A Lark Ascending

Just the Nancarrow off the first. Disc 4 off second - all lieder. No. 4 'Italian'.

Treplin, Germany: An aerial view of a farmer at work in a field near Treplin Photograph: Patrick Pleul/EPA http://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2016/may/17/photo-highlights-of-the-day-marmosets-the-largest-passenger-ship

Nancarrow/Dutilleux off first; no 15 off last. Toe-dipping.

Read somewhere that you are meant to be unimpressed by this music. Can't for the life of me see why. Disc 2

Ligeti Quartet (Firth Hall, University of Sheffield) Conlon Nancarrow: String Quartet No. 1 (1945)Christian Mason: Tuvan Songbook (2016 - Ligeti Quartet commission)Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 3 (1926)Iannis Xenakis: Tetras (1983)George Nicholson: Peter Cropper Tribute (2016 - World Premiere)György Ligeti: String Quartet No. 1 ‘Métamorphoses nocturnes’ (1952) Complete contrast to last week - Bartok was the modernist outlier there, here the link to 'the tradition'. The only piece I knew was the Bartok. Really enjoyed that but it was the Nancarrow, Xenakis and Ligeti pieces that really excited me. Very much hanging on by the seat of my pants but these vigorous pieces were totally engaging - lots of glissando, pizzicato, otherworldly harmonics, strange hammerings and other 'extended technique' (I think that's the correct term). All pieces I'm anxious to hear again and try and make sense of - the Ligeti might be easiest, being a set of variations....I tried to keep track but got lost around the fourth (out of 17!). Very taken by the middle movement of the Nancarrow - the programme compared the sounds to wind chimes which made sense. I'm no judge of 'performance' but these pieces seemed devilishly difficult - some of the split second exchanges of notes had you fearing everything tumbling over. To my ears they carried it off brilliantly. Each piece introduced by one of the quartet. Gold star.

It's nice because it is quite unusual to see someone from the state sector succeeding in the world of 'classical' music. Music is marginalised in British state schools - specialist teaching has been withdrawn over the last 30 years as part of wider cuts; Music GCSE no longer counts towards the indicators on which a school is judged and inevitably loses space to those subjects that the school's survival depends on. The private sector don't have those concerns - they select by wealth and ability and thus have a much shorter journey to exam success, leaving space for those other skills (learning an instrument, knowing the correct dead maestro to be seen appreciating) that carry social value in the world they are destined for. Clearly there is much more to this story - the cellist will have had specialist coaching and the influence of the school itself will have probably been limited. It's just good that once his talent was realised he wasn't moved to a 'better' school. As for 'enjoyment' and 'understanding' - thinking purely of the listener (things are different for the professional where understanding becomes more of an imperative) to my mind the fundamental reason for listening to music lies in enjoyment; but as you enjoy it more you tend to want to understand it a bit better and as you understand it a bit better you enjoy it more. The point of the article (and the reason I highlighted it) is that 'classical' music can still be presented as something difficult and worthy that requires 'work' to be properly 'appreciated'. It's not nearly as bad as it was when I first started listening in the '70s - outreach programmes, BBC presenters with normal accents, unstuffy performers who actually talk to the audience have all helped break barriers. And yet...when I go to a classical concert it's a very different experience from when I go to a jazz, folk or rock concert*. You can't miss the cut glass accents around you; and I've never heard anyone bray 'Bravo!' in any other type of concert (happened in 4 of the 5 most recent classical concerts I attended....I won't even begin to mention (O.K. I will) the Cotswold set behind be at a Handel opera in Birmingham who spent both intervals pulling apart the quality of the singing. Being unimpressed is something else you need to learn in order to enter the cultural world of the refined.). Not welcoming at all. The unfortunate thing alluded to in the article is the way the democratisation of 'culture' seems to have gone into reverse in recent years. Not really an issue of music at all but a wider one of politics. The dominance of neo-liberal ideology has seen the advances of the mid-20thC halted in their tracks. The increasing dominance of a social elite in a wide area of 'culture' and sport seems a direct result of the systematic dismantling and privatisation of the welfare state. In that environment Sheku Kanneh-Mason's success is a welcome swallow in a summer that is unlikely to materialise. There's another article from the last few days by Graham Vick exploring similar areas. It's a bit 'Luvvy' (he is an opera director!) - bangs on about 'Art' too much for my liking - but the point is there too: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/10/graham-vick-opera-rps-awards-keynote-speech "I see 40 years of work towards the democratisation of art being swiftly reversed by its privatisation. I keep hearing “mixed economy”, but make no mistake - we are hurtling towards the American model, where the wealthy pay even less tax in return for a stranglehold on cultural institutions - a phenomenon we see across our society and one that risks driving division ever wider. I can’t be the only one who feels a sense of collusion - of appeasement?" [I'm fully aware that the audiences at the jazz, folk, rock concerts I go to are very different from those at most rock pop concerts. I feel comfortable because I'm surrounded by retired teachers, social workers, civil servants etc! I'd be petrified at a heavy metal concert!)

This is nice: The comprehensively educated black cellist shows that classical music doesn’t have to be the preserve of a tiny elite. It should be placed back at the heart of education Quote from the writer of the article: "I love all forms of music; but why is it that classical is so restricted to a tiny elite? It has an energy and depth that people of all backgrounds can get into, yet it is so often portrayed as something that needs to be studied rather than enjoyed, and that only “top people” can appreciate. This is our challenge now: to put music back at the heart of our education system. At stake is the happiness of the next generation, because a small and shrinking elite cannot sustain this music as a viable art form. The alternative, of raising a nation without the benefit of this music, is something too terrible for me to contemplate." A single swallow, perhaps, but lovely just the same.

Slavonic Dances from middle one.

Disc 3 - The Noon Witch, Op.108; The Golden Spinning Wheel (Zlaty kolovrat), Op.109; The Wood Dove, Op.110; Symphonic Variations, Op.78 No 5 ("The Reformation") off the first; 7th off second.

Disc 1 of the Bach; No. 95 of the Beethoven, a follow up to hearing a live performance the other day. Very useful diagram of the structure here: I do like a map. No map; digging up the front lawn whilst listening. No bodies yet.

One of the MIA records I hope to hear one day. I didn't buy it at the time it came out, fearing excessive 'weirdness'. Looks like one I can afford to live without for some time longer.

Scotland, UK: The Flying Scotsman steams through the Scottish countryside with the Forth Bridge in the background on its Borders Railway and Forth Bridge tour Photograph: Keith Campbell Though I preferred this shot that they had up yesterday (whizzing past Holy Island, Northumbria): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-36292974 Venice, Italy: Rowers go through the Grand Canal during the 42nd Venice Vogalonga. The Vogalonga is a non-competitive boat race that began 42-years ago to protest against the growing use of powerboats in Venice Photograph: Awakening/Getty Images http://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2016/may/15/photo-highlights-of-the-day-the-flying-scotsman-and-an-art-installation-in-the-nevada-desert

"Cattle on the road , sir. Won't be long." Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice overcast Sunday afternoon film. I read the book many years ago but remembered virtually nothing. An interesting contrast to the high-gloss 'Night Manager' (not a criticism, just an observation). 'Blue Eyes' has reach an electrifying state at moment; a very slow start but this one is well worth seeing through. Also enjoying 'Follow the Money' (5 episodes in).

No. 3 "Rheinish" of latter - perfect exercise bike music reaching the finish line at almost exactly 30 minutes (Schumann's intention, I'm sure). Really enjoyed this - Schumann has never been a favourite but I've always had a feeling you can find the roots of Mahler's more pastoral moments in the Wunderhorn symphonies in him. I can hear them here. Disc 6: 12 "Marcia funebre", 13 "Quasi una Fantasia", 14 "Moonlight". The "Moonlight" does not reach the sublime heights of Rowlf but in a world of imperfection one must make do with what is at hand.

Perfect music for the last day of summer.

It's touch and go. Though with Boris foaming about Hitler today some of the undecided might join the angels.

They finally let me in yesterday! Much the same reaction as most people here - better than expected. Plot was a dog's breakfast - gangster movie, soppy love story, corruption of industry types saga - but Cheadle was convincing. The cut and splice approach to chronology made sense when you think of the albums. Some nice film effects and, of course, great music. I especially liked the band section leading into the credits with Hancock, Shorter etc. Just missed the bit where they play Carnegie Hall and all the stuffed shirts, after initial resistance, start to tap their feet. I thought that was mandatory for jazz biopics.

Just Dvorak off first.

Not free entry. A two sided piece of A4 giving a brief rundown of the pieces (extra copies run off when they run out...real in-house). Usually you get expensive programmes full of adverts. It is a festival that started back in the mid-80s when the Lindsay Quartet were in residence. BEETHOVEN String Quartet Op.95 Serioso; HANDEL Trio Sonata Op.2 No.2; SCHUBERT Octet D.803 My last visit (and the final concert of the series). Just getting to know Beethoven 95 and won't pretend I'm there yet - this one seems quite tough (sound wise) but I did get a greater sense of its structure. The Handel (allegedly, according to the programme) I've heard but never really listened to attentively. Would have preferred a harpsichord to the piano but that would have been a) expensive and b) probably not the pianist-with-the-ensemble's instrument. The Schubert Octet is an old favourite, one of those pieces that first convinced me that there was more to pre-20thC classical music than moth balls. Absolutely fantastic listening last night without distraction and, once again, with those visual clues allowing you to really hear the thread that runs through the music as it is passed between instruments. Particularly struck by three sections - the end of the slow movement where the main theme is played in turn by each of the strings and then the music modulates to a very strange place before gently returning to the main theme; the scherzo, which if played on a large orchestra would sound like a Bruckner scherzo; and the variations that start with a relatively jaunty tune and run through some fairly standard variations before entering a quite different world from the fifth onwards - Schubert's music always sounds so 'agreeable' (my favourite Jane Austin word) but it's full of strange places. Never noticed any of that listening on record. Ecstatic response from the audience for the concert and the whole festival. I'm new to it but there is clearly a loyal following in Sheffield to the Ensemble (mainly young players in their 20s/30s, drawn internationally...some nice accents when introducing the pieces). Could have done without the 'bravos' (there should be tumbrils!) but all in all a marvellous experience. I will go again - theme will be different. This year was a commemoration of the late Peter Cropper, the member of the Lindsay Quartet who started the 'In the Round' programme at The Crucible in the 80s.

Dorset, UK - A couple walk their dog along the beach at Durdle Door with the English Channel connecting Britain to mainland Europe seen behind Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters I like the choice of words in the caption. New York, US - The Statue of Liberty is seen as the sun sets Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images http://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2016/may/13/photo-highlights-a-giant-mao-statue-and-a-donald-trump-speaker

No. 2

Found this a bit dull, to be honest. Not helped by the use of Spitting Image puppets to stand in for the ageing main characters. Very silly p**s-take on the royal family. Fairly obvious jibes but enjoyable.

Disc 6 of LvB. 4, 22, 23 'Appassionata' Just 14...playing the poems as well would have sent me for the razor blades. Unremittingly grim. But wonderfully lucid textures despite being a large orchestral piece.

I was already veering that way - got obsessed with knights in armour at about the age of 6; from an early age I was always trying to fit 'olden days' things seen on TV into some sort of inter-relating pattern. 'The Time Tunnel' certainly fed the interest (even if it played hell with my chronology (or maybe helped me become more flexible skipping around it)). Seem to remember an episode set in the French Revolution too. An English teacher got a light summer term in 1967 by making us all write a 'novel'. Mine was called 'The Stukatons' about a time travelling family. Now where did I get that idea from?

Nice interview with Olivia Chaney, one of the current crop of excellent young folkies talking about her interest in Purcell: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/11/olivia-chaney-henry-purcell-baroque-london-festival-folk I like this bit very much: "I’m not a baroque specialist and essentially follow my instinct, which is to combine my love of folk, pop and baroque. It’s a balance I hope Purcell would approve of – he was acutely aware of the need in his own songwriting to communicate to an eclectic audience. We can’t be too purist today. Too much of that attitude negates the essence of why the music has travelled and survived in the first place. It’s everyone’s responsibility to keep old music alive – musicians, promoters and listeners should all get our hands (and ears) dirtier, or else audiences might forever be unwrapping boiled sweets and coughing during movement intervals. Venues should be a mix of old and young, rich and poor, where some can stand and some can sit, where there is less performer-audience hierarchy. In this way the blood, sweat and tears of the music is more visceral and better shared." Just make sure there are enough places to sit!