Have You Seen This Lute?

Whilst Robin recovers from his journey to Los Angeles it allows me time to look another issue.
We were recently contacted by some friends, with the very distressing news that they had been burgled.
Like most places, there were many belongings available to the intruders, but, the one item they stole was this beautiful Lute.





This is a fantastic instrument, a 6 course Renaissance lute after George Gerle, c.1550, made by Stephen Barber and Sandi Harris.
It has ebony ribs with Holly spacers, an ebony and green horn veneered neck, ebony fingerboard with bone edgings, an ebony veneered pegbox with pernambuco pegs, and 'Haselfichte' figured spruce board.

The Lute Society have been informed, but, if anyone out there happens to come across this Lute, then could they please contact me, and I'll pass the details on.
The thieves may, or may not, be aware of what they now have in their possession.
They were certainly determined to get in, as they knocked down a kitchen wall to gain entry.
If they are aware this is a lute, they may try and sell it through known dealers. If not, well, keep your eyes open at car boot sales, antique shops, etc.
And if anyone asks, in a rather hushed tone, "Are you interested in a lute?" whilst you sip a beer at your local pub, then please take note.

Lets see if the power of the internet can reunite this instrument with its rightful owner.

Mood Changing Music?

This week has gone so quickly.
A lot has been achieved, but now, Robin is on his way to Los Angeles.
It's always difficult dropping him at the airport, made even harder this time, as the children were with us.
They were upset in the car on the return journey, so, I decided to put on some music, to cheer them both up.

In the player was a compilation CD, made up by Robin, to please all the Hill family members.
We started with Avril Lavigne, which seemed to do the trick, as we all sang along to 'Sk8er Boi'.

Next came 'The Beatles', 'Things we Said Today'.

"You say you will love me
If I have to go
You'll be thinking of me
Somehow I will know.
Someday when I'm lonely,
Wishing you weren't so far away,
Then I will remember
Things we said today."

By the time we got to, 'Wishing you weren't so far away', I realised it may not be the right song to overcome the separation.
We moved on to the next track.

'The Beach Boys', 'God Only Knows'.
Don't get me started on these lyrics, suffice to say, that within seconds the tears were flowing freely in the back of the car.

Next track - quickly.
Chicago.
This must be OK.
I know it's a town in America, but Robin is going to LA, not Chicago, surely that will stem the flow, especially with such a funky beat of 'Introduction', from the 'Chicago Transit Authority' album.
Yes, it worked, and by the time the song finished we were home.
Thankfully.

And now, well, Robin is 'in flight', and we are all settling back into the familiar routine.
We're fine.

Too Many Heifetz Spoil the Paganini.

My apologies to anyone who may have checked in this morning to find six videos of Jascha Heifetz performing Paganini's Caprice No.24 in A Minor.
I actually tried to post this video two days ago, but, it seemed to take a while to get here, and then, like buses, arrived en masse.
I have since deleted them as you may have thought I'd lost my mind.
Oh well. Maybe I'll try again another day.

Today has been busy yet productive.
I have finally finished all the relevant paperwork for the release of the next CD.
You'll have to wait a couple of weeks for CD Baby to do their part.
I will, of course, update as and when I have news.

This has taken rather a lot of time.
But as Robin frequently pointed out over the last few days, as my patience started to wear thin, it didn't take anything like as long as recording the notes had.
Fair point.

It hasn't all been work.
I did manage to think of another use for old guitar strings, and put it into action.
You thread the guitar string through the middle of a couple of straws, and tie a knot.
This homemade item, then very loosely, represents a bow. Specially designed for the imaginary play of a 5 year old.
You should know that this bow doesn't actually work, and, that the arrows are also straws, making them rather useless.
But believe me, that's actually a good thing.....

Bob Dylan, BBC Radio 2, and the 'Wrong Trousers'.

We are entering a busy phase just prior to Robin's next trip away from home.
So, we are frantically trying to get various projects sorted out, and jobs done, before it becomes difficult to communicate.

We are getting there though, and, today I have sent off the master tapes of the next CD to be released. So keep checking out the blog for more information over the next few weeks.

We have however relaxed a few times.
One of the most enjoyable hours was spent listening to Bob Dylan, on BBC Radio 2, the other evening.
His regular programme, 'Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan', has always been a delight. The last one we heard being on musical instruments.

Dylan hand picks an eclectic mix of music, and the show is interspersed with interviews and commentary.
It is such a refreshing change to have such an articulate and interesting host talking about some incredible music.
It's worth going to the site and listening to some playbacks.

I've also been quite amused to find that today, two separate people in Turkey, have found their way to this blog, by Google searching, 'The Wrong Trousers'.
Why Wallace and Gromit have suddenly become popular in Turkey I have no idea, but I hope they were satisfied by just one image of 'Wallace and Gromit', and not too disappointed to find all this talk of guitars!

The Paraguayan, Barrios, and Paganini.

Once the urge to play a piece has taken hold, there really is very little one can do.
The need to understand and interpret the piece becomes all consuming.
This has to happen though.
This is how new pieces are added to the repertoire, or, revisited after many years. Also, over time, any player will find alternative fingerings or hand positions, which will alter the feel of a piece.
All this has to be taken into account.

However, all this work doesn't go unnoticed.
Yesterday I had a comment sent about a post from back in December 2007. The post was 'Robin Hill plays Agustin Barrios', and was related to the piece of music, 'Villancico de Navidad', which you can hear an extract of, here, track 16.

The comment:

"Congratulations, very good interpretation."

We were obviously delighted by this. To receive praise for your music is always very special.
Especially so in this case, as the comment originated from a huge Barrios fan, as you can see from his own site, here.

But the piece currently being worked on, is Paganini, Caprice No.24. I must say it is sounding very good.
And believe me, I'm hearing a lot of it...
For now though, you'll just have to imagine this fantastic piece, being played on guitar.
That is until Robin has recorded it...

Back to the Airport and Snow.

Today will be a first.
Robin going to the airport to collect another Hill family member, instead of being dropped off, and heading away for a few weeks.
At least we had one full day without making this familiar journey...

We are all very excited. It has been a strange couple of weeks really.
Robin away, then son number one, for a whole week, the first time this has happened, and a situation that has truly stretched the umbilical cord to new lengths.

I'm sure he has had a fantastic time, and hope that he hasn't given us all a second thought.
At least we have five days, all together, before Robin goes off again.

But first we have to negotiate the journey in the snow.
We rarely get snow here.
Today we have it and more is forecast.
Still, we did go out and pelt each other with snowballs first thing this morning, you have to make the most of it don't you.

In fact the last time we had any real snow, Miss.Bimps looked like this:



She's much bigger now, but enjoyed it just as much.
Happy Easter to you all!

Hill is Home and Playing Paganini.

It doesn't take long for things to return to normal and the house to be filled with the sound of music.
Robin has been working on, 'Caprice No.24 in A Minor' by Niccolo Paganini.

Paganini was born in Genoa in 1782, and died in Nice, in 1840. At his home in Nice there is a plaque on the wall with the inscription:

'Niccolo Paganini died here, his magic notes still vibrate in the air.'

Very fitting for a musician who contributed so much to music.
Whilst he is best known for his work on violin, it isn't as well known that he was also an accomplished guitarist. In fact he abandoned the violin for a few years to study the guitar, as he, "Loved it for its harmony."

He actually wrote many pieces for guitar, the most substantial being, 'Grand Sonata in A Major', which has an incredibly difficult guitar part and relatively easy violin part. Today, this piece is generally performed on solo guitar.

Paganini often performed with his friend and accompanist, Luigi Legnani, who was a guitar virtuoso and composer.
You can here Robin play Legnani's 'Caprice No.7', here, and it's easy to hear the similarities in Paganini and Legnani's style of composition.

But for now, I'm just enjoying having live music back in the house.
Even if it is accompanied by the question, "Do you prefer this fingering , or this...?"

Bermuda and the Pub Trivia Quiz?

Good news.
Robin has arrived in Bermuda, which means, all being well, he will catch his flight tonight, and be home tomorrow.
This is a huge relief.
If the weather hadn't improved, it would have been another five or six days before he got back.
Apart from wanting to see each other, there were more practical issues at stake here.
He's only home for a week, so the loss of any of those days would have been difficult.
I've already had messages from people that will be seeing him in concert, in the next few weeks, asking if he'll be playing the Mozart Variations. They've seen him perform these before, amongst other things, and obviously enjoyed it.
My concern was if he'd make it there with any clean concert clothes!

Also, I have a lot to discuss with him.
There have been a number of 'technological' changes whilst he's been away.
Twitter I have told you about, but, there are many other ideas floating around my mind at the moment.
First I need the musician, here, to try and implement them!

Whilst in Bermuda Robin has been able to collect his emails. One strange, but interesting one, informed him that he is the subject of a pub trivia question!
The question is: 'What group did Robin Hill play in in the 60's?'
Well, I'm not going to tell you, you'll have to go and look it up yourself. Mind you, it could have been one of a few....

Flamenco Down the 'Phone.

It seems a long time since I've seen Robin.
So I've posted a picture of him to remind myself what he looks like!



I did get to speak to him yesterday, and mid-conversation he suddenly played some very loud flamenco guitar, down the 'phone, without warning.
"Just in case you've forgotten what I sound like", he added.
Well, I think that's what he said, but my left ear was still ringing, as Robin's not known for playing quietly...

Ear drums permitting, I hope to talk to him later today.
However, there appears to be some trouble at sea at the moment.
He never made it to Grand Turk as the weather was too bad.
So, off they went in the direction of Bermuda.
I'm hoping the same thing doesn't happen there, as Robin is due to fly home...

Manuel de Falla's, 'Miller's Dance', and the Solar System.

I did get to speak to Robin last night, just prior to his concert, and asked what he was doing.
"Practising the Miller's Dance, what are you doing?"
"Oh, making a mobile of the solar system, with son number two."
"That's nice."
I didn't think he was really concentrating, so left him to his Falla, and went back to recreating the universe.

However, we did get to talk again after the concert, and it all went very well.
I'd known Robin had been apprehensive about performing Manuel de Falla's, 'Miller's Dance', from 'The Three Cornered Hat'.
For many years he has performed the piece with the Hill/Wiltschinsky Guitar Duo, and it has always been hugely popular.
So, when he decided to add it to his solo repertoire, I was looking forward to hearing the end result.
The problem was he couldn't find a suitable arrangement of it anywhere.
So he did one himself.

This was the first time Robin has performed the solo version in public, and it's always a different experience to practising it alone in your music room.
He needn't have worried though, it went very well, and the audience loved it.

Amongst other things, he also played his own 'Fiesta de Xabia', 'Two Dances' by John Dowland, Two pieces for Viheula ('Guardame Las Vacas' - Luis de Narvaez, 'Fantasia' -Alonso Mudarra), 'And I Love Her' - Paul McCartney, 'Una Limosna par el Amor de Dios' - Agustin Barrios, some Villa-Lobos and Pernambuco.

A nice programme, shame I wasn't there to hear it.
Today he should be in Grand Turk, even bigger shame I'm not there to see that, I'm awaiting further news here in the cold.

'Twitter' on Life of a Musician...

The last time I heard from Robin he was about to go out to dinner, in Jamaica, with the flautist, Simeon Wood.
Not a bad way to pass an evening.
He will be working hard now though, with plenty of guitar practise, as Robin has a concert today.

I have also been busy.
For some time I have been aware of 'Twitter', and have been considering adding it to the blog.
Fellow blogger, Jason Heath , has been a fan for a while now, and fuelled by his enthusiasm, I investigated further.

As I have said before, there are many people following this blog because they are interested in the 'Wife of a Musician', alongside the 'Life of a Musician'.
Twitter gives me the opportunity to add little bite size snippets of information, that may be about me, Robin, thoughts in general, or, really anything I feel like.
The beauty is that it's quick, easy, and it means there will always be something new for you to read, even if I haven't posted a traditional blog that day.

All you have to do is glance to your left, and you will see the new feature,'Twitter Updates'.
This will carry the last five entries I've added, but, if you want to read more, click on 'Follow me on Twitter', and you can see how, gradually, my network of fellow twitters will grow.
Alternatively, join yourself, and you'll find me at, 'twitter.com/AnnaHill'.

At the risk of sounding like Jason's stalker, we have already met up on Twitter, and I'm also posting the same YouTube clip he used recently, mainly because it explains the whole thing so succinctly.

I do have other 'experiments' underway, but, more of that on another day.
I don't want to go into technological overload....

Twitter in Plain English

Honduras, Name Tapes, and Mozart

I'm packing again.
Not Robin this time, he's still away.
The last time I heard from him he was enjoying a cool beer, sitting in a cafe in Honduras, and watching the world go by.
His only interruption, was the occasional passer by, commenting on how much they had enjoyed his concert.
So a very pleasant day indeed.

No, today, I am packing for son number one.
He's off to France tomorrow, skiing with a school party.
So whilst I don't have to remember quite as much, nor desperately try and fit all the paraphernalia that the travelling musician requires into a limited space, I do have to sew name tapes into socks, something that thankfully I don't have to do for Robin....

An indelible ink pen has become my friend, and clearly marked many items, but there are some things you just have to revert to old fashioned sewing.
Ski goggles for example.
You can't write his name across the lens, he won't be able to see where he's going, so name tape it is.
The temptation is to trust him not to lose things. But I know the state his room can get into, multiply that by around 30 small boys, and I'm sure I can safely assume that it will be chaos.

So, I'm off back to my labelling.
But you might be interested in an article I read yesterday, 'True Face of Mozart Revealed', by Dalya Alberge of The Times.
Two previously unknown oil paintings of Mozart have been discovered, which can be traced back to friends of the Mozart family.
One was painted in 1783 by Joseph Hickel, and the second in 1764, which shows an 8 year old Mozart, with his sister, Nannerl.
Interesting.

Costa Rica not Really Calling, and Jazz, Brains, and Dreams.

Since I last blogged Robin has been to Limon, Costa Rica, and is now on his way to Honduras.
It's a shame communication is so difficult at the moment, as he assures me he has some great photographs, some of which I would have shared with you.
Today though, he is hard at work, practising his guitar, in preparation for tonight's concert.

However, this did leave me free to look at other things, and I came across this article in 'The Philadelphia Inquirer', by Lauran Neergaard, 'Researchers hope that Jazz can reveal the brains secrets'.

This is an area that has always interested me.
In fact, many years ago I wanted to carry out some research on the Hill/Wiltschinsky Guitar Duo.
I was going to wire them up, and monitor their brain activity, whilst playing their guitars, and again whilst resting.
I also toyed with the idea of carrying out the same experiment as they performed in concert.
They weren't as keen on this idea, mainly because the pressures of performing are quite enough, without trying to do so with many electrodes stuck to your head. There's also no getting away from the fact that it looks pretty ridiculous.
As it turned out the logistics of getting the duo into the laboratory proved too difficult.
They were touring extensively around the world, so I had to change my plans, and looked at stress instead. (Which has proved very helpful in its own right!)

Anyway, back to the article, which I recommend you read, as I'll only give you the general principles here.
Scientists in Washington have chosen jazz musicians to learn more about where creativity comes from, by looking inside their brains.
It's done using an MRI scanner, showing the brains activity, and providing a chance to observe cognitive functioning.

Charles Limb decided to compare activity between musicians playing from memory, to when they improvise, and he carried out his research with Allen Braun of the National Institute of health.

They found that being creative, when improvising, uses the same part of the brain as when dreaming, inhibition is switched off, and expression switched on. The musicians also showed heightened sensory awareness, ie, touch, hearing and sight.

They did recognise that highly trained musicians brains may work differently to amateurs, which is the area Limb and Braun want to look at next.

I find all this fascinating.

Whilst I haven't carried out any scientific research on this area myself, in a home made, 'not so random sample' of one, that is, of course the musician Robin Hill, I certainly do see a difference in the way he thinks when in a composing mode, compared to when he's in a practise or performing mode.
Also, if creativity uses the same area of the brain as when dreaming, then I can tell you, Robin has some pretty weird dreams.
Maybe I shall have to start comparing his dreams when he's been composing, to when he hasn't been composing.....There's a thought.
As the British novelist, William Golding once said:
"Sleep is when all the unsorted stuff comes flying out as from a dustbin upset in a high wind."
Robin better beware when he gets home.
I might just start waking him up, notebook in hand.

Tuning Trouble, The Wrong Trousers, and MP3 Downloads.

Robin spent some time in Manta, Ecuador, on Sunday, and managed to buy a folding Panama hat, which could prove useful as he's going through the Panama Canal again today.

But yesterday he performed his second concert.
He's been having a few tuning problems on this trip.
It's something to do with the humidity and the extreme heat, especially when under the intense stage lights.
It's easy to lose objectivity when under the pressure of a live performance, so for the concert yesterday he attached a tuner to the neck of the guitar, which reacts to the vibrations, and gives visual cues to support his own judgement.
Adjustments can then quickly be made as he plays.

He was required to do so on a number of occasions, as the guitar strings struggled with the temperature, but fortunately Robin's rather good at minor, and sometimes major retuning.
He can make small adjustments as he's playing, without missing a note, and for more major alterations, he will carry these out as he introduces the next piece, so the natural flow of the concert isn't interrupted.

There was another factor which may have helped with his pre concert relaxation, and one that I've never known Robin do before.
Usually he plays constantly prior to a performance. Either running through the programme or limbering up with right and left hand exercises.
Yesterday he decided to take some time out and unwind.
Guess what he did.

He watched 'Wallace and Gromit in The Wrong Trousers'.



I was quite amused by this. It wasn't that he'd specifically downloaded a copy on his iPod, but son number one had.
It did the trick though, Robin was relaxed, and the audience loved the programme.

Here are some of the pieces he played (not necessarily in the right order):

Asturias - Isaac Albeniz

Canarios - Gaspar Sanz

Mozart Variations

Un Dia de Noviembre & Danza del Altiplano - Leo Brouwer

Tango en Skai - Roland Dyens

Romanza - Trad.

Jota - Trad.

Again, Asturias, Canarios and Romanza can be found on 'Virtuoso', and incidentally, both 'Virtuoso' and 'Eklectica' can now be bought directly as MP3 downloads from CD Baby.

This will include MP3's, JPG of the album art, and a text file of titles, album notes and links to this site.
For the technical amongst you, the MP3's are encoded at top-audiophile-quality, (200kVBR) which is higher than many stores.
Also the files will play on any MP3 player, be it iPod, cellphone, Blackberry, iPhone, Nokia, Windows, Mac etc.

So now there's no excuse, you can listen to Robin's music anytime, anyplace and anywhere!

Cars (Fiesta), Boats (1st Concert) and Trains (Honegger)

It has been rather a strange weekend. Email contact has been minimal due to extortionate costs, and 'phone calls intermittent, so I'll pass on as much as I can, given limited information.

Robin gave his first concert on Saturday and played a lovely programme which was very well received.
Here's an example of some of the pieces he played:

Malaguena - (Trad. Arr. Hill)

Six Renaissance Lute Pieces - (Arr.Chilesotti revised Hill)
(Andante - Bianco fiore - Danza - Galiarda - Se Lo M'Accorgo - Saterello)

Three Tarrega pieces

El Noy de la Mare (Trad.Arr.Llobet)

Three Pieces by Dilermando Reis
(Conversa da Baiana - Si Ela Perguntar - Xodo da Baiana)

La Paloma (Iradier - Arr.Tarrega)

Zapateado -Sabicas

Some of these can be heard on 'Virtuoso', so follow the link if you want to have a listen.

I've been amused over the last few days by the number of people finding this site with searches, 'Ford Fiesta how to buy', and 'How to repair n/s front wing fiesta'.
I only hope that whoever has had an accident in their Fiesta, gained some comfort from listening to Robin's piece, 'Fiesta de Xabia', and weren't too disappointed at the lack of car repair information!

Also, today would have been Arthur Honegger's birthday, so I'm going to go off and listen to 'Pacific 231' in his honour.

Electric Guitar for the Weekend and Dancing in Peru?

It amazes me how often you meet people you know when travelling.
Last night Robin met a man called Pete Marsh, and after the initial introduction, it became apparent that they had met 35 years previously!
Pete used to play keyboard for 'Force 10', prior to Robin joining, and they had met once, as the band were rehearsing.
So they had a few missing years to catch up on.

Whilst we are on the subject of bands, if you feel the need to hear some electric guitar over the weekend, then you can find examples of Robin with various other musicians, here, here, and here.

All remains pretty quiet over in Peru.
Robin is preparing for his first classical guitar concert, which is tomorrow.
However, he did get talking to a couple today who asked if he was a dancer!
I'm not sure how they reached this conclusion, and Robin did put them right after he'd finished spluttering over his coffee.
Dancing is not the first thing that springs to mind when I look at him, and in fact, in the entire time we have been married, other than our wedding reception when we had a 10 piece band playing, I don't think I've seen him dance.
Still, they were all having breakfast at the time, so maybe they just hadn't quite come too yet.
Now they know his true identity, they are looking forward to going to the concert.
At least they won't be expecting any fancy footwork.

Arrival in Peru and the Liverpool Philharmonic

Well it certainly was a busy day yesterday, which started before 4 am, when the taxi arrived to take Robin to the airport.
He then had a quick flight to Amsterdam, before a far more gruelling 13 hour, 6539 mile, flight to Lima, Peru.

When I heard from him, very much later in the day, the journey had been pretty uneventful except for two incidents.

The first occurred with only an hour left of the flight.
Robin could hear a dog barking in the seat in front of him.
Initially he couldn't decide whether he had started with auditory hallucinations, or, the person was playing 'nintendogs' and the sound was exceptionally realistic.
After deliberating the point for a while (you have to pass the time somehow on these long flights) he realised the sound was more persistent, and that the shoulder bag of the person in front, was actually moving.
On closer inspection, a very small, beautiful little dog was in residence!
The dog must have been an official passenger as it had no trouble at the security checks on arrival in Lima.
This has, of course, sparked a thought in Robin's mind.
Can he get a shoulder bag big enough to fit one of our Labradors in, which would be of great comfort to him, on these long trips away from home.
He soon decided against it as he already has a large, heavy suitcase, a flight bag, and, his guitar to deal with.

The other incident was at the pick up point.
Robin was being collected, along with a few other people, and being transported from the airport.
There seemed to be a case of mistaken identity, as the other travellers thought he was the Captain!
I'm not quite sure how this came about, as you would think his concert guitar, in a flight case, was a bit of a give away.
I'm also not sure at this stage whether the 'real' Captain ever materialised, but Robin is now on board ship, and hopefully not in charge of it...

Whilst he spent the day flying, I attended the 'Royal Liverpool Philharmonic' with a party of 97 school boys...
The Liverpool Phil should be proud of themselves.
The hall was full of many different school parties and consequently rather a noisy place to be.
The idea was to introduce children to music from around the world, under the theme, 'Music on the Menu'.
The fact that a few thousand excited children were entertained for 1 1/2 hours was a great achievement.
Along with extracts from Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker suite' and 'Morning' from Peer Gynt, there was some Bizet, Falla, Rossini, Britten, and amongst other things, some audience participation.
All credit to the Liverpool Phil, for managing to continue playing in time despite rather out of time clapping from the audience.
I hope the aim of introducing orchestral music to a new generation has been a success.
Both the presenter, Alasdair Malloy, and the conductor, Nick Davies, did a very good job, and I'm pretty sure it was the first, and possibly the last, time that I will see a conductor dressed as a chef!

Claude Bolling's 'Concerto for Classic Guitar and Jazz Piano Trio', Now on iTunes

An update for all classical and jazz fans.
Recently Robin Hill's 'Eklectica' released Claude Bolling's, 'Concerto for Classic Guitar and Jazz Piano Trio', on CD Baby.
To read more about the concerto go here.

Due to the wonders of modern technology, it is now on iTunes and will shortly be available on many other digital download sites.

As well as the concerto, you can also hear, 'The Incredible Lightness of Being' by Robin Hill, 'Largo' - J.S.Bach, 'Eternal Dance' - Robin Hill, Danza del Altiplano - Leo Brouwer and 'Waltz' by Daniel Bath with electric sitar and electric guitar.

Meanwhile here at Hillhouse preparations continue for Robin's next trip.
There seems to be such a lot to do.
It's not as if I'm packing him off to Peru or anything.
Oh, hang on, I am.
That's just where he's going.
More on that over the next few weeks.

Happy Birthday to Sir Henry Wood 1869-1944

Today would have been Sir Henry Wood's birthday.




Sir Henry Wood had a profound influence on musical life in the UK and will always be associated with Promenade concerts, now known as the BBC Proms.
His desire to make music more accessible to people in general, and the traditions he established, continue to this day.

In a modern day attempt to bring orchestral music to the younger generation, later this week I shall be visiting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with a school party.
This is an admirable attempt by the Philharmonic to encourage young people to attend concerts and hopefully realise that 'classical' music has much to offer them.
More on that after the event.

Prior to a day out in Liverpool, I have a lot to do.
Robin is off again on Wednesday so preparations are well underway.
This trip requires four different programmes, so Robin is working very hard to have each of them at concert level.
For me it's nice, I'm hearing all four programmes as I go about my day, which currently consists mainly of packing...