Toucan Play...

The concert last night evolved in a rather extraordinary way for two musicians from Huddersfield.
They actually first met in Lima airport, Peru!
Robin spotted Simeon, submerged beneath a pile of flute cases, and likewise, Simeon rightly surmised, with incredible deductive powers, that Robin was also a musician, as he was sitting with his guitar flight case.
The two struck up a conversation and found they were destined for the same place.

Here they are, later in the trip when they were in Costa Rica:



Last night the venue was full, with some members of the audience travelling quite large distances, as they had previously seen the pair play when in South America.


The programme was eclectic, with Simeon playing a wide variety of flutes and pan pipes in a combination of duets and solo performances.

Programme:

Entracte - Jacques Ibert Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Fairie Queen - Trad. Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

She Moved Through the Fair - Trad. Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Malaguena - Trad. Robin Hill

Un Dia de Noviembre - Leo Brouwer Robin Hill

Tango En Skai - Roland Dyens Robin Hill

Gabriel's Oboe Theme - Ennio Morricone Simeon Wood

Devotion - Simeon Wood Simeon Wood

Concerto in D - Vivaldi Robin Hill/Simeon Wood


INTERVAL

Sonata in D - Christian Gottlieb Scheidler Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Grasping the Thistle - Simeon Wood Simeon Wood

Adagio: Concierto de Aranjuez - Rodrigo Robin Hill

Rakes of Kildare - Trad. Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Danza Brasileira - Robin Hill Robin Hill


ENCORE

Improvisation - Robin Hill & Simeon Wood (Chinese Flute)

The concert was a great success and both musicians look forward to playing together in the near future.

Kusadasi and a Concert

Yesterday Robin performed his concert on board Crystal Serenity.
It went very well, both audience and musician enjoyed themselves, and a request has been made that Robin play again at the farewell concert.
So he doesn't get the rest of the week off after all!

He did manage to go into Kusadasi, Turkey, and have a look around, earlier in the day.
Luckily he remembered to take the vital lead needed to send pictures home on this trip, so I can share some of the photos with you.

No prizes for guessing one of the first places that caught Robin's eye:



But you can't help noticing this colourful display:



Or resist walking down this alleyway:



Of course, when in Turkey, you have to look at some carpets:



Robin enjoyed himself here, sat and had a cup of apple tea with the nice man in the picture, and discovered that he had been to our home town last year, when visiting relatives!
Despite the pleasant conversation, Robin didn't buy the carpet, so we don't have to worry about getting it home.

Trieste and the Concert Programme

Crystal Serenity is in Trieste and Robin has had a very quick look around.
Most of the day has been spent in preparation for the concert tonight.
I have just been sent the programme, here it is, so we can all imagine ourselves there, enjoying the music!

Asturias - Isaac Albeniz
Un Dia de Noviembre - Leo Brouwer
Canarios - Gasper Sanz
Mozart Variations - Fernando Sor
Berceuse - Leo Brouwer
Danza del Altiplano - Leo Brouwer
Tango en Skai - Roland Dyens
Jota - Trad.Arr.Hill

The observant amongst you will realise that this programme is about 40 minutes long.
Robin has certainly been away a long time, and travelled to many places, for two 40 minute concerts!
As the day progresses, it is easy for musicians to start to feel the tension mounting, in anticipation of their performance.
Robin has an excellent way of preventing this.
Walking.
He loves walking and makes a brisk walk a part of every day.
Today he was de-stressing with 14 laps of Crystal Serenity. This took him just over an hour, and was a total of 4.172 miles, apparently.
He is now well and truly ready for the concert.

Sir Robin Hill? Dubrovnik and MySpace

Since my last post Robin has spent a very pleasant day in Dubrovnik.
He called me at one point, to say he couldn't put into words just how beautiful it was.
I've never known him at a loss for words before so can only imagine that Dubrovnik is a very special place.
As he hasn't managed to resolve his 'technical' problems with his camera, I shall have to wait until his return to see the photographs.

Today he is at sea, enjoying lovely weather and preparing for his second guitar concert, which is tomorrow.
He has had a week between performances, so has been able to relax a little more than usual, which is rather rare for Robin.
But in the last few days he has been running through the second programme at least three times each day, along with his usual scales and arpeggios, so I think he should be ready.

Meanwhile I have been holding the fort back at home. I am delighted with the MySpace response, with over 500 visits in such a short space of time.
I have met up with old friends, and made new ones, which after all, is the purpose of the exercise.

As you know, Robin is away from home a lot. I therefore have to deal with his mail.
So I was rather amused by a letter I received, addressed to, 'Sir Robin Hill'.
Has he been honoured and forgotten to mention it?
Surely I would have noticed him nipping off to London to see the Queen?
I would have gone too, and purchased a hat, especially for the occasion.
But, as it turned out, it was a letter from a very grateful student!

Sorrento a Mandolin and a Music Box

Robin's first guitar concert on Crystal Serenity has gone very well.
His nails remained intact, much to my, and his, relief, and the audience were appreciative.
Although he probably had the least relaxing, 'post concert relaxation', that he has had for a long time.
Robin arrived at a big screen, just as United and Chelsea went into extra time, so he wasn't spared any of the drama.
I think his already high adrenaline levels will have taken some time to reduce.

But today he has gone into Sorrento, to have a look around, and I keep getting calls about how beautiful the area is.
Although one call was slightly more worrying, as he asked me to look up 'Nicola Spoto'.
The conversation went like this:

Robin: "Can you look up Nicola Spoto for me?"
Anna: "Why?" (I guessed there was more than idle curiosity at stake here.)
Robin: "Oh, no reason."
Anna: "Why?"
Robin: "OK, I've found a fantastic shop, with an incredible mandolin, in a case...!"

Whilst I pretended the 'phone had gone dead, I did look Spoto up. The best reference I could find was here, just scroll down the page and you'll see some nice pictures.

I called back.
Anna: "Are you still near the music shop?"
Robin: "No."
Anna: "Good, because he made very nice instruments."

Luckily Robin had decided that travelling home with his guitar, suitcase, hand luggage and a mandolin, may not have been practical.
He bought a music box instead. Phew.

Here it is:

Sound Check in Sorrento and the Lost Violin

Crystal Serenity has arrived in Sorrento and apparently it looks beautiful from the Bay of Naples.
But today it will remain at a distance, as Robin is busy preparing, for his first guitar concert.
It takes great will power not to go ashore and explore, I think I would be sorely tempted, but then I don't have to sit in front of a theatre full of people tonight...

However, tomorrow there may be the opportunity to have a look around before setting sail again.
Robin has already completed his sound check, so now will be limbering up with right and left hand exercises, before running through the programme a few times.
He is very pleased with a mute he recently purchased, as now he can practise without fear of annoying his neighbours, or having to stuff a sock behind the strings!

You may recall the recent story of Philippe Quint, the Grammy award winning violinist who left his 285 year old violin in the back of a taxi.
We have some idea of the torment Philippe will have been going through.
Back in March 2007 one of Robin's concert guitars went missing. You can read about the saga here.
Whilst we had no idea where Robin's guitar was, Philippe saw his violin driving off into the distance, but was unsure if he would ever see it again.

Restoring faith in humanity, the taxi driver tracked down Philippe, and returned the precious instrument.
Now, Quint has given a special 30 minute concert, outside the airport, to show his gratitude.
You can see an extract here.
This story caught my eye as Philippe is a friend over on the new MySpace page!

Quiet in the Med, Interest in Cuckoo Clocks and Handling Handel

It has been remarkably quiet out in the Mediterranean sea today.
Other than hearing that Robin had enjoyed a very pleasant alfresco breakfast, on board Crystal Serenity, there has been little news.
I do know that the first of his two guitar concerts takes place tomorrow, so Robin will be hard at work preparing.

This lack of information left me with time to contemplate the latest batch of unusual Google searches.
Why has there been a sudden interest in cuckoo clocks?
A number of different people have recently been searching cuckoo clocks and found themselves here.
I can only assume it is due to one, or both, of these old posts.

The first was back in January 2007, 'Pierre Petit and the Cuckoo Clock Pendulum', which looked at Robin's uncanny ability to judge tempo, acquired after many years of foot tapping.

Or maybe it was, 'Cuckoo Clocks and Microphones', from 2006.
Either way, I hope they found what they were looking for.

There was another search that I haven't been able to figure out.
"Robin Handel you can't Handel Me"
The mind boggles with that one....

QM2 to JFK

The QM2 has arrived in New York and Robin will be spending some time at JFK waiting for his flight home.
I wonder if he'll see the lady in the toy shop again?
The second concert went very well, and once again, it was a full house.
Robin has received many nice comments, and also, lots of interest in his nails since the 'problems' of the first concert.
In fact, one lady said that she saw what she thought was his nail, fly off when he was playing, but luckily, as I wrote the other day, it was actually glue and silk, but immediate repair was required.
Still, it was a good talking point, even if it was one that Robin would rather have done without.

I have added a few new pages in the 'Links' section so feel free to browse. Also, in the next few days I will be launching a new site I have been working on, so there's plenty coming up which I hope you will enjoy.

The QM2, Billy Connolly and a Tea-cosy

There has been little communication from the QM2 so far today, mainly because of the time difference.
However I do know that Robin spent yesterday evening dining with the cruise director and a few guests.
He will be rehearsing most of today as his second guitar concert is tomorrow.

As there isn't much to report from mid-Atlantic, and photo opportunities on board are rather scarce, unless you like sea and fish, I was lucky to have another unusual Google search.
The search was:

"If you were locked in room which had nothing but a tea-cosy in it how long would you wait before putting it on your head"

Now anyone that has only recently joined us here, may well think there couldn't possibly be a connection with this search, and a classical guitarist.

That's where you are wrong.

Back in October last year I wrote a post, 'Cosi Fan Tutte', go over and have a look, to find out how Billy Connolly, a tea-cosy and a classical guitarist can in fact be linked.

New Right Hand Position and a Return to the Iguana in a Sombrero

After Robin's recent guitar concert, on the QM2, you would expect him to relax and take it easy today.
But, as always, there is another programme to work on, in preparation for the second concert, which is on Friday. Plus his usual daily routine of scales and arpeggios.

I did get a message explaining, in great detail, a new hand position that Robin is working on.
Apparently, by altering his right hand position very slightly, scales can be performed with more speed and less effort.
I look forward to a demonstration on his return.
It continues to surprise, and amaze me, that after all these years of playing, Robin still comes up with new approaches.
I suppose the secret to any success, whatever you do, is to constantly examine your actions, assess their efficiency, and readjust as necessary.
His email was titled, 'You can teach an old dog new tricks', so any students reading, take note.

Whilst Robin works on his scales, I was amused to find that someone in America had done a Google search, 'Iguana with sombrero', and found themselves here.
I am assuming that they have previously read this post, from back in February, and wanted to return to it.
Unless of course anyone out there can think of another reason why someone would type 'Iguana with sombrero' into Google...

First Day at Sea - First Concert

Yesterday Robin performed the first of two guitar concerts on board the QM2.
It took place in the 'Royal Court Theatre', which seats 1000, and on this occasion the theatre was full.
It isn't often that Robin is enthusiastic about his own performance, he's usually highly critical of his playing, but he was pleased yesterday.

There was one 'nail' incident, which regular readers will know happens from time to time, and is always a guitarists nightmare.
It was severe enough to actually stop playing, the nail literally became unstuck, and if Robin had continued, it would probably have flown off into the audience.
He was playing 'Zapateado' by Sabicas at the time.
He felt the nail give way.
Stopped.
Explained what had happened, and generally chatted to the audience, whilst he re-glued it.
Then started again, completed the piece, and was rewarded with a standing ovation.
He actually received another one at the end of the concert, so I think we can assume that the audience enjoyed it.

Later on he met a gentleman who thanked him for a "great" concert and went on to say, "I wanted to shout, quick, is there a manicurist in the house??!!"

As the concert was held at 2.30 in the afternoon, Robin went off and celebrated with a large bottle of Perrier, followed swiftly by a strong coffee.
At least that's what he told me...

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.

New York and the Ancient Mesopotamian Proverb

The guitar concert went very well, and I trust the passenger Robin met, who expressed a passion for a certain composer, enjoyed the Dowland!
Robin has now arrived in New York, is in the process of leaving the QM2, and, is very keen to start his journey home.
He has a lot of hanging around to get through before boarding the plane, but, is enjoying being on dry land, and the weather, which is warm, if a little humid.
I think he'll get a shock when he arrives in Manchester to find it rather colder than he has got used to.
He has already planned a trip to the toy shop at JFK airport, and it will be interesting to see if the assistant remembers him again, as she did last time.

For Robin, a day without the chance to practice, is very frustrating. He passes the time by working on his computer or listening to music, but, what he really wants, is to get home.
I'm sure this is the same for any traveller, keen to return to family, and not relishing the prospect of an overnight flight.
In fact, here is an ancient Mesopotamian proverb, circa 2000 BC:

"Pleasure is beer, misery a long journey."

Somethings never change...

Great Expectations of John Dowland

Last night Robin went to the theatre on board the QM2, to watch a performance of, 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens.
The entire novel had been condensed into a 53 minute long stage version, and the actors, all from RADA, gave first class performances.
He was able to tell some of the cast what a good job they had done when he saw them later in the evening.

Whilst out, Robin was approached by a passenger, that had enjoyed his first guitar concert, and, wanted to know when the next one was.
He informed him that it is on Thursday, (not Friday as I mentioned the other day...oops!), and they got talking.
The passenger was keen to know what was on the programme.
So Robin mentioned a few names, and when he got to John Dowland, the gentleman became very enthusiastic.
They chatted some more before they went their separate ways.

It was only at this point that Robin realised there wasn't actually any Dowland in the second programme...
He went back to his room, had a rethink, and shuffled the programme around so that he could include John Dowland's 'Melancholy Galliard', and, 'Allermande'.

The passenger will probably never know that a chance meeting, and his passion for Dowland, prompted an entire re-write of the programme!