A Lark Ascending

Dvorak 8 is lovely - another one I've taken to only quite recently.

Latter off Spotify. I believe the orchestrations were completed posthumously. VC2 off latter Unfamiliar with Searle but enjoyed No. 2 - always had him down as a humourless 'only I really understand the true destiny of music and it certainly won't be fun' serialist; but the music here fits right in alongside the likes of Rawsthorne or Hindemith. The slow movement is not that far from Mahler. Maybe he gets tougher later - will have to explore.

Disc 4 of latter. Still more preludes and fugues. Latter is one of those rather oddball operas like "The Love of Three Oranges" or "The Adventures of Mr Broucek" - peculiar story of a quack doctor touring towns and fairs. The odd hint of Janacek though musically it was the fairground scenes in "Petrushka" that immediately came to mind. Symph 5...and then the tone poems. Wears its Sibelius on its sleeve but very attractive.

Messiaen - Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus Cordelia Williams (piano) Michael Symmons Roberts (poetry reading). Frith Hall, University of Sheffield Initially disappointed to discover that only dix of the vingt were being performed, with a poem attached to each. In the end proved an excellent way of presenting the music - the full piece is over two hours. I'm not a great one for poems (my loss) but here they helped provide a period of rest and contrast between the musical pieces, helping you come to each one freshly. Symmons wrote the poems in response to the music drawing from both the nativity story and the experiences of Paris during the occupation and liberation (when Messiaen wrote the piece). An utterly compelling 90 minutes of music - I've 'heard' the music several times on record but as usual the live performance brought much more into focus. All played from memory apart from number XX where she used a score. I'm no judge of performance but this young woman seemed to play impeccably. Part of the University of Sheffield's extensive programme across the year. I frequently grumble about the hackneyed programming in the local concert halls - well the corrective is here where the programming is incredibly wide ranging. Ancient and modern, rock, folk and 'world' music woven into the longhair stuff. I presume the 'university' nature of the enterprise explains the greater experimentation; perhaps funding help too, meaning that 'bums on seats' isn't quite the same issue as in the main concert halls. Best of all, three quarters of the audience [almost a full house] were late teens/20s - I don't recall the last time I attended a classical concert where we codgers were in the minority. We're usually the 90%. Clearly a lot of students from the university. Pricing must help too - under 26s can get a ticket for £6 in advance. Looking forward to a few interesting programmes here in the near future - nearly 50 to choose from! [Frith Hall is an ideal place for a performance of 4' 33" - no soundproofing and directly across the road from a major city hospital!]

Listened to this again a couple of songs at a time over the last fortnight whilst reading the respective chapters in Ian Bostridge's book (Schubert's Winter Journey) on the cycle. Really rewarding experience - Bostridge's knowledge of the cultural context (as well as the music and performing issues) is widespread. An approach like his runs the risk of reading onto the music from the contextual examples, something he is aware of and, I'd say, largely avoids. So much in it. But I was particularly struck by a couple of his more general interpretations of the 'meaning' of the piece, going beyond the rejected Romantic lover or even Schubert's own despair at his deteriorating health. He relates the piece to Austria/Germany in the wake of the Congress of Vienna and the authoritarian crackdown associated with Metternich and the rulers of the region - the piece becomes a reaction to the disappointment of the hopes engendered by the war of liberation against Napoleon, a retreat into a winter landscape of political rejection (lots of references to the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich, some of which reflect those ideas) . Also some interesting observations on the piece being written at a time when the region was on the edge of major social/economic transformation with certain roles about to disappear (the charcoal burner, the hurdy gurdy man). Makes a strange comparison between 'The Hurdy Gurdy Man' and Dylan's 'Don't Think Twice' - Bostridge might look like a delicate aesthete but his references are much more worldly and all embracing than I expected. Highly recommended. Last two off Spotify; just the Krasa quartet from the last. Both played twice. Disc 2 of latter.

From what I've seen so far, well deserved.

Facing the music: Lawrence Power (viola player) Another vote for the de-toffing of the concert going experience. Really interesting answer to the "We’re giving you a time machine: what period, or moment in musical history, would you travel to and why?" question. The usual response is Leipzig in the 1730s with Bach or 1820s Vienna at a Schubertiade. He responds: Possibly to save Gideon Klein, Pavel Haas, Hans Krása and Viktor Ullmann from their premature deaths at Auschwitz. This whole school of Janáček was wiped out by the Holocaust and has denied us all of these extraordinary composers. Twentieth-century music might have developed in such a different way with these composers. I've not come across Klein's name before.

Another one I missed when it came out: First two episodes. Hard to pull off something so complex in just a dozen or so hours but I'm really enjoying this. Sensibly so far the focus is on the debates and discussions with the main military events alluded to through brief vignettes and references. Strong acting throughout - endlessly seeing faces and wondering where I've seen him or her before. I only have a general historical knowledge of the American Revolution so can't comment on how free it is with the facts - but so far it fits with what little I know.

Especially enjoyed the Bush. Light and airy with an autumnal, English pastoral feel but with an element of Stravinsky in there too. Particularly taken by the Sinfonietta Concerto, a cello and orchestra feature. Disc 3 of the Bach - the preludes and fugues keep on rolling. Disc 6 of the Eisler box - small scale chamberish pieces and a some film/stage pieces reminiscent of Weill. Disc 1 of the Biber - never knew anything about him until a few years back and heard some of this disc on the radio. Keep see him referred to enthusiastically in interviews - really spirited, sometimes oddball music. You don't feel you're far away from the connections with folk music.

Watched these intermittently on TV in the early 90s and always enjoyed them but, despite getting really hooked on Frasier, never got back to them. Found an inexpensive set online. Interesting that even before Frasier appears on the scene the skewering of arty-farty/wannabee-intellectual pretension is there from the off, with Diane as the vehicle (later brought to perfection in the Niles Crane character). You always worry that the humour will have worn off with time but I found the first four episodes as funny and warm as ever. Should keep me happy over the winter.

Disc 2 of the latter. Preludes and fugues coming out of your ears (or, more accurately, going in).

Billy Budd - Benji Britten Opera North - Leeds Grand Theatre A somewhat insecure community with xenophobic tendencies turns in on itself. How apt. Most of Britten's opera are for relatively small forces but this one, like Peter Grimes, is on the 'grand' scale. Large orchestra, huge cast. One of Britten's top five in my book. Set in the French Revolutionary Wars with a conservative Britain on edge in the wake of the Spithead/Nore mutinies. Britten's usual themes of innocence betrayed, the individual and the crowd, the brutalising power of the machine once it lurches into action (his own experiences as a gay man and a pacifist are usually referred to but it occurred to me that Macarthyism was also fresh in mind when this was written). Tremendous score - huge choruses, brilliant orchestration and marvellous solo moments. Especially noticed the prominent roll for brass and woodwind rising out of the orchestra throughout last night. Two high points for me were the aborted attack on the French (picture above), a section of enormous tension that fails to dissipate, adding to the atmosphere of angst on board; and the beautiful orchestral passage after Billy is condemned. Excellent production just using one set - a stylised warship deck on three levels. Nothing else was needed. Roderick Williams sang Billy. Busy man - he's in Sheffield singing Winterreise in a fortnight.

109, 38, 98, 188 of first. Disc 1 of second - 6 organ sonatas. Perfect evensong music.

'I was left speechless' Reminds me of the 'The dog ate it' excuses kids used to give for not having done their homework. Glad he said thank you.

Finished series 4 of 'House of Cards' last night. Wonderful drama. A year now to wait to see what happens next. Though real life is proving just as gripping (and frightening!).

Disc 2 of the Bach - Partita 2, 3; Sonata 3. 'War Memorials' is a new release of music for brass band - 26 minutes of contemporary arrangements of lesser known Britten; 50 mins of pieces by Robin Holloway, Lucy Pankhurst and John McCabe. You normally get a flurry of 'war' related discs just before Remembrance Day though they tend to recycle the same pieces. Good to see the commemoration marked with unfamiliar music. Cantatas 162, 49, 180 Apologies for size of that one - only seems to otherwise come in postage stamp size.

Listened yesterday (at twlilight as planned). This could sound like faint praise but it's meant as a mark of enthusiasm - this record sounds exactly as I expected it too. Mike calmly and gently works his way through twenty tunes of varying length drawn from his own writing and from pieces by musicians he admires from Ellington to the Beatles. Especially taken by the highly distinctive harmonisations he uses - a familiar tune and then just a chord or run of chords and you are in his world. Even a tune as crude as 'She Loves You' gets transformed into music that glows (he even tackles The Stylistics!). High point for me lies at the centre - an extended rumination on 'View from the Drawbridge' (from 'Citadel Room 315'). Has you hanging on every note and chord. Mike seems to have entered a real purple patch in the last few years, live and on record. Long may it continue.

Very sad, indeed. A musician who has brought me endless pleasure since I first heard one of his records in the early 80s. One of those players with an immediately identifiable sound. Best known for his music in the 60s but he put out some great records in the last twenty years. Saw him several times - I especially treasure the memory of an Appleby performance caught on this disc: RIP

Disc 1 of the first - Sonata 1 + 2, Partita 1. Still my favourite 'classical' record of recent years. Sheer entertainment, drawing off a range of Rameau's opera and covering a diversity of moods and colours. 'Tristes apprets' will break your heart.

Although I've read many a book on individual campaigns (including Beevor's superb books on Stalingrad and D-Day) it must be forty years since I last read one covering the whole conflict (school text books apart). I really wanted something that pulled everything together and put into context those events you come across but don't really know where they fit - things like the Dieppe Raid. This does the job superbly - a straight narrative history of the war - he doesn't hang around for 50 pages going through the causes (or wrap up with a consequences chapter), his focus is fully on the events. Inevitably, even with 950 pages to play with, it's something of a gallop, but he keeps you wanting to read on (I read it in three weeks - I'm not a quick reader so that's some measure of how engaging it is). Very good at balancing out the contributions to the war. Growing up in 50s/60s Britain you had WWII all around you and it was largely a story of how Britain won the war with a bit of help from the USA when it eventually turned up. Although the immense role of the USSR has been long emphasised since the 60s, one thing Beevor does here is stress the importance of China in tying down Japan. I particularly enjoyed the coverage of the Pacific War which I've never had a clear overview of - always assumed it went from west to east where the post Midway south to north and then east comes across clearly here. Amazed at the rivalry and egotism on display amongst political and military leaders. A lovely description of Churchill's 'incontinent enthusiasms', referring to his endless madcap schemes for landings in the Balkans or Indonesia. Montgomery is portrayed as vain and overcautious (back in 60s Britain he was a national hero), Harris as utterly inflexible and wrong. I only know MacArthur in any detail from the Korean War years but here he comes across like a dry run for Donald Trump (or, more likely, Trump is a soggy imitation of MacArthur). 'I will return!' indeed. What you are left with overall, however, is the sheer scale of barbarity and misery brought out by references to particular events. Beevor makes a lot of use of Vasily Grossman's eyewitness accounts on the Russian front which are astounding - I've just started Life and Fate as a result and will read his diaries (which Beevor helped edit for English language publication). Highly recommended - I know there's another recent book covering the same ground by Max Hastings which I imagine is equally marvellous. Spoilt for choice.

Suite 3 & 4 of first. And more cantatas than you can shake a stick at from second - 48, 5, 90, 56,79,192,80 (last three have famous bits).

Mine is here too. Haven't listened yet - planning to listen as the late afternoon commences its early fade. Ideal for the last gasp of British Summer Time (if that's not too depressing a thought!).

Suite 1 + 2 of the Bach; Disc 5 of the Haydn (Symphs 16 - 20) The Bolt and Tahiti Trot off first; Persephone from last.

The Nightingale - the full opera version rather than the more frequently played (and equally wonderful) Song of the Nightingale derived from it.

A bit further afield last night (2 hours down the A1): (Random picture of Bach) Academy of Ancient Music - James Gilchrist director & tenor; Pavlo Beznosiuk director & violin; Rachel Brown flute Purcell Suite of overtures, dances and songs JS Bach Cantata No. 55 “Ich armer Mensch, ich Sundenknecht” (1726) JS Bach Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor (1738-39) JS Bach Cantata No. 82a “Ich habe genug” (c. 1731) West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Very small scale presentations of all four pieces - just over a dozen musicians at most. The Purcell was a well programmed arrangement (by Gilchrist and Beznosiuk) of songs and orchestral pieces from across Purcell's career. The only thing I knew was the Bach Orchestral Suite - you hear the Badinerie all over the place (usually when you're in a queue on the phone trying to get through to a bank!). You don't even think of how hard it must be to play, it all seems so smooth - well I wanted to run out and give Ms Brown an Olympic gold medal at the end of the whole piece - how you coordinate you fingering and breathing for that is beyond me. I had expected choral cantatas (didn't read the programme properly) but in the end it hardly mattered. I felt totally alienated from the subject matter of both - looking forward to death so we can leap into the arms of our 'Maker' - but musically engaging from start to finish; interesting hearing the chorale at the end of the first sung by a single voice. My brain was automatically putting in other singers. Usual dumb mime show you get in 'classical' concerts between pieces - yet in the pre-concert talk both Gilchrist and Beznosiuk proved witty, engaging and self-deprecating. Why can't they bring that to the performance instead of the stultifying 'Shush, this is Art' ambience (by chance there was an item on the news as I drove home about the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment doing gigs in pubs in Essex with clinking glasses!)? The pair of them saw off a particularly obnoxious academic during the open forum section after he moaned about the inauthentic nature of using the same bass in the Purcell and Bach on the grounds that different instruments would have been used. They politely but devastatingly skewered his notion of authenticity. Every now and then I 'get' The Cultural Revolution - said academic could do with five years in an inner city comprehensive school. Here's the OAE doing one of their Night Shift concerts: