A Professor Calls and 'Luna Bianco'

A little light relief for a cold November day.
My grandmother came to spend the day with us here at the weekend.
Over lunch Robin announced that a rather eccentric Professor of music was calling round later in the afternoon.
'Friederich', the prof, specialises in old manuscripts, and had some pieces that he wanted Robin to take a look at.
My grandmother was very excited about this. She worked at a university for many years and has always enjoyed stimulating conversations.

Robin stressed that Friederich was quite a character, and, prone to arriving early for appointments.
He then made a big deal of preparing to take the dogs for a walk, whilst in reality he shut the poor canines in the kitchen, and hid upstairs.

Some time later the doorbell rang and son number one dutifully answered it, making polite conversation with the Professor in the hallway, before bringing him into the lounge and introducing 'Friederich' to 'Gran'.

After initial introductions, the professor pulled out the precious manuscripts from his battered briefcase and proceeded to extol the virtues of this fabulous music.

By this time I had also entered the room, and the prof excitedly pointed out bar 25, and started to sing along as he followed the music with his finger. All done very loudly and with rather eccentric hand gestures.

I left the room as the professor asked my grandmother, "Do you love ze muzic of Ludwig Van Beethoven?"
"Oh yes", she replied.

"Iz ze maestro returned from his valk yet?"
"No, not yet", was my response from the hall where I was taking refuge.

After further small talk and manic gesticulation from the professor, he announced that he needed to play this, 'sublime phrase' on the piano, and left the room.

Poor grandmother was looking decidedly bemused by the whole experience and asked son number one if the Professor was alright.
To which he replied, "Yes, of course".

But we couldn't keep the illusion up any longer, and Robin reappeared, pulling off a wig and glasses as he entered.
Fortunately Gran took it all in the spirit it was intended and hasn't stopped chuckling about it since.

This is the Professor, in all his glory:



The wig was from the children's fancy dress box, and the shirt, well, that's a real 1970's shirt, a memento from a tour Robin did with Atarah Ben Tovim.
I'm just hoping that Robin hasn't taken this outfit over to Leeds University where he's teaching today...

It's also hard to believe that the same professor composed track 14 on Virtuoso.
'Luna Bianco' has a slow bossa nova groove with a short improvised solo in the middle.
The piece was inspired by the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, which Robin has long admired and loved.

Celebrate the Arts Not Stupidity

Well, Glastonbury is over, and all the revellers will be returning home to dry out, and the locals will have peace and quiet restored.
There has been a huge amount of media attention, with easy access to T.V. and radio coverage. So if you couldn't make it there, you could still enjoy the music, from the comfort of your own home.
That's a good thing, but, why can't other forms of music get as much exposure?
For that matter, not just music, but all areas of the arts.

If people, and particularly children, were able to view and listen to ALL types of music and learn about the more wholesome aspects to life, and our cultural heritage, then maybe we wouldn't have quite so many problems today.

This area was discussed by Kenneth Woods, over on 'View from the Podium', the other day. Having left the concert hall on a Saturday night he was confronted by a typical scene in many towns and cities across the country. Young people, drunk, and disorderly.
We shouldn't be surprised. The lack of coverage on our televisions about anything positive is minimal. Yet, reality shows are on every channel, endlessly.

As Ken points out, people need to be given meaning and hope in their lives, through music, theatre, arts and literature.
I couldn't agree more.

This should be tackled on many fronts. Adults should have easy access to inspiring and enriching programmes, which is where the T.V. companies should take some responsibility.
Children are our future. If all they know is 'Big Brother', how can we expect them to appreciate the arts?

Atarah Ben Tovim recognised this problem years ago and has actively been inspiring children around the world with her television programmes and school concerts. Robin worked with her many times throughout the mid 70's and early 80's, and Atarah continues with her good work today.
We need more strong, inspiring, characters like her around.
However, I don't think we have heard the end of Kenneth Woods view on the subject.
If he has some ideas up his sleeve, to improve the lot of our younger generation, then he can count us in.