‘Cider with Roadies' by Stuart Maconie

23 March 2009

Having enjoyed ‘Pies and Prejudice’ – Stuart Maconie’s exploration of the North of England (reviewed here in June 2008) – I was keen to read his earlier book ‘Cider with Roadies’. This is Maconie’s memoire of growing up in Wigan, failing as a rock star and succeeding as a music journalist – and a chronicle of the changing face of popular music over his lifetime. Very much in the Nick Hornby mode, it’s an entertaining, self-deprecating and very funny tale. Inevitably the best bits were where Stuart Maconie’s musical experiences coincided with my own but his main childhood enthusiasms were a bit before my time and his discoveries as a music journalist came mostly after my own enthusiasm for pop music had waned. Nevertheless I found much to reminisce over and his brushes with stardom are so modestly dealt with they never feel like mere name-dropping. If you like this kind of thing I would also recommend ‘Lost in Music’ by Giles Smith.

Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert

17 March 2009

On Saturday I played in the Northampton Symphony Orchestra 'Film Night' concert at the Derngate in Northampton. It was fitting that an event showcasing storytelling music had so many stories to tell itself. Dr Peter Robertson played viola in the NSO for more than 30 years. When he died last year he left a bequest to the orchestra which funded this ambitious concert in his memory. The occasion also marked the start of violinist Harold Colman's 50th year playing in the orchestra: Harold was presented with a framed copy of the programme from the first NSO concert in which he performed - in 1960. And Saturday's concert was the NSO debut for our new conductor, Alexander Walker. Alex is an exciting, young, professional conductor who is a regular guest conductor with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, works regularly at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and is a regular guest conductor with the Mikkeli and Lappeenranta City Orchestras in Finland, and of the Esbjerg Ensemble and the Vestyjsk Sinfonieorkester in Denmark. This film music programme, including 'Superman', 'The Dambusters', 'Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom', 'Back to the Future' and 'The Great Escape' was a different kind of challenge for Alex. During his first rehearsal, in January, he peered at the score for 'Themes from 007' at one point and commented "it says 'medium rock tempo' - not a phrase I have encountered much in my professional career!". But Alex and the NSO rose to the challenge and it was a wonderful evening - including what I thought was a particularly impressive performance of 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' by Paul Dukas. It was very exciting to play to an enthusiastic audience of what must have been nearly 1,000 people. A magnificent, overdue return to the Derngate.

‘Seya’ by Oumou Sangaré

11 March 2009

It’s fascinating how, despite the universality of music, some countries produce a disproportionately vibrant musical culture: it must be something to do with a happy coincidence of tradition, conditions, politics etc. With centuries of musical tradition, Mali in West Africa is today one of the most musical places on Earth. One of the stars of modern Malian music is the Wassalou singer Oumou Sangaré, whose new album ‘Seya’ I have been enjoying this week. Oumou Sangaré is an amazing person – superstar, political campaigner and entrepreneur. Her music is beautiful, joyous and extremely funky. Using a combination of traditional African and modern Western instruments, she is less experimental than fellow Wassalou diva, Rokia Traoré (reviewed here in December 2008) but manages to create a sound which is contemporary without becoming bland Western pop music. And whereas Rokia Traoré’s vocals are almost whispered, Oumou Sangaré’s voice soars over the music. ‘Seya’ is varied, catchy, moving and distinctively Malian.

Mahler's 5th Symphony in Leighton Buzzard

2 March 2009

Keith Saunders is a keen amateur violinist who plays with Milton Keynes Sinfonia. As he approached his 50^th birthday Keith wanted to do something special to mark the occasion and decided to take part in a sponsored Everest Base Camp Trek to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. On Sunday, to give a focus to his search for sponsors and to fulfil another ambition on his birthday itself, Keith and his friends gathered together, at Vandyke Upper School in Leighton Buzzard, a massive orchestra made up of players from Milton Keynes Sinfonia, Bedfordshire Symphony Orchestra, Northampton Symphony Orchestra, Buckinghamshire Chamber Orchestra and others to play Mahler’s 5^th Symphony. Mahler 5 is a wonderful, mammoth, crazy, challenging work which would stretch the forces and ability of most amateur orchestras. At the end of a one-day workshop, conducted by David Knight, we managed to produce a very passable informal performance. It was great fun – a lovely day with excellent catering by Keith’s family and a rare chance to get to grips with an amazing piece of music. You can contribute to Keith’s British Heart Foundation appeal at www.justgiving.com/keithsaunders  

'Brief Encounter' adapted for the stage by Emma Rice from the words and music of Noel Coward

2 March 2009

Had the phrase ‘kitchen-sink drama’ not already been used to mean something else I would have been tempted to employ it in relation to the brilliant Kneehigh Theatre whose productions tend to involve everything and the kitchen sink! On Saturday we were at the Royal Theatre in Northampton to see the Kneehigh production of Noel Coward’s ‘Brief Encounter’. Very much as she did (with Tom Morris) with the National Theatre/Kneehigh production of ‘A Matter of Life and Death’ (reviewed here in May 2007), director and adapter Emma Rice has taken an iconic film and created a stage production which draws out much more than you realised was in the original. Working with Coward’s screenplay, Rice has added an onstage band and a serious of music-hall turns – all featuring Noel Coward songs. The show also features an integration of live action and film, dance, puppetry, juggling and interaction with the audience – and, while there isn’t actually a kitchen sink, there is an ever-present coal fire smouldering at the back of the stage. Some comic touches reminded me of Patrick Barlow's stage adaptation of ‘The Thirty Nine Steps’ but Laura and Alec’s heart-breaking relationship at the centre of ‘Brief Encounter’ is played straight. The familiar strains of Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto are used very sparingly – creating a very powerful effect when the achingly romantic theme is finally heard in full. Inventive, entertaining and extremely moving – a great theatrical experience.

'John Adams'

27 February 2009

I’ve been catching up with the wonderful HBO drama series ‘John Adams’. Having heard much praise for this tale of the early years of American independence I had high expectations and was a little disappointed at first to find it a fairly conventional historical drama. As the series progressed, however, I began to appreciate how well done it was. The acting was intelligent and subtle – particularly the central relationship between Paul Giamatti’s Adams and his wife Abigail, played by Laura Linney. The gradual character development over a period of more than 20 years was engaging and believable. There were key roles for a number of British actors including Tom Hollander (a brilliant cameo as King George III), Rufus Sewell, Stephen Dillane and a show-stealing turn by Tom Wilkinson as Benjamin Franklin. With hindsight it was very clever to show us some of the key events of the period through the eyes of the ever-present, but often peripheral, Adams rather than focussing more obviously on George Washington. It has certainly improved my knowledge of the history of the period – and the scenes in the pre-revolution French court were a hoot. 

'Every Good Boy Deserves Favour' by Tom Stoppard and André Previn

20 February 2009

In 1974 André Previn told Tom Stoppard that if he ever wanted to write something that needed a symphony orchestra, well he had one (the LSO). After some discussion they agreed to create a play involving an orchestra as one of the characters. ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Favour’ received its debut – a one-off performance at the Royal Festival Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Previn – in July 1977. The play is set in a Russian psychiatric hospital and tells the story of two men – one a political dissident incarcerated in the hospital, the other a real psychiatric patient who believes he has his own orchestra with him in the room. This leads to the juxtaposition of a serious condemnation of the abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union with a farce of misunderstanding and talking at crossed purposes. And, of course, we the audience can see the imaginary orchestra in the room performing Previn’s score – with the deluded patient playing the triangle (which in turn allows for a very Stoppardian dissection of Euclidian geometry!). I first came across this understandably rarely performed work nearly 20 years ago when I was working for the Royal National Institute for the Blind and we were asked to record the text for a visually impaired student. So I was familiar with the brilliant dialogue (the triangle player continually asks the political prisoner what instrument he plays, assuming he must have come to join the orchestra: at one point, after a few seconds thought, he asks “if I were to strike you over the head with your instrument, would you need a welder, a carpenter or a brain surgeon?”). But I had never seen the piece performed so I leapt at the chance to see the revival directed by Felix Barrett and Tom Morris currently playing at the National Theatre. Using the massive Olivier stage, Barrett and Morris have made ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Favour’ more theatrical and less of a concert hall piece. In this production the players of the Southbank Sinfonia are integrated into the action in a range of inventive and surprising ways. Toby Jones and Joseph Millson are great as the two patients but this is an ‘ensemble’ work in every sense of the word, with a cast of around 60 people. It only lasts just over an hour, without an interval, but it was one of the most exciting, entertaining and though-provoking theatrical experiences I’ve had for a long time. My understanding and enjoyment was enhanced by attending a pre-show talk: on most occasions when you go to the pre-show talk you find yourself amongst a handful of people sitting at the front of a large auditorium but on this occasion the enormous Olivier theatre was packed, with people standing at the back, to hear Tom Stoppard himself talking about the writing of ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Favour’. Stoppard is a thoughtful, careful speaker – self deprecating without false modesty – and it was fascinating to hear his insights into the creative process.

Bellowhead at the South Bank Centre

20 February 2009

On Saturday we were at the South Bank Centre in London to hear everyone’s favourite folk big band, Bellowhead (reviewed here in October 2006 and July 2008), performing as part of the ‘Imagine’ children’s literature festival. This free performance in the huge Clore Ballroom space was great fun, slightly hampered by the fact that the set of bookshelves framing the stage meant that most of us couldn’t actually see the band. That didn’t stop us dancing while we craned our necks to see the Bellowhead heads appear above the bookshelves as the band themselves bounced up and down in time to the music – you can’t beat a band that dances to its own tunes. In a sort of English folk music ‘Mamma Mia’ a storyteller wove a fantastical tale to incorporate most of Bellowhead’s repertoire – with occasional vital contributions from the children in the audience (which resulted, for example, in the scary giant having purple hair and black fingers but wearing a ‘I love New York’ t-shirt!). An uplifting, inspiring performance from one of the best live acts of the moment – even when you can’t see them!

‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ by Lily Allen

12 February 2009

One of the benefits of using Spotify is that, even when you’re snowed in, you can try out the latest musical releases free of charge and completely legally. This week I’ve been listening to ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’, the new album by Lily Allen, which was released on Monday. And it’s actually rather good. Extremely catchy electronic pop tunes which have been playing continuously in my head. Witty and playful lyrics – though often quite crude (definitely post-watershed). On ‘Him’, an irreverent  speculation on the nature of God, she sings: “I don’t imagine He’s ever been suicidal. His favourite band is Creedence Clearwater Revival.” – great lyric. Lily Allen sings in a cool, quiet, laid-back semi-spoken style. It took me a while to work out what this reminded me of but I finally traced the sound back to the Pet Shop Boys, particularly their wonderful 2002 album ‘Release’. 

'The Eyre Affair' by Jasper Fforde

6 February 2009

Regular readers will remember that I have been paying homage to the surreal complexities of Jasper Fforde’s ‘Thursday Next’ novels by reading the series in reverse order. I have now reached the end/beginning: ‘The Eyre Affair’ introduces us to literary detective (LiteraTec) Thursday Next. But my expectation that this first novel would be a simpler tale, from which the confusing later books developed, was unfounded. ‘The Eyre Affair’ throws in a large, five-star hotel’s worth of kitchen sinks – time travel, cloning, dodos, Neanderthals, fictional characters coming to life and much, much more. And it’s all set in a parallel reality where the Crimean War has lasted a hundred years and Wales is an independent socialist republic (tourist board slogan: “not always raining”!). It’s inventive and very funny and Fforde cleverly plants seemingly insignificant characters and plot devices in the early chapters that reliably return to play key roles in the climax. But I still think the bizarre comic style Fforde plays with through the Thursday Next novels finds a more complete home in his ‘Nursery Crime’ series – where a more conventional whodunit plot drives the surreal nonsense on with more pace. If you haven’t tried Jasper Fforde yet start with ‘The Big Over Easy’ (reviewed here in April 2007).

‘The Tenderness of Wolves’ by Stef Penney

28 January 2009

1867, Canada: the setting for ‘The Tenderness of Wolves’, the debut novel by Stef Penney. When it won the 2006 Costa Book of the Year prize there was some media fuss about the fact that Stef Penney had never actually been to Canada (let alone Canada in the 1860s!). Well, call me old fashioned but I’ve always thought it an asset for a fiction writer to be able to make things up! ‘The Tenderness of Wolves’ is a gripping tale told from the various viewpoints of an engaging cast of Dickensian characters. It opens with the discovery of a murder in a remote community of Scottish settlers in Ontario and the narrative follows various trails through the snowy wilderness to unravel this and several other mysteries. And throughout there is the constant sense of being watched by the lurking, unseen menace of wolves. The story is revealed through chapters which each take the perspective of one of the principal characters – all in the third person with the exception of the first person narration of the central figure, Mrs Ross. The alternating viewpoints reminded me of Matthew Kneale’s wonderful novel ‘English Passengers’ though the humour of ‘The Tenderness of Wolves’ is more restrained. The Dickensian tone and unravelling of family mysteries also made me think of ‘The Little Friend’ by Donna Tartt – another recent favourite. I liked the way the reader’s understanding of what happened grows only in line with the characters whose viewpoints we have been following – meaning that at several points we think we have discovered the truth, only to have to adjust our understanding again later. While some key puzzles are resolved by the end of the book, there are plenty of remaining loose ends which help to avoid the story seeming tool artificially neat and tidy (or leave you frustratingly scouring the internet for answers!). And there’s a small, final twist which alerts you to a further mystery that you haven’t noticed was there all along, lurking in the shadows with the wolves. A very impressive, gripping and entertaining debut.

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 

'Smoke of Home' by Megson

16 January 2008

I’ve been enjoying ‘Smoke of Home’, the 2007 album by English folk duo Megson. Stu Hanna and Debbie Palmer come from Teeside and sing uplifting folk/pop with interesting lyrics – similar territory to Karine Polwart (reviewed here in November 2005, April 2006 and April 2008). The rhythmic guitars and catchy tunes sound a lot like Seth Lakeman (reviewed here in April 2006) – though with North East rather than South West accents. If you’re looking for an antidote to the post-Christmas blues Megson might be the answer. Take a look at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ppdj6abEFWo

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Viennese New Year Gala

9 January 2009

We brought in the New Year in a cottage in Herefordshire and, not being able to manage the journey to Vienna, decided instead to join the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for a Viennese New Year Gala concert at the Malvern Theatres. A packed house enjoyed a marvellous evening of works by Mozart, von Suppé and the Strauss family culminating in the inevitable ‘Blue Danube’ and the ‘Radetzky March’. Austrian conductor Carlos Kalmar was the perfect host, providing fascinating introductions to each of the pieces, entertaining with his exuberant, choreographed conducting and looking the part with wild hair and a mischievous grin. Two days before the concert soprano Gillian Keith was looking forward to a quiet New Year at home when she got a call from the CBSO asking if she could step in to replace an ill Mary Hegarty. Gillian Keith gave a great performance: I particularly enjoyed her ‘Spiel Ich die Unschuld vom Lande’ from ‘Die Fledermaus’ by Johann Strauss II. A lovely way to start 2009. 

'The Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum, with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg

9 January 2009

On Christmas Eve we made an impromptu journey up the yellow brick road to the Royal Theatre, Northampton, where we bought the last two tickets for Laurie Sansom’s wonderful production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’. It was a magical show – managing both to recreate faithfully many of the iconic moments from the 1939 MGM film and to demonstrate ingenious and original stagecraft. Sara Perks’ colourful design gave each scene a different colour scheme until Dorothy had travelled through an entire rainbow. I particularly liked the stilt-walking apple trees and the use of a trap-door which allowed Kate Russell-Smith’s Wicked Witch of the West to melt before our eyes. Once again Laurie Sansom presented a seamlessly integrated cast with the professional principles supported by 15 local amateur actors and 3 rotating groups of 20 local children as the Munchkins. Natalie Burt (who we had previously seen at the Royal in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' – reviewed here in September 2008 – and ‘The Glass Cage’ – reviewed here in November 2007) was a brilliant Dorothy. But the undoubted star of the show was the Scottish terrier Parker (or Bradley – not sure which we saw) as Toto. Wonderful.

Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert

17 December 2008

Last Sunday’s Northampton Symphony Orchestra ‘Christmas Cracker’ concert marked the end of an era, with our conductor of more than seven years, Graham Tear, wielding the baton for the final time. It was an emotional occasion in the enormous atrium of Unity College, Northampton, spoiled only by the lack of heating as the result of a flood at the college earlier in the week. While it was quite cold, the sight, on Sunday afternoon, of a packed audience in hats, coats and gloves under the vast glass ceiling of atrium as the sun sank slowly away, somehow seemed even more Christmassy – creating an image of massed carol singers assembled in a town square. The ‘Christmas Cracker’ concert has become a valued Northampton tradition and all the usual elements were present: classical music with a Christmas theme (including the ‘Sleigh Ride’ by Delius), carols for the audience to sing, a narrated work (Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’) and an orchestra dominated by Santa hats and tinsel. The climax, as always, was provided by trumpeter Nick Bunker’s entrance at the beginning of the second half of the concert to play the ‘Sleigh Ride’ by Leroy Anderson: this year, with several younger members of the audience still traumatised by the cries of the eaten-alive duck in the wolf’s stomach at the end of ‘Peter and the Wolf’, Nick appeared in a 6-foot Daffy Duck costume, with one arm in a sling! A lovely afternoon, ending with an encore of Ronan Hardiman’s ‘Lord of the Dance’, providing a great send-off for Graham Tear.

'Junctions' - The Tacet Ensemble with Spiers and Boden

10 December 2008

John Spiers and Jon Boden are two of the stars of the current young wave of English folk music - a fantastic duo and the foundations of the wonderful folk big band Bellowhead (reviewed here in October 2006 and July 2008). On Saturday we were at The Stables to see Spiers & Boden in 'Junctions' - a fascinating new collaboration with the classical chamber group, the Tacet Ensemble. Over the past few months, the Tacet players, Spiers & Boden and the composers Alison Kay and Ed Hughes have taken part in a series of 'collaboration days' resulting in four compositions (by Kay, Hughes, Spiers and Boden) for these combined folk and classical forces. These new works were performed on Saturday alongside traditional English folk music from Spiers & Boden and chamber works by contemporary English classical composers including Graham Fitkin, Michael Finnissy and Julian Anderson. It made for an interesting and varied evening though the comparisons between folk and classical sometimes seemed a little unfair: by their nature the traditional folk tunes were much more instantly accessible whereas the classical pieces, whilst not 'difficult' listening, probably needed to be heard several times to be fully appreciated. Nevertheless it was an enthralling evening with some wonderful performances: I think my pick of the new compositions was Jon Boden's arrangement of the traditional song 'Barbara Allen' which seemed most effectively to present something with clear folk origins as serious, thoughtful, contemporary music.

    

‘Tchamantché’ by Rokia Traoré

5 December 2008

Rokia Traoré is a Malian musician, now based in Paris, who sings in the Wassoulou style, using traditional instruments, rhythms and harmonies to create a remarkably innovative, modern sound. I love her 2003 album ‘Bowmboi’ – I think it’s my favourite African CD – and have been looking forward to its long-awaited successor, ‘Tchamantché’. It’s probably a little too early to say but on a first listen ‘Tchamantché’ sounds just as good, if not better. It’s a fascinatingly varied collection of songs with the traditional Malian instruments augmented by a range of unlikely partners. But all the tracks are dominated by Rokia Traore’s distinctive, haunting, intimate, breathy voice. It’s strangely both shocking and completely natural when, towards the end of the album, she sings, in English, Billie Holiday’s ‘The Man I Love’. A sophisticated, engaging and beautiful CD.

'The Uncommon Reader' by Alan Bennett

26 November 2008

In 'The Uncommon Reader' Alan Bennett imagines The Queen happening upon a mobile library and developing a passion for reading books. As she becomes less interested in her royal duties and more interested in getting back to her latest novel her staff begin a battle to discourage her new obsession with the printed word. In a mere 120 pages of light, humorous prose, Bennett manages to say a lot about monarchy, the royal household, the benefits of reading and the importance of writing. Novelist Lionel Shriver described it very accurately as "A beguiling bedtime story for grown-ups."

'New Europe' by Michael Palin

25 November 2008

  

I've just finished reading 'New Europe' - Michael Palin's book from the TV series of the same name. Quite strange reading the book having not seen any of the programmes but it's a fascinating series of snapshots of Eastern Europe and the Balkans, nonetheless. It was particularly interesting to read Palin's thoughts about Slovenia, having been there myself in June - but slightly disappointing that this familiar territory was dealt with in the first chapter, rather than being something to look forward to. Because of the scale of the expedition - covering 20 countries from the Mediterranean to the Baltic - some countries are covered very briefly. And I think the book suffers a bit from the nature of the TV programme which clearly requires plenty of 'set piece' events and meetings: where I would have liked a bit more general background, the limited time allotted to some locations is dominated by meeting a local celebrity. Nevertheless Michael Palin's voice and personality come through clearly and are very easy to read. And I now feel much clearer about the differences between all those Eastern European countries we tend to lump together: I now know the difference between Macedonia and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova and Moldavia, Republica Serbska and Republika Slovenija etc. Education with a light touch.