A Lark Ascending

Op 77 No. 1 This morning: Harawi (after hearing a live performance yesterday).

I think they're being ironic! It is a mildly centre-left British paper after all - goes with the territory,

The John Lewis Xmas add: Typical sentimental extended Xmas add that the big companies in the UK make at this time of year. But I had to laugh at this wonderful Guardian write-up: John Lewis Christmas advert: Buster the boxer is a sledgehammer to 2016

Schubert - Die Winterreise (Sheffield Crucible Theatre Studio) Roderick Williams - baritone; Christopher Glynn - piano Became a little obsessed with this piece back around 1980 (even though it was chronologically well outside my musical comfort zone) after seeing a TV performance with added images (can't recall who by). Every time I hear it the music and words seem more extraordinary, open to multiple interpretations. If Ian Bostridge is right about it being partly a political statement - despair at the authoritarian crackdown in Austria/Germany after the Napoleonic Wars - then it was more than pertinent for late 2016. What came across to me most last night was the sense of an individual cast adrift by a totally indifferent world - the 22nd song comes close to denying the existence of a god. The final 'Hurdy Gurdy Man' is as perfect a symbol of alienation as anything in Modernism. Though the image that sticks with me most is that of the crows throwing snowballs at the wanderer. Williams (fresh from his triumph with Opera North as Billy Budd) started the first song off-stage and then used the 'in the round' nature of the theatre to carry out an almost theatrical performance, leaping up the aisles, sitting in a (carefully reserved) chair, leaning on the piano. Got a standing ovation - I don't recall seeing that before in the Studio.

Had this recording on LP back in the early 80s (much better cover than the CD reissue!). It's usually the fifth and eighth parts that stand out but yesterday the third for solo clarinet really caught my ear. I'm sure I can hear allusions to the cor anglais theme from Act III of Tristan in the A section and, possibly, Albrecht's 'Hagen, mein Sohn' from Gotterdammerung. Probably my fevered imagination. Superb piece using the four instruments in such different ways from section to section. Disc 8 - piano music - from the Eisler. Also a CD-r with the two Schoenberg chamber symphonies by different, ever so darling ensembles. This morning: Another of Bridge's Great War related pieces here - the Cello Sonata. A favourite cover as well.

I remember being much taken with The Man from Uncle when I was 9 or 10. I was too young to get into James Bond films (though I had the Jag toy car with the ejector seat) so Uncle on TV provided an alternative. I believe that politically he was with the good guys (as opposed to the bad dudes) too. Just when we need Napoleon Solo... R.I.P.

And this morning: Appropriate to Remembrance Day - includes 'Oration' (Bridge's lament for WWI), a cello concerto in all but name that ought to be far better known.

There's another BBC doc about the early years of Pink Floyd (when they had an obligatory The) that went out on the same night that his some footage of the 14 Hour TD. Meanwhile the BBC continue to show its liberal left-wing elitist bias even though the people have spoken: First part of a series. Was a bit worried that it was going to be a bit Davina McCall - excessive personal reminiscences and weeping into handkerchiefs - but I really enjoyed this once I got into it. Covered some of the first evidence of an African presence in Britain - Roman, Medieval, Tudor and mid-18thC. A marvellous bit about a trumpeter at one of Henry VIII's celebrations with some very nice jazz trumpet played by a military man. The section on the relatively give and take trade with Ghana that happened before John Hawkins discovered the money to be made from slavery was fascinating. Next week, the slave trade. I've not come across the presenter, David Olusoga, before but really liked his delivery - engaging and approachable but he clearly knows his stuff. Not just another celebrityor ex-politician being used for recognition factor.

An interesting BBC doc on The Roundhouse in Camden. A place I've never been to - though the description of the inadequate toilet facilities in the early Pink Floyd/Soft Machine days makes me think I'd not have stayed long. Seems quite plush now.

139, 163, 52, 140 (including one of the big hits). 25, 27, 32, 33

Haydn: String Quartet in B flat Op.50 No.1 Glass: String Quartet No.3 Mishima Beethoven: String Quartet in A minor Op.132 The Marmen Quartet (Crucible Theatre Studio, Sheffield) The Marmen Quartet sound like a group of small furry animals but they are another very nice bunch of young people who give up their evenings (which they could spend with their mates) in order to entertain old people. Excellent programming - two pieces firmly in place in 'the canon' and one likely to divide listeners. Big surprise was the Haydn quartet - every time I hear one (and I've heard a few at recent concerts) I think 'that's nice' and then file away for some time in the future. But I was really taken by this one. A glorious slow movement - a bit like some of his later symphonies where a relatively sunny main theme is contrasted by passages that modulate far away creating a subtle sense of unrest or overclouding. Had to play it on CD as soon as I got home. Enjoyed the Glass - I generally like the sound he makes without having any great sense of difference from one piece to the next. Got completely lost in the first movement of the Beethoven - the programme note said it had no development but three expositions! Couldn't locate the joins but got back on track in the second movement. The famous third movement was absolutely glorious, especially the third appearance of the A theme which just seemed to drift into the heavens. You really hear the origins of Mahler's more ethereal moments in his slow movements here. Exciting, zippy finale. Gold star to Mr Marmen (first violin) for taking a few moments at the start to comment on the pieces in a humorous, unpretentious way, explaining the reasoning behind the programme (life, death (suicide), recovery from serious illness (so life again)).

Just the 'Jazz' Suites off the Shosty; 2 + 3 from the Prokofiev. 2 has never made much of an impression but 3 is a thrilling piece. Disc 4 of the latter. XI - XX off the first; Op 77 No. 1 off second. Now something appropriate to my mood having lain awake all night listening to the world end... (I'm not picking up tips!)

Not exactly England's best known monarch - I don't think I remembered anything about him apart from his deposing Richard II. Got curious watching the Shakespeare plays earlier in the year and then followed up from an earlier, more general book on the Plantagenets up to RII. Excellent bio - Mortimer his really done his research from Henry's accounts (though at times there's a bit too much listing of everything in those accounts!). The rivalry of Henry and Richard as kids and into adulthood is very well portrayed. Richard's increasingly arbitrary rule rang bells with current events in Britain. Then 15 years or so of endless revolts, clinging onto the crown for dear life. A much more interesting period than I'd imagined.

Symph 3 from the Toch. Cantatas 55/89/115/60 off the Bach - the last includes the Chorale Berg uses in his Violin Concerto. Ah! The Schoenberg Serenade - Arnie knew how to woo the girls. I to X of the Vingt. Exemplary label. Not easy music - but I think that's the point.

Verklärte Nacht seems to be turning up regularly of late - I heard it earlier in the year (along with that Brahms Sextet) as part of a local festival; I notice it reappearing locally this autumn. Schoenberg for Lovers.

Westbrook's 'Love/Dream Variations' was in my first dozen or so jazz purchases. Convinced me that there might be something in jazz big bands - I associated them with Radio 2 and older chaps in cardigans awaiting an imminent Second Coming up to that point.

Just Symph 2 from the Butterworth; very Sibelius influenced like the other music of his I've listened to. The Wordsworth seems more connected to Walton, especially the very beautiful slow movement of the third (with a dash of Duke Bluebeard on the celesta towards the end). Just the Beamish quartets (again) off the first.

Talking of 'light' earlier, another cinema trip: The Bright Stream - Shostakovich (Bolshoi Ballet cinema relay) An everyday story of love, betrayal, revenge and reconciliation on a 1930s kolkhoz during a suitably bountiful harvest (no famines or pesky kulaks to deal with). Initially a success, so the presenter told us, but fell victim to the Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk crisis. Shosty at his zippiest - bright, largely major key tunes, lots of those gallops that turn up in the symphonies. Not a piece I know (it's normally referred to as 'The Limpid Stream' in English) - there was a particularly gorgeous slow duet piece in the second act, dominated by a mournful cello. Sure I've heard that somewhere. Essentially a comedy - really enjoyed the ballet parody in part two with cross dressing and mistaken identity - a tall hunky male dancer in a tutu adopting some of the mannerisms of a ballerina with both agility yet manufactured clumsiness. Very enjoyable all round.

Another listen. May have to seek out the CPO box that collects all the symphonies. The two Sally Beamish quartets off the latter.

My initial thoughts with The Crown was 'not another royal hagiography'. But the reviews I've read have been glowing - apparently it was made without consultation with court flunkies. Will have to wait for a DVD to hire but quite fancy it now. Polish film about the Soviet massacre of Polish officers and intellectuals in 1940 and the subsequent cover up. Engaging. On the surface a gentle satire but quietly puts the stiletto in.

I think the key to enjoying most music is to try to take it on its own terms. That can be difficult if your perspective or experience is very far from that of the music. Haydn can sound like dainty music for powdered aristos at first hearings. Dvorak always sounded a bit bland to my 20thC ears (my perception, not a judgement on the music) until I started giving it a bit more attention a few years back. When I first started listening I was very dismissive of the likes of Tchaikovsky and Puccini. I eventually learnt to leave the jury out for as long as possible and just keep going back to the evidence every now and then. The worst that can happen is that you find yourself enjoying the music you think you're supposed to dismiss.

Disc 7 of latter. Mainly voice and piano songs - old (sorry, I think I'm supposed to say 'sublime') recordings. This box is a bit of a grab bag of what Brilliant could put together but it's endlessly interesting. Music you don't come across often. From Spotify. Clearly the serial influence kicked in after number 2. I suspect this is one of those releases drawn from private recordings from the BBC by the Label owner - a bit thin in sound but perfectly listenable. Nice cover. Nice new recording. I'll be able to retire the Boult I've been listening to since the 70s. 1 + 2

Thanks for flagging that up. I sat down to watch the first hour last night intending to split it in three and ended up watching it straight through. Utterly engrossing as you say - though I have a suspicion he has started with a theory and has then selected his evidence to fit. The Gaddafi story was fascinating (along with the parallel Syria story). For me the most interesting part was his explanation of how Putin and Trump deliberately destabilise through contradictory statements and outright lies so the audience loses its grip on 'truth'. You can see that at work in the Brexit crisis last summer - '£350 a week for the NHS' for weeks on end and then a complete distancing from the promise. Part way through I realised Adam Curtis was also behind another documentary I'd been really impressed by - 'The Trap: What Happened to our Dream of Freedom' from 2007. Similar themes.

I had a similar experience with 'Escalator over the Hill' around 1974/5 (similar musicians!). A mate bought it and we sat one Saturday afternoon listening to it - initially bemused but gradually drawn in. For some reason (the 'eastern' scales used in places?) it gave me flashbacks to when I'd lived in Singapore ten years before (no, we were only on PG Tips). The soloing really intrigued me. A bit hard to place the 'first jazz' - I initially heard jazz-ish things in rock music. Chicago, Keith Tippett and Mark Charig etc on King Crimson records, Elton Dean in the Soft Machine, fragments of Lol Coxhill, that lovely bit of cocktail jazz on the outro of Buffalo Springfield's 'Bluebird'. I know exactly when I decided 'I'm going to pursue this music more fully' - listening to Keith Jarrett's 'Death and the Flower' (Haden and Redman again) one evening in '76. I suddenly sound myself enthralled by music without the frequent harmonic or structural change of rock music; I could lose myself in the essentially cyclical nature of the structures and start listening to what the musicians were doing with them. Lots of jazz buying from there onward. The thing that initially distanced me from jazz (apart from it seeming very old fashioned to an 18 year old in 1976) was that sense of it being the same 32 bars coming round again and again. I still find that a bit wearing with less imaginative bands - here's the sax, now the trumpet, o.k, piano's turn, then the drums (audience claps much louder...they've woken up) and now they are trading fourzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

A fair bit of music I once considered 'light' (probably because I'd been told it was light so adopted that view) I've subsequently come to enjoy. It helped to face up to the fact that I was not 'heavy' (one of those smiley things).