World premiere of Meden Agan ('Nothing in Excess'), a remarkable work in three movements, 'Rhetorica' - 'Poetica'- 'Erotica', by Dutch composer Jan Vriend. Performed by British pianist James Lisney in the Kleine Zaal at Amsterdam's prestigious Concertgebouw, this recital opens a serious of concerts featuring other works by Jan Vriend, including JOY, written especially for Lisney's 'cellist daughter, Joy, who makes her debut in Amsterdam on 26th February in music by Chopin and Lutoslawski.

Composed in 2006, Meden Agan is Vriend's first piano work for twenty five years, and "is written with the authority of a composer who really knows the piano......the music shows a love of Debussy, jazz, Messaien, the great Spanish music of Albeniz and Granados......even Gottschalk's Bamboula and Balakirev's Islamey." (James Lisney)

Other concerts in the series include collaborations with soprano Dame Emma Kirkby and violinist Paul Barritt, plus the launch of 'Schubertreise'. Named after Lisney's innovative concerts at London’s South Bank Centre (2001-2004), this extensive recording venture will cover the complete Schubert piano sonatas, set within contrasted programmes of music drawn from a wide range of genres. Volume one features Schubert's Sonata in E, D 157, along with both his variation sets, miscellaneous short pieces from student years, and the youthful sonata of Icelandic composer, Arni Bjornsson.

Further information, including full programmes, here

Tickets can be purchased direct through www.concertgebouw.nl. Apply code MK120226 for discount.

Review of Joy Lisney's debut at St John's, Smith Square

Woodhouse Editions

AMNESTY AT 50

“Individuals can make a difference. But united as Amnesty, we are so much more powerful.”

A concert at St John's Smith Square, central London, given by acclaimed British pianist James Lisney with soprano Lorna Anderson to highlight the fiftieth anniversary of Amnesty International, which exists to promote human rights and works worldwide for the release of prisoners of conscience, to secure fair trials for political prisoners; and seeks an end to torture, extrajudicial executions, ‘disappearances’ and the death penalty.

November 16th
Liszt - 'Harmonies poétiques et religieuses' nos I-IV
Schubert - `An die Musik` - twelve celebrated songs*

Lorna Anderson* - soprano
James Lisney - piano

 

For further information, including links to venue, please visit www.jameslisney.com

 

Donations to Amnesty International can be made at the concerts, or by visiting www.justgiving.com/JAMES-LISNEY

Read my review of the previous 'Amnesty at 50' concert here

 

James Lisney and Lorna Anderson will be on BBC Radio Three's In Tune programme on Monday 14th November

Amnesty at 50

Concert series

“Individuals can make a difference. But united as Amnesty, we are so much more powerful.”

Two concerts at St John's Smith Square, central London, given by acclaimed British pianist James Lisney to highlight the fiftieth anniversary of Amnesty International, which exists to promote human rights and works worldwide for the release of prisoners of conscience, to secure fair trials for political prisoners; and seeks an end to torture, extrajudicial executions, ‘disappearances’ and the death penalty.

For further information, including links to venue, please visit www.jameslisney.com

Donations to Amnesty International can be made at the concerts, or by visiting www.justgiving.com/JAMES-LISNEY

A BOOK OF LISZTS by John Spurling

(Variations on the theme of Franz Liszt)

To be published by Seagull Books in May, 2011

"Six years ago John bought a CD of piano music by Liszt and was fascinated first by the music and then by the composer, whose personal charisma and incomparable skill as a virtuoso pianist made him the 19th-century equivalent of a modern international star.

His innovative music isn’t as well known these days as it deserves to be, but that should change in 2011, the bicentenary of his birth.

This novel tells the story of an extraordinary man in an unusual way. The fifteen self-contained chapters are written in various styles and from various points of view."

As a companion to the book, Chrome Media has produced a CD of readings from John Spurling's book accompanied by a new recording of 15 of Liszt's piano works, performed by prize-winning Hungarian pianist, János Balázs.

Further information, including details on how to order

www.chromemedia.co.uk/stories-from-a-book-of-liszts/

There is a free event at the Hungarian Cultural Centre in London's Covent Garden on 25th May from 7pm, to celebrate the launch of the book, at which Janos Balazs will be performing. Music and readings. For reservations, please call 020 7240 6162, or email bookings@hungary.org.uk.

To read an extract from the book, go to

www.johnspurling.com/liszt_extract.html

The Red Hedgehog, situated diagonally across Archway Road from Highgate tube station in north London, is a modest venue. It does not shout “look at me!” from its frontage, nor does it play host to showboating ‘rock-star’ performers like Chinese Poster-Boy Lang Lang. Instead, inside this bright, cosy, friendly venue, one can enjoy music equal in quality to anything one might hear at the Wigmore, Cadogan or Queen Elizabeth Halls on any night of the week, played by serious, committed musicians, both well-known and up-and-coming. 

Now just over four years old, the Red Hedgehog opened, without fanfare, in the summer of 2006. Named after a coffee house in Vienna, Rote Igel, a favourite watering hole of Brahms, Schumann et al, in its first season it welcomed through its unobtrusive doorway the likes of grand old man of piano, Peter Katin, as well as Piers Lane, James Lisney, the late Yonty Solomon, soprano Emma Kirkby, ‘cellists Alexander Baillie and Steven Isserlis, and actor Simon Callow, among many others. It has enjoyed lively and varied subsequent seasons, combining solo recitals with chamber music, song, jazz and folk. Alongside the salon concerts are masterclasses, activities for children, drama events and art exhibitions. It continues to host concerts by some of the “big names” in classical music as well as offering an opportunity for newcomers to make their mark.

I first visited the Red Hedgehog in December 2006. It was, as I recall, rather a long haul up the Northern Line from my home in the leafy suburbs of south-west London, even with a stopover at Green Park to pick up a friend en route. Admittedly, we missed it the first time, mistaking it for a kebab shop; but once inside, we were intrigued and delighted by this unusual recital space. The music, Schubert’s complete Impromptus (with generous encores by Mozart, Chopin and Schumann), seemed just about perfect for this intimate venue. Schubert’s music as he intended it: played for friends and among friends. Afterwards, glass of wine in hand, we were in no hurry to leave: the atmosphere was convivial and friendly, as the soloist mingled with his audience. Warmed by a second glass of red wine, we trudged back to the station in the cold winter air, and began the long journey south.

I am sorry to confess I have not yet returned to the Red Hedgehog, though I have followed its fortunes closely. I have always enjoyed music in small or unusual venues. As a child, a “treat” for me was to sit behind the CBSO (when they were still based at Birmingham old town hall) so that I could watch the percussionists at work. On holiday in Venezuela once, I enjoyed chamber music amongst the tree ferns in the courtyard of a beautiful Spanish colonial house; in Zadar (Croatia) Bach played in a tiny Byzantine church. While I enjoy concerts in more traditional venues, the Wigmore, Queen Elizabeth and Cadogan Halls being my favourites in London, I do think that music in small venues offers a truly unique concert experience. It connects us to the music in a very special way, and reminds us that much of the music that was written before about 1850 was intended for the salon, something that can be forgotten when hearing music in a larger concert venue.

Pianist James Lisney, someone who positively embraces performing in small, intimate venues, has been a loyal and active supporter of The Red Hedgehog (he suggested its name), and a regular performer there since its inception. He regards the venue as an “investment in London’s pianistic life”, and is concerned that the venue is not getting the attention it should, especially with an important Beethoven cycle coming up next month, when acclaimed British pianist Peter Donohoe will perform the complete Piano Sonatas of Beethoven in a series of eight recitals over four consecutive weekends (see event listings on Musbook).

This concert series will provide listeners with a rare opportunity to experience Beethoven’s extraordinary music in the kind of setting he would instantly recognise himself: the salon. In a bigger concert venue, one does not have the chance to get “up close and personal” with the music – and the performer – and sometimes the immediacy of the music can be lost. At the Red Hedgehog, one can enjoy a very close rapport, true eye-to-eye contact, with performer, and music.

A trawl through the very favourable reviews of past performances at The Red Hedgehog proves that music critics have really embraced the “small is beautiful” ethos of the place, describing it variously as “cosy enough to be ideal for the purpose of listening to chamber music”, “bohemian”, “….the next best thing to having musicians perform in one’s home” and “delightful, unexpected and welcoming”

This wonderful “small miracle” (Simon Callow) receives no funding; instead, it relies on its indefatigable artistic director, Clare Fischer, and a loyal group of supporters, volunteers and friends, as well as its artists, who are prepared to shrink, or even waive their fees to help keep the place alive, and lively. Its audience, crucially, mainly local people (and Highgate is famous for its intelligentsia and culturally aware), is interested and committed – and awake! But in these straitened economic times, when the arts seemed to receive the first swipe of the coalition government’s vicious scythe, perfect little gems like The Red Hedgehog are under threat – a great shame when there was an upsurge of interest in classical music just before the credit crunch.

Right now, no one can predict what the future will bring, but while venues like The Red Hedgehog remain open, there is still hope – and the chance for “any true music-lover…….. to hear top-flight artists in an intimate setting” (classicalsource.com)

Peter Donohoe's Beethoven Sonatas series

 

 

 

 

Acclaimed British pianist Peter Donohoe performs

the Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas
at The Red Hedgehog
in a series of 8 recitals over 4 consecutive weekends, commencing on 26th March.

“I love the way each sonata seems to point to the next, and the same goes for each of the eight programmes. In fact, we are very lucky that each programme does seem to ‘fit’ – there is no sense in which it seems incomplete, and each programme seems to work independently as well as in sequence."
(Peter Donohoe, interviewed in The Birmingham Post, November 2010)

Calling all young pianists!

Dear Piano Players,
Southbank Centre is marking its 60th birthday in 2011 and we would like to invite young people from around the country to help us celebrate. We are on the lookout for pianists aged 5 to 24 for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform on the Royal Festival Hall stage with superstar pianist Lang Lang. He is searching for young talent to join him on stage at Southbank Centre on Sunday 22 May at 5pm for a massed piano event. Passionate young people (of all abilities) from across the UK are invited to apply. 
See http://langlanginspires.ning.com/ for more information and videos of Lang Lang. 
How to enter: Please send a video (three minutes max) of you playing a piece of your choice on the piano. This can be filmed on a video camera, a webcam or even a camera phone. 
If you are aged 5 to 12 years old. 
You will need to send your video audition to us directly. You will also need to ask a parent or guardian to fill out a consent form (see attached document) to say they agree to you entering this competition. 
  
The completed consent form and video audition will need to be sent using the free file transfer tool wetransfer.com <http://www.wetransfer.com>  (as video files will generally be too large to send via normal email). Please address all entries to langlanginspires@southbankcentre.co.uk <mailto:langlanginspires@southbankcentre.co.uk>  and add your name, address and postcode, email address and contact telephone number in the wetransfer message box so we may contact you if you are selected.  
  
Deadline for entries via file transfer is midnight on 28 February 2011. 
  
If you are 13 to 24 years old. 
Simply join the Lang Lang Inspires website: 
http://langlanginspires.ning.com/ <http://langlanginspires.ning.com/>
 Then go to the 'Videos' page to upload your video audition. Videos must capture you playing a piece of your choice on the piano. This site has been set up specifically to give you a space to add your video entries. 
Videos must clearly show you playing piano and must not be longer than three minutes in length. 
  
Deadline for entries added via Lang Lang Inpires website is midnight on 28 February 2011. 
Lang Lang will view the videos and decide which 100 young people he'd like to join him on stage for this unique Royal Festival Hall concert! 
We will let you know if you've been chosen to participate in this concert by 15 March. You'll be sent music to learn, rehearsal and performance details, and lots of other useful information. 
We want this experience to be open to everyone from all over the country. There may be some support available for those of you travelling from farther afield or if you would be unable to take advantage of this opportunity without some help. Please contact elaine.craig@southbankcentre.co.uk <mailto:elaine.craig@southbankcentre.co.uk>  by 4 April if you would like to request such support. 
We're really looking forward to hearing from you all! 
  
  
For any concerns or questions, please contact langlanginspires@southbankcentre.co.uk <mailto:langlanginspires@southbankcentre.co.uk> 
  
  
  
  

Calling all young pianists!

Dear Piano Players,
Southbank Centre is marking its 60th birthday in 2011 and we would like to invite young people from around the country to help us celebrate. We are on the lookout for pianists aged 5 to 24 for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform on the Royal Festival Hall stage with superstar pianist Lang Lang. He is searching for young talent to join him on stage at Southbank Centre on Sunday 22 May at 5pm for a massed piano event. Passionate young people (of all abilities) from across the UK are invited to apply. 
See http://langlanginspires.ning.com/ for more information and videos of Lang Lang. 
How to enter: Please send a video (three minutes max) of you playing a piece of your choice on the piano. This can be filmed on a video camera, a webcam or even a camera phone. 
If you are aged 5 to 12 years old. 
You will need to send your video audition to us directly. You will also need to ask a parent or guardian to fill out a consent form (see attached document) to say they agree to you entering this competition. 
  
The completed consent form and video audition will need to be sent using the free file transfer tool wetransfer.com <http://www.wetransfer.com>  (as video files will generally be too large to send via normal email). Please address all entries to langlanginspires@southbankcentre.co.uk <mailto:langlanginspires@southbankcentre.co.uk>  and add your name, address and postcode, email address and contact telephone number in the wetransfer message box so we may contact you if you are selected.  
  
Deadline for entries via file transfer is midnight on 28 February 2011. 
  
If you are 13 to 24 years old. 
Simply join the Lang Lang Inspires website: 
http://langlanginspires.ning.com/ <http://langlanginspires.ning.com/>
 Then go to the 'Videos' page to upload your video audition. Videos must capture you playing a piece of your choice on the piano. This site has been set up specifically to give you a space to add your video entries. 
Videos must clearly show you playing piano and must not be longer than three minutes in length. 
  
Deadline for entries added via Lang Lang Inpires website is midnight on 28 February 2011. 
Lang Lang will view the videos and decide which 100 young people he'd like to join him on stage for this unique Royal Festival Hall concert! 
We will let you know if you've been chosen to participate in this concert by 15 March. You'll be sent music to learn, rehearsal and performance details, and lots of other useful information. 
We want this experience to be open to everyone from all over the country. There may be some support available for those of you travelling from farther afield or if you would be unable to take advantage of this opportunity without some help. Please contact elaine.craig@southbankcentre.co.uk <mailto:elaine.craig@southbankcentre.co.uk>  by 4 April if you would like to request such support. 
We're really looking forward to hearing from you all! 
  
  
For any concerns or questions, please contact langlanginspires@southbankcentre.co.uk <mailto:langlanginspires@southbankcentre.co.uk> 
  
  
  
  

My teacher, Penelope Roskell, is holding a one-day intensive workshop for piano teachers discussing methods of teaching all aspects of piano technique.

Course date: Sunday 26th June

Time: 10.30am - 5.00pm

Venue: The Studio, 66 Queen Elizabeth's Walk, Stoke Newington, London N16 5UQ

Cost: £60 (students £40)

Further details: contact Penelope Roskell on 0208 802 6258 or peneloperoskell@blueyonder.co.uk

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Penelope Roskell is an international concert pianist and Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at Trinity College of Music. She is also visiting artist at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and has a busy private teaching practice in London. She was Director of the EPTA Piano Pedagogy course from 2000 to 2002. She has a special expertise in the field of piano technique and in dealing with physical tension and injuries, and is the only piano teacher in England to be recognised by the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine. She is a frequent guest speaker on piano technique at conferences and writes a regular column on the subject in Piano Professional magazine. She has also created a DVD on “Yoga for Musicians” and a ground-breaking book, the Art of Piano Fingering, published by London College of Music.  Her courses are inspiring and intensive within a warm and supportive atmosphere.

I attended Penelope's Advanced Piano Course last March and found it incredibly useful, supportive and inspiring. I am sure her piano teaching course will be similarly stimulating and informative.

I came across this new film about the life of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould through one of my followers on Twitter, who directed me to a link where, it was promised, I could watch the film online. Unfortunately, due to rights restrictions, it is not possible to access the film from the UK (the film was made and distributed in Canada and the US). According to the film's website, a DVD is planned for release this year, but it may only be available in North America.

Whatever you may feel about Gould - pianistic genius or nutcase. Or both! - his life remains endlessly fascinating, partly because he was so articulate not just about music, but many other subjects, including philsophy and art. Bruno Monsangeion's 2006 biopic 'Hereafter', offers some fascinating insights into the interior life of this extraordinary musician. And this new film, 'Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould', seems to be a similarly intelligent attempt to get to the heart of Gould. It looks good  - and I would love to see it. If anyone has any further information about the film, including planned screenings in the UK, I'd love to hear from you!

Meanwhile, you can watch the official trailer on YouTube.

Exclusive Piano-Yoga® EPTA members workshop in London on Sunday, 12 December 2010.We are happy to announce that we have now made available 15 tickets for Non Members. (£15.00)

"It really does work . . . Many ailing pianists have been helped with this unorthodox and unusual method . . . All teachers should give it a try..."  
Piano Professional Magazine

Event Information:

Piano-Yoga® Workshop in London at Schott Music Showroom
Date: Sunday 12th December 2010
Time: 11.00 am - 1.00 pm
Location: Schott Music Showroom, 48 Great Marlborough Street, London W1F 7BB

In this workshop the Russian pianist and educator, GéNIA, will highlight the foundation of the Piano-Yoga® method and demonstrate the exercises from her Piano-Yoga® book, "Transform your hands: A complete ten week course of piano exercises". The workshop will be accompanied by the selection of herbal teas and delicious canapés.

"This is a book for a lifetime of healthy piano playing!" 

This news story came to me via EPTA.....

YAMAHA AND CONCERT PIANIST HAYLEY ELTON UNVEIL PLANS FOR THE UK'S FIRST EVER CLASSICAL MUSIC NURSERY TOUR 
@font-face {  font-family: "Arial";}@font-face {  font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; @font-face {  font-family: "Arial";}@font-face {  font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }Yamaha Music and concert pianist Hayley Elton have announced plans for a tour of UK nurseries. The tour
– the first by a concert artist – is aimed at introducing the very young, parents and pre-school teachers to the joys of classical piano music and
playing an instrument.

The events will take place in London, Potters Bar, Cambridge, Southend, South Wales and Liverpool between January and June next year. 

In addition to a 'mini-recital' in each nursery, youngsters and parents will be shown how to play a simple tune in five minutes. The events will also include
an inspiring guest spot from 7-year-old pianist Curtis Elton, who is currently studying for his Grade 8 piano from the Associated Board.

International concert pianist Hayley Elton has recently been acclaimed by parents, medical practitioners and paediatricians for her Sleep Baby Sleep CD
collection which has been proved to aid sleep in young babies and toddlers. The soothing effect of Hayley’s unique touch on the piano, combined with specially
selected melodies, provide effective sleep encouragement for the very young. 

The events will also showcase Yamaha's new budget Piaggero slim-line, ultra-lightweight digital piano, the perfect introductory instrument for beginners
and nursery and pre-schools. The tour is also being supported by Chappell of Bond Street as part of its 2011 bicentenary activities. 


Contact:  	Gina Cliff for Hayley Elton: 07730680689 / www.hayleyelton.com
	David Jones for Yamaha: david@djpr.co.uk / www.djpr.co.uk
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Hayley Elton comments, "I’m delighted to be embarking on this tour of nurseries. It's been a dream of mine to introduce very young people to music as early as possible in their lives. These events will also be a real eye-opener for parents who will see the tremendous benefits of introducing their children to music making at such an early age."
 

This news story came to me via EPTA.....

YAMAHA AND CONCERT PIANIST HAYLEY ELTON UNVEIL PLANS FOR THE UK'S FIRST EVER CLASSICAL MUSIC NURSERY TOUR 
@font-face {  font-family: "Arial";}@font-face {  font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; @font-face {  font-family: "Arial";}@font-face {  font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }Yamaha Music and concert pianist Hayley Elton have announced plans for a tour of UK nurseries. The tour
– the first by a concert artist – is aimed at introducing the very young, parents and pre-school teachers to the joys of classical piano music and
playing an instrument.

The events will take place in London, Potters Bar, Cambridge, Southend, South Wales and Liverpool between January and June next year. 

In addition to a 'mini-recital' in each nursery, youngsters and parents will be shown how to play a simple tune in five minutes. The events will also include
an inspiring guest spot from 7-year-old pianist Curtis Elton, who is currently studying for his Grade 8 piano from the Associated Board.

International concert pianist Hayley Elton has recently been acclaimed by parents, medical practitioners and paediatricians for her Sleep Baby Sleep CD
collection which has been proved to aid sleep in young babies and toddlers. The soothing effect of Hayley’s unique touch on the piano, combined with specially
selected melodies, provide effective sleep encouragement for the very young. 

The events will also showcase Yamaha's new budget Piaggero slim-line, ultra-lightweight digital piano, the perfect introductory instrument for beginners
and nursery and pre-schools. The tour is also being supported by Chappell of Bond Street as part of its 2011 bicentenary activities. 


Contact:  	Gina Cliff for Hayley Elton: 07730680689 / www.hayleyelton.com
	David Jones for Yamaha: david@djpr.co.uk / www.djpr.co.uk
@font-face {  font-family: "Arial";}@font-face {  font-family: "Times";}@font-face {  font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }
Hayley Elton comments, "I’m delighted to be embarking on this tour of nurseries. It's been a dream of mine to introduce very young people to music as early as possible in their lives. These events will also be a real eye-opener for parents who will see the tremendous benefits of introducing their children to music making at such an early age."
 

This news story came to me via EPTA.....

YAMAHA AND CONCERT PIANIST HAYLEY ELTON UNVEIL PLANS FOR THE UK'S FIRST EVER CLASSICAL MUSIC NURSERY TOUR 
@font-face {  font-family: "Arial";}@font-face {  font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; @font-face {  font-family: "Arial";}@font-face {  font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }Yamaha Music and concert pianist Hayley Elton have announced plans for a tour of UK nurseries. The tour
– the first by a concert artist – is aimed at introducing the very young, parents and pre-school teachers to the joys of classical piano music and
playing an instrument.

The events will take place in London, Potters Bar, Cambridge, Southend, South Wales and Liverpool between January and June next year. 

In addition to a 'mini-recital' in each nursery, youngsters and parents will be shown how to play a simple tune in five minutes. The events will also include
an inspiring guest spot from 7-year-old pianist Curtis Elton, who is currently studying for his Grade 8 piano from the Associated Board.

International concert pianist Hayley Elton has recently been acclaimed by parents, medical practitioners and paediatricians for her Sleep Baby Sleep CD
collection which has been proved to aid sleep in young babies and toddlers. The soothing effect of Hayley’s unique touch on the piano, combined with specially
selected melodies, provide effective sleep encouragement for the very young. 

The events will also showcase Yamaha's new budget Piaggero slim-line, ultra-lightweight digital piano, the perfect introductory instrument for beginners
and nursery and pre-schools. The tour is also being supported by Chappell of Bond Street as part of its 2011 bicentenary activities. 


Contact:  	Gina Cliff for Hayley Elton: 07730680689 / www.hayleyelton.com
	David Jones for Yamaha: david@djpr.co.uk / www.djpr.co.uk
@font-face {  font-family: "Arial";}@font-face {  font-family: "Times";}@font-face {  font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }
Hayley Elton comments, "I’m delighted to be embarking on this tour of nurseries. It's been a dream of mine to introduce very young people to music as early as possible in their lives. These events will also be a real eye-opener for parents who will see the tremendous benefits of introducing their children to music making at such an early age."
 

A LULLABY FOR BULLETS

Tomorrow is made of shrapnel
and blood. There will come a time
when the trigger calls you out quickly
to the streets. And as you leave the barrel,
I can't promise you won't kill the man
who has waited all his life for the answer
to this moment, but if you lean to the right,
if you lean back and look as hard as you can
for that mountain you came from, sunlight
warming the pines, clouds approaching
from the north with a gift of silence,
if you do this you might just graze
the man's temple, so close you might hear
his name, the humming of blood
over bone, the many voices
within, the years to come.

Brian Turner (soldier-poet who has served in Iraq), from his collection

Phantom Noise

Those of us who regularly perform, play and listen to classical music already know all about this: music that induces a "tingle factor", that makes the hair stand up on the back of the neck, or just makes us stop in our tracks. Now, research by a psychologist at the University of Carolina has made it official! Read more about it at

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/goose-pimples-chills-theyre-multiplying-2117251.html

Meanwhile, my latest 'goosebump' music has to be Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, which I heard live and in its entirety on Monday evening at the Wigmore. Monumental, extraordinary, searing, painful and beautiful, my tears at the end of the piece were completely spontaneous, and listening to two of the movements last night while making curry (!), I felt my eyes prickle again.

Some of my other 'goosebump' music:

Ian Bostridge singing 'Ombra mai fu' by Handel

Schubert: Impromptu D899/4

Debussy: La Fille Aux Cheveux de Lin

Franck: Sonata in A, final movement

Chopin: Impromptu in G flat

 

What's yours?!

 

After 30 years, Sony has announced it will no longer be manufacturing the Walkman in Japan. OK, so it mangled cassettes and its sound quality left something to be desired, but I can't help feeling a tinge of sadness, the same nostalgia I felt when I finally gave all my old vinyl LPs (including a cherished Kate Bush album) to a local charity shop.

I was given a Walkman as a Christmas present when I was about 13 and I thought it was the bees knees. At the same time, a friend gave me a "Mix" called '1966: Year of the Fire Horse'. It was a compilation of songs from the year of my birth, and I used to listen to it all the time - though not on my Walkman, it must be said. It contained forgotten 'classics' such as 'Summer in the City' by The Lovin' Spoonful, 'California Dreamin' by the Mamas and the Papas, a song which remains a favourite (I sang it in duet with a friend at my 40th birthday party!), 'What Becomes of the Broken Hearted' by Jimmy Ruffin, 'The Sounds of Silence' by Simon & Garfunkel and 'Paint it Black' by the Rolling Stones.

My Walkman was silver and blue, with rather clunky chunky controls, and a tendency to unravel any cassette that was not tightly wound onto the spools. The novelty wore off pretty quickly: I preferred my radio-cassette-player on which I played Pink Floyd's The Wall at full volume, and later - when I was revising for O- and A-Levels, albums by The Doors, The Ramones, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. The Walkman was consigned to the back of my cupboard, but my radio-cassette-player lives on - in the garage. Only the radio works now.

Later, I had a Sony Discman, a descendent of the Walkman which played CDs, but it was never very satisfactory as the sensitive nature of CDs meant that that the device had to be kept horizontal for it to work properly: hardly a mobile device! Then, about 8 years ago, I acquired my first MP3 player and suddenly a whole new world of digital music opened up to me. This was quickly superceded by a first generation iPod Nano, shiny black, with my name inscribed on the back. I still have it, and I use it at the gym.

In this, the age of iPods and digital storage devices which can hold tens of thousands of tracks and more hours of listening than one could ever fit into a lifetime, the Walkman seems deeply antediluvian: outdated and extremely limited in its capabilities. Yet, at the time, it was wonderful and cutting edge. I have a first generation iPod, already a collector's item, I suspect, which contains nearly all the music I possess. It is so "old" now that its battery has run out of juice forever and it only runs off the mains. It's useful for travelling when rigged up with some small portable speakers. I also have an iPhone on which I carry a selection of my most favourite music (Beethoven piano sonatas and duo sonatas, all of Schubert's piano sonatas and shorter piano works, about 5 hours of Chopin's piano music, Ian Bostridge singing Handel and Schubert, my current repertoire....). At home, I now have Apple TV, a neat device which streams music, film, podcasts, photographs from the iTunes programme on my upstairs computer to my television, via the home network. With gizmos like this on the market, is it any wonder that the Walkman is now obselete.

But I rather wish I'd kept mine because suddenly it's become rather collectible!

The internet is a fantastic resource for teaching materials, many of which are free to download. Here are some of my favourites:

http://www.susanparadis.com/

Brilliant site full of excellent exercises, puzzles, games, teaching aids and sheet music. Much of Susan's material is aimed at younger children - and it's ALL FREE!

http://www.mymusictheory.com/home.html

Handy site which includes exercises to assist with ABRSM graded theory exams. Downloadable material.

http://www.sheetmusic1.com/music.rack.html

Downloadable exercises including note recognition, rhythm, meter and intervals

http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/

Make your own crosswords and word-searches

http://www.pianostreet.com

For a small monthly subscription, unlimited downloads of copyright-free sheet music, including Urtext and facsimile editions.

http://www.practicespot.com/home.php

Useful site with functions to print out keyboard diagrams of scales, sight-reading and chords exercises, music dictionary and manuscript paper

http://www.sibeliusmusic.com

Huge site containing sheet music (some free, some very inexpensive), exercises, worksheets. A member called Kevin Fairless has uploaded a huge amount of material, for complete beginners to Grade 8. Really useful!

 

 

 

Travel is possibly a dirty word at the moment, with so many people stranded by the lock-down in European airspace due to the now-infamous cloud of volcanic ash. However, for those who do need, or want, to travel, here is a handy link to a site which offers discounted hotel rates worldwide:

http://www1.octopustravel.com/searchHome.form

Please feel free to check it out (it is managed by GTA, the travel brokering co for which my husband works).

FRAN

:-)