Hill at Home and the Nigel Kennedy Effect

Robin is home, albeit for only three days.
As he is playing twice in this short time, we are in for a busy weekend.
However, there has been time for him to catch up with all that has been occurring at home in his absence.
One thing in particular caught his attention.
The violin.

Twitter friends will know that son number two has started to learn the violin.
We are in the very early stages, (thank goodness for mutes), but, he is coming on in leaps and bounds.

One thing Robin has always encouraged in his students, and in fact mentions in, 'The Guitar Gymnasium', is to watch and learn from other musicians. Whatever the instrument.
To see a virtuoso performance is a great inspiration and worth a million CDs.

So, Robin was keen to see how our 5 year old had progressed after watching the recording of Nigel Kennedy at The Proms the other day. This is the post I ran about it at the time, 'Nigel Kennedy Proms 2008 - Monocle Poppin' Innit?'

I must say Robin was impressed.
Sound quality and bow control and were all greatly improved.
Enthusiasm and imagination were enhanced with new compositions called, 'Always Love Your Monkey', and 'Land of the Winds', rather atonal and a bit 'far out' for me, but none the less, a musical experience.
This progress was backed up by his teachers words at the end of his last lesson, "More Nigel Kennedy please!"

So yes, at any age, it is so important to go and see musicians play, if possible live, but as we found, just as important to watch on the television if you get the chance.

Nigel Kennedy Proms 2008 - Monocle Poppin' Innit?

Thank you to the BBC.
Last night we were treated to the recording of Nigel Kennedy's performance at the BBC Proms 2008.
It proved to be an oasis in the cultural void that is television today.

What a pleasure to see Kennedy perform Elgar's Violin Concerto with the passion, mastery and skill of the true virtuoso that he is.

His ability to engage not only the audience, but also the BBC Concert Orchestra, shows the mutual respect that was justly deserved.

As if one concerto wasn't enough, Kennedy then went on to play with his Polish Jazz Quintet, proving once again that he is a true maestro.
I have said many times on this blog that it is rare for a classical musician to play convincingly in other genres, but Kennedy is one of those rare musicians.

The fact that he had just played Elgar brilliantly, emphasised the quality of his musicianship, and only added to the quintet's kudos and gravitas.
It is always such a delight to observe any musician when so engrossed in his music, whether Elgar or his own compositions, and on this occasion Nigel Kennedy did the world a huge favour with these inspired performances.

Jeff Beck's playing was truly fantastic, and, with the addition of Kennedy's version of 'Third Stone from the Sun' also being performed, (I don't recall ever previously hearing Jimi Hendrix's music at the Proms), it was a hugely refreshing change.

People like Nigel Kennedy are extremely rare.
We should cherish those with such ability and allow them to grow and develop.

Nigel Kennedy - Running on Pure Adrenalin

As Nigel Kennedy prepares to perform Elgar's Violin Concerto tonight at the BBC Proms 2008 you can be assured that he won't have ingested any prescribed medication to combat nerves prior to his concert.

However, what he does after the performance, in order to relax, may be a different matter.
This point was recently highlighted in many newspapers and blogs.

One example was in The Guardian blog with a post from the American oboist, journalist and author of 'Mozart in the Jungle', Blair Tindall.

Apparently Kennedy is against musicians taking prescribed drugs for stage fright, but not adverse to occasional cannabis use.

This whole topic reminded me of a post I ran almost a year ago which looked at Robin's views of the use of beta blockers to combat nerves, 'Sex, Drugs and Classical Music.'

So, apart from the cannabis, I think we fall into the same camp as Nigel Kennedy, which I must say isn't a bad place to be.
I'm actually far more concerned that I will only be able to hear his performance at the proms tonight on Radio 3, and not see it on any of the available television stations, despite huge coverage in the media....

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...

From Proms to Psycho

What a delight.
To turn on the television and find the 'First Night of the Proms' in full swing. The joy of watching musicians perform, to a packed house, could only have been bettered if I had been in the audience myself.
Unfortunately Robin was out all evening and therefore missed the lot. He did 'phone home at one point and was very envious that I was currently enjoying Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

It was pretty late when Robin got home but he was very excited about a purchase he had made earlier in the day.
A box set of 12 Alfred Hitchcock films.
So despite the hour we chose to start with Hitchcock's masterpiece, 'Psycho'.
This has long been a favourite of ours and it amazes me that every time I watch it I see something new.
Each shot carefully thought out and planned, with the famous 'shower scene' taking seven days to shoot, using seventy camera setups, and the final take only lasting 45 seconds.

What makes the whole 'Hitchcock' experience even better is of course the music.
The inspirational score was composed by Bernard Herrmann.
Herrmann was born in New York in 1911 and studied at New York University and the Juilliard School.
As well as a composer, Herrmann was a conductor, and at the age of 20 formed the New Chamber Orchestra.
Herrmann was particularly interested in new and rarely performed works, and gave the American premiere of many English works including Walton's First Symphony.
As a composer for the cinema Herrmannn proved himself a master at providing a psychological edge and dramatic tension through his music.

This is what we were admiring late last night.
The film 'Psycho' is an all time classic and the score cranks up the tension with every scene.
One feels that Stravinsky must have been an inspiration, especially with the frenetic, motor rhythms, which instantly identify the film.
This is then contrasted with a release of tension as the soaring, lyrical second theme takes over.
Pure genius.

George Martin has remarked that Bernard Herrmann's score inspired him to write the string quartet arrangement for The Beatles, 'Eleanor Rigby', a perfect artistic symbiosis.

If you are not familiar with the film 'Psycho' then I strongly recommend watching it. You must be over 15, and be warned, you may well prefer to take a bath in the future...

Classical Guitar at the Proms...I'm Afraid Not...

I have been scouring the schedule of the BBC Proms for any sign of the classical guitar. I'm afraid to say that over the entire season there isn't one classical guitar performance.
This makes me both sad and angry.
Sad because it is such a beautiful instrument that seems to have an uphill battle to be heard.
Angry, well, there are many reasons.

There are so many fantastic guitar concerti to choose from, surely there was something that could have been fitted in the schedule.
If fear of the unknown is the cause, then how about one of the most popular concerti ever written?...the truly beautiful, 'Concierto de Aranjuez' or the 'Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre' by Rodrigo. Or, maybe, some Vivaldi or perhaps a little Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Malcolm Arnold, William Walton or Leo Brouwer?

For the really adventurous programmer perhaps an old favourite allied with a new composition. We have a number of concerti from which to choose, and what a coup that would be, the composer performing his own piece. Oh, and he's British....maybe that's the problem. But this isn't about sour grapes.
Whilst it would be fantastic for Robin to perform there, just to see any classical guitarist, would be great. When have Pepe or Angel Romero, the Assad Brothers or Xuefei Yang ever been heard at the Proms?

I recently read a report proclaiming the guitar had taken over from the recorder as the instrument of choice for school children. We should be capitalising on this. As there is currently concern about the future of classical music in general, and the need to introduce the younger generation to the whole area, surely we have missed a golden opportunity to present one of the most popular and versatile instruments in the world.
Any child in the early stages of learning an instrument needs to see and hear what can be achieved.
How many more families would have 'tuned' in for a guitar concert to encourage their offspring with their chosen instrument?

BBC Radio 3 used to feature the guitar on a weekly basis through its programmes, 'The Classical Guitar' and 'Guitar Encores', now we are lucky if we hear it from one month to the next.

Whatever the reason for this...it is a great tragedy that the guitar is again ignored and neglected by the BBC.

It's a Ball at the Proms

The papers are awash today with the announcement that the BBC Proms will stage a night of Michael Ball's West End songs. Click here to read more of Nigel Reynolds's article in The Daily Telegraph.
I'm sitting on the fence with this one. On one hand, I feel there are so many opportunities for the public to hear and see this type of music, that the Proms should be left alone for, what is now a rare chance, to view 'classical music'.
However, on the other hand, Ball is very good at what he does, and it could be that many people who haven't contemplated going to, or watching, the Proms in the past, may be enticed back to sample more.

Introducing people to orchestral music has also been discussed by various conductors. Eight leading symphony orchestras have suggested that every child should receive a free ticket to a classical music concert as part of their education.
An excellent idea to promote classical music to the next generation.
To read more, and for a list of the orchestras involved, go here.

For those of you who enjoy singing, but are not quite sure of the lyrics, then, as Richard Alleyne reports, 'The answer my friend...is on the internet'.
There are currently many unofficial lyric sites.
I stumbled across one recently that listed the 'Hill/Wiltschinsky Guitar Duo' as one of the artists. On investigating further the site said, 'The artist will not release the lyrics to their songs.'
Come on guys, do your research. They are a classical guitar duo, they don't have any lyrics!
But, if you do want to look into the words for your favourite songs, then Yahoo are to make lyrics available on line for free.

Meanwhile, out at sea, there have been some rather amusing developments in the last of the Robin Hill concerts on the QE2. But the details are sketchy at the moment, so I'll report more on that tomorrow.