Psychology of the Injured Musician

A few days ago Robin broke his right wrist.
Treacherous ice was the culprit, and I'm sure there have been many casualties across Europe in the last few weeks.
Whilst there is no good time for such an incident, this couldn't have happened at a worse time for us.
A new album out, (you can see Robin's site for details), and a 2 week trip with concerts promoting 'Standing on Air', had to be cancelled.

But how does all this effect a musician?
After all, they dedicate their life to making music and suddenly the very essence of their being is removed.
This might sound dramatic, but read on...

I have written before about the pressure that soloists are under.
This post, 'Alicia de Larrocha, the Ritual Fire Dance and a Maths Exam,' springs to mind.
The fabulous pianist once admitted in an interview that prior to a concert she was so scared she hoped for an earthquake so the performance couldn't go ahead. Yet an audience watching her play with such confidence would have found this hard to imagine.
The fact remains that the need for the best possible performance at all times is a weighty responsibility.

So what happens when a concert performer suddenly finds they can't play?
The amazing Paco de Lucia once sustained a horrific hand injury with a fishing harpoon.
It has been reported that for the first 48 hours he simply had a sense of relief. The pressure had been removed as there was no way he could play.
However, after 48 hours fear and frustration started to creep in as he wondered if he would ever play again.
Thankfully for us all, he made a full recovery and continues to perform and record.

The guitarist and lutenist Julian Bream also suffered a badly fractured elbow in a car accident many years ago which required several months of rehabilitation but he went on to make a full recovery.

Gypsy guitarist, Django Reinhardt, famously damaged two of his left hand fingers (third & fourth) in a fire.
He then went on to play with fingers one and two with greater facility than many other guitarists ever achieve.
Thus turning the tables on adversity.

Some are not so lucky.
The Austrian concert pianist Paul Wittgenstein lost his right arm during World War 1. Such was his desire to still perform, Wittgenstein commissioned Ravel to compose a, 'Piano Concerto for the Left Hand'.
This piece continues to be performed to this day, by two handed pianists.

Robin's injury is not as severe as any of these mentioned.
He has a fracture of the Radius and requires a few weeks in a brace.
But, the temporary consequences are that he cannot play his guitar.

So, how did he feel about this?
Initially the fear was intense.
He was very quickly seen by an orthopaedic specialist and taken to hospital for an x-ray and MRI scan.
Luckily for us, the specialist, Professor Funk, is a friend of ours.
Even luckier for us, he is well used to dealing with musicians and athletes who perform at the highest level.
Consequently, although Robin's initial x-ray didn't show a fracture, the Professor wasn't satisfied with this and requested an MRI scan.
After 20 minutes in an extremely noisy machine, forced to lie on his front with arm outstretched in a Superman position, the fracture was located.
So many thanks to Prof. Funk for his diligence and also the Bridgewater Hospital for finding a slot in their very busy schedule.

But where are we up to now, a few days down the line?
Well, like Paco de Lucia, Robin did have pretty much 48 hours where he seemed relieved.
The constant pull of the guitar had simply been removed.
Since the age of 10 he has never not played the guitar.
He was also jovial, positive about the long term and optimistic about the length of time without playing.

But now...72 hours later, I see a change.
He has started saying he is missing playing.
He is talking about supporting the guitar with his right elbow so he can at least maintain his left hand exercises.

This is not a bad idea.
To play any instrument at concert level requires many hours of practice each day.
Often people don't realise this and I usually liken it to an Olympic athlete. Nobody would expect them to turn up on the day without months and years of preparation.
It's the same for musicians.

Then there is practicing in his head.
This is actually something Robin does anyway, usually to help pass long haul flights, and to help cement new pieces to memory.
Now this has taken on a different sense of urgency as he 'hears' the music in his head and 'feels' the notes under his currently redundant fingers.

This may all sound rather dramatic but one has to remember that for Robin, and all other concert performers, music is not only their life but also their living.

It is however a good time to take stock and get on with projects that are usually left unattended due to constant travel.
So, watch this space for further developments...

Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Woody Allen

The film, 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona', which was written and directed by Woody Allen, won a Golden Globe Award in 2008.
Now, Penelope Cruz has been nominated for an Oscar, as best supporting actress.

The film is about two young American women, Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) who spend a summer in Spain, and meet the flamboyant artist, Juan Antonio, (Javier Bardem).
Penelope Cruz plays the beautiful, yet insane, ex-wife of Javier Bardem.

But the reason I am discussing 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' here, is the music.

The title song, 'Barcelona', which was written and recorded by 'Giulia y los Tellarini', (at the time a little known Spanish band), were shocked when approached by Woody Allen's team.
Rumour has it that the girlfriend of one of the band members sent a copy of their CD to Allen's hotel.
On hearing it, Allen realised it was just the sound he wanted, and attempted to make contact.
After initial attempts to reach the band though MySpace, (they thought it was a joke), eventually a deal was done.

But it is the soundtrack to the rest of the film which particularly interests me.
Paco de Lucia performs, 'Entre Dos Aguas', Juan Serrano plays, 'Gorrion' and 'Entre Olas'.
Those two performers alone are enough to make me want to see the film, but with interpretations of 'El Noi de la Mare' (Trad. Arr. Llobet), 'Granada' (Isaac Albeniz) and 'Asturias' (Isaac Albeniz) it seems hard to resist.

You can of course hear Robin's version of some of these tracks on 'Virtuoso'.

A film set in Spain should incorporate this fabulous music.
I know of at least one guitarist that will be watching simply to hear the guitar being played in a major film!

Concierto de Aranjuez and the Stray Piccolo

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are preparing yourselves for the New Year festivities.
In the lull between events the sound of music has been filling the house.
After a month without live music permeating every corner of our home it has taken some getting used to.
Particularly as Robin is rehearsing the fabulous, 'Concierto de Aranjuez' at the moment, and playing along to a recording at high volume.
More than once I have had requests from the children for Daddy to turn the music down...

Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez is an incredible piece and one that places huge demands on the soloist.
Robin has performed it many times over the years, from huge venues with over 3000 people, with Carl Davis and the Liverpool Philharmonic, to small more intimate settings with local orchestras.

He relishes any performance.
It is a piece that requires frequent practice in order to deliver an authoritative and exciting performance.
I was once talking to Paco Pena and I asked him, as Paco de Lucia had just recorded and performed the work, if he had ever contemplated doing the same. He informed me he hadn't recorded the piece as it would require him to take at least a year out to learn it.
That's how hard it is.

But Robin is ready. After many years he finally feels he is in the position to record it.
He has a performance later this year, hence the current preoccupation.
So we are listening to various recordings and interpretations at the moment.

Actually, I was quite proud of myself, (and it shows just how well the wife of a musician gets to know any piece of music they are playing) when listening to one recording I said, "The orchestra played a wrong note there..."
We listened again, and sure enough I was right. One wrong note...in the piccolo department.
I said I had a good ear.

So, if there are any orchestras out there who are planning to perform or record this piece, now is a good time to approach us.
Otherwise we may have to take the recording overseas...

Sun, Sea, Silk, and Second Concert Success

The QE2 was cruising the Straits of Florida yesterday, and Robin spent the day rehearsing for his second guitar concert.
The news is good, and I've had reports from various sources, that the concert was a great success.

There was a minor hiccup about 2/3 of the way through, when Robin's silk nail wrap became unstuck.
For any guitarists out there, they will realise that this is a problem, and one that has to be dealt with before play can continue.
For the non-guitarists amongst you, Robin uses silk wrap on any damaged areas of nails of his right hand.
Classical guitarists require long, and strong, nails to produce the correct sound.
When performing as frequently as Robin does it is inevitable that nail damage will occur.
The problem is how to repair that damage without losing any sound quality.
Over the years Robin has tried many things and his current method is to use a special silk wrap and glue.

Consequently, as the wrap became unstuck, he had to leave the stage for a few minutes, and do an emergency repair.
This happens occasionally, and whilst rather stressful for Robin, the audience don't seem to mind, especially as he always explains what has happened, and occasionally actually carries out the repair on stage as he introduces the next piece of music.

He went on to perform the Mozart variations, which if you recall had been requested on this particular trip.
It must have gone well, as some of the audience showed their appreciation by standing, along with some of the resident musicians.

After the concert he spoke to a few members of the audience and was delighted with their comments.
Particularly the compliments paid by two Spanish men, who are friends with the incredible guitarist, Paco de Lucia.

Meanwhile, back in the UK, I was surprised yesterday by a large increase in the number of hits to the blog.
Sometimes you can work out why, sometimes not.
The trend seems to have continued so far today which is nice.
One of the reasons could be a report by the BBC, about an appeal to identify a body found in 2006 on Islay.
I know that's rather gruesome, and you may be wondering why I have made this connection.
Well, it's because Robin composed a piece called, 'Return to Islay', featured on 'Virtuoso', and as people have been searching this story, they have come across a rather more uplifting side to the beautiful Island of Islay.

Track 1: Malaguena and 'Classical Star'

So, here we have the first in the series of liner notes for 'Virtuoso'.
The track is 'Malaguena'.

The word Malaguena can mean many things, literally it's meaning is 'A woman living in the Spanish port city of Malaga'.
However, it is also commonly used in the music world as being 'a traditional flamenco song of Malaga'.

In this case, Malaguena is a traditional, fast and exuberant flamenco style piece, which has evolved from the sevillana and the fandango.
Originally Malaguenas were sung and played at high speed, with rhythmic patterns in 6/8 time, to accompany dance.

However, towards the end of the 19th Century the Malaguena developed further incorporating more from 'real' flamenco.
The music was slowed down, and the melody enriched with flourishes and ornaments, as the number of performers was reduced to a single guitar.

Virtuoso techniques were gradually incorporated, such as the rapid arpeggio, scales and the tremolo, which then created a much more varied palette.

Whilst the Malaguena had always derived from local fandangos, with regional variations, it was the guitar that allowed for the independence of the malaguena from the fandango, due to the changes in character of the playing with solo guitar and an ability to produce a sharper and richer sound.

For this recording, Robin decided to start the CD with Malaguena as the idea was to market to a wide range of audience, and this particular piece is always popular in concert. Most people instantly recognise the main theme, and it's always good to start with something very exciting and , at the same time, familiar!
The main theme is stated in the bass which is then followed by a rapid variation section and the theme is then repeated with an accompanying tremelo in the treble. The piece then modulates from E major to C major maintaining the tremelo. A slow expressive section in C major ensues..this section being reminiscent of the canto libre style....a rapid scale flourish re-introduces the main theme and the first section is then repeated.
So I hope that you enjoy it!

On another subject, yes, we did watch 'Classical Star' last night, and I did make it through the whole day without finding out who had won!
It was exciting to watch and nerve wracking waiting to hear the final results.
At the risk of sounding too politically correct, I do think they all did very well.
The stress of performing a concerto is something most people will never experience. There's a huge pressure to get it right and the thrill of an orchestra playing behind you is incredible.

Sophie did very well with an incredibly difficult piece, and it will be interesting to see how her career develops now that she has won the competition.

Karen took the bassoon onto another level. Whatever the outcome of the competition, she has done herself and her chosen instrument an huge favour. I'm sure we will be hearing more of her in the future.

Ian, well, I'm not surprised that he didn't win, but he was up against some very strong competition.
He also has youth on his side and I feel that he can, and will, improve his interpretive skills as he matures. As I have already said, technically he is very good, but he needs to learn to add more soul and emotion. Even in the brief clips we saw and heard on the programme his improvement was evident.

'Concierto de Aranjuez' is a formidable piece for any guitarist to undertake. It is deceptively difficult throughout all three movements.
I always remember watching a video of Julian Bream performing the piece and he can clearly be seen to mouth the words, "It's a bugger", to the conductor!

From personal experience, Robin first performed the concerto with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with the conductor, Carl Davis. He had a couple of months to prepare the piece and practised it so much that our young son used to sing the main theme in his cot as he went to sleep!
No guitarist takes this piece for granted and we discussed it with Paco Pena, who was on the same programme.
Robin asked him if he would contemplate recording it, as Paco de Lucia had just recorded and performed it, and Paco's reply was that he may do one day but would need at least a year to prepare.

So, it was a very brave move to play this piece, however an understandable one. It is by far, and quite desevedly, the most well known classical guitar concerto.

'Star' quality also incorporates an artists ability to communicate with the audience, and Ian certainly seemed able to do that. His comments about tuning the guitar could have come from an 'old' pro!

So to sum up, Ian did very well given his age and I'm sure we will hear more of him as he develops as a person and as a player.
As for the programme itself, well, the classical music world is full of competitions, and all the stresses, strains and tears that go along with them.
At least on this occasion the criticisms were always constructive and delivered in a positive way, and I'm sure that all the participants have therefore benefited from the experience.
Also, the exposure of classical music on mainstream T.V. can only be a good thing. If there's another series, it would be nice to hear longer extracts, or even whole performances, so that those of us at home can evaluate each student, rather than basing our decisions on edited highlights.

Paco de Lucia - Panaderos Flamencos

Whilst we appear to be in a flamenco frame of mind at the moment I had to share another video with you.
This time it is the fabulous Paco de Lucia and he is performing, 'Impetu & Panaderos Flamencos'.
The first part of the video is 'Impetu', which is worth watching in its own right, but, it is the second half, 'Panaderos Flamencos', or, 'Baker's Flamenco', by Esteban Delgardo, which is highly evocative for me.

Robin was learning this piece whilst we were on holiday a year or so ago.
The desire to learn it rekindled by the fact we were in southern Spain at the time.
The sound of this piece floating out of all the doors and windows of the farm house we were staying in, will stay with me forever.
What better way to hear the music than sitting in the sun, with children playing, and your husband playing his guitar against the backdrop of the Ronda Mountains in Andalucia.

If you are wondering how Robin 'happened' to have the music with him whilst on holiday, well, he didn't.
He did however find a Paco de Lucia CD for sale on a street corner, something unlikely to happen in the UK, and the piece was on it.
He then transcribed the piece from the CD and we were all able to enjoy the music in the environment in which it was born.
As you can see, it was something of a working holiday for Robin, but then there are no other types for him!

Incidentally, on the same trip he bought a Reyes flamenco guitar in Seville, but that's another story...

Joyce Hatto and Other Musicians

I read a few interesting points made by A.C.Douglas over on Sounds and Fury about the pianists whose recordings were used on the Hatto CDs and their apparent inability to recognise their own work.

There may be other factors in play.
A lot of musicians don't actually like listening to their own recordings after the last take has been made. In an interview, Paco de Lucia once said, that he 'never listens to his music after recording it as he would always hear things he would like to change'.
If that is the case for the pianists, then they may well not have identified the Hatto 'version' as their own, as they certainly wouldn't have been expecting to hear themselves.
To highlight the point, Robin was once staying at his parents' house, enjoying a relaxing bath whilst they had the radio on in another room.
In the distance he heard 'Canarios' by Gasper Sanz and thought, 'That sounds great'.
Next came J.S.Bach's 'Gavotte' from the 4th Lute Suite followed by 'Bach Prelude in D Minor'. All of which he enjoyed and decided he really must work on those pieces if he was to attain the standard of performance of whoever had made this particular recording.
It was then announced that they had all been performed by Robin Hill! Robin nearly swallowed the loofah at this point...
He had previously recorded an album for the BBC library which was regularly played on Radio 3 and 4. At the time he didn't have a copy, so hadn't heard it since it had been recorded some years earlier.
He was, of course, delighted, but it does show that a musician may not always identify their own performance - until told...