A Lark Ascending

Disque deux. No 2

The Sierra was enjoyable but a bit plain - lots of Latin effects but nothing you wouldn't find in Falla, Debussy, Ravel or, probably closer to the music's origins, the dances from West Side Story. Barry is still a work in progress for me - I hear some Messiaen in there (a similar way of writing in blocks of material), a bit of minimalism but haven't yet got by head round him. I'll probably experiment with one of the operas soon - 'The Intelligence Park' I think.

In my experience parents and schools work well together 99% of the time; you get problems, disagreements, mutual misinterpretation but these can generally be ironed out by face to face meetings. Of course it's the 1% that interests the media.

Disc 1. Roussel's orchestral music has rarely caught fire with me; whereas this set is pure unadulterated pleasure from start to finish (and perfect for sunny spring mornings). Unusual in that I normally react the other way....easily captivated by the varied tonal and textural delights of orchestral music, needing much more exposure to come to enjoy chamber music.

I never had any training re: autism/asperger's. I got in a terrible fix with a student who had wound one of my staff up repeatedly, handled it wrong and ended up with the mother coming in looking for blood from the teacher, me and the school. Fortunately, we talked the situation down and I got my training from the mother who was able to explain what her son couldn't process and the best way of handling him when he became unresponsive. He was never easy - I spent many an hour talking him down after he'd been upset by teachers or students - but we got a relationship and steered him to success in his exams. There's lots of discussion in the UK press as to how realistic this portrayal is but if nothing else it widens general awareness of something that is not widely understood. Popular TV can be a powerful medium for that sort of education.

The fortnight Easter school break always traditionally fell whenever Easter fell in Britain. Murder for teacher planning - one year you might get an even spring and summer term, the next a long spring and short summer. Local authorities started experimenting with this (against much religious opposition) a fair few years back and finally the authority I used to work for fell into line this year, fixing equal term lengths. So schools had Good Friday and Easter Monday off, went back today until Friday and will then break for the two week holiday. The two extra days just get attached to the start or end of the year so no days of schooling are lost. Much better from an educational point of view. You know there will be six weeks leading into the exam period (although the exam boards creep their exams forward every year). The board software clearly had a good Easter - struggling like mad to save posts this morning as it goes through its backup routine.

I love that series...and the Blues sets too (though I've still half-a-dozen of the last discs to go). Whenever I play any of the discs there comes a point when I think 'What IS that?' And not just the cowboy songs! Agree totally about it being a brilliant introduction to jazz - perhaps not for the novice but for someone who knows some parts but has huge swathes unexplored, just perfect. A lovely singer...remember her well from the Peel shows of the early 70s.

Disc 1 of the Webern. MD 10 from Spotify.

The Night Manager is well worth 6 hours of your time. I'm 3 episodes from the end of Season 6 of 'The Good Wife' so I still have 7 to look forward to. Thoroughly enjoyed all of the seasons even if the mergers, leavings etc happen a bit too thick and fast to be believable. Really like the key characters. I just watched (as part of my post-retirement 4.00 p.m. documentary slot): Stonehenge: A Timewatch Guide (BBC4) I had quite a thing about prehistory in the late-70s and early 80s but that interest drifted to the margins except when visiting sites on holiday. So it was nice to reacquaint myself with all the Stonehenge theories - this programme ran over the theories of Stonehenge by changing schools of archaeology since the 50s as documented on various BBC programmes. On this occasion I won't complain about the presenter (Professor Alice Roberts).

The Night Manager - last episode (BBC1) Thrilling conclusion to an excellent series. All ended well - the bad guys got taken down and the nice people survived. Good piece here on the programme: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/27/the-night-manager-britain-place-world-le-carre (Health Warning: has a political second half)

I'm just old enough to remember this music coming out of the wireless in the days of The Light Programme (became Radio 2 in 1967, now the home of Elton John, golden pop/rock oldies and middle of the road folk/jazz etc programmes...I think a few programmes of light orchestral music survive there. 'Sailing Home', of course, can be heard every night on Radio 4 at 12.45 at night, just before the shipping news.). Always throws me back to a world where the world was being made safe by Kenneth More (conveniently ignoring the nuclear silos). Disc 2: Distance and Enchantment; The Bagpiper's String Trio; The Art of Touching the Keyboard; I Broke off a Golden Branch; Ardnamurchan Point; El rey del Francia; The King of France No 8 of the RVW. One of his least heard symphonies - doesn't have the big tunes of 2, 3, 5 or the menace and mystery of 4, 6, 7 but is distinctive in its own right. The outer movements with extensive use of tuned percussion are especially attractive. The Violin Concerto of the Walton - highly Romantic yet still very much of the 20thC.

Henry IV (Part II) - equally brilliant to part I. Ruminations on age and youth, the changing of the guard and the double edged sword of power.

Just Takemitsu 'To the Edge of Dream' off latter. Latter off Spotify.

May the eggs be with you.

For those with access to BBC TV there's a documentary going out on Friday 1st April: Sir Peter Maxwell Davies: Master and Maverick Looks like one of those things the BBC rapidly stitch together from their archives with Tom Service providing the commentary. At the very least there should be good scenery. There was a very nice radio appreciation by Service last week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0742l1s Might be about to vanish (it had a rebroadcast last Monday so I suspect its 7 days will be up tomorrow) so you'll need to be quick.

'The A Word' BBC1 Touching first episode of a series about a dysfunctional family coming to terms with the young lad's diagnosis as being on the autistic spectrum. Set in the Lake District so spectacular scenery too.

No 4 of the Cooke, a recent issue taken from recordings of BBC broadcasts. Rough but very listenable recordings. Very much in the more astringent side of the Walton/Bliss world, the RVW of 4 + 6. Tonal and easy to follow but avoiding blooming melodies (OK, RVW 6 has one uber-blooming melody). Viola Concerto of the Walton. 'Enter Spring' is my top nomination for piece of music that could be a concert favourite but hardly gets noticed. All it will take is a period film or BBC production to latch on 'the big tune'. What makes it fascinating is that Bridge is looking in two directions at once - the opening and central sections (which always seem to evoke blustery March to me) that demonstrate the influence of wider European developments in music in the 20s; offset by the glorious, sun-sparkled processional that come right out of the world of Elgar and the pastoralists (for want of a better word). The rest of the disc is earlier Bridge, more Edwardian in feel though with the influence of French impressionism setting in in the two poems.

Storm Katie just swept through the garden - hey, ho, the wind and the rain.

My Buddy Bolden cylinders - I was amazed that the charity shop took them.

Watched the first part of 'Blue Eyes', a Swedish drama set against skullduggery in high places. Based on episode 1, passes the time but it's no 'The Bridge' or 'The Killing'. Henry IV (Part 1) - brilliant. Tom Hiddleston is suddenly everywhere (tipped as the next James Bond).

Off Spotify again.

A city framed: the doors and windows of Transylvania's Cluj-Napoca – in pictures Absolutely beautiful set of images here: http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/25/framing-city-doors-windows-cluj-napoca-romania-transylvania-in-pictures

MD's Greatest Hits Judith Weir - disc 1: Piano Concerto, Music for 247 Strings; Piano Trio; Arise! Arise!; Piano Quartet Opening of PC reminds be of the start of Turangalila (think it's the extended trills).

Very good new biography of Bartok - I read it very quickly a few weeks back: Gets the balance between narrative and musical analysis just right. A bit technical for me (you'd probably find it straightforward as a musician) but I could just about hang on by my fingernails even if the the descriptions of the tonal developments within movements were over my head.

No 2 of latter.