Italian Cookery Workshop by Carmela Sereno Hayes
25 February 2021
Last Saturday I took part in my first Zoom cookery class. Northampton Museum & Art Gallery has organised a series of three cookery workshops with the Italian cook and author Carmela Sereno Hayes. About a dozen of us gathered on Zoom on Saturday morning for the first session, on pasta, soups and sauces. We had been sent three recipes in advance so we could buy the necessary ingredients and have everything ready to cook along with Carmela. I set up my laptop in the kitchen so I could watch the screen while cooking. A lot of the time I was listening more than watching but it worked well. It felt like a bit like a TV cookery programme but with the opportunity to ask questions throughout. And it was good to be making the same recipes together in real time – so when Carmela showed us that the onions should be nice and soft by now we could see that ours were too. It was also nice to be learning the techniques in the familiarity of your own kitchen – making it more likely that I might be able to re-create these meals on my own afterwards. We made pasta e fagioli – a hearty pasta and bean soup – as well as spaghetti carbonara and a red pepper and ricotta pasta sauce. It was great fun and all three dishes were delicious: I will definitely be making them again. More details at: https://www.facebook.com/NorthamptonMuseum/posts/so-pleased-to-announce-a-series-of-three-online-cookery-workshops-with-italian-c/4008030305888199/
Labels: Cookery
'The Carer' by Deborah Moggach
19 February 2021
I’ve been enjoying Deborah Moggach’s 2019 novel ‘The Carer’. Phoebe and Robert have been worried about their father who is elderly and increasingly frail, and lives on his own in the Cotswolds, far from either of them. But they have now found someone who appears to be the perfect live-in carer. As the irrepressible Mandy starts to take over their father’s life, the siblings begin to suspect that something more sinister is going on. ‘The Carer’ is a poignant comic novel that reminded me of the works of David Lodge. Like 'South of the River' by Blake Morrison (reviewed here in April 2017) each chapter is written from the point of view of one of the main characters. Phoebe and Robert’s middle class perspectives make them abhorrent of Mandy’s less than liberal attitudes, but far too polite to say so. This painful class comedy also made me think of 'Middle England' by Jonathan Coe (reviewed here in January 2019). ‘The Carer’ is an easy read, dealing with serious themes.
Labels: Books
‘Five Minutes to Make You Love Classical Music’
11 February 2021
I’ve been enjoying ‘Five Minutes to Make You Love Classical Music’ from the New York Times – a growing collection of recommendations, from a range of musicians, artists and writers, of the five minutes or so we would play to make our friends fall in love with classical music: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/arts/music/five-minutes-love-music.html. There are now separate lists for ‘Five Minutes That Will Make You Love …’ the piano, opera, ‘cello, Mozart, 21st century composers, sopranos, baroque music, Beethoven and flute. I’ve been working my way through ‘5 Minutes That Will Make You Love String Quartets’ and really enjoying discovering several pieces I had never heard before. All the music is available to play directly from the web page – and all the extracts are around five minutes long so you can quickly sample a range of styles and genres to find something you like. The short paragraphs from each of the contributors, explaining why you should listen to their choice, are passionate and compelling. They reminded me of the very personal testimonies from guests on The Open Ears Project podcasts (reviewed here in November 2019). On why you should love string quartets, Zachary Woolfe, New York Times classical music editor, says “One of the alchemies of music is that four is the most intimate number. Perhaps because it echoes the mysterious privacy of the family unit, a string quartet somehow radiates greater intensity than a solo or duet.” He suggests that this intensity is rarely as fervent as in the slow movement of Shostakovich’s 10th Quartet, from 1964, and his 5 minute 17 second sample of this quiet, brooding music has made me seek out a full recording of the piece on Spotify. Job done, Zachary!
Labels: Music, Website
'City Noir' by John Adams
5 February 2021
This week I’ve been enjoying another musical recommendation from Jess Gillam’s BBC Radio 3 podcast ‘This Classical Life’ (reviewed here in January 2020). ‘City Noir’ by John Adams is a dramatic orchestral piece in three movements that depicts the city of Los Angeles. I’ve been listening to a recording of ‘City Noir’ by the St Louis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Robertson. The music feels like the score to an imaginary film noir. It’s a busy, exciting work, parts of which sound like improvised jazz. I saw John Adams in 2016, conducting the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican in a concert celebrating his 70th birthday (reviewed here in December 2016) which featured 'Scheherazade.2' – his piece for solo violin and orchestra, performed by Leila Josefowicz. I noted then that John Adam’s music is incredibly entertaining – complex and quirky but never inaccessible. ‘City Noir’ certainly fits that description and is making me want to seek out more music by John Adams.
Labels: Albums, Music
