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Oct
31
I saw this on someone’s Facebook profile and realized that it is also The Indulgence Of The Adequate.
I remember well in the past, getting bogged down thinking about how I could go about interpreting a piece, to the point that I never actually did it.
It’s a similar mistake to the idea that if your company […]
Oct
30
Expressive Intonation
Filed Under Mysterious Music | Leave a Comment
If you didn’t get my reference to ‘expressive intonation’ yesterday, it’s the art of playing out of tune deliberately in order to create an effect.
For instance, in a particularly wistful passage on the G string, I might emphasize the painfulness of the music and highlight the high point of a phrase by fractionally flattening it […]
Oct
29
Real Moods
Filed Under Mysterious Music | Leave a Comment
I’m practicing the second movement of Imo’s Duo, which must be the fiddliest double-stopped thing I’ve played (concertos aside) since Prokofiev’s First Violin Sonata, when the cleaner from the adjoining rooms pops his head round the door, laughing.
“I was expecting Dracula to appear!! What is the music?”
I had been so focused on getting the damn […]
Oct
25
The Kindness of Strangers
Filed Under Misc. | Leave a Comment
It is impossible for us to know, sometimes, how our actions affect others. Sometimes it is those we don’t know so well who can really see what we are trying to do.
The last few weeks have been very difficult; having to try and refinance the CD after the burglary, balance all the demands of a […]
Oct
24
Norman Lebrecht
Filed Under Music Industry | Leave a Comment
Norman Lebrecht is an important voice. You may love or hate his polemicism. He is undeniably controversial.
But I don’t understand why he is remaining silent about the recent allegations that have resulted in the withdrawal of his book.
I think Classical Music needs voices like Norman Lebrecht, even if they’re sometimes wrong.
So I sincerely hope that […]
Oct
23
Concert Leaflet (Imogen Holst)
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Oct
20
Imogen Holst
Photo: Kurt Hutton
It’s funny; the more I get to know about Imogen Holst, the more of an impact she seems to have on my life. Some very weird coincidences have come about.
Firstly, there was the letter to my Grandmother.
After she died, we were clearing out some of […]
Oct
19
Backing Up
Filed Under Misc. | Leave a Comment
A reader quite reasonably asks why the stolen recordings were not fully backed up, and I feel compelled to reply…
Quite simply, they were! But the robbers took some of the backup drives as well.
What they didn’t take were the spare drives that stored the original source files of the Imo recording session (thank goodness!). That […]
Oct
18
I meant to post this ages ago.
If you know anyone who is even slightly connected to how the music industry works, then please make sure they have read this!
http://www.gerdleonhard.net/2007/07/gerd-leonhards-.html
It is about the only realistic and sustainable model of distributing music that will benefit everyone in the future.
A failure to adopt a model like this […]
Oct
16
If you’ve been following the saga of our Imogen Holst recording, you’ll know it’s not all gone to plan…
Recording woes aside, the concerts are going ahead nonetheless, and we’ll be performing in Cheltenham (2 November), Swansea (3rd November), Aldeburgh (4th November), and London Hampstead (7th November).
Click here for concert and booking information >>
Programme will include […]
Oct
2
Red Violin Festival / Ffidil Goch
Filed Under Travelblog | Leave a Comment
I’ve just arrived in Cardiff for ‘Ffidil Goch’, the Red Violin Festival. It’s a ten-day violinfest, and what’s great about it is how eclectic it is.
Many different styles of violin playing are represented - not just Classical. You’ll find Jazz, Folk, Modern music and much more; I’ve just returned from seeing a Carnatic violin performance […]