Been away in Paris. Here are a few bits and pieces of light reading for you while I get rid of my stinking cold and the blisters on my feet. (Apart from that, it's been a fabulous few days.)
Strauss, Pauline and the fish...a magical opera with some family insights, from the Indy: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/the-composer-and-his-muse-richard-strass-tempestuous-relationship-with-his-wife-pauline-de-ahna-9174239.html
How do you turn something as famous as Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood into an opera? I talked to John Metcalf, who has just done so. Also from the Indy. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/under-milk-wood-the-opera-a-new-voice-for-dylan-thomas-9185085.html
Pop goes the Wagner: why going gaga for JK may indicate, oddly enough, that we haven't altogether lost our marbles. From my Amati.com Soapbox. http://www.amati.com/articles/1108-pop-goes-the-wagner.html
Enjoy. I'm off to bed with some lemsip and a book about Bartok.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
Duty of care?
Last week I went to a concert, as one does. A little way off from where I was sitting, I spotted a small African-American girl, probably aged about 8, with her mother. She sat very still and kept very quiet all the way through the first half. Then in the first piece of the second half she bent down and took a sweet out of her bag. A man in front of her turned round and glared daggers.
When the piece was over he reprimanded her. He'd reckoned without her feisty mum, who was not going to take it. "She had one chocolate! She wasn't talking. She's a child! Were you never a child?" He retorted, with policeman-like pointy gestures: "You're at a performance." The mother, while heads turned nearby, declared: "You're a mean man!"
Several points here.
1. The mum and daughter were the only faces of colour in the hall that I could see, other than one or two of the musicians on stage.
2. The little girl was the youngest person in view - indeed, as far as I could tell, the only child in the audience. I wonder if she will ever want to come back. Kids don't forget things like this.
3. Adults frequently behave far more badly than that in theatres and concert halls.
4. The man was, regrettably, a critic.
Don't critics have a duty not to put kids off classical concerts?
Btw, when I posted this anecdote on my private Facebook page one well-known concert pianist responded by saying that if we can find this mother and daughter he would like to offer them comps to his next recital. That's more like it.
When the piece was over he reprimanded her. He'd reckoned without her feisty mum, who was not going to take it. "She had one chocolate! She wasn't talking. She's a child! Were you never a child?" He retorted, with policeman-like pointy gestures: "You're at a performance." The mother, while heads turned nearby, declared: "You're a mean man!"
Several points here.
1. The mum and daughter were the only faces of colour in the hall that I could see, other than one or two of the musicians on stage.
2. The little girl was the youngest person in view - indeed, as far as I could tell, the only child in the audience. I wonder if she will ever want to come back. Kids don't forget things like this.
3. Adults frequently behave far more badly than that in theatres and concert halls.
4. The man was, regrettably, a critic.
Don't critics have a duty not to put kids off classical concerts?
Btw, when I posted this anecdote on my private Facebook page one well-known concert pianist responded by saying that if we can find this mother and daughter he would like to offer them comps to his next recital. That's more like it.
Saturday, March 08, 2014
20-year-old conductor wows London
How often do you go to an orchestral concert and find you're on the edge of your chair, smiling at the warmth and passion bounding off the stage, thrilling at the sounds of early Shostakovich slaloming around the percussion, and watching, enchanted, a real rapport between the soloist and the conductor that makes the most familiar of piano concertos go leaping off the page like a March hare?
And then you realise the conductor is younger than your nephew who hasn't done his uni finals yet.
Meet Ilyich Rivas. Maybe you already have. I saw him conducting in Verbier several years ago and was impressed with him then; in the intervening time he has conducted for Glyndebourne Touring Opera, among other things, and been mentored by Vladimir Jurowski. Now he's been signed by IMG.
Last night's programme with the LPO - his first big London date - was carefully and beautifully chosen. They kicked off with Dvorak's Scherzo Capriccioso, continued with Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 with Simon Trpceski - who has also been following Ilyich's career with great enthusiasm for a while - and in the second half, Mahler's Blumine and Shostakovich's Symphony No.1.
The fresh air swept into the hall with this engaging young Venezuelan, who jogged onto the platform, had perhaps the clearest beat of any conductor I've seen in the past year and led the way through the pieces with some fairly extraordinary freeze-frame gestures that are certainly unusual yet seemed to work a treat. He let the music's passion, beauty and visceral élan sing out to his and our hearts' content. Particularly impressive was the way he handled gear-changes with smooth assurance, maintaining an impeccable sense of timing, and ultimately - best of all - leaving us marvelling at the wonders of the music, first and foremost.
Simon Trpceski's account of the Tchaikovsky would take some bettering. He is a fabulous showman, of course, but his special sound involves a remarkable lightness - there's swift, fierce motion, yet he scarcely seems to touch the ground and his pianissimo touch is at its loveliest in the slow movement. He made a little speech before his encore about the joy of working with Ilyich and seeing his promise coming to fruition; the encore itself, which he dedicated to the young conductor and his family, was from Album for the Young by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Simon's own breakthrough moment arrived in the same hall, with the same orchestra, when he was about Ilyich's age and won the (now sadly defunct) London International Piano Competition. That added a certain poignancy to the evening. It may be a cliché to say "history in the making" - but honest, guv, we don't say such things too often.
Ilyich's grandparents flew in from Venezuela for the concert and received a round of applause to themselves. Incidentally, Ilyich, rarely among young Venezuelan conductors, hasn't been through El Sistema. His father is a conductor and the lad absorbed the art at his knee, mainly in Denver, Colorado.
So come on, orchestra bigwigs - form a nice orderly queue, please. A decade from now, might Ilyich Rivas have the best job in the world? Place your bets.
And then you realise the conductor is younger than your nephew who hasn't done his uni finals yet.
Meet Ilyich Rivas. Maybe you already have. I saw him conducting in Verbier several years ago and was impressed with him then; in the intervening time he has conducted for Glyndebourne Touring Opera, among other things, and been mentored by Vladimir Jurowski. Now he's been signed by IMG.
Last night's programme with the LPO - his first big London date - was carefully and beautifully chosen. They kicked off with Dvorak's Scherzo Capriccioso, continued with Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 with Simon Trpceski - who has also been following Ilyich's career with great enthusiasm for a while - and in the second half, Mahler's Blumine and Shostakovich's Symphony No.1.
The fresh air swept into the hall with this engaging young Venezuelan, who jogged onto the platform, had perhaps the clearest beat of any conductor I've seen in the past year and led the way through the pieces with some fairly extraordinary freeze-frame gestures that are certainly unusual yet seemed to work a treat. He let the music's passion, beauty and visceral élan sing out to his and our hearts' content. Particularly impressive was the way he handled gear-changes with smooth assurance, maintaining an impeccable sense of timing, and ultimately - best of all - leaving us marvelling at the wonders of the music, first and foremost.
Simon Trpceski's account of the Tchaikovsky would take some bettering. He is a fabulous showman, of course, but his special sound involves a remarkable lightness - there's swift, fierce motion, yet he scarcely seems to touch the ground and his pianissimo touch is at its loveliest in the slow movement. He made a little speech before his encore about the joy of working with Ilyich and seeing his promise coming to fruition; the encore itself, which he dedicated to the young conductor and his family, was from Album for the Young by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Simon's own breakthrough moment arrived in the same hall, with the same orchestra, when he was about Ilyich's age and won the (now sadly defunct) London International Piano Competition. That added a certain poignancy to the evening. It may be a cliché to say "history in the making" - but honest, guv, we don't say such things too often.
Ilyich's grandparents flew in from Venezuela for the concert and received a round of applause to themselves. Incidentally, Ilyich, rarely among young Venezuelan conductors, hasn't been through El Sistema. His father is a conductor and the lad absorbed the art at his knee, mainly in Denver, Colorado.
So come on, orchestra bigwigs - form a nice orderly queue, please. A decade from now, might Ilyich Rivas have the best job in the world? Place your bets.
Friday, March 07, 2014
BBC Music Magazine's 12 best novels about music - !
Tickled pink to discover my fourth novel, Songs of Triumphant Love, featuring in BBC Music Magazine's list, for World Book Day, of their pick of the 12 best novels about classical music. I've heard of being in good company, but this is ridiculous! The list is here. You can download the e-book of Songs here (paperback doesn't appear to be available on Amazon at the moment).
Meanwhile, for Women of the World week, here is my exploration of women's orchestras through the ages...http://sinfinimusic.com/uk/features/other-features/womens-orchestras
...and the Insiders Anonymous column for Classical Music Magazine this month is about The Classical Music Critic. http://www.classicalmusicmagazine.org/opinion/insiders-anonymous-the-music-critic/
Meanwhile, for Women of the World week, here is my exploration of women's orchestras through the ages...http://sinfinimusic.com/uk/features/other-features/womens-orchestras
...and the Insiders Anonymous column for Classical Music Magazine this month is about The Classical Music Critic. http://www.classicalmusicmagazine.org/opinion/insiders-anonymous-the-music-critic/
Tuesday, March 04, 2014
A chat with John Adams
My interview with the fabulous John Adams is in today's Independent. Read it here.
I wouldn't want to say this or that person is my favourite composer of today - there are so many, so different, so fascinating, so inspiring. But hey...
Obviously if you have time to talk to a composer like Adams, you don't want to chat for just ten minutes if you can help it, so below are some "bonus tracks", Qs and As that are not in the Indy piece.
JD: Do you still compose nine to five?
JA: I do, yes. I never work at night. (JD: Is it a question of routine?) Yes, it’s routine – I don’t travel a huge amount, but I do a reasonable amount of conducting during the year and I’m not someone who can actually compose in a hotel room, I absolutely have to be home in my studio. So when I am home I’m very disciplined. I try to work every day and have certain hours. I think most composers are that way – it’s an extremely labour-intensive activity and you have to make all the decisions yourself, so most composers I know are basically very disciplined, hardworking people.
JD: There’s still a common misapprehension that people stroll through art exhibitions or mountain scenery and have sudden strokes of inspiration...
JA: That's just nothing. We’re not like that at all. I just read Amsterdam which has a composer as its main character and I very much enjoyed the book but I thought his view of a composer was much too romantic. We’re much duller than that!
JD: Is there anything in particular that does get the creative juices flowing for you?
I wouldn't want to say this or that person is my favourite composer of today - there are so many, so different, so fascinating, so inspiring. But hey...
Obviously if you have time to talk to a composer like Adams, you don't want to chat for just ten minutes if you can help it, so below are some "bonus tracks", Qs and As that are not in the Indy piece.
JD: I was reading something in which you said you felt the medium of the orchestra has run its course. But
together with Glass you’ve done so much to put contemporary music back at the
heart of full scale, mainstream concert programmes - maybe it’s not dead after
all?
JA: It’s hard to say. I have good days and bad days and on bad days I wake
up feeling that what we’re doing in classical music is so barely on people’s
radar that I can get very depressed. But there are a lot of poets and composers
and novelists like Melville and Charles Ives who did not get much attention at all in their
lifetime. We do what we do because we
love it and we have a small audience that adores what we do - and over time
it persists, while the other stuff is revealed to be rather ephemeral.
JD: Do you still compose nine to five?
JA: I do, yes. I never work at night. (JD: Is it a question of routine?) Yes, it’s routine – I don’t travel a huge amount, but I do a reasonable amount of conducting during the year and I’m not someone who can actually compose in a hotel room, I absolutely have to be home in my studio. So when I am home I’m very disciplined. I try to work every day and have certain hours. I think most composers are that way – it’s an extremely labour-intensive activity and you have to make all the decisions yourself, so most composers I know are basically very disciplined, hardworking people.
JD: There’s still a common misapprehension that people stroll through art exhibitions or mountain scenery and have sudden strokes of inspiration...
JA: That's just nothing. We’re not like that at all. I just read Amsterdam which has a composer as its main character and I very much enjoyed the book but I thought his view of a composer was much too romantic. We’re much duller than that!
JD: Is there anything in particular that does get the creative juices flowing for you?
JA: I wish I knew! If I had a magic pill or a
certain place to take a walk, maybe starting pieces wouldn’t be such agony.
Beginning a piece is always just hell – even if I think know what I’ve got to
do. For some strange reason once a piece finally gets lift-off, if I work every
day I usually – it’s like being an athlete, you’re in shape and the genetic
material of the piece gives birth to tissues and organs and muscles and skeletons. Being a composer is like being a gardener – you water, prune, encourage and cut back. I take a walk every day with my two dogs. Lately I’ve been taking my iPod and listening to audio books or
music and I think I should just stop the chatter and go back
to what I did as a kid, when every time I took a walk I imagined a new
piece of music in great detail. I’ve sort of got lazy about that. Now I’m leaving my
technology behind when I leave the house.
JD: Not that long ago John Berry at English National Opera gave a
press conference where he said that he hoped you’d write your next opera for
ENO. Can we hope that this will happen? Have you any more operas on the go?
JA: ENO have been absolutely among my strongest supporters and I’m deeply grateful to them. They’re creative and they make things happen... I just haven’t found a
story that rang my bells the way Nixon or Klinghoffer or Dr Atomic did.
I’m sure it’ll happen soon. (JD: Would you look for a similar real life event to base it on?)
I think that’s sort of what I do best. I don’t think I’m a Pélléas et Mélisande type of composer - I don’t think a story that is intimate is what I’m strongest at –
but I think
it’s best to stay loose and not make any predictions.
JD: Do
you think The Death of Klinghoffer has finally been accepted?
JA: The Met is
doing it soon [Tom Morris's production, already seen at ENO], so I think it’s possible that there’ll be some controversy, but I don’t
think it’s going to be at the level it was in '91. The
issue was that the people who got so upset didn’t actually know the opera! That was
almost always the case... As far as I’m concerned, it was very painful years ago, but I think over time people have realized that the opera isn’t at all about what the
controversy was about. Really it’s a tragedy and it's something for
everyone, it's not just about Palestinians and not just about Jews. It’s for
everyone, because that’s what’s happening in the world. But it’ll be interesting at the
Met because everything that does is sort of widescreen, with lots of attention
and lots of people weighing in. I hope it’ll be experienced as a work of
humanity, not perceived as some sort of agit-prop.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)