SV Musicology - Female Composers Map

3 September 2021

Sakira Ventura is a music teacher from Valencia who has been working to put female composers on the map, literally. Her interactive online map features more than 500 composers - many of them previously forgotten or neglected: https://svmusicology.com/mapa?lang=en It’s great fun delving into the map at random and reading the short biographies before following the links to Wikipedia and Spotify. I’ve been listening to ‘All Things Majestic’ - an orchestral suite by the contemporary American composer Jennifer Higdon which is a tribute to America’s National Parks, inspired by the breathtaking landscapes of the Teton mountain range. I’ve also enjoyed the gentle, thoughtful instrumental music of the young Jordanian-Canadian film composer Suad Bushnaq, including her score for the 2015 film ‘Al Munataf (The Curve)’. Sakira Ventura admits she still has a long way to go to map female composers: she has already identified at least another 500 to be added to the website. I was a little disappointed by the absence of Ruth Gipps, whose wonderful Horn Concerto I discovered earlier this year through the performance by Annemarie Federle in the BBC Young Musician final. But if you’re stuck for something new to listen to the map is a great place to start. More details at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/aug/19/they-deserve-a-place-in-history-music-teacher-makes-map-of-female-composers

'The Get Up' by Madness

21 May 2021

Madness are one of those bands who have been part of the soundtrack of my life: I’ve always loved their particular blend of two-tone ska, zany fun and a hint of melancholy. Sadly I’ve not yet managed to see them live but last Friday I leapt at the chance to watch ‘The Get Up’ - a special online Madness concert from the London Palladium. This global livestream featured Live performances of new and classic Madness songs, framed by scenes of the band arriving at the theatre and watching themselves from the stalls (scripted by and featuring Charlie Higson from The Fast Show). There were some great special guest singers for a couple of numbers. But it was just lovely to see the band working through its extensive back catalogue, sounding wonderful and clearly having a ball. Here’s a brief flavour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQZ-r5oT9lo

‘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!

'Flowers for Mrs Harris' by Rachel Wagstaff and Richard Taylor

1 May 2020

Most of the live recordings of shows being shared for free online by theatres at the moment are each only available for a week. So it is difficult to make recommendations here for something you will still have time to watch. Thankfully Chichester Festival Theatre’s brilliant production of the recent musical ‘Flowers for Mrs Harris’ is still available to view for free until 8 May and I would urge you to watch it. ‘Flowers for Mrs Harris’ is based on the novel by Paul Gallico with book by Rachel Wagstaff and music & lyrics by Richard Taylor. Clare Burt stars as Mrs Harris, a widow in post-war Battersea who cleans other people’s houses to make ends meet. Her constant positivity and optimism disguise her continuing struggles with grief at the loss of her husband. Catching sight of an elegant gown by Christian Dior, in one of the grand houses she cleans, makes her dream of having something similar and sets her on a quest to achieve the seemingly impossible. It’s an unlikely premise for an incredibly funny, emotional, feel-good tale. The Guardian review of the original Sheffield Crucible production described it as “like experiencing The Wizard of Oz, Pollyanna and Powell and Pressburger’s war-themed films, all rolled into one – triumph over adversity, hard work rewarded, generosity repaid, the transformational power of art and self-belief, affirmation that loving relationships are the stuff of happiness”, to which I would add something of Willy Russell’s ‘Shirley Valentine. Richard Taylor’s music reminded me of a Stephen Sondheim musical – no big numbers but beautifully sung dialogue. This is a singer’s musical with very little dance but Louis Maskell demonstrates incredible movement, reminiscent of Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow in ‘The Wizard of Oz’. At one point I was convinced he must be supported by wires like a marionette (he wasn’t). And you would need a heart of stone not to weep at the ending. If you want to cheer yourself up watch ‘Flowers for Mrs Harris’ now while it’s still available: https://www.cft.org.uk/flowers-for-mrs-harris-broadcast

‘Wonderland’ by Beth Steel

17 April 2020

I’m really enjoying the free Hampstead Theatre At Home plays being streamed on demand each week by The Guardian – a really interesting selection of (mostly new) plays. Last week’s offering was ‘Wonderland’ by Beth Steel, directed by Edward Hall (originally performed and live-streamed in 2014) which tells the story of the 1984 miners’ strike. Ashley Martin-Davis's incredible design reshapes the theatre auditorium to create overhead gantries and a descending pit cage with the audience on all four sides: it’s a stunning set. The play shows the events of the strike through the eyes of a group of miners in a Nottinghamshire colliery, while also addressing the political context through scenes in Whitehall featuring the National Coal Board Chair Ian Macgregor, Energy Secretary Peter Walker and the flamboyant journalist David Hart who was deployed by the Government to subvert the miners’ unity. Margaret Thatcher and Arthur Scargill don’t appear as characters in the play but are ever-present in the story. Beth Steel has constructed a Shakespearean drama: the Battle of Orgreave scene felt remarkably like something from ‘Henry V’. It’s a tragic tale but a gripping and moving production, excellently acted by a large (all male) cast. This week’s free Hampstead Theatre play is ‘Drawing The Line’ – Howard Brenton’s epic take on the partition of India – which is available until Sunday 19 April at: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/video/2020/apr/13/watch-drawing-the-line-a-drama-about-indias-partition-video

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra concert - Beethoven Symphony No 9 'Choral'

8 April 2020

Like many other people we have been exploring online streaming culture during this period of lockdown. On Saturday we made a first ‘visit’ to the The Berliner Philharmoniker's Digital Concert Hall – which is now free for everyone. There is a massive archive of classical concerts, mostly performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded in the Berlin Philharmonie. On Saturday we watched a 2015 performance of the Beethoven Choral Symphony, conducted by Simon Rattle. It was wonderful – a typically dramatic Berlin Philharmonic performance with soloists Annette Dasch, Eva Vogel, Christian Elsner and Dimitry Ivashchenko and the Rundfunkchor Berlin, directed by Simon Halsey. The sound quality was great and the multi-camera filming was very slick. After my emotional experience of playing Beethoven’s 5th Symphony in Milton Keynes on 14 March (reviewed here in March 2020), in the knowledge that it might be one of the last live concerts any of us experiences for quite a while, Beethoven symphonies are beginning to feel to me like an inspirational soundtrack to carry us through this difficult period. Best of all was the Digital Concert Hall interview with Sir Simon Rattle that accompanies the concert. In this 54 minute interview Rattle speaks about all nine Beethoven symphonies and gives a fascinating insight into the composer’s life. The interview is well worth watching on its own but is a lovely accompaniment to the concert. Stream for free at: https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concert/22390

Spotify

23 January 2008

This week I’ve discovered ‘Spotify’ – a new online music streaming service. If you’ve got a broadband connection and you’re willing to put up with listening to a very occasional advert you can listen to a massive catalogue of recorded music completely free of charge. You download a small program which handles the streaming (without any of the buffering delays you get with most streaming audio) and the interface looks very like itunes. It works remarkably well and the choice of popular, classical and world music seems pretty good. At the moment you can only sign up for the free service by invitation but, if you’re interested, you can get an invitation by using this link: tinyurl.com/spotifylink 

'NewsBiscuit'

10 November 2006

I've just discovered the new British spoof news website, 'Newsbiscuit':

newsbiscuit.com

They add at least one new story each day which means there's some very topical stuff - I liked the piece 'Euphoria fades as British observers unsure what US results actually mean'. You can also see breaking news stories (or even add them yourself if you like). As an Archers enthusiast I was shocked to see that "Fans have been stunned by the revelations that the new plot line will see members of the cast involved in activities such as farming, both agricultural and horticultural, and other countryside issues." Newsbiscuit is not quite the Framley Examiner (still my favourite) but very promising and well worth a look.

'Guardian World Cup Show' podcast

23 June 2006

I’ve been really enjoying the Guardian’s World Cup Show podcasts – a daily 30-minute ‘radio’ programme which you can download at: http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/worldcupshow/ – you don’t need to actually watch any of the football – just listen to James Richardson and the team every morning. They have set up a little recording booth in a corner of one of the Guardian offices and every night at around midnight they drag a few Guardian journalists in to chat about the day’s games. They also speak on the phone to the Guardian’s reporters in Germany who have actually been at the matches. It’s all very homemade and chaotic – and great fun. They have developed some very funny running jokes and some truly awful puns.

19 May 2006

Regular readers will be aware of my interest in Balkan Gypsy brass music, especially bands like the Boban Markovic Orkestar and Fanfare Ciocarlia. If you’re still wondering what I’m going on about I’d recommend the article by Garth Cartwright in The Independent on 5 May which you can read at: http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/features/article361940.ece

www.framleyexaminer.com

6 October 2005

I also really like the local newspaper spoof:

www.framleyexaminer.com

(unless you have a big screen this is easier to read if you can get your computer to scale the pages to fit an A4 sheet and print them out – well worth the hassle!)

www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com

6 October 2005

One of my favourite websites:

www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com

(particularly like “what the polls say” – who are all these people that vote each week!)