BBC Composers of the Year

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!

Robin Hill, his Hands and an Unknown Mozart Score

The current trip on the QM2 is nearly complete.
Robin actually performed his last concert on Wednesday.
It went very well and he must have been playing with his usual enthusiasm, as the piece of a table tennis ball that had been reinforcing his right thumbnail, managed to shatter!
It wasn't a problem though.
He had another piece prepared in his jacket pocket.

One of the differences when giving a concert at sea, rather than on land, is the access the audience has to the artist, for days after the event.
Robin is always very happy to talk to people, particularly about the guitar, which was highlighted recently when one guest said he'd, "Never met anyone that talked about an inanimate object with such passion"!!!

Robin also appreciates it when anyone takes the time to say how much they enjoyed his music.
This morning I think he had one of the more unusual compliments.
It occurred whilst selecting a croissant for breakfast.
A lady tapped him on the shoulder and told him how much she had enjoyed his concert.
She then went on to say, "I hope you don't mind me saying but you have very nice hands!"
Robin wasn't quite expecting this, all before his first coffee of the morning, and responded with, "Well, thank you very much."
It turned out the lady is an artist, that specialises in painting hands and feet, so had a professional interest.

I must say I agree with her, but I would add that Robin also has very distinctive hands.
Many years before we married, I heard the sound of the classical guitar coming from the television and dashed in to see who it was.
At that moment the camera was focused on the hands of the musician.
I studied the image and declared it to be Robin.
Sure enough, as the camera pulled back to reveal the performer, it was indeed him.
But that's enough about hands.

Robin has had plenty of time to relax since his concert. He has visited Gibraltar, is currently in Lisbon, and later today starts the journey back to Southampton, arriving on Sunday.

I however, have decided to visit my local library.
You never know what you might find.
It seems that a handwritten score by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has been discovered in France. Read about it here.

Off Again...

I know that I have neglected the blog in the last few days, but hopefully you have been keeping up to date with Hillhouse proceedings through Twitter.
It has been busy here as Robin arrived home after a month away, but only for three days.
After such a lengthy separation (apart from my 2 hours in Alicante airport...) it is important to spend time together as a family, and simply enjoy a few precious days together.

Robin was amazed at how much son number two had grown in the four weeks since he'd seen him, and even more amazed at the progress he had made on the violin.
Do we have another budding musician in the family?
Only time will tell.
I'm just pleased that his enthusiasm for the instrument continues.

However, all too soon the alarm clock was ringing, and before we knew it we were on the road once again to the airport.

But it wasn't easy.
We had to leave the house by 6.30, as any later and the traffic would have been at a standstill.
We were lucky today.
We got there without any problems, said a quick goodbye, which caused much amusement to some passing air hostesses, and even made it back in time to sit down for half an hour before I had to take the children to school.

Although slightly delayed, Robin arrived at Heathrow along with his luggage, (which is always a relief), was met by a driver, and taken to Southampton.
He has now boarded Cunard's Queen Mary 2 which will be his home for the next 12 days.
Robin now has to prepare for a T.V. interview later today which will be broadcast tomorrow, plus his first concert, which is also tomorrow, the second one being next week.

One things for sure, the life of a musician is never dull!

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....

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...

Dowland and Dickens

We have now reached Friday and John Dowland continues to ring through the house. At least we have progressed from one or two bars to the entire piece.
I'm still at the stage of enjoying it, which is a relief, but then, I haven't actually been around much to hear it...

As far as the recording in the music room goes, it hasn't been the children that are the problem, but me.
Why is it that when you really try to do something quietly it just doesn't happen?
There I was walking past the room, or rather creeping, (I can tell the difference between practice and recording sounds coming from the room) when I dropped the 'phone and there was a dreadful clattering sound followed by silence from the music room.
The music just stopped.
The silence more deafening and menacing than any noise, so I beat a hasty retreat.
Only to find the same 'phone rang a total of three times in the next 20 minutes....

I think at this point Robin realised that he may have to revert to plan A and move the equipment back upstairs.
Phew.....

Meanwhile we have allowed ourselves some time to relax and have been thoroughly enjoying the BBC adaption of 'Oliver Twist'.
We have been so surprised to read a couple of highly critical reviews. As far as we are concerned the casting is excellent, with all the characters truly convincing.
The filming is beautifully done and one of its greatest strengths is the squalor, filth and general dinginess of Fagin's place, in contrast to the opulent radiance of Mr.Brownlow's Georgian town house.
The music also works very well, who would have thought of using an accordion and banjo, together, in a Dicken's drama?
The reason I'm mentioning it is that I feel it is easy to be critical, yet difficult to achieve such high standards, and in our opinion, the story has been vividly realised and is a welcome change to the mind numbing drivel that is usually on T.V.

We are also in the process of preparing a Christmas treat for you all, so, watch this space.

Classical Guitar on T.V... the QM2 and BBC2 (Classical Stars)

Yesterday, Robin recorded an in house T.V. show which was broadcast today, on the QM2.
I assume, he was discussing his next classical guitar concert, which is on Friday.
Today being Tuesday, means he has a few days off, before his next performance.

However, it doesn't mean that he will be putting his feet up, and relaxing.
Scales and arpeggios have to be done, whether there is a concert that day, or not. He will also be running through the programme at least once a day in preparation.

As the clocks keep changing by an hour every day, he finds himself waking at his usual time, but, discovering no one else around.
He did, very thoughtfully, decide not to start his practise until a more reasonable time of day, and took himself off for a walk instead.

Here, back in the UK, there has been a lot of talk, both in the papers, and the blogosphere, about a new T.V. programme which starts tonight on BBC2, at 9pm.
'Classical Star', aims to find the best classical musician in this country, under the age of 20.
Those involved in the making of the programme, hope to also promote classical music generally, and highlight the dedication required to master an instrument.
To learn more about it read James Rampton's article, 'Classical Star: The next generation tunes up for stardom'.

I will try and watch it, as a classical guitarist called Ian, has made it to this stage. It is such a rare sight to see anyone play the classical guitar on television, that it will be worth watching, for that reason alone.
All contestants needed to have attained a Grade 8 just to apply.
But to perform in public requires more than a certificate.
I just hope they have the charisma to pull it off.

Sunday Morning Composition with Robin Hill

As we all prepared to go out, Robin settled at the piano for a quick blast, to let off some steam.
After such an intense few weeks of classical guitar playing, he finds it very relaxing, and enjoyable, to just play whatever he feels like.
This can be old favourites, which he will also sing along to, or occasionally, we challenge him to make up a song 'in the style' of someone else.
This provides us with many happy hours of music making.

It's also a need that Robin has.
Music is always on his mind, and, it's good for him, and all musicians, to try out new things.
Today, however, we had son number two's 5th birthday party.
Just as we were all nearly ready, Robin came up with a nice riff, and played it over and over a few times, expanding it slightly with each repeat.

We all wandered off, knowing, it may be a while before we could leave.
But time wasn't on our side, so Robin quickly put the notes in the computer, for fear of forgetting them, and off we all went for a noisy but highly enjoyable party.

Of course, the first thing he did on his return, was to listen to the freshly composed piece, and continue where he left off.
We both realised that this often happens on a Sunday.
We're not really sure why, but, it could be that when home, this is one of the only free mornings he has.
Maybe all this music is floating around in his head until the opportunity arises to release the beast.

This particular piece would make an excellent T.V. theme tune. When it's complete I'll have to add it to my ever growing list of pieces of music to promote.
All I need now is another few hours in every day.

The T.V. Show and the Crushing Handshake

Contact has at last been made with the QM2.
Robin has just done a T.V. show to promote his first guitar concert tomorrow.
It sounds like he had an interesting time as the other guests were, a man from MI5, an explorer, and an opera singer from Huddersfield. (Which coincidentally is where Robin was born.)

A word of advice for anyone that values their hands.
Don't shake hands with an explorer.
Especially one that has walked solo to both poles, climbed Everest solo, and flown around the world in a hot air balloon.
Obviously all these experiences require very strong hands, as Robin discovered when his right hand was 'crushed', during a humble handshake.
This chap must have a very firm grip as Robin is also known for rather powerful hands. Years of right and left hand exercises have seen to that.

I just hope some feeling has returned to his digits before the concert tomorrow!

'Concierto de Aranjuez' on Crystal Symphony

A day at sea for Robin, again, but he was beamed live around the Crystal Symphony today!
He recorded an in-house T.V. interview yesterday, in which he talked for a while to the cruise director, and then performed part of Rodrigo's, 'Concierto de Aranjuez'. Obviously this was just a taster as he didn't have a full orchestra with him, unfortunately!
It was broadcast today to prepare the public for his final concert tomorrow.
At least we are now counting days, rather than weeks, before his return.

Meanwhile back at home, I have just found out that I've been linked to a site in America called, 'Guitarist Widow'. I had to check it out, after all, we have to stick together!
Whilst a different form of playing, there are some interesting, and funny, takes on life, with a husband who's obsessed by guitars.