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On My Music Desk……
Couperin – Les Barricades Mystérieuses
No one really knows what Les Barricades Mystérieuses actually means. The title literally translates from the French as “the mysterious barricades” but it gives little clue. It could refer to masks – or masques, a form of courtly entertainment –
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How to Make a Recording From Home
The recent lockdown has seen a rise in videos from confinement, with musicians reaching out and putting things out to entertain, soothe, comfort and connect with their audiences during this period of isolation and uncertainty. Thinking of making your own
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Atmosphere
When Horse Races and Concerts Are Held in a Void of Silence
Horse races run on empty courses, Premier League football matches played in cavernous deserted stadia, tennis tournaments played “behind closed doors”, concerts performed into a void of silence. Without the roar of the crowd, the cheering and the applause, the
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Live From London – A Choral Festival Borne Out of the Pandemic
Following the success of their ‘Live From Home’ online performances and workshops, the VOCES8 foundation are launching a new online festival in response to the coronavirus pandemic: Live From London. The festival, featuring weekly concerts from 1 August to 3
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My Favourite Piano Sonata
Of all the piano sonatas to choose, from the wit of Haydn, the elegance and chiaroscuro of Mozart, the poignancy of Schubert, Chopin’s restless romanticism, Rachmaninoff’s Russian heart, the biting narrative of Prokofiev’s War Sonatas, and many, many more which
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Nikolai Kapustin – “Classical Jazz”
The passing of Nikolai Kapustin is undoubtedly a great loss to the classical music world. He had remained largely obscure until the recent decades, thanks to Steven Osborne and Marc-André Hamelin’s recordings on Hyperion in the early 2000s. Since then,
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Playing Badly Alone
I love to be able to play badly alone – pianist Mitsuko Uchida (from an interview with journalist Joshua Barone) Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960 – IV. Allegro ma non troppo (Mitsuko Uchida, piano) Confined
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How to Talk So Colleagues Will Listen
Golden Rules for Chamber Music Playing
Playing chamber music has always been a great joy. Now more than ever, chamber music has become the essential genre for musicians. During these challenging times, while we avoid large gatherings, musicians have realized we must re-imagine concerts and performing.
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