Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
28 April 2010
Arriving at the final afternoon rehearsal for last Saturday’s Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert, we were expecting to face the challenging prospect of playing the ‘Cello Concerto by Samuel Barber – an interesting but tricky piece which I suspect had been new to most of us. What we were presented with, however, was a challenge of a different nature: our ‘cello soloist had been taken ill and it had proved impossible to find a replacement who knew this rarely performed work. So, at the last minute, the violinist Irmina Trynkos, who is due to play with us in our next concert, agreed to perform the Bruch Violin Concerto. At 2.15 pm the music was handed out to the orchestra for the first time and by 8.30 pm we had completed a stunning performance of this much-loved concerto. It was an exciting, edge-of-the-seat experience – not without a few hairy moments but very enjoyable. I’m now really looking forward to hearing Irmina play the ‘Poeme for Violin and Orchestra’ on 19 June. The rest of Saturday’s concert was an American affair including ‘Three Dance Episodes from On the Town’ by Bernstein, ‘Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo’ by Copland and what I thought was a really good performance of Gershwin’s ‘An American in Paris’ – a complex circus of a piece which came together wonderfully – and the car horns were great!
Labels: Concerts, Music
‘Dead Guilty’ by Richard Harris
23 April 2010
We had a few days in sunny Dorset last week and managed to fit in a visit to the Bournemouth Little Theatre Club to see a performance of ‘Dead Guilty’ by Richard Harris. This clever, psychological thriller was extremely well acted – a very high quality production – and kept us guessing to the end. Good to see BLTC, which has just celebrated its 90th anniversary, going strong.
Labels: Drama, Theatre
Phil Hammond
23 April 2010
Phil Hammond is a GP who has carved out an extensive second career as a comedian with regular appearances on Radio 4, a column in Private Eye and even a stint in the dictionary corner on Countdown! We saw him at the Maltings Arts Theatre in St Albans at the beginning of a new national tour. He is a very slick performer: the material about his childhood and medical training seemed to be delivered with a speed and confidence that suggested it was far from the first time he had used it but it was still very funny. Phil Hammond is not a stand-up comedian who happens to be a doctor: almost all of his material is about the medical profession or the absurdities of the NHS. He clearly feels passionately about many of the current problems in the health service but at times his more serious rants sat slightly uncomfortably next to some of the comic set-pieces. Nevertheless he was impressive, assured and very funny.
Labels: Comedy, Theatre
'Here Lies Love' by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim
8 April 2010
One of the most bizarre aspects of visiting the Vigário Geral favela in Rio de Janeiro was spotting, on the wall of a small family restaurant in the heart of the favela, the signature of former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. I suppose it wasn't that surprising, knowing that Byrne is a good friend of Brazilian Tropicália singer Caetano Veloso and that Veloso is a key supporter of our hosts, Grupo Cultural AfroReggae, but it still seemed an incongruous intrusion in the extreme surroundings of the favela. I guess nothing should really surprise me where David Byrne is concerned: his latest album, launched this week, sees Byrne collaborating with Fatboy Slim to produce a disco song cycle about the life of Imelda Marcos - a concept that sounds as if it should have been released on 1 April rather than 6 April! Nevertheless the result is fabulous: 'Here Lives Love' features 22 (mainly female) guest vocalists taking turns to tell the story of the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines, and the woman who raised her, through the medium of disco - a reference to Imelda Marcos' love of nightclubs. And those vocalists include some of my favourite singers such as Natalie Merchant, Martha Wainwright and the sublime Allison Moorer. I've always appreciated David Byrne's taste in collaborators since learning that the backing vocals on his wonderful 1989 album 'Rei Momo' were by another personal favourite, Kirsty MacColl. The cast list on 'Here Lies Love' also features Cyndi Lauper, Tori Amos, Florence Welch, Róisín Murphy, Camille and Steve Earle as Ferdinand Marcos! The succession of female vocalists playing particular parts reminded me of 'God Help the Girl' (reviewed here in August 2009). But 'Here Lies Love' is unmistakably a David Byrne creation with the disco beats underpinned by his beloved Latin rhythms. A surreally infectious treat.
Labels: Albums, Music
