A Frog, A Jaguar, A Concert and Rodrigo

Time to update you on some of Robin's activities over the past few weeks.
At the beginning of January he set off for Miami where he joined Crystal Serenity.
It was over a week before his first concert so there was plenty of time to adjust, and to enjoy the sunshine in Grand Cayman, before any serious practise started.
But daily practise is required whether it's a concert day or not.
As I've said before, Robin sometimes feels a little inhibited rehearsing in his room for fear of disturbing his neighbours with endless scales and arpeggios.
So if possible he finds a quiet place somewhere and takes himself off.

On one such occasion he was joined in the lift by an American couple.
As is often the case in lifts, either everyone stares straight ahead into a void of silence, or, someone starts a conversation.
The couple chose the later and asked Robin if there was a guitar in the case or was it a machine gun?
His reply, "It's a guitar but played like a machine gun, however today I'm just supplying elevator music."
He spends a lot of time with comedians...

I did receive some very enthusiastic emails from Cartagena, Colombia, as Robin had purchased a beautiful frog:



He was delighted with it and put his new friend on display in his room.
It was with some dismay that a few days later he found a small piece of wood on the floor.
Not a frogs leg but definitely its foot.
Luckily, as I have said before, no guitarist travels without superglue for those emergency nail repairs, so within minutes he had repaired the footless frog.
The next day a very sheepish and anxious housekeeper appeared uttering the words, "I'm very sorry Mr. Robin but I broke your frog."
Not a sentence he ever thought he would hear.
She was greatly relieved to see that no long lasting damage had been done.

After bird spotting through the Panama canal, and a day on the Pacific before arriving in Costa Rica, still no concert had been performed.
But, it was scheduled for that evening.
So there was only time for a quick trip into Caldera, in which Robin returned with a tray:




I must say that I was relieved that the concert had finally arrived.
The tension mounts gradually when away for so many days just waiting for concert day.
It went very well and the American couple discovered, that when required, Robin can in fact play the guitar like a machine gun....

After a couple of days at sea, a quick visit to Puerto Chiapas, Mexico, and some dolphin and sea turtle spotting off the coast of Acapulco, Serenity arrived in Cabo San Lucas.
Robin likes it there. You may remember this post involving an iguana and a sombrero.
This time there was no sign of the iguana but there was a rather splendid wooden jaguar head:



Or maybe you prefer this view:



Shopping aside there was work to be done.
After the success of the first concert Robin was asked to perform a second one.
As you know he is currently rehearsing Rodrigo's 'Concierto de Aranjuez' for a performance later this year.
He had also been spending time with Naki Ataman, a pianist Robin has met a number of times.
You can read about a previous meeting with Naki in this post, 'Dangerous Time in Los Angeles...'

A musical collaboration emerged when Robin asked Naki to join him onstage to perform an arrangement of Rodrigo's Adagio for piano and guitar.
The introduction:

"Normally I perform this piece with an orchestra but tonight I have replace them with the incredible Naki Ataman. Up until today we have only ever played tennis together."
It went beautifully and both audience and musicians were very pleased.

Eventually Serenity arrived in LA and Robin was required to dispose of some clothes in order to pack a jaguar head, frog, tray etc.
I am now left wondering where exactly we are going to put them....

Robin Hill and Izzy Cooper to Perform Rodrigo's 'Adagio'.

The QE2 spent a long time getting through the Panama Canal yesterday, as there appeared to be a lot of traffic.
Consequently, they didn't stop for a few hours in Cristobal, Panama, but continued on their way.

I did have a message from Robin that he was due in Cartagena, Columbia, later today, and that he was rather confused as he knew he'd been there before, and only a few weeks ago, but couldn't remember anything about it.
I couldn't either, so I searched the blog, and realised why we couldn't recall Cartagena, when I read this post.
He never went into town.

He may not this time either, although we'll have to wait and see.
The soprano singer, Izzy Cooper, has asked Robin perform one piece tonight in her concert.
They have met a few times before, and always got on very well, so he has agreed to play.
Cartagena may have to wait yet again. It's more than likely that rehearsals will be taking place.
The piece they are performing is Rodrigo's 'Adagio', the song version, which was arranged by Rodrigo himself.
Basically the voice replaces the Cor anglais and the guitar plays the original part.

I must say, I'm sure it will be beautiful, and I wish I could be there to hear it.
I'll let you know how it went.

Concert and Crocodiles

The concert last night went very well, and Robin has been receiving very nice comments all day for members of the audience, from as far afield as Perth, Australia, and Huddersfield, England.
It makes all those hours of practice worth it.
If you are on board the QE2, and have been waiting for the Mozart Variations, then I believe they are in the next concert, so you will have to wait a few more days.
There is a rumour, that Robin has been asked by another artist, to perform one piece in her concert.
I'll confirm this, as and when, it has been finalized.

Meanwhile, the sun is shining on the QE2, as she travels through the Panama Canal:



I'm not sure if it's the third or fourth time that Robin as been there this year, but never the less, I'm sure he will be enjoying it.
Sometimes you are issued with a certificate to prove you have been.
I'll have to start thinking of redecorating with them, if he continues to return so frequently.
I'm sure he'll be allowing himself a little time to relax today though, and will probably do some crocodile spotting up on deck.
A well earned rest.

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!

One Down One To Go

Well the first set of concerts went very well.
On Crystal Symphony they have a different system.
Robin performs one concert of 45 minutes, at 7.30, and then repeats the same performance again at 10.30pm.
This is due to the large number of passengers on board and allows everyone the chance to see the recital.

Both the performances went well, and with the capacity to hold 600 people for each concert, that's a lot of audience!

He did take some time out during the day to go up on deck with his binoculars and try and spot some crocodiles.
They are fequently seen basking on the banks of the Panama Canal, but as they were going through a lock at the time, the crocs were nowhere to be seen.
There were however circling vultures way up high which is a little unsettling...

His next concert isn't until Thursday, so, Robin can relax for a while and then start preparing his second programme.
For us, here at home, it is the last day of half term, and a beautiful sunny morning.
So we shall make the most of the day before school resumes tomorrow.

Dancers' Dilemma

Well I don't have any pictures of Cartagena to show you as Robin didn't make it into the town.
This highlights the amount of committment required to perform in public at such a demanding level.
Rehearsal and practise always comes first.

Just before he was about to head off into town, to have a look around, the cruise director called.
The forecast for later that evening wasn't good.
A storm was brewing out at sea.
The show scheduled for that night was a group of dancers.
They can't perform if the sea is too rough. Dancing is difficult enough when the stage is stable, never mind if it's pitching and rolling in an alarming manner.
At least a guitarist is sitting on a chair...albeit a moving one.
So the cruise director put Robin on standby, to swop his concert from Saturday, to Friday.

Consequently he didn't go into Cartagena, even though it is one of the rare occasions that it is a port he hadn't been to, and, had told me earlier, looked very interesting.
Instead he stayed in his room, and cranked up the practise, to concert day level.

He didn't mind.
In some ways he was ready to get the first performance done.
It made for an uncertain day though.
Am I performing/aren't I performing.
He was told he wouldn't be informed until about 7pm local time.

The last I heard from Robin the sea was calm, but the decision hadn't yet been made.
He was assuming things were back to plan A, and the dancers would dance, and he would go through the whole pre concert preparation again tomorrow.

I haven't heard from him yet today.
But I guess that when he gets up, he will be getting on with some serious practise.
Even though Crystal Symphony is going through the Panama Canal today, he will just have to look at it through his window, as he gets on with his scales and arpeggios.

Concert on Cunard's Queen Victoria

I told you it was sunny when Robin went through the Panama Canal.
Here's a view from the Queen Victoria yesterday, which gives you an idea of the beautiful terrain.



Apparently the odd crocodile was spotted basking on the banks as they glided by.
Today, they are at sea, the Pacific to be exact.
It is also the day of Robin's concert.
So, I imagine he is in his room, running through the programme, to limber up before his performance. Not to mention the numerous right and left hand exercises.
Some of the pieces he will be playing are, Asturias, Tango en Skai, Jota and Canarios, so it should be a very nice programme.
I let you know more about it as soon as I have news.

Pre Concert Panama Canal

Robin is practising hard as his second, and final concert of this trip, is tomorrow.
He has had many excellent comments from passing passengers about the first concert, so expectations are high.
Hence many hours of practice.

Today the Queen Victoria is going through the Panama Canal.
It's just incredible how these huge ships manage to fit in, and in fact, I think they are built with the Panama Canal in mind.

To the side of the canal is lush, green, forest, full of exotic wildlife, so it really is an experience.

Just in case Robin gets too involved in his rehearsal, and forgets to go outside and have a look, I found this great timelapse footage of a journey through the Panama Canal.
It's much sunnier on Robin's trip than in the film, he's basking in 100 degrees and above at the moment....