William Walton, Julian Bream and the Paraguayan Harpist

A worried man pre-concert:



Relieved and rehydrating post concert:



Robin continues to receive positive feedback after his final concert, and, consequently meets some interesting people.

One enthusiastic lady introduced herself as, 'a Misionera', which is a girl from Misionera, in Argentina. This was prompted by Robin performing Federico Bustamente's 'Misionera', in the concert.

He has also spent some time talking to a Paraguayan harpist, and they whiled away many hours discussing the virtues of South American music and Barrios in particular, along with comparing their nails and various treatments....
The harpist had an interesting tale, he once met William Walton and Julian Bream in a restaurant on the Mediterranean island of Ischia. Walton had by this time moved there from Oldham, a very wise choice I'm sure.
The three talked for some time, and Julian Bream gave him his latest CD which contained, amongst other things, Walton's Bagatelles.

Robin later went out to dinner with a ventriloquist and I imagine they enjoyed a few 'gottles of geer'.

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.

Foulds before Flying ( for Robin Hill )

Yesterday I talked about Robin's 'Concerto Primavera' and it was a coincidence when I looked in The Telegraph today to find an article by Simon Heffer on John Foulds.
John Foulds was born in Manchester, England, in 1880. Manchester is just a few miles down the road from us and, with Walton coming from Oldham, it seems we are a quite a prolific lot up here in the frozen north of England.
Foulds was a composer and conductor who joined the Halle orchestra when in his 20's. By 1906 he had left the Halle to concentrate on composition.
His major work, 'A World Requiem', which commemorated the World War 1 dead, was very popular at the time, but was last performed in 1926.
That is about to change. On November 11th, Armistice night, it will be performed again at The Albert Hall, under the auspices of the BBC, and sponsored by The Daily Telegraph.
I only hope we don't have to wait 81 years for the next performance of 'Concerto Primavera', or any of Robin's other concerti for that matter...
Meanwhile, here, things are a little frantic. There's packing to be done ready for Robin's journey tomorrow.
He is currently in denial about his trip, which is normal, he'll be fine when he's actually on his way. So instead of getting organised he has gone shopping with son number two. That's fine by me, it will save me a job, as he is buying food he won't be home to eat!

Happy Birthday - Sir William Walton

After Elgar's removal from banknotes here in the UK, I thought I'd better make a stand for another great English composer, Sir William Walton, especially as it would have been his birthday today.
Walton was born in Oldham, Lancashire, but lived the later years of his life on the Mediterranean Island of Ischia. I can't say I blame him, Lancashire is known for its wet weather, which is why there used to be a huge cotton industry here. Sorry Oldham, but I think Ischia would win every time.
In the 1920's and 30's Walton was considered the most important English composer of his generation.
In 1970/1 he composed 'Five Bagatelles for Solo Guitar', as a 50th birthday present for Malcolm Arnold which were dedicated to the guitarist Julian Bream.
In fact Walton was so pleased with the Bagatelles that in 1972 he composed 'Varii Capricci for Orchestra' based on them, which was one of the last pieces he wrote before his death in 1983. (He did actually rewrite the final movement in 1977).
So Happy Birthday Walton.

Meanwhile, Robin has been working hard on finalising two programmes for next week, so the music room door has been firmly shut whilst he prepares. He did emerge to take the dogs for a walk in the Lancashire drizzle though...