filling CDs in their thousands and played by orchestras large and small, ensembles of various instruments and even soloists. Defining a great symphony is hard.

To pick a great symphony is almost to guarantee offence: my choice would exclude at the earliest stage some works which others find to be masterpieces - for example Elgar's First Symphony and Mahler's Third Symphony. When I was young the esteemed publication "Gramophone" magazine produced a short booklet describing the essential elements of a basic collection of classical music. There were plenty of symphonies in it but I was always perplexed as to why one of my favourites Scriabin's First Symphony wasn't in the list. "How many great symphonies could there be?" I thought

What's become clear to me over the years is that there are just too many to include even a basic survey and the number grows. There may be such a thing as a great symphony "on paper" but it probably only appreciated by a very small number of very clever people who can pick up its nuances off the page. Great symphonies require great performances and even today conductors keep plucking symphonies from the "also ran" category or bumping good symphonies into the great category. Many people wouldn't have given Bruckner 1 or Prokofiev 3 the time of day had it not been for Abbado' advocacy, Bernstein champion Ives 2 and I dare say Bruckner 8 would have languished had Karajan not recorded it repeatedly.

So the situation is rather fluid.

There's also a curious effect which reverses the process. For much of the end of the 20th Century Beethoven's Fifth symphony was untouchable, it was worshipped, venerated and played and played and played. The result was a accelerating depreciation of its value. In the 1960s a performance of Mahler's Third symphony was a rare thing. The early 1950's paperback "The Symphony" had the author of the section on Mahler admitting he'd never heard the Eighth. As those symphonies have been performed more and more their ubiquity has generated a certain blase approach. Whereas Beethoven 5 became a commonplace symphony and its grandeur was overlooked, in the case of Mahler 3 & 8 the grandiosity was overlooked as the scarce product became more open to marvel through performance. The results were bad for all three symphonies: similar stories can be told for other works.

The emotional effect of a great symphony is as overwhelming and visceral as an opera or fantastical theatrical experience. The sounds and how they put together may lead one to a whole series of emotional reactions but these are generally personal. To speak of the meaning of a symphony is hard to aggregate for a varied audience.

There are occasions when there is some general mood is applied to and reflected in a work: The Leningrad and New York premieres of Shostakovich Seventh Symphony "the Leningrad Symphony" must have been moving given the city's siege, they say the Bernard Haitink's performance of Beethoven's Fifth at the Proms on the night Shostakovich died had a intense fire all of its own, and I can speak of the personal experience of the Funeral March from Beethoven's Third symphony "Eroica" at the Proms on Sept 11 2002 that a mass of people were moved in a way that captured that day of shock, fear and dread.

Generally the great symphonies - like great paintings show many moods of the observer.

Though with symphonies one has the mood of the performer to encounter as well. In the Noughties, Claudio Abbado performed Mahler 5 with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra - one night, the night the radio chose to record the work, the principal flautist chose to dominate the work in a way none I've heard before or since. Emmanual Pahud through force of will and some volume dragged the Finale to being a woodwind lead (not brass lead) extravaganza. the overall effect (sadly not capture don the CD release of the performance) was to shed different lights on the great carnival Mahler creates. I also recall a performance of Scriabin 4 directed by Sinopoli from the podium, but led with a fantastic power and style by Jim Wallace on principal trumpet. So players and conductors have their role in this too.

The symphony can reflect the listener's mood - recently I listened to La Mer in an uff'ish state and noted how angry the music appeared at times. The symphony can open a door to some emotional undercurrent unexpectedly. And yet it can also wear its heart on its sleeve - clearly there is much to be said of works like Beethoven 1, Haydn 94 and Prokofiev 1 which leave us with a smile.

The great symphony may bring us to face things and hear things we'd rather not encounter: Mahler's threnody in his Ninth, Brahms' tragic Fourth Symphony, Vaughan-Williams nihilistic Sixth. These share a common threads with some people. Some are suggested - Osmo Vanska's recent confession that he heard tears at the end of Sibelius 5 will have caused some to re-assess its powerful closing pages in a new way. But the process is somehow cathartic and magnetic. A composer's voice speaks very personally to the individual across the ages. There can be no doubt that much of the power and attraction of this music is that the sounds prompts a very personal response and that is done across the years. It is satisfying to think that the human condition has changed so little.

So my list of great symphonies is long and varies with my mood, the fashion and my motivation.
- A great symphony will cause me to stop what I'm doing and concentrate - a reviewer of Toscanini's recording of Beethoven's Ninth said it prompted one to pace around the room.
- A great symphony will take me on a complete journey - usually a dramatic one - but I will have a sense of wholeness.
- The content will be visceral.
- The response to its music will probably be physical: goosebumps, tears, neck hairs bristling, or perhaps a huge sense of ecstatic release (yes like an orgasm - but not quite). And it will be there sometime but not on others.

My feeling is that anything more than that is too hard to explain - there is something to do with the way symphony is built which means it fosters more of those responses. And where it is not built in those ways these responses are absent. There is something to do with the way these works build in a series which helps us appreciate the later works more than earlier ones.

But there is one great conundrum I'd like to share: there are a group of symphonies by fine symphony composers which seem to be a complete mystery to us: Prokofiev 7, Nielsen 6, Vaughan Williams 9, Shostakovich 15, Sibelius 7 - all these works (all last symphonies by wise men) seem to be very simple extensions of the composer's art and yet too often defy satisfying performance and hence satisfying responses in the audience. Perhaps we have to wait for enlightenment in these works or perhaps the compositional midas touch was never granted these works and we just haven't worked that out.

Whichever the final element of mystery is needed in all works of art and so that should be added to our list of identifying features of the great symphony - but not too much mystery please Sergei, Carl, Ralph, Dmitri and Jean!

2010-07-31T21:13:00.004Z

Fifty Bits of Information About which No One Cares

1. What color is your toothbrush?
Blue and white

2. Name one person who made you smile today:
Jesscia Ennis

3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Drinking coffee

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
Playing Scrabble

5. What is your favorite candy bar?
Not allowed but if I were Bounty

6. Have you ever bit your toenails?
No - nor has anyone else - to my knowledge

7. What is the last thing you said aloud?
Yes - this door is locked

8. What is your favorite ice cream?
Ben and Jerries Cookie Dough (no longer permitted)

9. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Ornage Fanta Zero

10. Do you like your wallet?
Not really but its handy

11. What was the last thing you ate?
Toasted Ciabatta with cheese on it

12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
no

13. The last sporting event you watched?
European Cup Athletics

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
Salt

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to?
Nicky G

16. Ever go camping?
In a manner fo speaking yes.

17. Do you take vitamins daily?
In veg form - yes.

18. Do you go to church every Sunday?
Never go to church

19. Do you have a tan?
I do on my arms - does that count?

20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza?
Yes but it makes me ill

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw?
No

22. What did your last text message say?
I've sent you an email

23. What are you doing tomorrow?
Trying to rest

25. Look to your left, what do you see?
Two sofa & no dogs which is novel

26. What color is your watch?
Don't have one

27. What do you think of when you hear Australia?
My friend Emma

29. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
go in

30. What is your favorite number?
3

31. Who’s the last person you talked to on the phone?
Emily R

32. Any plans today?
Replacing teh batteries in my car keys

33. How many counties have you lived in?
4

34. Biggest annoyance right now?
Indecision

35. Last song listened to?
Gounod: Faust - Faust's Waltz

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards?
tebahpla eht

37. Do you have a maid service clean your house?
No

38. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
Not really - the one's I wear most I like least

39. Are you jealous of anyone?
Not really

40. Is anyone jealous of you?
I sincerely hope not

41. Do you love anyone?
I thought I did

42. Do any of your friends have children?
Yes - many

43. What do you usually do during the day?
Think and write

44. Do you hate anyone that you know right now?
No

45. Do you use the word ‘hello’ daily?
Yes - vigorously

46. What color is your car?
Silver

47. Do you like cats?
They're OK - but they don't like me much

48. Are you thinking about someone right now?
Yes

49. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
?

50. How did you get your worst scar?
Being present in a house when someone I loved died

Garden List updated

2010-04-25T15:08:00.003Z

Canada Geese
Barn owl
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk
Rook
Jackdaw
Carrion Crow
Magpie
Woodpigeon
Stock Dove
Collared Dove
Pied Wagtail
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Coal Tit
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Mistle Thrush
Fieldfare
Blackbird
Robin
Dunnock
House Sparrow
Lesser Black Backed Gull
Pheasant
Moorhen
Chiffchaff
Long Tailed Tit
Starling
Reed Bunting
Little Owl
Green Woodpecker
Yellowhammer
Herring Gull
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Mallard
Goldcrest
Blackcap
Willow Warbler
Common Buzzard
Swift

42 species

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

2010-03-28T15:35:00.003Z

I have to say I never thought I'd get a photograph of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, let alone spend a couple of morning hours in the company of at least three of them, tracking them down from their calls and drumming.

My first encounter with the LSW was in the car park of the RSPB's Arne reserve in Dorset. In winter they sometimes, one hears, come to the bird food that the rangers put out in the car park there. In Spring, before the leaves burst forth on the mature trees that surround the car park, the LSW can be seen high it the canopy feast on the bugs that gather in nooks and crannies on the trunks and older branches, and at the branch tips collecting insects that are drawn to the emergent leaves. I found the best way to see them is to park your car in the car park about 7am, before the big numbers of visitors arrive. Put the car in the right place to cant back the seat and gaze upward, bins at the ready. LSWs sometimes are seen amongst the canopy twigs and branches alone, or sometimes in a flock of mixed tits and finches which gather for the food on offer.

Its important to remember that the LSW is very much lesser than it close relative and so its really a small bird, which move sin the slightly skittish way a small birds moves, lightening fast and sometimes seen with a fanned out tail in a way that you'd never see a GSW. The markings are very different between the two birds but in the excitement of seeing a bird which is hard to see and rare its often tempting to make a GSW into an LSW especially juvenile birds.

In comparison the drumming is of a lighter timbre, quicker rhythm and not so penetrating in a wood, the call is not so strident.

There are not many LSWs given their national presence: probably at a maximum 5-6000 breding individuals - and these birds are rare because the habitat they like is becoming scarcer. In the North Nottinghamshire village of Clayworth they were regularly seen in the orchards of the farms and houses in the village - now the aged apple trees have gone so have the birds.

So imagine my delight this morning to hear three LSWs in competition over territory just after dawn in a wood in Lincolnshire: their drumming wasn't as easily heard as that of their cousins but it was relatively easy to track them down for binocular views in the bare woodland. In comparison the drumming is of a lighter timbre, quicker rhythm and not so penetrating in a wood, the call is not so strident. Once the trees are in leaf, spotting them will be much more difficult.

I'm not one for chasing after rarities all over the place. Much of my satisfaction in birdwatching comes from studying a birds habits and finding it through a combination of ears, eyes and understanding its habits and preferences. Once I've found it - as today - a photo is nice, but best is sitting or standing in a sheltered place, sun on my face and watching these wonderful animals doing what they do.

Garden List

2010-03-22T14:49:00.000Z

The DN10 Garden List

Update 22 March

Canada Geese 60-80 high over flying SE 'V' formation
Barn owl
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk x2
Rook x 1
Jackdaw x 4
Carrion Crow x3
Magpie x4
Woodpigeon
Stock Dove x 10
Collared Dove x 4
Pied Wagtail
Great Tit x 4
Blue Tit x4
Coal Tit x 2
Chaffinch (12 peak 8/1)
Greenfinch
Goldfinch (25 peak 10/1)
Mistle Thrush
Fieldfare
Blackbird
Robin
Dunnock
House Sparrow
Lesser Black Backed Gull x 6
Pheasant
Moorhen (feeding on grain)
Chiffchaff (on Scots pine)
Long Tailed Tit
Starling
Reed Bunting
Little Owl
Green Woodpecker
Yellowhammer (pr)
Herring Gull
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Mallard (over)
Goldcrest (pair)

38 species

Brucknerthon 27 Feb 2010 Part 3

2010-02-27T23:29:00.003Z

Symphony No 7
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Karajan

I'm very familiar with both Karajan's later recordings of the Seventh: this one which came out on EMI in the early 1970s and I haven't got into it until now. I kid myself that all I need is his DG set for nourishment from Bruckner - but today has revealed many other highlights.

The Seventh symphony is dedicated to a King and it has a royal presence: plush upholstery, courtly steady gait and lofty airs which are a million miles from its predecessor symphony. In the recording venue - probably Jesus-Christe-Kirche in Dahlem, Berlin - was the site of many great recordings by this orchestra. And whilst there's a lovely luminosity to this recording a lot of immediacy is lost - the high winds sound like they're in a room next door. Its all sounds a bit too plush. The first movement proceeds with Karajan's usual qualities of line and breath, the orchestra plays beautifully and if you didn't know of later recordings you might be very happy with this. Its is smooth and serene.

Karajan had been conducting Bruckner's Seventh since 1941 (his first concert performances were in Aachen) and like many of his readings the subtle differences only come out when one is very familiar with them that is to say there aren't many and they're not obvious - in many cases. Some of the major differences come around the recording with venue and company. I have felt for some time that the recordings Karajan made for EMI were slipshod: this is a case in point. The bass heavy recording fills the ear nicely but where are the details, the BPO was such a finely balanced orchestra and yet EMI manage to have me asking one simple but surprising question "Oh where's the f*****g trumpet?". As the Adagio proceeds we have wave after wave of Mantovani like string sound and splendid chorales from trumpets which are seemingly close by. But at crucial points the levels drop and wind instruments become too distant. As my imprint version (i.e. the versions I 'learnt' the work on) its hard to criticise Karajan's reading. It reaches it climax in a blaze of glory supported by string figures carved in sound by the 100 odd BPO string section. And the last page of this movement are a threnody for Wagner - Bruckner's great idol. Karajan delivers this in true Wagnerian style - but suddenly the flute is with us and the artifice increases.

Bruckner Seven was the first of his symphonies I heard in the flesh, following a Proms or Edinburgh performance by the VPO and Abbado in the early 1980s I rushed along when I heard the Halle orchestra were playing it in Sheffield under a Polish conductor who's name I couldn't pronounce (it was Stanislaw Skrowaczeski thankfully - see above) I trotted along. The effect was mind-blowing. Subsequently I stood outside a record shop umm'ing and ahh'ing about whether to invest a substantial sum in Karajan's recording on Deutsches Grammophon - I did and my mind was blown again. He brought beauty and bite: it was awesome. In particular I was taken with the scherzo in Karajan's recording - pin sharp and fizzing with excitement. I wonder if I'd bought this version I would have been quite as thrilled. Here the Scherzo seems blunted by the acoustic.

The orchestral placement seems much closer for the Finale and I don't know whether to laugh or cry about that. The music here is lithe and woodwinds need to delineate their lines to bring it's riches to life. But like the Sixth symphony the finale isn't the emotional heart, but unlike the Sixth this music isn't earthy and so depends a deal of circumspection. When it does rouse itself - with a rudely disruptive brass outburst - it sounds quite stark and modern: though many of the harmonies may well be ancient such as the way this composer worked. We do get more of the restless spirit here and Karajan is generally happy to resist it waiting for the next cool quiet period to take the wind out of the music's sails and emphasise the contrasts. Anyway - the great cathedral of sound Bruckner constructs is admirably summoned up by HvK and delivered by his Berliners. It all feels a bit odd - but its not bad - just not as detailed and lucid as the later versions. And with detail comes interest and quite a lot of dramatic tension. If you have only heard this version - go out and get another - its presents none of the performers at their best.

Symphony No 8
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Furtwangler

This recording is from something of a bygone age. It is made at a time of war (17 October 1944 in Vienna and recorded by the Reichsrundfunk) by an orchestra who's greatest days had disappeared as had many of its greatest players. But the character of the orchestra is still evident and mono recording aside this is well recorded. Furtwangler was often cited as being completely spontaneous in his interpretations though the records he left rather point to this being a myth. His reading here though is fascinating. At a time when many scholars were marking headway unravelling the confusion around the different versions of Bruckner's scores (and some were adding to it) Furtwangler had his own version of the score - loosely based on the Haas edition which has recently fallen out of favour. Furtwangler then took his own Furtwanglerish take on it and pulls and pushes the music in all sorts of directions - some of which is shocking - but it is rarely out of sympathy with the music (which is why Furtwangler was a great conductor). So this first movement moves speedily and with elemental fire towards its climaxes - each more uncomfortable than the last. The crashing three fold climax at its centre - accompanied by the last trump - are more vivid thanks to his speedy dispatch. And the coda dies with the empty hollow feeling of grief not just sadness. It is desolate, joyless, airless and final.

The scherzo of the Eighth got a programme from Bruckner when he was pressurised by naive friends into explaining his music - it can be flatly ignored - it is poppycock. Examine this scherzo not form the view of Mahler or Brahms but from the view of Wagner's later writing or even the maniacal writing of Berlioz and we see a spirit of innovation in Bruckner - it would be laughable to compare him to the serial composers of this and the last century - but not as laughably as comparing him to Brahms. Furtwangler dispatches it all with lightening fast efficiency and yet without losing the massive gait. This Trio has never sounded so potent as in this version - the conductor pushes hard at points but I'm not sure how. Such is the magic of Furtwangler. The scherzo returns and seems even more frenzied than before - its heady stuff and terse too - repeats were limited to save recording time.

The great Adagio - met head on by Furtwangler who just caresses every note out of it. the orchestra understand this music like no others (though at the time Bruckner was writing and trying to get them to play it - he had great problems). This movement is almost perfectly realised Bruckner for me. The score for this movement is still scrutinised and revised - but its essence is not in those details. Despite the sound the essence of the reading comes through: the empty Grosses Saal at the Musikverein in wore torn Vienna adds a haunting quality to the aural image. Furtwangler's reading is timeless and its ease is a real discovery from this day. As the adagio subsides into another of those brass led threnodies, we can relate to the peace that this music brought to shattered lives across Nazi occupied Europe. A reflection on peace is perhaps all Bruckner wanted ultimately, but his quest was for glory so this symphony is destined to rest here. And turning to the next movement - reluctantly leaving this clam behind - we see his quest for glory or glorification for the works dedicatee - the Emperor. Or as composer Alban Berg put it more starkly "lights complete victory over darkness".

The finale of this work has more meat than any by Bruckner: this is Bruckner's attempt to bring Beethoven's structures and Wagner's sound world together. Its not easy and many conductors fail in this movement because they presume faster and noisier is better. Furtwangler is sprightly here but not all of the time and his significant trait is not speed but acceleration (or when necessary deceleration). And those golden moments - such as the one where the clouds part and the flutes usher in a view of some better place are taken at a precariously slow speed....but we trust this conductor not to dally elsewhere and to keep us all on the tightrope - moreover the players have this trust as well. It is interesting to hear how well the lines of this finale are delineated in a recording nearly 30 years younger than Karajan's EMI Seventh. As the frenzy builds in the centre of the finale Furtwangler can ignite any part of the orchestra with frisson - and that includes the strings. They are exultant at times. And yet watch film of him conducting and you'll wonder how they even follow the beat.

So as the music enters it final act - there is no doubt about Bruckner's material here, or his mastery of an orchestra which was scarcely extravagant. The final steps are taken slowly by the conductor - Bruckner brings in the themes from all the symphony's earlier movements - he weaves a tapestry - Furtwangler gives it life. It is impatient and feverish but when it bursts forth it expertly handled. And as quickly as the blaze caught hold, it is finished and over and done. And like a magician we are left wondering how Furtwangler did what he just did in the blink of an eye. Even now, over fifty years since his death, his powers endure and it seems to me that his service to Brucknerians isn't over by a long way.

Symphony No 9
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Leonard Bernstein

We stay with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for the last work of the day and the cycle. In Vienna in the early months of 1990, Leonard Bernstein - who was dying - came to record this work. It's a work Bruckner never finished because he was dying too this is a torso of a work without a finale. So one might expect this to be a grime recording of a grim symphony suffused the signs of dwindling mortality.

The work's first movement is quite revolutionary esp for Bruckner - essentially the themes are split into eight episodes which are played and repeated and developed. The multifaceted character is remarkably sure footed for a composer who earlier in his career had struggled to come up with a sturdy second subject. And because Bruckner is a more confident composer in that sense (and only in that sense) his score is easier to follow hence conductors generally make a better job of this symphony than others. Bernstein is careful to not to rush these episodes and even within them will loiter around the transitions to make the point. In the repeat section Bernstein takes great liberties with his emphasis - but this is never an obstacle or offence. His loyalty to the broad thrust is unwavering and moreover where he does pause or stretch time it is to allow some natural process in the music to work out. The coda seems to emerge rather like an image appearing on photographic paper: its full splendour is upon us in a blaze from the Vienna brass - still splendid in this music 45 years after Furtwangler's recording. There's nothing moribund about this performance.

The scherzo is massive and yet relatively fleet - the basses - probably not the ones Bruckner was writing for - led a leaden walk around a hideously dark environment. Bernstein's point here isn't to clarify structures to allow them almost to blur and become more densely packed. Setting one loud ungainly effect against another. It is brilliant especially when he presses hard on even those little woodwind songs which when amplified clash with each other. Rhythmically its the complex interpretation of this grisly march I've ever heard. Surprisingly the trio becomes a trot round the park - the ardent sweeping statements fade to nowhere. The flute flecked episode sounds very modern - in fact the whole work does in Bernstein's hands. A highlight for me is that this conductor is a composer of modern music and he is willing to emphasise the modernism of this work. On repeat the scherzo goes from being interesting to being very scary.

This is the last movement in my 35 movement, 9h30m, 3.74 GB (of wav files) journey. Bruckner wrote it with some ideas of what he wanted next but no clear plan (or at least not one he wrote down). This symphony was dedicated to God and he wanted something fitting to end on - and unsurprisingly he couldn't find anything. I'm not bothered by completion, still less interested in tacking the Te Deum onto the end. It is an uneasy movement in its restless nature but it is grounded in some of the composer's greatest melodies - long, earnest and beautiful. Bernstein dwells on every note - it is very moving in many ways. And when he can - as he builds to the uncomfortable climaxes, he punches the dischords home. But this is not a morbid valediction - it is effortful endeavour to reveal glories we haven't fully appreciated before. The climaxes sound out three times - great clarion calls and their replies and then echoes and we know the last of these ends in complete dischord. The journey is held fast by Bernstein - he ushers in the pulsing brass, the arches of long sustained notes build a huge sonic expanses and as it starts to collapse in under its own weight the orchestra just explodes into life. The knock out blow comes in fast. The pause telling and yet the music builds again but this time it fails, it cannot reach that point so it must dissipate that energy some other way. A descent begins- these players know so well having played this music under some of its greatest interpreters - and as the clouds lift, the threads untangle and the lines to our conclusion become clear - the awesome power of before seems limited. Here with strings, and winds and horns Bruckner guides us to a tranquil place. The symphony ends on a static high note - it seems good enough to me. Bernstein was never a conductor associated with Bruckner: but he was fine interpreter of this symphony and this is a splendid record of his skill in revealing things we don't ordinarily hear.

Brucknerthon - 27 Feb 2010 - Part 2

2010-02-27T17:46:00.003Z

Symphony No 4 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Karl Bohm

Karl Bohm didn't record much Bruckner - a Third and Fourth symphony for Decca and a Seventh and Eighth symphony for DG in the stereo era.

This recording of the Fourth has been well regarded since its release in the mid sixties. Bohm was a bit of a dictatorial conductor we hear and his stern business like manner sometimes seems unyielding in Mozart and Beethoven. Here his determined foot fall sweeps the music along: it is very dramatic and where other conductors are warm and sunny in Bruckner's so called "Romantic" symphony. The first movement is one of the best in the early symphonies and Bohm takes it at speed and with huge grandeur - the style has much in common with Jochum but with much more straightforward to the priorities on the page. Its highly focused on the melody. The Andante, Quasi Allegretto, second movement has a little too much of a plod for me - though the glorious Vienna playing helps pass some of the workaday music. the recording is just astounding for its time too and in the dying embers of the Andante it is wonderfully lucid and quiet.

The Scherzo and Trio - in other heads has a greater depth, mystery and panache: Bohm heads into ratehr like a bull at a gate. I'm convinced that this kind of macho abrasiveness works. The woodwind passages seem to lose momentum and it all gets a bit too much like bluster. the Trio is dreamy in its sound scape, but rather four square in its execution. The finale opens with all the contrapuntal acumen Bohm and his players can muster, but soon after the second subject oozes in with a Viennese sweetness that one knows is going to end in trouble. Bruckner allows the melodies to dally and after a certain amount of "milling about" the erupting progressions are just plain loud with Bohm making no attempt to soften the sterile effect with the complementary downward figures we hear more of nowadays. Bohm brings out the Wagnerian soundbites with aplomb but can't hold them together. But oh how this finale drags - which is such a shame because its coda is divine. Bohm delivers an intense, deeply moving coda - full of Wagnerian portent, supremely realised by orchestra and recording engineers alike (though they sound to have moved the mics in closer and re-arranged the horns on the sound stage). It is worth hearing the reading for that coda alone: and who's to say on some days one would just listen to the last three minutes just to hear the wonders of the 1960s VPO strings. Putting that crowning glory to one side - its not a reading that works for me - its too brusque and has none of the mysteries of the forest about it.

Symphony No 5
New Japan Philharmonic/Ashina

In Japan Ashina was the Bruckner conductor and his records, videos and concert performances were gobbled up by an adoring and idolising fan base - but little seeped through to the West. Now we have more of it and here's a piece of it to bring a little exoticism to Bruckner's most mystical work - so much of it is four square and formulaic, but it plays with us in a sensually which is quite direct and bold. There's an ascetic feverish quality to its heights but they are dealt out and withdrawn with an almost sexual intensity.

First movement starts well but by ten minutes in playing errors interrupt Ashina's stately progress. No matter this symphony only needs to set the scene for its first 40 minutes! Its a protracted birth with Ashina's vocalisation adding to the creative drama. Ultimately it is beautifully paced and well enough played and once into the swing the detail is excellent and the playing has a certain rugged charm and sturdy momentum. For absolutely no good reason he careers off into the coda - it is something of a shock after the forensic detail exposed with care. Its carried off with aplomb and that's that! More unexpected but kinda kooky willfulness from Ashina in the second movement which is marked Adagio but actually moves quite quickly. Impressive balance, control and execution in the "big tune" and a beautifully full recordings make it bloom.

The Scherzo and Trio are labile - quick in places, slower than expected in others. I quite like its electricity and drams and this may be part of Ashina's legendary long term control.

Unlike the Fourth the is no way I'd suggest anyone listened to this symphony's last three minutes alone. The Fifth is all about the testing of harmonic resilience both in the composer's head and then in real time to his audience. Everything that has happened in the preceding hour is relevant to what happens in this last movement - particularly the last 5 minutes.

The movement starts with a reminiscence of its predecessors and then a square on fugue which kinda fizzles out. Ashina presses here - much to my delight. This movement has to have a momentum even when great singing melodies seek to divert our attention. The goal here isn't in the melody at all - this is about harmony Ashina is acutely aware of his need to keep us on our way. I like it. The smooth juggernaut fugue at the centre of the movement - which serves little purpose other than to tie us in harmonic knots from which Bruckner (and Ashina) can spring us at the last moment. This is about controlling that moment; and Ashina's patience is fantastically planned. His orchestra too have played so well - and at those crucial moments of relaxation when it all seems to stall on the hint of a fugue waiting to happen and later when the music seems to go into reverse: the players hold steady. Ashina's fantastic grip on proceedings is a wonder. As we enter the final five minutes and the flood gates are opened on the back of a drum-roll and a cheeky squeaks from the winds, Ashina chooses to speed up then slow dramatically. The ending where the huge ecstatic final aspiration of our starting chorale should be a transcendental experience is horrid. Ashina uses his iron control to slow the moment as though the prelude to the climax is worth dwelling on - it is a Furtwangler-like indulgence. The end was massively scarred for me. Its exhausting enough to listen to this work without the conductor exercising his prowess just for the sake of it. A grisly and deeply dissatisfying experience.

Symphony No 6
San Francisco Symphony/Tilson-Thomas

This live performance made in 2003 in Davies Hall in SF is not available on CD as far as I know and is my only indulgence in this list of recordings. Tilson Thomas isn't a conductor you would associate with Bruckner but I think temperamentally the Sixth suits him. It is certainly the Cinderella of the set and for a long time there was no competition amongst the recordings available with only Klemperer available and wide praised. I like the way he sweeps the music along occasionally cutting it off. But the SFS are such a fine band it is worth hearing them in anything especially with MTT at the helm.

This symphony is typical Bruckner but its on the extremes of his harmonic world - delivering exotic progress on what is a familiar journey. the English critic Donald Tovey wrote about this music at a time when Bruckner's music was deeply unfashionable in Britain and his analysis is superb and far-sighted. Bruckner orchestrates quite dramatically here: but the music carries none of the weighty portent of the material elsewhere in his canon.

Tilson Thomas guides the orchestra through the first movement with a relaxed grace - only tightening proceedings for the drum and brass outbursts. The drum led recapitulation is delivered with a tender pause just to diffuse some of its martial quality.

It might be argued that the slow movement is the emotional epicentre of all Bruckner symphonies. In the Sixth symphony it is also the musical centre too. MTT is dangerously slow make the music almost abstract in its introduction to a tune which will melt your heart. Tovey speaks of shimmering Homeric seas at this point and there is no better illustration to be used. The harmonic world here is novel and so is Bruckner's language and Tilson Thomas takes them to new limits. Its is precise and yet languid like a slow dancer. And the drum and bass led figure (not not THAT sort of drum and bass) which could be summoned from Wagner, Brahms or some such is put to great utility by Bruckner. The climax and end of this movement are divinely handled by Tilson Thomas and his orchestra. The coda has a simplicity of utterance and humanity we might associated with Wagner but it has a humility which is Bruckner's own. MTT stretches its pauses but reveals a beauty in its final pages that many composer's struggle to achieve. It's not nuanced, heartbreaking or portentous - its is just sublime music - breathtakingly simple, respectfully realised and beautifully played.

The scherzo is rumbustious - the moment of reverence has passed. Unlike its predecessors it isn't lumpy. Its smiles and has a certain tongue in cheek from the Austrian composer for the music forms around him. So with a smile MTT and the SFS deliver a colourful pageant of sound and dance in the manner of Dvorak I often think. The Trio is delicately handled - by both composer and conductor.

The Finale only needs a few moments to catch light and the effect is rather immediate. In Bruckner's world the sexual metaphor is always a dangerous one (given his unfulfilled preoccupation with young women) but I'm going to play with it here. There is, at least, a game of hide and seek here, MTT makes the second subject beguiling and innocent. Its confrontations with the main tune with its panting brass chorales and sawing strings give us the basis for a different kind of Bruckner experience which take s the twee we've heard elsewhere and subverst it into the coy, the knowingly innocent. So from the lofty higher thoughts of the slow movement we have moved to a genial and mischievous world of human antics. But leaving that notion to one side for a moment - Tilson Thomas paces this movements beautifully taking it out of the usual fast barking brass/slow melting strings formulaic approach. And Bruckner doesn't hang round here either: the material is tersely expressed and full of joys if not excitement too. The rush too end tickles the ribs and pulls the material together with concision we haven't heard before. The woodwind may protest but the strong armed guy plucks up his fair maid in the end and of they go to play in the fairground. Its very obviously not Bruckner's way in earlier or later symphonies: so its a pleasure to hear a conductor bring the fresh vigorous frivolous and utterly human side of Bruckner out so well. The return of the opening movement chorale signals the end of the movement: but MTT seems to go a little awry here - its of no great matter since the heart of this work lies locked deep in the Homeric seas.

Brucknerthon - 27 Feb 2010 - Part 1

2010-02-27T09:56:00.006Z

Preamble:

Every now and then I take a day and devote it to Bruckner and listen to his symphonies in order.

Each time I do this I try to listen to a mix of familiar and unfamiliar recordings in my collection.

I don't listen to the two early symphonies fancifully titled "0" and "00" - or any of the choral works.

Morning Session

Symphony No 1
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim

This was from Barenboim's 1970's Bruckner cycle issued on DG

Its a gutsy, virile performance which befits this early work - Bruckner's confidence was broken down later but here its in full flow. Barenboim notices and delineates lots of fine detail and the orchestral playing is wonderful - esp in the slow movement. The reading progressively feel less and less relaxed until parts of the last movement feel like there is something in the way of the music, a certain tension. Others, notably Oramo, have just swaggered through. Barenboim holds it together but there are times when one's attention begins to wander, By the time we get into the last section Barenboim and his players lead us to a magnificent conclusion.

Symphony No 2
Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra/Stanislaw Skrowaczeski

This is awesome Bruckner so full of detail you'd hardly know it was by this composer. Stan Skrowaczeski's ear is faultless and his pacing easily the most subtle and dramatic by a country mile. In general playing from radio orchestras is often of a very high technical standard and beautifully balanced - since they are often called on to perform new and difficult works. There are some things that Stan does which I find a bit uncomfortable - the rush to the tape in the first movement for example, but the Andante is just so wonderfully realised that you'd be very hard not to forgive him his indulgences. The Scherzo explodes with all the shock of Stravinsky and it ends with all the fervor of Tchaikovsky. The last movement is more mature than its sibling in the First symphony, but Bruckner gets into problems with his second subject - which is banal. Even Stan struggles here to haul something good out of what is a bit of a symphonic car crash. But overall this is a fine performance full of the kind of drama and local detail many of the anti-Bruckner crowd would be surprised to hear.

Symphony No 3
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/Eugen Jochum

Eugen Jochum's first Bruckner cycle was recorded in the early 60s with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for the big stuff and Jochum's own Bavarian Radio Symphony orchestra in this and other symphonies.

Jochum is a quixotic but devout Bruckner conductor with a key feel for the pulse and he plays with it quite a lot driving climaxes too hard in my view, so the first movement sounds like an especially evangelical tone poem - full of fire and brimstone at points and a bit preachy at others. There's no middle way with Jochum. That said the orchestra and recording suit the music well, in particular the piquant oboe is distinctive in many recordings of this orchestra in the 60s and 70s and it lifts the texture wonderfully here. The second movement has a hymn-like quality and booms out with the gusto of a cathedral choir or huge organ. Other interpretations have been a deal more Wagnerian in there sound and I prefer that. There's a problem in this work: a series of versions are available to conductors and some - like the original one used by Nott at this year's proms are very lumpy. Jochum was close to the Bruckner scholar Leopold Nowak and its no surprise that his version is in use - but it needs some tolerance if not doggedness to realise. The coda of the Adagio is brilliantly realised though - sublime concentration.

The scherzo is a a visceral dance almost sarcastic - its manic in its realisation with accentuated rhythms and the BRSO brass attacking chords with great aggression. Which make sthe Trio sound even more ridiculous than usual - its tame trotting metres and banal orchestration really sound very out of place here - almost ironic. The irony continues after the fourth movement erupts with Bruckner's ill fated twee second subject. Jochum does what he can, his acid woodwind fail to bring any Viennese swing: that's one of the ways Karajan negotiates this movement so brilliantly. And after all the flim-flam, Jochum's coda sounds decidedly tacked on. His strategies in Bruckner continue to confuse and fascinate: a mix of bland faith, reckless ardour and well disciplined playing don't always work for me: but there are moments when its utterly brilliant.

Concert: Sibelius Symphonies - LPO/Vänskä

2010-02-18T07:39:00.005Z

A quick review of the 3 February Concert at London's Royal Festival Hall by London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Osmo Vänskä. The programme was:

Sibelius Luonnotar (Tone poem for soprano and orchestra)
Sibelius Symphony 4
Sibelius Symphony 5

Helena Juntunen soprano was the soloist in Luonnotar. I heard the broadcast live and then revisited it during the week using BBC iPlayer.

I have had problems with the way this orchestra and Vänskä work together over the years: they've been responsible for some of my most uncomfortable moments in the concert hall and although things were better in parts this time - the same old problems seem to me to be present - there are signs they are beginning to understand each other.

I imagine a great deal of rehearsal time went into Luonnotar because it was fantastic. Juntunen is a real star and brought a great deal of drama too her reading. The LPO were alert and the playing colourful and the intricacies of the score were beautifully realised.

I've never heard the piece take on such a epic quality: it is about the creation of the world and elemental forces were summoned up when required. But the singer also has moments of great intimacy in her storytelling and these were realised with gorgeous intensity. Vänskä is renowned for bringing the sound levels right down and the LPO responded well.

The Fourth Symphony was given by Vänskä and this orchestra in London a couple of years ago and the reading did seem to have benefited from that. But there are I think two problems they have together: first there's a real problem of balance and care - there were too many instances of detail being swapped in a way that doesn't happen when Vänskä conducts say the BBC Symphony Orchestra (to pick an ensemble he conducts as regularly as LPO). This may partly about radio microphone placement and balance but I have heard it too often in the concert hall to think its just an artifact of that. The second problem is a reticence which holds the flow of the music back: I'm not sure if this is a trust issue or sloppiness or something technical - but it doesn't happen when Vänskä conducts the Minnesotans.

Vänskä in his pre-concert interview talked of not being convinced of the symphony's reputation for desolation, and for that might he doesn't hold with the idea of triumphalism at the end of the Fifth Symphony. He may just be contrary - but his Fourth has a great deal of the spareness required to render it's stark mood.

As a reading it bares all the hallmarks of Vänskä's Sibelius interpretations on record - vivid, subtle, impetuous and impulsive (both in a very good way) but something was holding it back (less so than two years ago) but it seldom felt unfettered.

I heard Vänskä conduct Sibelius Fifth symphony in a concert in Manchester many years ago and a friend listening to the radio at the time said he thought Furtwangler was conducting. When I first heard the reading in this concert I felt is was by someone trying to do an impression of Furtwangler conducting: so quixotic, so spontaneous that the page sprang with life. Of course Furtwangler's spontaneity was largely contrived (as recordings demonstrate) and Furtwangler only worked in that sense with orchestras who were especially attuned to his way of conducting. My feeling was that this Fifth was trying to get there but because of the above problems between conductor and orchestra, it fell someway short of an inspirational spontaneity.

It sound hurried and impatient both with the music and with the performance itself. The orchestra playing seemed to me to be much less sure-footed than the Fourth Symphony which compounded my view that this orchestra takes a long time to understand what's wanted. As a reading it left me yearning for more and actually questioning whether Vänskä isn't conducting this music too frequently. His Eroica with the Minnesotans this time last year in London skirted with this problem.

Sadly the BBC don't appear to be broadcasting any more of what was a complete cycle of Sibelius Symphonies given by the pairing and one can only hope they appear on CD at some stage to help us assess how Vänskä's readings have moved on since his cycle with the Lahti Symphony orchestra. The LPO have a fine tradition: but bringing a great conductor and a great orchestra together doesn't always work.

A final thought: the reviews from the national press I've read and the heard quoted are largely silent on the problems I've referred to. I'm not even going to bother speculating why this is - but these were readings from the workshop - not masterpieces (though Luonnotar maybe the exception there), in my humble opinion.

Gringley Carr - a birders dilemma

2010-02-15T12:47:00.015Z

The environments offered in Gringley Carr are more limited than those at the former "Lound Gravel Pits" down the road where the newly named "Idle Valley NR" has a bird list of 251 species, but the Carr is an area rich in bird life and it is at the confluence of two important ecological pathways. The rivers, Trent and Idle, form a natural route way by water from the North Sea and Humber estuary down to North Nottinghamshire. And over land the wide expanses of Hatfield Chase, from Thorne Moor, through Hatfield Moor, thence to the westerly extremes of the Isle of Axholme, onto Misterton and Gringley Carr which are agricultural and Mission Carr NR which is wooded. These congruent wildlife corridors present opportunities - along with a smaller network of woods and drains - for movement of animals and birds. There is little urban intrusion into this, and where there is industrial intrusion it is usually small scale. Framing methods have by far the biggest impact on bird populations. Various quarries along the way have been allowed to flood and these provide great sanctuaries for wildlife.

A brief survey of what can be found on Gringley Carr help give a flavour of the place:-

Mute Swan frequent both rivers and dykes and occasional visits by wintering Bewick’s Swan and Whooper Swan to the fields around the patch. Geese often settle on flooded fields in the winter months - this month Pink-footed, White-fronted and Greylag Geese have been seen.

The Idle Washlands and broader dykes provide shelter for wintering ducks - large flocks of Wigeon, Mallard and Teal can be found. With a little help from their friend's game birds are prevalent and in summer the singing of Quail is a rare treat in most of the fields with arable crops which provide cover. Grey Partridge are on the increase too.

One might expect Grebes on the river and Herons too - but there are fewer than you'd think. Little Egrets may find their way here eventually and were it not for the frequent drain clearance Bittens might winter here.

The big game in town for this site is raptors: Harriers are present throughout the year (Marsh in summer and Hen in Winter). Montague's Harrier wouldn't be a big surprise but no one is going to shout about them if they breed here. Common Buzzard have appeared since I was a youth. And frequent sightings of Merlin make "5 raptor" days relatively easy with Kestrel and Sparrowhawk common. A flurry over a possible Rough Legged Buzzard was fruitless last year - but the prospect remains tantalising. There are occasional sightings of Peregrine but very few reports of Hobby which given the prevalence of these wonderful birds and the dense isolated woodland around is a little odd - but again breeding pairs might stay off the radar.

The reed beds and water margins allow Moorhen and Coot to prosper - indeed these might be the most numerous of the non flocking birds.

Gringley Carr is known quite widely as a place where Dotterel are to be found on passage. Plovers - Golden and Lapwing used to be found here in huge numbers but populations have dwindled here like so many other places.

Were the water deeper and more reliable then waders might be more commonplace. Gulls however are common - but these are the inland birds - many of the large gulls commute around feeding sites and will drop in to the Carrs if the feeding looks good. Black Headed Gulls flock here when the fields are being turned over too.

Another group that does well here are the doves and pigeons: Wood pigeons in massive flocks in the winter, much smaller flocks of Stock Doves are ever present. And in the summer Turtle Doves are to be found on the wires - there soft song carried on the breeze.

Owls are evident with a bit of patience: though this year Barn Owls have been scarce, Little Owls love the farmyard buildings and paddocks. Tawny's are found in most wooded areas round here. Best though are the Short and Long Eared Owls making the most of the scrubby Idle banks and fields of set aside and are often found quartering their hunting grounds in the twilight.

Occasionally kingfishers zoom down the river and the odd Great Spotted Woodpecker is heard in the bigger trees on the bank.

Swift and Swallow and Martins are summer fielders on the Carrs though I suspect their nest places are mostly distant, that said at least some pairs find shelter beneath the metal and concrete bridges which span the dykes and allow tractor access.

Skylarks are relatively common in this area though their breeding success depends on the crops in any given year. Pipits are less abundant - a mass twitch over a Blyth's Pipit soured relations with one of the local farmers and resulted in a road being gated.

Two years ago there was a welcome and gorgeous population of Yellow Wagtails in evidence - this coincided with the biggest effort on the part of the farmers and Government on set aside. Last year was devoid on my visits of this beautiful bird. We'll wait and see what transpires this summer. The habitats for Chats, Redstarts, Chats, and with the introduction of sheep on pasture maybe even passing Wheatear - all exist but no sightings come in regularly. Winter Thrushes are well represented here - large flocks of Fieldfare gather. fewer Redwing though.

Like many sites one visits one can see the potential for wider biodiversity but there seems to be a threshold where this is realised: a little extra effort here in Gringley Carr may bring in more birds and more species too.

Warblers are lacking in the field margins but Sedge and Reed can be heard on the river bank. Whitethroats, Chiffchaffs and Willow warbler are present in the trees and scrub and with sufficient observation hours in the early mornings Grasshopper warblers might be logged too. I still find the paucity of Great & Blue Tits puzzling but perhaps this is mostly to do with better environments for them elsewhere.

On ground such as this corvids make hay and the common corvids are ever present. Starlings form relatively small flocks and sparrows have yet to re-establish themselves here.

The finches ought to do better: Green, Gold and Bullfinch are ever present and large flocks of linnet form in the winter. The few alder trees on the river bank are relatively quickly stripped of seed and I've seen either siskin or Redpoll this year. News Flash: a flock of Twite reported on Feb 16th - so not all bad news on the Finch front!

The final three species worth noting are all spectacular pleasures: the Carr has a strong summer population of Corn Buntings and the sit on the phone wires and allow close approach by car. Similarly Yellowhammer are easily found in the hedges - where there are hedges - and make a glorious summer find. And throughout the year Reed Buntings are found.

Rarities crop up now and then - and attract a good audience. But if there is a bird list anywhere I firmly believe that it is only partial because the site is not closely and regularly watched.

And the birder's dilemma, is a site with such limited accessibility on foot and by car, with such variable levels of set aside and diverse crop coverage, and generally low bird numbers especially on the Idle bank which is sometimes completely devoid of birds - worth visiting regularly. I'd argue it is if only because we don't really know its full potential - but we need the evidence about how far away from the threshold we are.

Gringley Carr - farming dilemma

2010-02-14T12:52:00.021Z

A visit this morning to Gringley Carr which was a haunt of my youth, left me feeling rather torn between the needs of the farmers who work the land and the needs of nature and those of us who watch it.

It's a barren landscape at this time of year - the wind rushes in from any direction over mile after mile of flat fields. The Carr is an area of agricultural land lying between the Chesterfield Canal and River Idle to the north of the village of Gringley on the Hill.

The area in pink broadly covers Gringley Carr (click on the map for a better look)

Its an entirely artificial landscape a mere 200 years or so old in its current configuration. It was formerly the River Idle flood plain - where the Idle ran out of steam before getting to the Trent and flooded every year. It was swamp - Bronze age finds are grouped on higher land suggesting humans have been here a long time - but so has water and mud.

A "carr" can be defined as a coppiced area of woodland for example alders. Its easy to see how taken together Misson, Gringley and Misterton all have their "carrs" in this area. The "river" from Misson to West Stockwith was effectively dug out to allow flood waters to drain into the River Trent and the land subsequently drained with the rich soil making it some of the most productive agricultural land in Britain. The Dutch engineer who did this was responsible for much land reclamation in The Netherlands.

Its an austere landscape: many of the hedges which divided fields were ripped out in the 1970s and the ditches required to keep the land workable are wide and have to be kept clear of vegetation. A few patches of woodland remain as cover for game birds. The crops have changed over the years: sugar beet was for a long time the chief crop with margins occasionally set aside for game cover or to encourage wildlife. Two years ago this margins were expanded to entire fields with the help of Government financial incentives - there was a wildlife bonanza as a result. Sadly now those incentives have stopped the set aside is limited - but the diversification of crops (even into sheep farming) has yielded a few more environmental options, and so this morning there were flocks of lapwing and golden plover across the area.

The farming activity has its down side: access to some areas has been denied with the closure of once public roads (seemingly unilaterally).

Also roads have been left precarious by the mud left by machinery. Huge farms need to be efficient and that means big machinery. It also means taking the labour to the task and migrant workers are taken to the fields to sort crops on trailers towed by huge tractors - the result mess is costly and time -consuming to clean up.

One of the effects of this intensive farming activity is the loss of wildlife habitat.

Hedge clearance has abated - though the few remaining hedges are kept tightly trimmed back to allow machines to work the fields. In the 1970s, I remember dust storms in the summers caused by the lack of any windbreaks in the fields: I think farmers have learnt their lesson and keep hedges in now to act as a barrier. Small tightly packed woods exist on handkerchief sized plots: the trees all planted too close together to maximise grants available at the time. And bizarre mixes of trees too - birch and beech - but too little alder.

Sadder still is the disappearance of the big trees: their roots cause reduced yields and make working the field difficult. The wood is seldom utilised - many are just felled and allowed to rot.
In the SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) nearby big trees harbour much more wildlife - and one only hope.

Ditch clearance is drastic taking virtually every bull rush and bramble off the water margins. And this year it has been especially drastic as the spoil has been heaped on the few strips of set aside running parallel to the ditches. The farmers will argue that such is the price of cheap food in the supermarkets and they have a very good point. The sides are left steep - though not so steep that rabbits can't burrow in and undermine them.

Ditch clearance also reveals the efforts that have gone into field drainage. Many fields have a network of drainage pipes sunk into them and its no surprise that sometimes these pipes bring contaminants (both natural and unnatural) into the waters. The ditches are lifeless.

A huge electric pump governs the level of these dykes and periodically pulls hundreds of gallons of water from the land into the Idle - formerly there was a pumping house with at first steam then latterly diesel engines to do this - but these required people and the whole system is now automated, even down to a robot arm which clears the pump grills of rubbish sucked up in the torrent.

The ditch water looks quite clean but these are neither standing or rushing water or rather it is both periodically - so little lives there. And when plants do take hold - they are ripped out. The consequences for yields if this water were standing in the fields would be immense.

This is an artificial landscape like much fenland agriculture, and like moorland agriculture it is farming on the edge. Here technology has been playing a helping hand for nearly 200 years. Our dilemma is to allow the farmers to do our job. Their dilemma is that they are remote from our towns and villages and so when we stray into their world we are shocked. This isn't quaint, we are not playing at feeding people here. This is big business.

Stravinsky: Apollo Musagete

2010-01-18T14:31:00.002Z

Stravinsky is a great composer of ballet music, indeed he may be THE great composer of ballet music. The way in which his style developed is perhaps more exciting than any other composer of his time or any other time. Some of his music continues to present a challenge to the listener even though it is familiar through dozens of recordings and analyses.

The wonder of Stravinsky is that he could slip so easily from complex musical ideas into what seems to be familiar territory or even old fashioned – but it always has a Stravinskian flavour. It is hard to think of another composer who when writing for dancers presents so many and so varied challenges.

Much as I admire the Firebird, Petrushka and the Rite of Spring, it is one simple piece which I think presents another pinnacle of Stravinsky’s art which is often overlooked – its another peak in the mountain range of his achievements – Apollon Musagete.

Apollo (as it later became known) was written following commission in 1927/8 and is a work in two tableaux the first of which is a Prologue “The birth of Apollo” and the second tableau is a series of 6 variations and ending with a Pas de deux, Coda and Apotheosis. The setting is quite straightforward: Apollo instructs three muses Calliope (poetry), Polyhymnia (rhetoric) and Terpsichore (dance) and leads them to Mount Parnassus – the home of the Gods.

The ballet was first given in April 1928 in Washington following the commission by the US arts patron, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, but this setting was rather ignored by Stravinsky and surpassed by the European production by Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe: premiered on 12 June 1928. This was the first collaboration between the composer and ballet master Georges Balanchine, and both music and choreography were traditional with a modern (at the time) twist. It was seen as a great innovative ballet production and has been revived several times since.

The piece was written for a small group (34 players) of strings – though subsequently more have been used. The musical style can be termed “neoclassical” and its not Stravinsky’s first or only efforts in this style. But whereas the ballet Pulcinella (1920) uses a full orchestra and makes use of diverse orchestral effects of timbre and texture, Apollo is much more homogeneous in that sense and achieves its nods towards classical and baroque music in different ways.

For me, Apollo is a brilliant of the expression of the neoclassical idea. Within the confines of a classical structure (scenes of a ballet) and using limited resources for expression Stravinsky achieves some of his greatest musical effects. No doubt the purists will argue the point, but I think the result, though granted not the intention, is a highly affecting romantic piece. The old structures and forms reverberate with a modern elegance and élan. The lean strings sound emphasise this suavity. It is the exquisitely understated presentation of subtle harmonic changes, side-lights and nuances which are the glorious hallmark of the piece. and the meat of the piece for the listener. It could be by no other composer so indelible is the stylistic signature. And Stravinsky’s daring is never over-worked or emphasised. To my ear it is the delicate suspensions, the subtle atmosphere of a piece which has “classical” roots in every sense and yet is thorough of its time and still appealing today.

I’d urge you to hear two recorded versions:

1) Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Jukka Pekka Saraste – this is highly sensitive and lithe and alert. Closer to a Stravinskian vision than any other I’ve heard and the SCO strings are superb. This is a finely balanced and intricate reading - well worth repeated auditions.

2) Berlin Philharmonic/Karajan – the work entered Karajan’s repertoire in the early 70s and continued as a showcase for the amazing BPO strings in full orchestral complement. Karajan takes liberties, but dares to entice and beguile which adds to the dramatic effect. A most moving interpretation.

At the Winter Palace: Garden Bird List 2010

2010-01-08T23:36:00.009Z

DN10 Birdlist -

Update 14 Feb

After the heavy snows of mid January our biggest fear was that we may have lost the local Barn Owl - thankfully it has been seen on an almost daily basis since then. That said though common birds have continued to visit the garden in numbers (20 Blackbirds on 12 Feb!) there's been no increase yet in the species list.

A pair of kestrels have been invetsigating one of the next boxes in the field and a Great Tit is roosting in teh camera nest box on the side of the house.

Though there have been some mild days the cold weather continues.

The list

Last Update 10 Jan 12am (new entries in italics)

Canada Geese 60-80 high over flying SE 'V' formation
Barn owl
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk x2
Rook x 1
Jackdaw x 4
Carrion Crow x3
Magpie x4
Woodpigeon
Stock Dove x 10
Collared Dove x 4
Pied Wagtail
Great Tit x 4
Blue Tit x4
Coal Tit x 2
Chaffinch (12 peak 8/1)
Greenfinch
Goldfinch (25 peak 10/1)
Mistle Thrush
Fieldfare
Blackbird
Robin
Dunnock
House Sparrow
Lesser Black Backed Gull x 6
Pheasant
Moorhen (feeding on grain)
Chiffchaff (on Scots pine)
Long Tailed Tit
Starling
Reed Bunting
Little Owl
Green Woodpecker
Yellowhammer (pr)
Herring Gull
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Mallard (over)

Christmas Box No. 1: Unfinished business

2009-12-26T14:09:00.002Z

Bruckner: Symphony No 9

Hear this on Specify:-
Eugen Jochum/Staatskapelle Dresden – Bruckner: Symphonies 8 & 9

Bruckner tried to finish this work for two years before his death (1896) - that he wasn't able to suggests that he didn't have the wherewithal to complete his most challenging score. It is a tale of redemption in some ways - the uncertainty flailing of the first movement with its eight seemingly unconnected sections, the terrifying scherzo and trio and the grand emotional gestures of the crowning Adagio make a complete picture of a journey from light to dark - like many of Bruckner's works. The working out of his vision requires patience and rewards it many times over.

The unquiet heart of the composer - who'd life bordered on madness too often - takes us through a disturbed landscape and pulls us through the other side. Bruckner dedicated the work to Almighty God and one could see how, in his mind, that even his best attempt couldn't do the dedicatee justice.

The peace and serenity only make sense when the first half of the work is not just heard but endured. Why would I do that with a piece of art, I often think to myself. I'm not sure but the answer is not dissimilar to the answer a long distance runner would give - yes there is pain, but its only pain - and if endured the prize is great. In this case we hear Bruckner's glacially slow musical process working out over long spans of music.

The crunching drama in the first movement is punched by discordant climaxes which will make the unwary shift uneasily and reach for the off switch. Stick with these and you'll see how Bruckner's world crumbles to nothing by the end of the work. Like an accumulation of riches one is left in awe of the simplicity of his message.

I don't listen to this work often - it is too precious to be paraded often and, to a great extent, even I find it difficult to be familiar with the piece even after 30 years of acquaintance. The first movement's restless air is in many ways modern for the time it was written and had more to do with those turn of the 20th century composers like Schonberg and Webern, Bruckner isn't often given credit for this. Indeed the piece was so radical for its time Bruckner's friends and followers drastically "normalised" its content and a more authentic version wasn't heard until 1932.

The scherzo is wholly wild and and spooky - it slips and slides around a beat which becomes so insistent at times its maddening. Like many of Bruckner'sscherzi its his most accessible music - an ideal place to start, but by no means a place to stay.

And the last movement weaves a long and arduous path to heavenly light. The music builds to crashing climaxes, dissonant and painfully achieved. The trick with Bruckner is to trust that he will lead you to a better place and he does: he always does. A heart battered is not a new thing for any of us and a heart uplifted at the end of the journey is what we want.

Bruckner delivers us to a place of serenity, though its is interesting to speculate where we would have taken us in the completed work. I'm uninterested in scholarly completions of the fragments of the last movement which survive. I'm content with the unfinished work as it stands.

Bruckner gives us a little over an hour of some of the most challenging music there is - it's worth listening to if you have the patience and an open mind. Its value comes in repeated hearings which each time bring a deeper and more telling realisation of tensions. In themidst of all the gloom of winter: Bruckner provides hope of sun and light.

Prom 15, 2009

2009-08-30T12:19:00.005Z

BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek

Bedrich Smetana: The Bartered Bride overture

There was a time when this piece was the constant fare of concerts and recordings but it has gone from the hall and studio largely and so it was a welcome chance to hear it in the flesh last night.

There are so many recordings that its hard perhaps to find ways of doing it differently – Bělohlávek adopted Route One to interpretative authority – he set a ferociously quick tempo. Strings were sawing away for all their worth through Smetana’s fugal entries. – it’s a high risk endeavour but that was a feature of much of the concert. That said it was very effective and a cracking way to start the programme – warhorse or not.

Bela Bartok: Dance Suite (1923)

For the record Bělohlávek doesn’t lack aplomb under pressure and this piece brought out the best in both orchestra and conductor in a technical and emotional tour de force. The orchestra respond very well to their chief conductor – attentive to the urgent baton movements and ad hoc balancing. He swerves and dives with the music beneath his mop of silver hair but never unswerving in his clear beat. The technical delivery was of the highest order numerous examples of very beautiful delivery in the bustle of this piece - one could highlight individual woodwind players, like Alison Teale on Cor Anglais, who combine a great playing with an individual touch which is a feature of the great wind sections from Beecham's RPO to Karajan's teams at the Philharmonia & BPO.

The playing was of the highest order with moments of great beauty. The reduced strings in the first dance were exquisite – the full colour of Bartok’s exotic harmonies shone brightly. Also, & thankfully, the trombone slides in the second dance weren’t spotlit aurally like some freakish circus acts. The brass chorale in the fifth dance was glorious - reminiscent of the New York Phil in Boulez's awesome recording of the Concerto for Orchestra. In fact time and time again I was put in mind of that piece as this performance went on - and not in any lesser sense. The Dance Suite struck me as the ideal companion.

Bělohlávek tamed the vicious complexity with dance rhythms elucidated to reveal beauty and drama. It was an unexpected highlight.

Bohuslav Martinů : Concerto for Two Pianos

Soloists: Jaroslava Pěchočová, Václav Mácha pianos

It was marvelous to hear this fresh work at the Proms. It wasn't familiar to me and I guess a large proportion of the audience were in the same boat. Without the distraction of imprinted recordings it was a pleasant changed just be able to concentrate on exploring Martinu's sound world. Structurally this concerto presents a real challenge in unpicking the lines -some of which separate the solists through virtuositic demands and some of which bring them together with the orchestra as a unified ensemble. The young soloists were superb. Bělohlávek was an ideal partner, and I dare say master, co-ordinating the orchestral elements with a steady hand but always sensitive to Martinu's habit of dropping sweetmeat after sweetmeat into the mix. The result is like a Christmas tree - the individual items come together and provide enjoyment through there multiplicity and lustre. And the result has depth because of Martinu's handsome ear for how to combine these details with taste.

The fast movement had all the usual momentum of a Martinu first movement - rather like surfing a wave that never breaks, it is best appreciated as a journey itself - not just a build-up to some froth at the end. I've never been especially attracted to the slow movements of Martinu's symphonies and so its not a surprise that the slow movement - though it had exquisite moments - didn't thrill me hugely. The last movement was a whirl of pianistic colour and sweep, with a characteristic piling on of harmonic and textural drama that the composer brings to so many of his works. It got huge applause and deservedly so - a rare gem.

Igor Stravinsky: Petrushka: Ballet Suite (1947 version)

From the start I thought it was clear that the conductor wasn't about to dally with some of the more colourful orchestration in this piece, nor was the result particularly balletic in vision. It was about keeping the music moving, presenting its many contrast and not dwelling on the exquisite detail - I get the impression Bělohlávek doesn't do dwelling on easy wins. The ballet's tableaux where presented in quick succession and I don't think I've heard it sound so matter of fact before. The playing was good but it almost sounded easy - at least compared with the Bartok. One consideration was that this was quite a long concert and perhaps Bělohlávek was conserving the orchestra for its marathon ahead. That said all the elements, colour, melody and drive were there and execution was impeccably tasteful.

Although the programme claims that the performance was of the complete ballet in its 1947 version, actually we only got the suite clipped of some of the most affecting parts of the story. But after such a colourful programme it was perhaps greedy to ask for a complete narrative too.

All in all this was a belter and a happy sign both conductor and orchestra can bring home the goods in this type of testing repertoire.

Prom 8 2009 - the Cambridge Prom

2009-07-25T14:19:00.004Z

BBCSO/Sir Andrew Davis
Various Cambridge College Choirs

National Anthem: Willcocks version is stirring and the choirs were able to show off their power, as was the orchestra. Made a change!

Vaughan Williams: The Wasps - Overture has a jaunty start as one would expect from Davis, some fine playing but lacked the electricity of others you may have heard. Playing was not at all tight enough. The swagger of the piece seemed lost a little but picked up. Some parts sounded under-rehearsed, clipped and disjointed.

Wigglesworth: The Genesis of Secrecy: Ryan Wigglesworth’s new piece he says “wanted it to glow with detail” and is a “mini Concerto for orchestra”. Well these are big claims. It’s a patchwork of appropriations and whilst I could appreciate the endeavour, it seldom left me feeling anything but a distant recognition. It doesn’t cohere or tell a story: maybe it’s not supposed to or doesn’t have to, but it was hard to find a hook on which to engage. I was left with a slightly unfulfilled feeling of “where’s the beef?” which even if you’ve ordered a stew might be a bit disappointing.

Vaughan Williams: Five Mystical Songs

1. Easter
2. I got me flowers
3. Love bade me welcome
4.The Call
5. Antiphon

BBCSO/Combined Cambridge Choirs/Simon Keenlyside

These settings come from 1911, a fertile period of Vaughan-Williams early output but untarnished by the World War to come. They are ardent and earnest but betray an Elgarian influence which had pervaded the Sea Symphony composed in the years before this set. The songs therefore lack many of the tensions which make RVW’s later music so dramatic – but they are beautiful. Keelyside is ardent but a bit slow out the blocks in the first song. It is hard to pace I think, so the singer struggles pointing his lines to match RVW’s orchestral utterance. It’s all much better in this performance when the chorus cuts in. The baritone was much more effective in the second song which has a more declamatory style: that said this song slips into the sentimental at the end, but it was soundly done.

The third song is a powerful idyll which prefigures some of RVW’s post WWI angst to the change of national identity. Its essentially pastoral and all equip it with a fantastic stillness. The Fourth song continues in this vein with a stronger lyrical quality reminiscent of the folk tunes derived material in later works. Both found Keelyside in his stride and the BBCSO in idiomatic vein - venturing forth.

The final song, Antiphon, without soloist is much more of the jubilant quality of the Sea Symphony’s celebration. The chorus (from 16 Cambridge colleges) acquit themselves well in antiphonal style, and the hall resounded in the kind of music it was built for. It drooped a little in the middle section but regained its gusto largely with the help of fine orchestral playing.

Stanford: Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis - this is a stalwart of the English choral tradition and Stanford was a Cambridge man so its presence on the programme is doubly justified. The combined choirs of three colleges (91 strong) again provide the oomph with Davis conducting what should be home territory to an organ scholar. The choirs perform adequately with a certain sweetness though as we often hear the mezzos get drowned out. The orchestration is typically Stanford i.e. mostly Brahmsian and not very inspiring Brahms at that.

Harvey: Come, Holy Ghosts – was perhaps the most captivating piece of the evening. It's traditional start reaches back into ancient choral forms and as it develops the acceleration of formic development drives the piece quicker that its steady pulse. The choirs sang well enough though this brief essay in choral musical development over several centuries and it ends appropriately on a high note.

Weir: Ascending into Heaven - is equally challenging but much more direct and driven by rhythm. It keeps our feet firmly on the ground looking Heavenward whereas the Harvey has us levitated by the end of its course. Both were written in the 1980s and showed in starkish terms how far young composers have to come away from the bright lights of orchestral sound and move towards story telling of one sort or another to lift their music.

Finally, and its by no means clear why, we had Saint-Saëns: Symphony No 3 for orchestra and organ, Thomas Trotter was at the manuals. Its was 366 days since the piece was last heard at the Proms and I was at that performance given by Olivier Latry/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France/Myung-Whun Chung. All my adult life has been about comparing and contrasting the merits of different versions of the same piece - but it never ceases to amaze me that even within the relatively tight confines of a score written in the complex language of musical expression there can be two utterly different but totally compelling readings of the same piece. Chung and Davis are dramatically different conductors and Davis showed a drive and earthy vigour. His old orchestra, the BBC Symphony relishes this kind of fair and showed a determination to make this piece sound like modern music. The slow movement was just wonderful heard from the Gallery - the music seemed to drift around like a heady even scent in a blooming garden. The composer's tendency to hustle and bustle was applied to forced the pace in the scherzo we had some flashes of really dazzling bravura. Trotter joined in the party with some bold brassy richness in his choice of registrations for his part. It was a deal less elegant than Chung and less subtle too.

Thank goodness Cambridge University isn't 800 years old every year and we don't have to endure this kind of blunt edged ritual again. The music making of note was worthy of a big occasion, but can we get back to regular programming now please.

Prom 10, 2009 - French & Japanese Fare

2009-07-25T12:07:00.006Z

The Orchestre National de Lyon came to the Proms with their chief conductor Jun Märkl with a meaty programme of eight pieces of familiar French and relatively unfamiliar Japanese repertoire. It was not a full house, which was sad because if nothing else the programme offered two excellent soloists and a chance to hear one of the better French provincial orchestras.

Our journey started with Takemitsu's piece for orchestra and soloist, Ceremonial: An Autumn Ode. The shō is a kind of mouth organ. It was played by the barefoot Mayumi Miyata who is one of the finest exponents of this ancient and unfamiliar instrument. Its a slow moving piece which like much of this composers music exists in a kind of pulsing sensual series of moments in time - not unlike Debussy at his most ethereal. Its the second time I have heard the piece at the Proms and it is very atmospheric in this Hall. The soloists stands in glorious isolation - last night she was spot-lit: an almost ghostly figure. JM marshalls his forces well and they were considerable forces too. This performance was sharper and more finely judged than the performance I'd heard the NHK Symphony Orchestra give ten or so years ago

A Debussy piano piece, Estampes - Pagoda, followed in an orchestrated version which was nice enough but so obviously "not by Debussy". Final in this first third of the programme we had Ravel's Rhapsodie Espagnol for which the forces further. The tendency of conductors to miss the orchestral colour of this piece by tending too carefully to the strings wasn't on display but there was something rather forensic about JM's approach. In the end it didn't so much burst forth as apply an excitement factor of 83.2% to overly calibrated playing.

An interval was followed by Takemitsu's Green, 1967, a short piece of natural pictorialism which was new to me in fact but quite reminiscent of the work of Messiaen seen through Takemitsu's "East reflects West reflects East" prism.

Two violin showcase pieces followed - each tacked to the programme's theme's of French music - the first, Saraste's Carmen Fantasy and the second Ravel's Tzigane. There was artistry and dazzling technical ability in the delivery of both. The beautiful Akiko Suwanai played an equally beautiful Strad which was once played by Heifitz with lots of care and control but I didn't feel a fire burning.

The final part of the mamooth programme was made up of two pieces both showing the highest quality of composition. A new piece by Japanese composer, Toshio Hosokawa called Cloud and Light called for the return of the shō and the statuesque Miyata. This is a haunting piece of atmospheric writing - in the same dreamlike genre as Debussy's Nuages but utterly individual. I have heard that British composer Steve Martland was somewhat dismissive of it, which I think is ill-judged. The combination of East and West in the orchestration is perhaps seen as some on both sides as an natural hybrid, but the rest of our programme tonight showed how interests in other musical cultures can inform and colour our indigenous Western expression. It bears a second listen and probably a third. The soloist is more taxed by this piece and her playing held the audience spellbound.

Debussy's La Mer calls for a big orchestra and for this performance the orchestra was expanded especially in the strings, where there were, fro example 10 double basses. And it should be recorded that this orchestra still has the hall marks of the traditional French orchestra in the winds and brass - oboes and horns showing a distantly different ancestry. JM conducted without a score and with a level of suave choreography that put one in mind of Tilson Thomas or Muti - with his huge sweeping baton movements. There was some fantastic attention to detail - watching him conduct the horns in that tricky passage in the first movement where dynamics are usually forgotten, JM conducted his players to realise a beautiful melodic interlude.

All of that said the orchestra, whilst smiling at the audience, didn't smile much at each other and the result was palpable - a disengaged orchestra played extremely well, with delicacy and vigour when required, but they were I think overly marshaled and it came over that way.

Top Ten - Sorrowful Songs

2009-07-03T10:44:00.003Z

1. Schubert: Rosamunde String Quartet - 1st movement

2. Wagner: Meistersinger - Prelude to Act III

3. Rautavaara: Symphony No 7 - 2nd Movement

4. Richard Strauss: Don Quixote - Finale

5. Johann Strauss: Emperor Waltz

6. Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 5 - Romanza

7. Bruckner: Symphony No 2 - 2nd Movement

8. Wagner: Tristan Und Isolde: Prelude to Act III

9. Ravel: Ma Mere L'Oye: Apotheosis

10. Stravinsky: Apollon Musagete: Pas de Deux

Adder

2008-08-10T07:46:00.003Z

Britain's only poisonous snake has been remarkably elusive as I've walked about countryside rich in reptile life most of my life. I suppose in many ways I'm quite relieved about that - my few encounters have left quite strong and vaguely unpleasant associations.

My first encounter with adders wasn't in the wilds at all - but at a zoo, I think Flamingo Land. Where a small tank at head height swarmed with adders pressing against the side nearest my face. The move in quick jerks and they sinister, expressionless faces made quite an impact. My next encounter was also in Yorkshire in the most bizarre circumstances. The Scarborough Museum back then was a shrine to the Sitwell family and all things to do with the town. It also had - in a sunny conservatory - a snake pit! Whether this was reserved for victims of Oswald's bad temper or those who Edith's rebutted advances I don't know. But there was a fat stationary adder in it and as a young teenager I pondered what would happen if I fell in!

The final childhood encounter was in the wild - but was perhaps the most grotesque of them all. A dead adder was brought triumphantly into a Lake District campsite by a group from another school. It hung in a teacher's hand like a wet tie its head still red from the wound it had received. Even then I was sure the boys had killed it. The teacher brought it to me - knowing my interest in wildlife. We prised open the mouth and I looked upon fangs - tiny hypodermics - which I read about. My horror wasn't about the snake this time - but a crowd of boys doing what boys are sometimes prone to do.

My latest encounter with an adder was much more mundane - as I drove the back road from Arne to Nordern in Dorset, I came to a railway bridge in the bright midday sun. A large female adder was crossing the road and I slowed down and drove carefully to avoid her. Once over the bridge I parked up and ran back for a look but she had gone safe into the verge. Unlike the boys in the wood 30 years earlier, I felt that adders probably have every right to live as the rest of us.

Respighi: Pines of Rome - Karajan 1984

2008-07-01T11:38:00.003Z

This clip:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1oqasTguizM

demonstrates just how different the legacy of Karajan could have been. Its taken from a concert in 1984 in Osaka, the Berlin Philharmonic played a Mozart: Divertimento, Strauss: Don Juan and Respighi: Pines of Rome. This link to the final movement, the Pines of the Appian Way highlights how badly we need someone to trawl the archives of Japanese TV to pull out similar gems.

The video itself shows how well a TV director can present orchestra and conductor in concert, as opposed to the horribly staged videos which mixed concert and specially filmed footage for Sony in the ten years before his death. The director for both may well have been Karajan - but he's constrained in the live situation and the result is more coherent.

The performance too is one we wouldn't have got from the archive Karajan was amassing for Sony - but it is a piece in which he excels. Moreover we see Karajan in a very different mode to the slick authoritarian conductor of the 1970's Unitel films or the frail old man of the Sony hybrid performances. Here we have Karajan the showman - hardly conducting the orchestra at all, looking to all intents bemused by the music. The climax which Respighi builds is impressive (or over the top depending on your sensibilities) but with the Berlin Philharmonic the weight of tone is something special. Karajan's intensity at the height just adds to the experience and yet when its finished and the audience erupts, the smile on the old man's face shows that he was in on Respighi's joke and that above all this music needs showmanship of the highest order to make its mark.

There are stacks more performance from Japanese tours by BPO and VPO with Karajan that are worth investigating. Is there a recording of their Stravinsky: Firebird Suite for example.

There's also this 1957 video of Wagner: Die Meistersinger overture

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Wuf0WnT5kYM

Seven days of dancing

2008-06-05T10:38:00.003Z

Fulham - poor sound, nice floor
The Boat - very poor sound, nice cakes, great DJ'ing
Clapham I - good sound, great dancers, good floor - very hot
Clapham II - great dancers, good floor, great sound - fewer people so cooler

LWWT - 31/05/08

2008-06-04T11:26:00.003Z

A glorious Saturday morning crowned by passes by a Hobby over the site mid morning.

47 bird species on my list - best vocalist a garden warbler

A Brimstone butterfly

And this Marsh Orchid

Krystian Zimerman: Take Two

2008-05-27T21:39:00.004Z

At the Royal Festival Hall last night Zimerman gave a reprise of the concert I'd heard in Basingstoke a few days before. In-between times I'd been reading articles and blogs in particular I was impressed by:-

http://kennethwoods.net/blog1/2008/05/24/kz-concert-report/

And the idea came to mind of KZ as a white van driver careering down the M3 early on Bank Holiday Monday.

Overall I'd say that KZ was more relaxed in Basingstoke and it showed in his playing. There was a certain nervousness about his playing - not just that there were more slip-ups, but also because there was a edginess to the interpretations too.

If anything this was a benefit in both the Beethoven and the Brahms. The Bach brought the house down. Conversely some young music students near me sat motionless after the Szymanowski - one having gesticulated fingers down her throat which I'm sure was directed at the piece rather than the pianist. Such sophistication is lost on me - neo Gothic and sprawling it may be - but I think the piece is worthy of a place on concert programmes - if only because one so very rarely hears anything different.

KZ got a standing ovation and deservedly so - the pianism may have been technically more polished in Basingstoke but the sense of performance was more palpable in London. But I'm glad I went to both.

Sadly there will be no record of KZs interpretations of these - this cloud hangs over all his performances.

LWWT - 26/05/08

2008-05-27T14:02:00.003Z

After a sunny week the heavens opened and it rained most of Bank Holiday Monday. There was concern at Barnes for the fate of the Lapwing chicks and the newly built Avocet's nest - wet weather and cold winds make a deadly combination - not to mention rising water levels in the main lake.

That said a 42 species visit enlivened by a lone Knot and a pair of Teal in full breeding clours was not bad for 90 minutes as the drizzle still hung around.

Award for the Most Ridiculous Call of the Day: Red Breasted Geese which sound like a malfunctioning kiddies toy.

LPO/Vanska - Wagner, Beethoven & Sibelius 30/04/08

2008-05-27T11:26:00.004Z

Wagner, Beethoven & Sibelius - Osmo Vänskä returned to London 30 April to give another concert with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. What appeared to be a rather lopsided concert with Wagner’s Tannhauser Overture followed by Beethoven’s Violin Concerto (soloist Lisa Batiashvili) in the first half and a second half devoted to Sibelius’ Fourth Symphony. As it transpired the emotional balance was just right: nothing, but nothing could have been paired with Vänskä’s reading of Sibelius’ most desolate work.

Proceedings got underway with the Wagner Overture. There’s little to interpret here and Vänskä guided the orchestra well enough but there were some problems of communication I think, perhaps through limits on rehearsal time. As with pervious meetings the conductor’s efforts to change the dynamics see to be fruitless. In an overture when you generally want the trombones to dominate, their sound was mushy and muted. As is increasingly the case in European orchestra, the horn and trombone tone seem to be very similar.

The Beethoven Concerto was offered with smaller forces but the dynamics troubled me again. Batiashvili and Vänskä were partnered in this work at the Proms eight years ago and what astounded me then – and still astounds me – is this violinist’s willingness to look Beethoven straight in the eye. She creates a touching, humane reading of a work and is not cowed by its reputation. It was notable for two other reasons – Batiashvili was heavily pregnant and still applied the full force of her playing to this long work. Midway through the first movement she broke a string on her Strad and despite the pause, there was no loss of concentration from the soloist, players or audience. She is a remarkable violinist as she is able to make the most difficult passagework seem straightforward, yet she applies her considerable talent without fuss or show. Vänskä is a very fine accompanist and the LPO clearly enjoyed this reading and played with greater commitment and some style.

After the interval I’d guess 10% of the audience failed to return to their seats. More fool them, because what followed was another memorable performance from the leading Sibelius conductor of his generation. This orchestra and conductor played the Third symphony a couple of years ago and I was distinctly under whelmed by the player’s lack of commitment – it was pretty drab. This time is was better but not without problems – that said the playing at least showed some measure of attention to Vänskä’s well-crafted reading. The care Vänskä lavished on the strings in the opening movement paid massive dividends – the rich sheen shone through for the first time in the evening. The woodwind solos were well mannered and the brass bold and firm. There was little spontaneity but then this is a tremendously difficult score. For example the orchestra were clearly unprepared and/or unable to respond to the fiery tempo Vänskä set at the beginning of the finale. All were at their best in the quiet music, especially the strings.

At the centre of everything that went on in this performance was Vänskä. The nuances of the score were brought out to overwhelming effect to produce a reading which left me, as it should, with a feeling of complete hopelessness and desolation. Vänskä usually insists that all he does is remain faithful to the score – and he did. In doing so he heightened the highs to the point of near hysteria, the lows were quiet, immense and bottomless. And most scary of all were the silences. When the last doomed chords sounded, there was no hope, and Vänskä’s arms simply fell to his sides as though completely useless. It was as though he was stunned by the consequences of what he and the orchestra had just delivered. It may not have been perfectly played, but it was of the most memorable performances of any work I have ever attended.

Freestyle: Bournemouth Pavilion Sat 24/5/08

2008-05-26T23:20:00.002Z

The Saturday night Pavilion freestyle is a great thing: this one was particularly busy and at times the dance floor was really just too crowded. Of course, it provides me with an opportunity to dance with old friends some of whom I hadn't seen for months.

My only quibble would be with the way the DJ moved from one track to the next - it was hard to change tempo and mood as the transitions were so sudden. And of course the fade out is the enemy of the big finish!

The floor at the Pavilion is a joy - and I wish I could have gone on longer. With memories of dancing until 5am still fresh - it was hard to stop when the night felt young. There was good news on the night, but bad news too. In many ways I'm lucky, very lucky.

The next Pav night is I think the White Ball: need some white trousers I suppose....

Tea Dance at Mo'Jive Southampton 25/5/08

2008-05-26T12:55:00.002Z

A nice way to spend an afternoon - dancing on the best floor on the circuit to a mix of pop, swing, latin and funk.

Two great lessons and plenty of tea for everyone - the cakes were scrummy too.

Nice to see kids getting involved in dancing too.

The main highlights for me were:

re-acquaintance with Soton dancers; all of them very good.
dancing with a guy for the first time
being able to go outside and get sunshine and fresh air, and;
being able to do something afterwards - albeit I could scarcely walk my legs ached so much.

Later that afternoon I popped up to Basingstoke to see Krystian Zimerman

Penultimate things - second

2008-05-26T12:41:00.003Z

Birdwatching at Acres Down, New Forest

Its hardly the weather, I thought, as the rain made tiny hammer strokes on the roof of my car. It was 5am and I'd just had a very uneasy 4 hours sleep. By 6am it had stopped raining and a dull fog ruined the visibility. by 7am DT had turned up and we saw Wood Warbler, Redstarts at nest and a Spotted Flycatcher. By 9am we were four and headed to higher ground for views of.....well not much in the sky - but we bagged 3 Woodlark (a family group).

These were followed by Bullfinch, Tree Pipit adn about two dozen other species.

Only by 11:30did we make contact with raptors soaring in the newly emerged sunshine: Sparrowhawk and Common Buzzard were to be expected - a pair of very distant, displaying Goshawk were not. Later in a lay-by in the Forest where I stopped to make up on lost sleep I saw a Hobby being pursued by 2 angry hirundines.

Catching Up - Last things First

2008-05-26T09:25:00.003Z

Krystian Zimerman gave a fantastic concert in Basingstoke last night.

Bach: Partita No 2
Beethoven Piano Sonata No 32, Op 111
Brahms: Four Pieces, Op 119
Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Theme, Op 10

The hall was about a third empty which was understandable on the Sunday night before Bank Holiday which was half term too.

The Bach Partita was delivered a la Argerich as a piece pianistic bravura and its one of those Bach works which I think work better on a concert grand, so that's no bad thing in my book. Zimerman is nothing if not a thinking pianist and choices on dynamics and voicing were fascinating. The galloping Rondeaux was a joy. I was Zimerman would do an organ recital one day soon!

I should say that Zimerman has scarcely smiled before at concerts when I've seen him live, but I sense he's in a jollier frame of mind at the moment. Not only was he smiling broadly as he took the applause for the Bach, but he joked with the audience too. For the first time in my experience, the keyboard and hammers were changed on the piano between the Bach and the Beethoven - a sensible step for a thinking pianist. Zimerman apologised as he sat down to play Op111 and cracked a joke about having a different piano at home for Bach but not being able to bring both with him. How many other pianists crack a gag before playing Beethoven's last sonata. I think its fair to say he's much more relaxed!

KZ gave the Beethoven last time he was at Basingstoke some years ago - his reading seemed much less fraught this time. The towering grandeur of the first movement seemed to be tamed somewhat but still has the impression of a pianist being challenged to drive a racing car on ice. The second movement was tightly ordered and argued but never rushed and the final moments were ethereal but never striving to be other-worldy.

After interval we had Brahms' last piano works and these were a neat echo back to the Op 118 set we had last time I heard him in Basingstoke. This set contains none of the naive charm of the earlier set for me and the main highlight here was Zimerman's balance of Brahms whimsy (which can get annoying), his raw passion (which is often mistaken for faux Beethoven) and his harmonic innovation (which is often missed). The ambiguity of late Brahms is often - and misguidedly in my view, played out as sentiment. The true power of Brahms in my book is that the hidden depths of his music often reveal emotions which are the complete opposite of the appearance of the shallows. New Brahmsians beware - he is normally at least the opposite of what he seems! Zimerman captured the youthful heroic grandeur of the final Rhapsody well and then let it decay into a old man's visionary quality- this reading captured all those difficulties with Brahms so well. If only KZ would agree to DG releasing the early recordings of the Brahms sonatas.

The word on the streets is that KZ will never record again - but I found myself wishing he would hitch up with the Hyperion record label. The Hyperion engineers would serve him with a better sound than DG I'm sure. This would be a boon because it is tragic to think future generations won't hear KZ's interpretation of Szymanowski piano works.

The op 10 Variations on a Polish theme were I expect, new to most in the audience. They were delivered with a virtuosic brilliance which in itself was breathtaking. I was reminded of why we should regard KZ as one of the most exciting pianists of our time - huge chords echoed round the hall with astonishing power. The piece is varied and colourful as the best of Szymanowski: but its also very accessible for the new listener and I wondered why I hadn't come across it before. It was brilliantly delivered and KZ seemed very happy at the conclusion as it brought the house down. He is a modest man - on his third curtain call he seemed to be indicating it was all down to the piano and nothing to do with him -more laughter! And at the fourth call he feigned a legless tiredness which again drew laughter. I've only heard him give an encore once and that was because a war had broken out! But I look forward to the London concert now with renewed faith that there are at least two thinking virtuosi on the piano concert circuit - the other being Grigory Sokolov. We are indeed blessed.

Vänskä Essentials: an unexpected arrival

2007-09-08T10:33:00.001Z

Storming to the top of my list of Vänskä Essentials is a performance which was broadcast on the radio of Beethoven's Symphony No 3 'Eroica' given by the Minnesota orchestra under the conductor in September 2006. This strikes me as just about the most stunning interpretation of the work I've heard in 20 years.

Some years ago I set about a project of analysing the qualities of seven favourite Eroicas which blew my mind. There was one weak point in that I wanted to include in the survey a version which used the then new Barenreiter Critical Edition edited by Jonathan Del Mar. At the time the best of a worthy bunch was David Zinman's version with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra on Arte Nova. It’s still a lean mean interpretation of note. But I yearned for someone who could combine Karajan's sound, Furtwängler’s passion, Toscanini's vehemence, Monteux's lyricism (and disregard for Wagnerian additions to the score) and while it might be churlish of me to want some of Klemperer's weight, it certainly has Klemperer's far sighted objectivity. Now I think I have found many of those qualities in this live Vänskä performance.

I should add that I found his BIS CD recording - with the Minnesotans - lively and probing, but ultimately just a little scientific. And I still haven't heard any performances from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra live cycle he did some years ago so can’t compare it with those. Vänskä seems top me to capture a great deal of emotion in this reading which - thanks to the relationship he has with the orchestra - was picked up by the players and reciprocated back to conductor and audience.

It is evident from the very start that Vänskä means business as he plays the opening chords quite literally as crowd stoppers - they crack out like rifle shots over the audience applause, silencing it in a trice. The first movement has all of the confident swagger one associates with "romantic" readings of the symphony, but none of the sluggish accretions or posing. The orchestral balance is sublime – that subtle interplay of inner string groups reminding me of the Monteux RCO recording but obviously in much better sound. The standard of the playing is marvellous with woodwind ensemble to die for. But there’s a huge surging forward momentum – similar to the best of Toscanini and Karajan, and perhaps uniquely a feeling of space within that.

The second movement is deeply moving- as it should be. Spare, as Karajan’s last recording demonstrates, need not be thin and weak and so it is with Vanska using the full orchestra when need to stoke up the tension but never pressing so hard that the symphony loses its classical scale. The hammer blows in this movement do not have the horrific “knife in the ribs” quality of Klemperer or Karajan: but they do make their mark. The coda is sublime – helped by a rapt audience and some of the finest woodwind phrasing you’ll come across.

Vänskä’s interpretation of the Scherzo & Trio was one of the finest things on the BIS CD – the Minnesotan horns blaze, each with a characterful tone yet still an ensemble. The movement has a joyous freedom reminiscent of Monteux’s interpretation. In both when you listen beyond the melody you hear the feverish hurry of Beethoven’s conception. What a joy!

The last is the hardest movement to bring off in all of Beethoven, IMHO. The Eroica finale is fiendishly hard to play in classical style, as it needs to be fast and virtuosic. It lulls into a warm bath like stupor in romantic vein: indeed some felt for Furtwängler it became an irrelevance (though I’d contest this). Monteux brings it off by eliding it into a playful mode which has a light balletic mood – there’s a lot of sense in that given the source material for the melody and the Scherzo before. Toscanini – who conducted it in portentous style in 1939 but as a victorious hymn after the war was a magician in this movement: I still don’t quite know how he did it. Klemperer was efficient but none of his natural ebullience came out sadly. Karajan cracked the technical problem of playing it fast and not furious and his exultant hymn is one of the most moving.

My analytical view of Vänskä’s reading is not yet fully formed but it does all of the things above to my mind – save Toscanini’s wizardry which is perhaps overtly Romantic in purpose. He has great woodwind soloists who when required reveal a full tone in a classical setting – the lessons of speed and phrasing from the authentic movement being brought into the modern age. The rapt oboe solo, supported by the rest of the wind band, has a heartbreaking simplicity which reminded me the golden days of the BPO – soloists in an ensemble. The faster music is breathtaking in it control, pace and fire.

You should hear this reading because it will re-affirm your view of the music above all as a living testament to Beethoven’s humanity. Like Glenn Gould, I don’t necessarily buy the idea that everything Beethoven wrote was musically ground breaking. But I do think Beethoven achieved a level of person to person communication which most of us don’t share with our living friends, let alone a man who has been dead since 1827, to do so through dots on a page, a single conductors response to them and then rely on his or her ability to get 100 people to think in the same direction is quite a feat.

So if you think you’ve heard all the Eroicas that you need to hear – and I was nearly there, or that Beethoven’s day has been and gone, catch this if you can and hear the next phase of our relationship with Beethoven.

Off the Cycle Path I: Unexpected Mahler

2007-08-22T15:54:00.000Z

Interesting interpretations from surprising sources:

Symphony No. 1: CSO/Dudamel, pp Internet radio

Symphony No. 2: Orch of Mravinsky Theatre/Gergiev, pp Internet radio

Symphony No. 3 - Suisse Romande Orch/Amin Jordan - FNAC

Symphony No. 4 - BPO/Karajan - DG

Symphony No. 5 -Polish RSO/Wit - Naxos

Symphony No. 6 - Cleveland Orch/Szell - Sony

Symphony No. 7 - New Phil/Klemperer - EMI

Symphony No 9 - RLPO/Libor Pesek - EMI Virgin

Pretend Symphonies:-

Das Lied von der Erde - RCO/Jochum - DG

Symphony No 8 - nominations please?

Bertini Mahler Sym No 2

2007-07-31T14:48:00.000Z

Gary Bertini’s is that rare beast a tasteful Mahler 2. Having heard Vänskä at odds with its OTT strains it was a relief to hear that someone somewhere was challenging the Bernsteinonomy of this piece as metaphysical drama. Back in its box went the zeal and sanctimonious pondering and out came a refreshing piece of choral singing made all the more impressive by the absence of zeal which in certain places has overtaken musical good taste.

This is an uncommonly well played, sung and recorded reading of the work. And it is nowhere finer in my mind than in the third movement where charm and good order are the order of the day. Mahler’s orchestration demands well judged playing and yet for many it’s over-the-edge playing which gets the pulse racing in this piece. It doesn’t have to be that way as Bertini proves. When Mahler demands percussion asides they are discreet but meaningful not delivered at full volume and delivered with all the clarity of a South West Trains announcer. The spotlighting approach may serve to dress the relatively modest window of Mahler’s imagination but it also draws attention to the paucity of attractive ideas in this work. Whipping everything up into a frenzy is so very 20th Century……

So Bertini delivers the goods with a little reserve and what does he ring out in doing so you might ask me as you throw another Bernstein in the fire. He succeeds in placing the symphony in that pantheon of grand choral works which have a simple but not grandiose message: for me that fits with Brahms German Requiem, Bruckner’s Te Deum, Scriabin’s First Symphony and Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony. None of these are trifles. Moreover it shows more variety and invention than say, Daphnis et Chloe.

All of which is not to say that high drama can’t be successful in this work - I heard Gergiev achieve this once. MTT achieves something of the inner drama too - largely thanks to very fine playing and the singing of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. But its takes a lot of bottle and I dare say luck too. Luckily we have Bertini in fine EMI sound playing the score without an increasingly furrowed brow.

Vänskä essentials

2007-07-04T13:33:00.001Z

1) Debussy: Prelude l’apres midi d’un faune - BBCSSO live

The mood of this performance could be described as rapt but there was a relaxed quality reminiscent of sitting watching a sunset in a favourite chair with a drink in hand. Each part was beautifully delineated and well played but the real art is bringing the mood of a summer evening - or at least Debussy’s piano music to the orchestra. Not one note sounds forced, no tempo rushed and yet Vänskä never lapses into the lazy hazy days of summer. This reading had mystery, atmosphere and an unforgettable charisma.

2) Barber: First Essay - Minnesota Orchestra: Proms 2006 live

Vänskä’s relationship with this orchestra has been built on solid foundations of excellent playing. Here, they are in their element as advocates for under-performed music which should be heard in concert halls. It’s a fantastically compact piece which has many colours and moods and like the best of Barber’s works an almost Bachian drive. Vänskä conducted it like it was familiar territory to both orchestra - which it might well have been and audience which it certainly was not. His control of balances was very acute, important in a space like the Royal Albert Hall. This economical piece of music delivered full value from these hands and demonstrated that it is an ear for detail and knowing what to do with it, in which this conductor excels.

3) Sibelius: Symphony No 2 - BBCSO Proms 2004 live

There have been many fine readings of this symphony from this conductor - he is something of a specialist in revealing its personal agenda of hope. What distinguishes this reading for me is the biting drive of the orchestra. Vänskä is no more than an occasional guest with this orchestra and so one wouldn’t expect such fanatical commitment by the band. But they played out of their skins with an agility, incisiveness and collective emotional sweep which I have seldom encountered. It was all summed up for me as I left the hall and one of the players stood at the stage door telling anyone who cared to listen that it had been a fantastic experience - music making together beyond the notes. To highlight the depths of despair entertained in the slow movement is only to pick one of a million points of extraordinary commune between conductor, orchestra and audience.

4) Vaughan-Williams: Symphony No 2 ‘London’ BBCSSO Proms 2001 live

It has long been held that the best conductors of Vaughan-Williams music have been British - I don’t think that this is so. RVW’s music is international not least because of its debt to his teachers - in particular Ravel. His French polish is nowhere more lustrous I think than in the Symphony No 2 - A London Symphony, or rather as the composer would have it, a symphony by a Londoner. Vänskä conducts in the style of a Diaghilev ballet: RVW straight out of Daphnis et Chloe and Petrushka - indeed in his hands one wonders if the music has ever been danced on stage. It’s a work that can get bogged down in its parochial setting. Vänskä releases it dwelling on the fantastic orchestration - where RVW provides it, and the love story RVW writes to his changing country. The Scottish orchestra provide an elegant response to this piece of Edwardiana - maybe secretly enjoying the end of Empire it portrays.

to be continued....

Modern Jive: Top 10 tips for women beginners

2007-06-26T12:13:00.000Z

Here's my top ten tips for new women dancers:

1) Its nerve-wracking at first but you'll get into it if you stick with it for four weeks. Enjoy it - everyone goes wrong at some time or another and nobody minds.

2) Don't drink to excess and expect to dance well, especially when learning

3) This dance is for the guy to lead so you should follow him and not try to take control - THIS IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR SOME LADIES, BUT YOU HAVE TO FIGHT IT.

4) Don't watch the good dancers for too long - you'll only get discouraged - learn by doing.

5) When learning, shoes that are a bit slidy on the dance floor are best - not trainers, high heels or wellies

6) You will need to get close to the guy when dancing - but there are ways of keeping a gap between you if you don't like that and...

7) the guy should ask before he does any moves where you might feel vulnerable, if you don't want to do them say 'no' - many ladies do so he won't be upset. If he doesn't ask and does one, don't dance with him again!

8) if you can dance with as many different men as possible - it will help you get used to styles

9) you might get a bit hot especially if you dance a lot so take a towel and a change of top if you think you'll need them

10) its quite permissible to chat while you dance and there's a certain politeness that's expected, say thank you for a dance

From Russia with Love

2007-06-21T11:59:00.000Z

A quick plug for a marvellous jiving track - Count Basie and his Orchestra playing "From Russia with Love" - big bold brass and nice solos in-between but a lovely tempo to dance to.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Basie-Meets-Bond-Count/dp/B0000647M1/ref=sr_1_1/026-1937011-5198054?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1182429592&sr=8-1

Modern Jive

2007-06-15T15:23:00.000Z

I'm really enjoying doing Modern Jive - its been a great thing to get me off the sofa watch generally poor TV and out doing something physical and social. Since October last year I've been going to classes about once a week, notably Kev's fantastic Monday night session Strictly Jive Fever : details of which are here: http://www.strictlyjivefever.com/index.html?_ret_=return

Now I'm ready for freestyles and the like - dancing until the wee small hours with a variety of people, trying to pick up new moves or variations on old moves where I can.

I can really recommend it but I think from what I've seen there are some common factors in the good classes:-

1) Keep the music varied especially week on week; one organisation I know plays Shakin Stevens "Green Door" a little too often for my liking...

2) Good teachers - like Kevin, Dan & Miranda have a variety of ways to explain the difficult moves - those teachers who simply resort to explaining difficult moves by repeating the same words only louder and slower are destined to have a hard time.

3) There's nothing like practice but refreshers also help too (no not the sherbet sweets) a brief recap of a previous move a couple of weeks down the line help cement it in the mind.

I'll write more on tips for beginners soon.

Mahler: Symphony No 2 - Minnesota Orch/Vänskä - 8 June 2007

2007-06-15T11:33:00.000Z

The end of season finale in Minneapolis was a concert about which I had mixed feelings even before the first note. To start a season with Mahler's Resurrection Symphony is all well and good, as even if the first night is musically lacking, there's generally better music to come. But to finish a long and - from what I've heard - splendid, season on a high note with this work is notoriously difficult.

As it turned out Vänskä did the right thing in starting the work off at a brisk pace and that helped the piece along. Its an odd work in many ways - this first movement is followed by a long pause in the score - IIRC Sir Simon Rattle once left 5 minutes gap between movements. The temptation is I think to use this as a justification for over-emphasising the first movement's dramatic weight. Its not the first half of a symphony and shouldn't be treated as such.

In the middle movements Vänskä brought in some of his own ideas of pacing and balance. I liked them - I generally do, but they didn't come together as a breath of fresh air blowing away the cobwebs. The orchestra played very well and I found it hard to decide whether the relatively thin violin tone was intentional or not. In Mahler 5 at the Proms a couple of years ago I felt the strings were rather under-powered but more flexible - this time I didn't hear the pay-off.

Singing in recordings of this symphony has been notable for years, most recently Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in Urlicht in the Tilson Thomas' recording. One shouldn't forget that live singing is much harder and without the help of microphone placement that can be just right, the singers in live performance rarely come over as well as on CD. The soloists - Helena Juntunen, soprano Jennifer Larmore, mezzo sang handsomely.

The Minnesota Chorale were incisive and lusty. Their contribution was as good as any singing I've heard live or in recording. The interest/obsession of the conductor in dynamics brought this part of the symphony to life in a most magical way. Most especially we had the telling tiny pianissimi, a loud symphony was found to have a quieter inner life.

As the finale movement struck up I was struck once more about the great dangers of expectation in any musical performance. Not every performance can match the last or hit the same high points: this performance had some great things but didn't bundle them into an even bigger whole. There's more than one way to bring out this symphony and as with Mahler 5 at the Proms, Vänskä's is not a showman's way. There's a banal - dare I say Elgarian - grandeur to this music. Uncharitably I might even say that it is an empty vessel, Vänskä's truth is to bring that out too.

I got more spirituality from Vänskä's reading of Kullervo - but that is Sibelius' genius compared to Mahler's - Vänskä is democratic in his art.

VPO/Gatti - 20 May

2007-06-13T10:49:00.000Z

An O1 broadcast of Daniele Gatti conduct the VPO in Stravinsky's Apollon Musagete and Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony presented a concert of two halves, as they say in footballing circles.

The Apollon Musagete ballet is one of the most beautiful and moving amongst Stravinsky's creation in my humble opinion. Gatti drew some exquisite playing from the VPO strings and there are moments of jaw-dropping exquisite calm in his interpretation.

Its a work which allows broad differences in approach - represented in my collection by BPO/Karajan (not as bad as many think - full of emotion and drama) and Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste (clean, beautiful string sound and urgent momentum). Gatti struck me as taking a middle way using the full weight of the VPO strings to please the ear and their agility to deliver the real balletic feel.

This conductor's Tchaikovsky has been lauded and this was my first encounter - coloured I should confess by an uneasy relationship with this composer's dramatic devices. Gatti made the hysterical side of Tchaikovsky's art (is that the right word? art I mean, not hysterical) even more nerve wracking. I suppose its right to feel hopeless about a symphony subtitled "Pathetique" but I don't think Tchaikovsky meant it in the sense I felt it. Tchaikovsky the melodramatist, the hopelessly emotional symphonist, the manic colourist and ultimately the grating, over-indulgent artist came into my mind. Gatti conspired in that for me when others have made it bearable. If you like your nerves shredded - this is a reading for you.

SACD - Beethoven Sonatas Vol 2 - Angella Hewitt

2007-05-10T09:04:00.000Z

It doesn't take long to hear the special qualitites in Angela Hewittt's Beethoven, but you have to listen carefully: they're essentially small scale, detailed and endless fascinating.

There are three sonatas on this Hyperion SACD

No 15 'Pastoral'
No 8 'Pathetique'
No 3

in that order (which is the first nice surprise).

I recall it was maybe five years ago that I heard a concert relay of AH playing No 15 and I wasn't impressed - her Beethoven seemed at the time under-powered.

Her strengths have always been very sophisticated and it is in the nuance, interplay and inner drama that she reveals new things. I'm not surprised she's not for everyone in Bach and I dare say the audience hearing her play Beethoven might be equally divided.

I'll give this disc more time before I set out the individual glories - I've heard lots to entice me into further auditions. I'll also tell you about Hyperion's SACD.

Lara St John - Paganini

2007-02-05T13:21:00.000Z

Its true to say that the concert concerto repertoire in the UK is painfully small and so any addition to it ought to be greeted with open arms & ears. The prospect of a live performance of Paganini's Violin Concerto No 2 "Il Campenella" is a rare one, for it to be performed by a woman is rarer. This isn't a gender issue per se but the physical requirements of the solo violin writing which require big hands/long fingers.

José Serebrier conducted the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the virtuosic Lara St John http://www.larastjohn.com from Canada was the soloist. I saw and heard the concerto in Poole and Portsmouth.

The first thing to say is that if this isn't the toughest concerto in the violin concerto it's bloody close. Ms St John stiffened her sinews and provided a gusty reading of it, she demonstrated that even today this is hard music to play and that effort is required to bring it to life. We should remember that Paganini was a superstar and his music demands that a charismatic approach too: the player must be a showman- or woman and determined and dazzling.

Ms St John is a striking presence on the podium, tall, beautiful, elegant and calm. The long introduction gave us time to watch her in repose, smiling when Paganini introduces wit, swaying to introduce us gently to her physical style.

What follows after the soloist enters is something of a long and testing dance for violin and orchestra. It places huge physical and technical demands on the soloist as one might expect of the work of this master showman. It is not easy for anyone to relax when the challenges are piled one on another. This isn’t filigree, nor frippery, it is hard-won beauty and daring is required to realise it. The first movement cadenza is fiendish - Ms St John played it well and communicated its procession of examinations without imposing herself and her armoury of talents on the music. At the end of the movement the effort she had put in was palpable and worthy of applause - though neither audience was brave enough to offer any.

The lyrical second movement is brief and Ms St John and the orchestra (which was too large in retrospect) sung out in full voice, but this is something of an interlude and everyone knows it. The finale has captured the imaginations of arrangers - most notably Liszt and most recently Arcadi Volodos. It is a tuneful, colourful showpiece of memorable melodies and witty orchestration. It is, of course, extremely demanding of the soloist - all the more so given the effort already put in. Soloist and orchestra delivered it with aplomb to great applause and cheers from a normally reserved crowd. The orchestra should have her back - they will be well rewarded by their audience if they do.

Ms St John demonstrated her powers as a violinist, who like Paganini, captures the heart as well as the mind. She played with a great physicality and intense musical feeling. There’s a sensuality about her playing which is not effortless - it brings you closer to the music revealing that this is no automatic process of reproduction but an incredible act of physical co-ordination, concentration and communication. It is true to say that Ms St John is one of the select band of artists who make music making a very tangible, energetic but collective experience. It is not simply “transmit and receive”; it is a combined act of will mediated through her technical ability. Grigori Sokolov is another artist who never lets the technical difficulty become the audiences’ problem. Like Sokolov too, St John has the audience’s trust and support - receptive to the music because they see honest endeavour on their behalf. There’s no superficial flinching from the task in hand - as her Bach CDs http://www.larastjohn.com/cds.html bear witness - with Lara St John all the powers at her disposal - and they are considerable - are given to musical expression of the highest order.

MTT Mahler 5

2006-11-22T18:36:00.000Z

The Fifth Symphony in Michael Tilson-Thomas’s survey of the canon with the San Francisco Symphony is the culmination for me because I find myself so distant from the Eighth symphony which is the only one yet to be released that its immaterial.

It's been a long journey and MTT has visibly aged in the cover photos but then his boyish good looks couldn’t last forever. Its been a long journey and a hugely satisfying one. The highlights for me have been many and not just musical. The releases on SACD have been spectacularly recorded and the playing of the SFS has been astonishingly good - well into the top flight. The symphonies have not been so consistently played and directed for a long time - at a much lower voltage one could look at Maazel and Ozawa as the next best. MTT for my money stands up there with Kubelik as a beacon of good sense in Mahler conducting. Not as bold as Sinopoli or as wilful as Boulez, MTT like Abbado in recent years has brought the music out of Mahler.

So the Fifth is a special place. It’s a very fine reading which grows on me day by day, full of the kind of attention to detail that makes each visit a learning process. It doesn’t leave me breathless at the end but it does in parts of those magnificent structures in the middle movements. MTT has a knack of under-playing the endings of these symphonies which leaves me wanting a little more but his appreciation of the key inner moments is perhaps matched only by Sinopoli in my experience.

It’s a gesture-filled symphony and part of me doesn’t like that much. Vänskä who recently gave the symphony on a European tour with the Minnesota Orch, breaks the symphony down to its core rhetorical devices them builds them back up into a modern piece of music - disparate and desperately trying to break out of a classical mould. MTT gives us something akin to a story- tellers view of the pages. The final moments not so much a dénouement as a grand calculated flourish and regretful glance backward at a tale well told.

This may be too sophisticated for some, but you have to do something a little bit clever with this symphony because given its overview, one could say that Mahler didn’t. Minor to Major, Funeral march to joyous Rondo, sad song near the end, concerto for orchestra and horn in the middle - it’s not on a par with the symphonies that followed IMHO.

The main glory of this recording the playing - the woodwind behave like a flock of birds each individual deciding to follow or lead as required. At volume - and I should stress this - it hard to hear how it could be bettered. No European orchestra could match the brass playing which is distinct sophisticated and virtuosic. The strings are warm and full and in the violas there’s something of the bloom one gets around the low strings of the Concertgebouw or occasionally the Berlin Philharmonic.

What’s lacking? The sardonic bite that Bernstein got in Vienna - but that’s not for everyday. The clever temporal tricks Karajan conjures from the third movement. There’s trumpet playing (presumably John Wallace) of the highest order in Sinopoli’s analytical reading. And as I have mentioned Vänskä’s deconstruction/reconstruction which shows the symphony teetering on the edge of a neoclassical world. And finally there’s Abbado revelling in every note - as sincere a man as one would want as a guide through this familiar terrain. But a reading can’t be all things and if you want a strong story line beautifully delivered - MTT is your man.

Shaken and stirred

2006-11-22T12:22:00.000Z

It seems to me that Daniel Craig is a James Bond who could easily outshine Sean Connery - at last. He’s pretty, when necessary - vulnerable, delivers the humour (and there's not too much of that), much more physical and, mostly, he’s nastier - perhaps more than all the other film Bonds put together. As Ian Fleming said, spying is a dirty business and Craig is certainly as hard as nails when it comes to killing and taking punishment.

He’s also the first, I think, to show that the sexual side of Bonds work - and it is definitely business - is dysfunctional.

Did I enjoy it? Well... Yes. I had to steel myself for the violence and more than that Craig’s extraordinary inclusion of pain into Bond’s lexicon of emotions. As Mark Kermode has said we feel Bond’s pain. I did enjoy it but its a massive change of style.

At last he’s not a super human - definitely breakable, so we sympathise but not too much. I don't see Craig's Bond as a role model for any more than the most disturbed. And there’s the risk for the producers. I think traditionally folk have bought tickets to see Bond films for the machismo, the gadgets and the wry, sorry I mistyped that , I meant misogynistic, humour: that audience will be disappointed. A character who shows superficial charm is unlikely to last on screen unless very compelling. I think Craig is very compelling, and some, so I think the films, teh character and even. sorry to mention them, the commercial partners - Omega Watches, Sony computers, Ford cars and all - are safe in his hands.

First things first

2006-11-15T13:18:00.000Z

Why Mindpoke? well - its a game I play with Jen. She knows a finger in the ribs is one way of getting my attention: when she can't reach she uses a virtual finger into my mind. So the term is coined and will now slip into internet history.

Why mojiver - well cos I'm having fun learning Modern Jive.

I do have a more serious-minded blog (in as far as anything I do is serious-minded) elsewhere and if the conditions are right I'll let you know where it is.

For now this blog is about causing a bit of a stir with the odd MindPoke.