The BBC are doing an excellent job, on both Radio and TV, promoting 'Composers of the Year'.
This weekend BBC Radio 3 are celebrating the 200th anniversary of Mendelssohn's birth with many hours of fabulous music. For more details you can visit here.
However, they also have a specific site dedicated to the 'Composers of the Year', Purcell, Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn, with lots of information and audio extracts.
They even have a snazzy little button to make life easy for you!
As if that weren't enough, Conductor, 'Charles Hazlewood', is presenting, 'The Birth of British Music' on BBC 2 tonight at 8pm, commencing with 'Purcell:The Londoner'.
So, if you can't get to Robin's concert tonight, there are plenty of other inspiring and uplifting events going on, both on Radio and Television.
If you require even more Mendelssohn, then there is always, Hill/Wiltschinsky Guitar Duo performing 'Song Without Words Op62.No1' on their 'Arrival' CD, Track 8, found here, iTunes, and many other digital outlets.
So have a good weekend!
Showing posts with label Radio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Radio. Show all posts
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Uriah Heep, Jon Hiseman's Colosseum and the Naked Drummer
A local radio station prompted an old friend to call today.
For some reason the station were reminiscing about the band Uriah Heep and a concert they performed back in 1971.
They asked anyone listening with memories of the event to get in touch.
Our friend, Pete Hilton, remembered the occasion well, as he was there, with Robin, playing in a band on the same bill.
The band was 'Spring', and they went on stage before Uriah Heep.
I was intrigued, so looked up Uriah Heep's site, you can see it here.
Sure enough, if you go to their gigs list, click 1971, then on August 29th the very concert is listed, Kendal Festival.
It was quite a night, as after 'Spring', Jon Hiseman later went on with 'Colosseum'.
Neither Robin nor Pete Hilton were able to recall much of events of the evening. Whether that was the passage of time, it was 37 years ago, or whether it was the excesses of the night, (it was after all a rock festival) I haven't yet established.
However, they did both remember being on the same bill as Uriah Heep on another occasion in which the drummer did the entire set naked.
I should add that Spring didn't follow suit...or should I say without suit or in birthday suits.....
For some reason the station were reminiscing about the band Uriah Heep and a concert they performed back in 1971.
They asked anyone listening with memories of the event to get in touch.
Our friend, Pete Hilton, remembered the occasion well, as he was there, with Robin, playing in a band on the same bill.
The band was 'Spring', and they went on stage before Uriah Heep.
I was intrigued, so looked up Uriah Heep's site, you can see it here.
Sure enough, if you go to their gigs list, click 1971, then on August 29th the very concert is listed, Kendal Festival.
It was quite a night, as after 'Spring', Jon Hiseman later went on with 'Colosseum'.
Neither Robin nor Pete Hilton were able to recall much of events of the evening. Whether that was the passage of time, it was 37 years ago, or whether it was the excesses of the night, (it was after all a rock festival) I haven't yet established.
However, they did both remember being on the same bill as Uriah Heep on another occasion in which the drummer did the entire set naked.
I should add that Spring didn't follow suit...or should I say without suit or in birthday suits.....
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Shame (Flute) about the African Nose Trumpet
I haven't as yet been able to establish why, but in the last few days there have been a number of new visitors here from America, all arriving at the same page.
They found their way to a post I ran back in October 2007, called, The Shame Flute, which you can read here.
Whether there has recently been a radio or T.V. programme featuring the said flute, I'm not sure, but whatever the source, the interest has spanned from coast to coast.
But I am very pleased to welcome all new visitors and hope you enjoy the Hillhouse experience!
This got me thinking about unusual and interesting facts connected to instruments, so, I did a bit of research.
Did you know, for example, that the flutes used by Inca chieftains were made from the arms and shinbones of their captured foes?
Worth remembering next time you happen to be asked to play one.
Or that drums on the island of Timor are carved in the shape of a human torso, because an ancient tribal hero could imitate the sound of the drum by thumping his chest.
Finally, that the national instrument of Polynesia is the nose flute, which is played with one nostril.
This last point reminds me of a rather harrowing time our eldest child recently had.
He was being interviewed for a place at senior school, by the headmaster.
This, as you can imagine, is a stressful situation for an 11 year old, especially when shown an unusual object and asked to guess what it was.
Poor son was at a complete loss.
He'd never seen the item before, and correctly surmised that he was being tested on his lateral thinking.
After much examination, and soul searching, he still had no idea, so decided to try injecting a little humour.
"It's an African nose trumpet," he declared.
Their was no response from the headmaster, and I spent the next few days reassuring son number one, that his response had been acceptable given his family background. (By that I mean musical and not raving mad...)
Anyway, he starts at the school in September, so I assume he either guessed correctly, and the item was in fact an African nose trumpet, or, and more likely, the head 'overlooked' the attempt at humour and dismissed it as youthful high spirits...
They found their way to a post I ran back in October 2007, called, The Shame Flute, which you can read here.
Whether there has recently been a radio or T.V. programme featuring the said flute, I'm not sure, but whatever the source, the interest has spanned from coast to coast.
But I am very pleased to welcome all new visitors and hope you enjoy the Hillhouse experience!
This got me thinking about unusual and interesting facts connected to instruments, so, I did a bit of research.
Did you know, for example, that the flutes used by Inca chieftains were made from the arms and shinbones of their captured foes?
Worth remembering next time you happen to be asked to play one.
Or that drums on the island of Timor are carved in the shape of a human torso, because an ancient tribal hero could imitate the sound of the drum by thumping his chest.
Finally, that the national instrument of Polynesia is the nose flute, which is played with one nostril.
This last point reminds me of a rather harrowing time our eldest child recently had.
He was being interviewed for a place at senior school, by the headmaster.
This, as you can imagine, is a stressful situation for an 11 year old, especially when shown an unusual object and asked to guess what it was.
Poor son was at a complete loss.
He'd never seen the item before, and correctly surmised that he was being tested on his lateral thinking.
After much examination, and soul searching, he still had no idea, so decided to try injecting a little humour.
"It's an African nose trumpet," he declared.
Their was no response from the headmaster, and I spent the next few days reassuring son number one, that his response had been acceptable given his family background. (By that I mean musical and not raving mad...)
Anyway, he starts at the school in September, so I assume he either guessed correctly, and the item was in fact an African nose trumpet, or, and more likely, the head 'overlooked' the attempt at humour and dismissed it as youthful high spirits...
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