14 March 2016
Another week, another stunning young Russian pianist: on Saturday I played in a Milton Keynes Sinfonia concert where the undoubted star of the show was Ilya Kondratiev who gave a thrilling performance of the spectacular 'Piano Concerto No 1' by Prokofiev. Ilya is an amazing pianist and was clearly having a great time, beaming from the moment he walked in, finishing the concerto with an exaggerated flourish and beguiling both audience and orchestra with two brilliant encores. Conductor David Knight and the Milton Keynes Sinfonia then faced the daunting challenge of following this bravura performance but, fortunately, we were armed with the substantial might of Shostakovich's 'Symphony No 10'. I played this symphony with the Northampton Symphony Orchestra nearly ten years ago (reviewed here in March 2006) and I was surprised how well I remembered it. It's a long, complex work that manages to be bleak, angry, powerful and beautifully delicate. Our performance on Saturday went really well and featured many excellent solos but I will particularly remember the piccolo solo by Andrea Patis at the end of the first movement and Kate Knight's horn solo in the slow movement which were both wonderful. We opened the concert with the ‘Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia’ from ‘Spartacus’ by Khachaturian – still better known as the theme from 'The Onedin Line'. Having recently read Julian Barnes' novel about Shostakovich, 'The Noise of Time' (reviewed here in February 2016), it was interesting to see, in the concert programme, a rare photograph of Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Khachaturian together. Their stories are intertwined with each other, and with the story of 20th century Russia. It was fascinating to play music by all three on Saturday, in what was a great concert.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Tuesday, March 08, 2016
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
8 March 2016
For horn players, tackling a Mahler symphony is the equivalent of running a marathon. It requires extensive training to build your stamina. And like preparing for a marathon, it is difficult to find the time and energy to practice doing the whole thing before the day itself. Regular readers may remember me writing here in 2011 about preparing to play Mahler's 'Symphony No 6' with the Northampton Symphony Orchestra. The First Symphony by Gustav Mahler is not quite such an enormous undertaking as the Sixth but it is still a monumental challenge. I've played through the final movement almost every day for the past few weeks in an attempt to build enough stamina to survive its glorious finale. Last Saturday was the day of reckoning, with the NSO concert taking place at St Michael's Church, Northampton, conducted by John Gibbons. The concert also featured the beautiful 'Piano Concerto' by Alexander Scriabin in which we accompanied the amazing young Russian pianist Vavara Tarasova. It was a stunning performance of a lovely piece which has much in common with the piano concertos of Chopin (and, I thought, some echoes of Rachmaninov). Our performance of Mahler 1 seemed to go really well, with beautifully delicate woodwind solos, some fine off-stage trumpet fanfares and a great double bass solo by Matthew Jackson at the beginning of the slow movement. And then we reached the finale and it was thrilling to be one of eight horn players standing with bells raised for the final bars. In the end it felt like we just about managed to fall over the marathon finishing line, exhilarated, exhausted and gasping for breath. It was a brilliant experience but one I would be happy not to repeat for a while!
For horn players, tackling a Mahler symphony is the equivalent of running a marathon. It requires extensive training to build your stamina. And like preparing for a marathon, it is difficult to find the time and energy to practice doing the whole thing before the day itself. Regular readers may remember me writing here in 2011 about preparing to play Mahler's 'Symphony No 6' with the Northampton Symphony Orchestra. The First Symphony by Gustav Mahler is not quite such an enormous undertaking as the Sixth but it is still a monumental challenge. I've played through the final movement almost every day for the past few weeks in an attempt to build enough stamina to survive its glorious finale. Last Saturday was the day of reckoning, with the NSO concert taking place at St Michael's Church, Northampton, conducted by John Gibbons. The concert also featured the beautiful 'Piano Concerto' by Alexander Scriabin in which we accompanied the amazing young Russian pianist Vavara Tarasova. It was a stunning performance of a lovely piece which has much in common with the piano concertos of Chopin (and, I thought, some echoes of Rachmaninov). Our performance of Mahler 1 seemed to go really well, with beautifully delicate woodwind solos, some fine off-stage trumpet fanfares and a great double bass solo by Matthew Jackson at the beginning of the slow movement. And then we reached the finale and it was thrilling to be one of eight horn players standing with bells raised for the final bars. In the end it felt like we just about managed to fall over the marathon finishing line, exhilarated, exhausted and gasping for breath. It was a brilliant experience but one I would be happy not to repeat for a while!
Friday, March 04, 2016
'Hangmen' by Martin McDonagh
4 March 2016
The Irish playwright Martin McDonagh has carved out a reputation for violently black comedy. Hi stage play 'The Leiutenant of Inishmore' and his screenplays 'In Bruges' and 'The Guard' share a bleak humour. His latest work 'Hangmen' is another great example of this style. Set in Lancashire in the mid 1960s, the play deals with one of the last hangmen as he comes to terms with the abolition of capital punishment. The scenes in an Oldham pub felt like a particularly funny episode of Coronation Street – albeit with more swearing. Matthew Dunster's Royal Court production (which we saw at Cineworld in Milton Keynes as a NTLive broadcast from Wyndham's Theatre in London) stars David Morrissey as the hangman Harry Wade. He is joined by a fabulous cast of comic characters. Although there is some hysterically funny dialogue, much of the comedy comes from the well-drawn characters and their believable reactions to a dramatic turn of events. Morrissey is a master of the double-take: you can almost see his brain processing information while he is mistakenly ranting at someone and he then manages to turn his mood on a sixpence. 'Hangmen' has plenty of McDonagh's trademark wince-inducing moments of violence which shouldn't be funny – but really are. And Johnny Flynn is both menacing and creepy as a very out-of-place crude but erudite Londoner – an unexplained stranger who the Guardian review of the play wittily described as a 'Pinterloper'.
The Irish playwright Martin McDonagh has carved out a reputation for violently black comedy. Hi stage play 'The Leiutenant of Inishmore' and his screenplays 'In Bruges' and 'The Guard' share a bleak humour. His latest work 'Hangmen' is another great example of this style. Set in Lancashire in the mid 1960s, the play deals with one of the last hangmen as he comes to terms with the abolition of capital punishment. The scenes in an Oldham pub felt like a particularly funny episode of Coronation Street – albeit with more swearing. Matthew Dunster's Royal Court production (which we saw at Cineworld in Milton Keynes as a NTLive broadcast from Wyndham's Theatre in London) stars David Morrissey as the hangman Harry Wade. He is joined by a fabulous cast of comic characters. Although there is some hysterically funny dialogue, much of the comedy comes from the well-drawn characters and their believable reactions to a dramatic turn of events. Morrissey is a master of the double-take: you can almost see his brain processing information while he is mistakenly ranting at someone and he then manages to turn his mood on a sixpence. 'Hangmen' has plenty of McDonagh's trademark wince-inducing moments of violence which shouldn't be funny – but really are. And Johnny Flynn is both menacing and creepy as a very out-of-place crude but erudite Londoner – an unexplained stranger who the Guardian review of the play wittily described as a 'Pinterloper'.
Thursday, March 03, 2016
'The Noise of Time' by Julian Barnes
3 March 2016
The composer Dmitri Shostakovich certainly lived in interesting times. Julian Barnes' new novel 'The Noise of Time' (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Daniel Philpott) fictionalises the remarkable true story of an artist constantly challenged by the controlling interest in his art taken by the Soviet state. In 1936, when Shostakovich's opera 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk' (described by Pravda as “muddle instead of music”) is banned, apparently at Stalin's behest, the composer assumes it is only a matter of time before he will be forced to surrender his life. Reluctant to flee into exile (as Stravinsky had done), and concerned for how his actions will impact upon the lives of his family and friends, Shostakovich finds himself a reluctant collaborator with Stalin's regime. Is he coward or pragmatist? It is scary to wonder how we each might have behaved in a similar situation. Julian Barnes suggests that the composer's yearning to continue living and composing steers him away from martyrdom but leads him into uncomfortable compromises. In 1948 when Stalin asks the composer to represent the Soviet Union at the Congress for World Peace, Shostakovich arrives in New York shortly after a Russian woman has defected by jumping out the window of the Russian Consulate building. A protester on the street outside the building holds a placard imploring “Shostakovich! Jump thru the window!” but, of course, he doesn't. 'The Noise of Time' is a fascinating book but feels more like a biography than a novel. Although Julian Barnes has imagined Shostakovich's point of view and describes particular scenes in detail, the book presents a fairly factual account of his life. The narrative structure, built around three key moments, each twelve years apart, and featuring several recurring themes and motifs, has the feel of a piece of music – a literary symphony. But it's a melancholy refrain about an imperfect man coping badly with an impossible situation. Shostakovich lived until 1975 and, towards the end of his life, made increasing use, in his string quartets, of the musical instruction 'morendo' (dying away). As Julian Barnes says: few composers finish their lives with a major chord played fortissimo.
The composer Dmitri Shostakovich certainly lived in interesting times. Julian Barnes' new novel 'The Noise of Time' (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Daniel Philpott) fictionalises the remarkable true story of an artist constantly challenged by the controlling interest in his art taken by the Soviet state. In 1936, when Shostakovich's opera 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk' (described by Pravda as “muddle instead of music”) is banned, apparently at Stalin's behest, the composer assumes it is only a matter of time before he will be forced to surrender his life. Reluctant to flee into exile (as Stravinsky had done), and concerned for how his actions will impact upon the lives of his family and friends, Shostakovich finds himself a reluctant collaborator with Stalin's regime. Is he coward or pragmatist? It is scary to wonder how we each might have behaved in a similar situation. Julian Barnes suggests that the composer's yearning to continue living and composing steers him away from martyrdom but leads him into uncomfortable compromises. In 1948 when Stalin asks the composer to represent the Soviet Union at the Congress for World Peace, Shostakovich arrives in New York shortly after a Russian woman has defected by jumping out the window of the Russian Consulate building. A protester on the street outside the building holds a placard imploring “Shostakovich! Jump thru the window!” but, of course, he doesn't. 'The Noise of Time' is a fascinating book but feels more like a biography than a novel. Although Julian Barnes has imagined Shostakovich's point of view and describes particular scenes in detail, the book presents a fairly factual account of his life. The narrative structure, built around three key moments, each twelve years apart, and featuring several recurring themes and motifs, has the feel of a piece of music – a literary symphony. But it's a melancholy refrain about an imperfect man coping badly with an impossible situation. Shostakovich lived until 1975 and, towards the end of his life, made increasing use, in his string quartets, of the musical instruction 'morendo' (dying away). As Julian Barnes says: few composers finish their lives with a major chord played fortissimo.
Friday, February 26, 2016
'As You Like It' by William Shakespeare
26 February 2016
On Thursday I was at Cineworld in Milton Keynes to see the live broadcast of Polly Findlay's new production of 'As You Like It' at the National Theatre. This modern dress version of Shakespeare's reliable comedy is a lovely theatrical experience, dominated by a wonderful double act and a stunning coup de théâtre. Rosalie Craig as Rosalind and Patsy Ferran as Celia are both outstanding and form the warm, funny heart of the production. Ferra – who was Portia in Polly Findlay's RSC production of 'The Merchant of Venice' (reviewed here in August 2015) – is a great comic actor whose reactions tend to draw your attention away from whoever is speaking. And Craig's infectious smile forms the lasting impression of the evening, leaving the audience similarly grinning. The relationship between the two characters is natural and incredibly believable. The other star of the production is Lizzie Clachan's amazing set – and particularly its moment of transformation into the Forest of Arden which is worth the price of admission alone. I don't want to spoil the effect if you haven't seen it but this stunning use of the massive space in the Olivier Theatre will linger long in the memory. The other really innovative aspect of this production is the use of a choir, scattered amongst the trees of the forest throughout the play, who provide a variety of sound effects (birdsong, sheep etc) as well as performing some beautifully strange choral music composed for the production by Orlando Gough.
On Thursday I was at Cineworld in Milton Keynes to see the live broadcast of Polly Findlay's new production of 'As You Like It' at the National Theatre. This modern dress version of Shakespeare's reliable comedy is a lovely theatrical experience, dominated by a wonderful double act and a stunning coup de théâtre. Rosalie Craig as Rosalind and Patsy Ferran as Celia are both outstanding and form the warm, funny heart of the production. Ferra – who was Portia in Polly Findlay's RSC production of 'The Merchant of Venice' (reviewed here in August 2015) – is a great comic actor whose reactions tend to draw your attention away from whoever is speaking. And Craig's infectious smile forms the lasting impression of the evening, leaving the audience similarly grinning. The relationship between the two characters is natural and incredibly believable. The other star of the production is Lizzie Clachan's amazing set – and particularly its moment of transformation into the Forest of Arden which is worth the price of admission alone. I don't want to spoil the effect if you haven't seen it but this stunning use of the massive space in the Olivier Theatre will linger long in the memory. The other really innovative aspect of this production is the use of a choir, scattered amongst the trees of the forest throughout the play, who provide a variety of sound effects (birdsong, sheep etc) as well as performing some beautifully strange choral music composed for the production by Orlando Gough.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
'Poppy + George' by Diane Samuels
25 February 2016
Watford Palace Theatre has a strong commitment to new writing and it was good to be there last Saturday to see 'Poppy + George' – a new play by Diane Samuels. Set in a dressmaker's workshop in London in 1919, 'Poppy + George' explores changing gender roles in a world still coming to terms with the transformations caused by the Great War. Jennie Darnell's production had much to commend, including a wonderful set by Ruari Murchinson and great acting by all four cast members. And it was interesting to see the use of music hall songs and comic routines in Watford Palace Theatre, which was itself a music hall in the early twentieth century. But the play felt like it still needed some work to make it click. There was an inconsistency of tone that made it hard to know what level of realism was being aimed for. From the opening scene it was immediately obvious to the audience that the young man, George the chauffeur, was being played by a female actor. But it took the whole first half of the play before we were presented with the revelation that George was a woman pretending to be a man. Once the 'secret' was out the play became much more interesting, comparing two approaches to how women might assume roles previously reserved for men. The contrast between the comedy of the music hall female impersonator and the seriousness of the woman living as a man was also cleverly constructed. George's story reminded me of Jackie Kay's novel 'Trumpet' (reviewed here in September 2011) but Diane Samuels' play didn't feel quite as effective as it could have been.
Watford Palace Theatre has a strong commitment to new writing and it was good to be there last Saturday to see 'Poppy + George' – a new play by Diane Samuels. Set in a dressmaker's workshop in London in 1919, 'Poppy + George' explores changing gender roles in a world still coming to terms with the transformations caused by the Great War. Jennie Darnell's production had much to commend, including a wonderful set by Ruari Murchinson and great acting by all four cast members. And it was interesting to see the use of music hall songs and comic routines in Watford Palace Theatre, which was itself a music hall in the early twentieth century. But the play felt like it still needed some work to make it click. There was an inconsistency of tone that made it hard to know what level of realism was being aimed for. From the opening scene it was immediately obvious to the audience that the young man, George the chauffeur, was being played by a female actor. But it took the whole first half of the play before we were presented with the revelation that George was a woman pretending to be a man. Once the 'secret' was out the play became much more interesting, comparing two approaches to how women might assume roles previously reserved for men. The contrast between the comedy of the music hall female impersonator and the seriousness of the woman living as a man was also cleverly constructed. George's story reminded me of Jackie Kay's novel 'Trumpet' (reviewed here in September 2011) but Diane Samuels' play didn't feel quite as effective as it could have been.
Friday, February 19, 2016
David Mitchell and Kazuo Ishiguro in conversation
19 February 2016
On Thursday I was at the Royal Festival Hall to see two of my favourite contemporary British novelists, David Mitchell and Kazuo Ishiguro, in conversation with each other. It was a fascinating event – a free-flowing discussion without a chair that was completely compelling. Both authors clearly knew each other's novels extremely well and they quizzed each other about technique, genre, plot and much more. Short film clips were used as a prompt to move the conversation on but I suspect they could have carried on their conversation all night without these. In my review here of David Mitchell's latest novel 'Slade House' (in November 2015) I noted the similarities to Kazuo Ishiguro's evocation of dreaming, 'The Unconsoled', so it was wonderful to hear the authors themselves discussing the links between their works. The two writers were a great double act – Kazuo Ishiguro's serious, taciturn delivery contrasting with David Mitchell's smiling enthusiasm. It was refreshing to see a literary event that was not about blatantly plugging their latest novels. And it was great to see a huge audience (of more than 1,000 people I think) for a fairly cerebral literary discussion.
On Thursday I was at the Royal Festival Hall to see two of my favourite contemporary British novelists, David Mitchell and Kazuo Ishiguro, in conversation with each other. It was a fascinating event – a free-flowing discussion without a chair that was completely compelling. Both authors clearly knew each other's novels extremely well and they quizzed each other about technique, genre, plot and much more. Short film clips were used as a prompt to move the conversation on but I suspect they could have carried on their conversation all night without these. In my review here of David Mitchell's latest novel 'Slade House' (in November 2015) I noted the similarities to Kazuo Ishiguro's evocation of dreaming, 'The Unconsoled', so it was wonderful to hear the authors themselves discussing the links between their works. The two writers were a great double act – Kazuo Ishiguro's serious, taciturn delivery contrasting with David Mitchell's smiling enthusiasm. It was refreshing to see a literary event that was not about blatantly plugging their latest novels. And it was great to see a huge audience (of more than 1,000 people I think) for a fairly cerebral literary discussion.
'Purity' by Jonathan Franzen
19 February 2016
Jonathan Franzen’s wonderful 2001 novel ‘The Corrections’ cleverly made the reader sympathise simultaneously with people who held completely opposing points of view – turning apparently unlikeable characters into sympathetic people. Franzen's new novel 'Purity' seems to reverse this approach: the more we get to know each of the main characters, exploring their backstories in lengthy flashbacks, the less likeable they seem to become. 'Purity' (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Dylan Baker, Jenna Lamia and Robert Petkoff) is another mammoth novel addressing 'state of the nation' issues while focussing on the minutae of family life – with much in common with 'The Corrections' and Franzen's 2010 novel 'Freedom' (reviewed here in April 2012). In 'Purity' he tackles the Internet and the world of Julian Assange, Edward Snowden et al. Large parts of the book portray events in East Germany prior to the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The prose is beautifully written but the subject matter is often quite grim and each section of the book – exploring events through the eyes of each of the principal characters in turn – is incredibly long, making it difficult to remember characters and events from the earlier chapters when you finally return to them near the end of the book. The main protagonist, a young woman called Purity, is nicknamed Pip – suggesting parallels with 'Great Expectations', particularly when we learn that Pip may well be about to come into a fortune – but the potential links to Dickens feel disappointingly under-explored. Jonathan Franzen is a fascinating and impressive novelist but I would not recommend new readers to start with 'Purity'.
Jonathan Franzen’s wonderful 2001 novel ‘The Corrections’ cleverly made the reader sympathise simultaneously with people who held completely opposing points of view – turning apparently unlikeable characters into sympathetic people. Franzen's new novel 'Purity' seems to reverse this approach: the more we get to know each of the main characters, exploring their backstories in lengthy flashbacks, the less likeable they seem to become. 'Purity' (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Dylan Baker, Jenna Lamia and Robert Petkoff) is another mammoth novel addressing 'state of the nation' issues while focussing on the minutae of family life – with much in common with 'The Corrections' and Franzen's 2010 novel 'Freedom' (reviewed here in April 2012). In 'Purity' he tackles the Internet and the world of Julian Assange, Edward Snowden et al. Large parts of the book portray events in East Germany prior to the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The prose is beautifully written but the subject matter is often quite grim and each section of the book – exploring events through the eyes of each of the principal characters in turn – is incredibly long, making it difficult to remember characters and events from the earlier chapters when you finally return to them near the end of the book. The main protagonist, a young woman called Purity, is nicknamed Pip – suggesting parallels with 'Great Expectations', particularly when we learn that Pip may well be about to come into a fortune – but the potential links to Dickens feel disappointingly under-explored. Jonathan Franzen is a fascinating and impressive novelist but I would not recommend new readers to start with 'Purity'.
Hampton Court Palace
19 February 2016
Last Sunday we made our first visit to Hampton Court Palace – Henry VIII's royal palace on the banks of the Thames in Surrey. Hampton Court is one of those iconic historic buildings that feels immediately familiar. We worked our way through the historic maze and explored the parts of the palace that showcase the influence of Henry VIII and William III. It's a huge site that you could easily spend all day discovering. One of our highlights was the newly opened Cumberland Art Gallery – a small suite of rooms in the centre of the palace that now houses a selection of paintings from the Royal Collection. These include works by Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Gainsborough and a whole room of Canalettos.
Last Sunday we made our first visit to Hampton Court Palace – Henry VIII's royal palace on the banks of the Thames in Surrey. Hampton Court is one of those iconic historic buildings that feels immediately familiar. We worked our way through the historic maze and explored the parts of the palace that showcase the influence of Henry VIII and William III. It's a huge site that you could easily spend all day discovering. One of our highlights was the newly opened Cumberland Art Gallery – a small suite of rooms in the centre of the palace that now houses a selection of paintings from the Royal Collection. These include works by Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Gainsborough and a whole room of Canalettos.
Friday, February 12, 2016
'The Herbal Bed' by Peter Whelan
12 February 2016
I discovered this week that Shakespeare's last direct descendant is buried in Abington Church in Northampton. Elizabeth, Shakespeare's granddaughter, ended her life as Lady Barnard, wife of the MP for Huntingdon. This added a local angle to the Northampton Royal & Derngate production of Peter Whelan's play 'The Herbal Bed' which we saw at the Royal Theatre in Northampton last Saturday. Elizabeth appears as a young girl in the drama, playing in the garden of her parents, Susanna and Dr John Hall, in Stratford-upon-Avon. This is the first revival of Whelan's play since the original Royal Shakespeare Company production in 1996. It deals with the actual allegations that Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna, had an affair with a married neighbour. She was acquitted by an ecclesiastical court in Worcester in 1613 but 'The Herbal Bed' looks at what might have led to the allegations and how it might have affected all those involved. It's a cleverly constructed play: there is a great scene where four characters have agreed to support each other by embroidering the truth but each have been given a slightly different version of the story they are intending to stick to. William Shakespeare himself is peripheral to the play and does not appear as a character but is, nonetheless, a powerful off-stage presence. Whelan resists the temptation to throw in Shakespearean references or mimic the bard: this is more a social history of the period. James Dacre's production was impressive and the cast were all strong, though the show was stolen by Jonathan Fensom's beautiful set which inventively recreated both the garden at Hall Croft and Worcester Cathedral very effectively on the stage.
I discovered this week that Shakespeare's last direct descendant is buried in Abington Church in Northampton. Elizabeth, Shakespeare's granddaughter, ended her life as Lady Barnard, wife of the MP for Huntingdon. This added a local angle to the Northampton Royal & Derngate production of Peter Whelan's play 'The Herbal Bed' which we saw at the Royal Theatre in Northampton last Saturday. Elizabeth appears as a young girl in the drama, playing in the garden of her parents, Susanna and Dr John Hall, in Stratford-upon-Avon. This is the first revival of Whelan's play since the original Royal Shakespeare Company production in 1996. It deals with the actual allegations that Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna, had an affair with a married neighbour. She was acquitted by an ecclesiastical court in Worcester in 1613 but 'The Herbal Bed' looks at what might have led to the allegations and how it might have affected all those involved. It's a cleverly constructed play: there is a great scene where four characters have agreed to support each other by embroidering the truth but each have been given a slightly different version of the story they are intending to stick to. William Shakespeare himself is peripheral to the play and does not appear as a character but is, nonetheless, a powerful off-stage presence. Whelan resists the temptation to throw in Shakespearean references or mimic the bard: this is more a social history of the period. James Dacre's production was impressive and the cast were all strong, though the show was stolen by Jonathan Fensom's beautiful set which inventively recreated both the garden at Hall Croft and Worcester Cathedral very effectively on the stage.
Friday, February 05, 2016
'Areas of High Traffic' by Damien O'Kane
5 February 2016
I've been enjoying 'Areas of High Traffic' – the new album from Irish folk singer, banjo player and guitarist Damien O'Kane. This is a collection of mostly traditional Irish songs in contemporary arrangements which sound more like gentle rock music than folk. This approach to reworking traditional folk songs has a lot in common with O'Kane's English contemporary, Jim Moray (reviewed here in August 2008 and July 2011), though based more around a band of musicians than the electronica often used by Moray. Damien O'Kane, who comes from Coleraine, has a gentle singing voice and has created some beautiful arrangements – delicate easy listening with a hint of melancholy. And if you listen carefully you can pick out the distinctive voice of Damien O'Kane's wife Kate Rusby (reviewed here in June 2006) on backing vocals.
I've been enjoying 'Areas of High Traffic' – the new album from Irish folk singer, banjo player and guitarist Damien O'Kane. This is a collection of mostly traditional Irish songs in contemporary arrangements which sound more like gentle rock music than folk. This approach to reworking traditional folk songs has a lot in common with O'Kane's English contemporary, Jim Moray (reviewed here in August 2008 and July 2011), though based more around a band of musicians than the electronica often used by Moray. Damien O'Kane, who comes from Coleraine, has a gentle singing voice and has created some beautiful arrangements – delicate easy listening with a hint of melancholy. And if you listen carefully you can pick out the distinctive voice of Damien O'Kane's wife Kate Rusby (reviewed here in June 2006) on backing vocals.
Friday, January 29, 2016
'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' by Christopher Hampton
29 January 2016
I've never been to the Donmar Warehouse in London but the live broadcast of the Donmar production of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' (which I watched at Cineworld in Milton Keynes yesterday) made it look like the perfect intimate venue for this most intimate of plays. The small Donmar stage was arranged as a candlelit drawing room with the 251 audience seats inches away from the actors on three sides, making you feel you were in the room with Valmont and Merteuil – even from the vantage point of the cinema screen. Christopher Hampton's play, based on the 18th century epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, starts as farce and ends as tragedy. I had not seen the play before and I think I have only seen the famous Stephen Frears film once on television (though I would strongly recommend Milos Forman's 1989 film 'Valmont' – an alternative adaptation of the original novel starring Colin Firth and Annette Benning) but the characters, plot and even the dialogue felt incredibly familiar. It's dark and witty and both Janet McTeer (as La Marquise de Merteuil) and Dominic West (as Le Vicomte de Valmont) were excellent. Janet McTeer has a wonderful way of dropping her voice for each bitingly bitchy aside and manages to be simultaneously charming and deeply sinister. The cinema screening featured a live interval interview with Christopher Hampton and the director Josie Rourke in which Rourke entertainingly got a fit of giggles. Her production has a fin de siècle feel, anticipating the coming French revolution by starting in grandeur and heading towards decay as more and more paintings are removed from the walls and the furniture is covered by dust sheets. But it was the acting that shone and you can sample the delicious vocal performances with a free download of members of the Donmar cast reading some of the letters from the original novel at http://www.audible.co.uk/donmar.
I've never been to the Donmar Warehouse in London but the live broadcast of the Donmar production of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' (which I watched at Cineworld in Milton Keynes yesterday) made it look like the perfect intimate venue for this most intimate of plays. The small Donmar stage was arranged as a candlelit drawing room with the 251 audience seats inches away from the actors on three sides, making you feel you were in the room with Valmont and Merteuil – even from the vantage point of the cinema screen. Christopher Hampton's play, based on the 18th century epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, starts as farce and ends as tragedy. I had not seen the play before and I think I have only seen the famous Stephen Frears film once on television (though I would strongly recommend Milos Forman's 1989 film 'Valmont' – an alternative adaptation of the original novel starring Colin Firth and Annette Benning) but the characters, plot and even the dialogue felt incredibly familiar. It's dark and witty and both Janet McTeer (as La Marquise de Merteuil) and Dominic West (as Le Vicomte de Valmont) were excellent. Janet McTeer has a wonderful way of dropping her voice for each bitingly bitchy aside and manages to be simultaneously charming and deeply sinister. The cinema screening featured a live interval interview with Christopher Hampton and the director Josie Rourke in which Rourke entertainingly got a fit of giggles. Her production has a fin de siècle feel, anticipating the coming French revolution by starting in grandeur and heading towards decay as more and more paintings are removed from the walls and the furniture is covered by dust sheets. But it was the acting that shone and you can sample the delicious vocal performances with a free download of members of the Donmar cast reading some of the letters from the original novel at http://www.audible.co.uk/donmar.
Friday, January 22, 2016
'Junun' by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood and the Rajasthan Express
22 January 2016
'Junun' is a wonderfully hard-to-categorise album of music by the Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, recorded with a troupe of Sufi qawwali musicians and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood in a 600-year-old Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. I liked it already from that description but the experience of listening to the music didn't disappoint. Harmonium, the vocal qawwali chorus and Indian percussion are joined by a six-piece brass section, guitar, bass, electronics, solo vocalists, the bowed sarangi and kamayacha (lutes). The result is surprisingly gentle, cheerful music with a haunting, mystical quality. Hard to categorise, hard to describe but easy to listen to and very rewarding.
'Junun' is a wonderfully hard-to-categorise album of music by the Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, recorded with a troupe of Sufi qawwali musicians and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood in a 600-year-old Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. I liked it already from that description but the experience of listening to the music didn't disappoint. Harmonium, the vocal qawwali chorus and Indian percussion are joined by a six-piece brass section, guitar, bass, electronics, solo vocalists, the bowed sarangi and kamayacha (lutes). The result is surprisingly gentle, cheerful music with a haunting, mystical quality. Hard to categorise, hard to describe but easy to listen to and very rewarding.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
'Her Story' by Sam Barlow
14 January 2016
It's taken more than 10 years for me to get round to reviewing a computer game here but this week I have become hooked on 'Her Story' – a narrative game for PC, Mac and iOS, written and directed by Sam Barlow and starring the actor Viva Seifert. Although it is packaged and sold as a game, 'Her Story' feels more like a TV detective serial, albeit with a high level of interactivity as you can watch the story unfolding in an almost infinite number of permutations. You use a 1990s Windows desktop to access a database of short video clips which show a woman answering questions in a police interview room. She has come to the police station to her report her husband as missing but there seems to be much more to her story. The video clips are mostly less than a minute long and rather than watching them in straightforward chronological order you select individual clips by typing terms into a search box. This allows you to piece together what has happened by picking up on particular names or words from a previous answer and investigating them further. You never hear the police questions – just the interviewee's answers. And a timecode indicates that the database seems to contain several different interviews with the same woman over a period of weeks in the summer of 1994. The story is very cleverly constructed: even if you stumble across a vital clue very early on you won't appreciate its significance until much later. It's very satisfying as you begin to make sense of the mystery and test your theories by further word searches. But there is a strong element of ambiguity which I suspect means that you may never clarify every detail of the plot. And just as you think you've got it all worked out you begin to realise that you are playing a specific role in this story yourself. 'Her Story' is a rather brilliant exercise in non-linear narrative – intriguingly addictive.
It's taken more than 10 years for me to get round to reviewing a computer game here but this week I have become hooked on 'Her Story' – a narrative game for PC, Mac and iOS, written and directed by Sam Barlow and starring the actor Viva Seifert. Although it is packaged and sold as a game, 'Her Story' feels more like a TV detective serial, albeit with a high level of interactivity as you can watch the story unfolding in an almost infinite number of permutations. You use a 1990s Windows desktop to access a database of short video clips which show a woman answering questions in a police interview room. She has come to the police station to her report her husband as missing but there seems to be much more to her story. The video clips are mostly less than a minute long and rather than watching them in straightforward chronological order you select individual clips by typing terms into a search box. This allows you to piece together what has happened by picking up on particular names or words from a previous answer and investigating them further. You never hear the police questions – just the interviewee's answers. And a timecode indicates that the database seems to contain several different interviews with the same woman over a period of weeks in the summer of 1994. The story is very cleverly constructed: even if you stumble across a vital clue very early on you won't appreciate its significance until much later. It's very satisfying as you begin to make sense of the mystery and test your theories by further word searches. But there is a strong element of ambiguity which I suspect means that you may never clarify every detail of the plot. And just as you think you've got it all worked out you begin to realise that you are playing a specific role in this story yourself. 'Her Story' is a rather brilliant exercise in non-linear narrative – intriguingly addictive.
Thursday, January 07, 2016
'Number 11' by Jonathan Coe
7 January 2016
It must have been around 1996 when we discovered Jonathan Coe's novel 'What a Carve Up' in a second-hand bookshop in Cambridge. Never having heard of the author or the book we were attracted simply by the shiny cover (with its juxtaposition of Yuri Gagarin and Shirley Eaton) and by the price (I think it was just 99p!). We quickly realised what a comic gem we had stumbled upon. Jonathan Coe is now one of my favourite contemporary novelists. His 2001 novel 'The Rotters' Club', its TV adaptation and its sequel 'The Closed Circle' (2004) brought Coe greater public attention. I've enjoyed all his novels and have written here about 'The Rain Before It Falls' (in August 2008), 'The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim' (August 2011) and 'Expo 58' (September 2013). But it is his dark satire on the Thatcherite 1980s, published in 1994, that remains my favourite. It was a real thrill, therefore, to discover that Jonathan Coe has now written a sequel (of sorts – perhaps more of a companion piece) to 'What a Carve Up'. 'Number 11' catalogues Cameron's Coalition Government Britain – with its food banks, reality TV, closing libraries and exploitation of migrant workers. The novel (which I have just read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Jessica Hynes and Rory Kinnear) has an episodic structure – a set of short stories that take some time to reveal the links between them. And, though few members of the infamous Winshaw family survived the denouement of the original novel, their ghosts hang heavy over modern Britain as their protégés and disciples seem to hold the reins of power. It's a bleak but very funny tale and Coe is in playful mood. The number 11 appears in a variety of guises (it seems to be the number of every significant house in the story) and there is more than a hint of “turning it up to 11”. We also return to the 1961 British film, 'What a Carve Up' which provided the driving narrative of the original novel – or rather to its successor 'What a Whopper' (more of a companion piece than a sequel). In fact 'Number 11' ends up as a bumper Quality Street tin of themes, motifs and cultural references – and is all the more fun for it. There is a relatively self-contained detective story sandwiched in the middle of the book that is so beautifully constructed and wittily concluded I felt like applauding when it ended. 'Number 11' is inevitably not quite as stunning as its brilliant precursor but its a bravura encore that had me seething with rage at the modern world while simultaneously unable to stop myself beaming with joy.
It must have been around 1996 when we discovered Jonathan Coe's novel 'What a Carve Up' in a second-hand bookshop in Cambridge. Never having heard of the author or the book we were attracted simply by the shiny cover (with its juxtaposition of Yuri Gagarin and Shirley Eaton) and by the price (I think it was just 99p!). We quickly realised what a comic gem we had stumbled upon. Jonathan Coe is now one of my favourite contemporary novelists. His 2001 novel 'The Rotters' Club', its TV adaptation and its sequel 'The Closed Circle' (2004) brought Coe greater public attention. I've enjoyed all his novels and have written here about 'The Rain Before It Falls' (in August 2008), 'The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim' (August 2011) and 'Expo 58' (September 2013). But it is his dark satire on the Thatcherite 1980s, published in 1994, that remains my favourite. It was a real thrill, therefore, to discover that Jonathan Coe has now written a sequel (of sorts – perhaps more of a companion piece) to 'What a Carve Up'. 'Number 11' catalogues Cameron's Coalition Government Britain – with its food banks, reality TV, closing libraries and exploitation of migrant workers. The novel (which I have just read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Jessica Hynes and Rory Kinnear) has an episodic structure – a set of short stories that take some time to reveal the links between them. And, though few members of the infamous Winshaw family survived the denouement of the original novel, their ghosts hang heavy over modern Britain as their protégés and disciples seem to hold the reins of power. It's a bleak but very funny tale and Coe is in playful mood. The number 11 appears in a variety of guises (it seems to be the number of every significant house in the story) and there is more than a hint of “turning it up to 11”. We also return to the 1961 British film, 'What a Carve Up' which provided the driving narrative of the original novel – or rather to its successor 'What a Whopper' (more of a companion piece than a sequel). In fact 'Number 11' ends up as a bumper Quality Street tin of themes, motifs and cultural references – and is all the more fun for it. There is a relatively self-contained detective story sandwiched in the middle of the book that is so beautifully constructed and wittily concluded I felt like applauding when it ended. 'Number 11' is inevitably not quite as stunning as its brilliant precursor but its a bravura encore that had me seething with rage at the modern world while simultaneously unable to stop myself beaming with joy.
Monday, December 14, 2015
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
14 December 2015
The Northampton Symphony Orchestra's annual Christmas Cracker Concert always feels like the start of the festive season. It's a lovely family-friendly Sunday afternoon celebration of Christmas music, which each year seems to feature the orchestra wearing ever more ridiculous attire. The prize this year must go to my fellow horn player Ian Frankland who played the entire second half of the concert dressed as a giant Christmas cracker! Sunday's concert was the first Christmas Cracker for our new regular conductor John Gibbons, who also took on the role of compère. Our theme was 'Christmas in the Toy Box' – a programme including Leon Jessel's 'Parade of the Tin Soldiers' and music by Randy Newman from the film 'Toy Story'. We also played Malcolm Arnold's 'Fantasy on Christmas Carols' and the 'Sleigh Rides' by Frederick Delius and Leroy Anderson (finishing with a pair of braying trumpets to surprise our regular audience). But the main attraction was 'Paddington Bear's First Concert' – one of the best works for orchestra and narrator – in which Herbert Chappell creates an extensive theme and variations from his signature tune for the old BBC TV 'Paddington'. Michael Bond's story is quintessential 'Paddington' and our performance on Sunday was brilliantly brought to life by former NSO conductor Graham Tear whose Paddington, Mrs Bird and Mr Gruber were spot on!
The Northampton Symphony Orchestra's annual Christmas Cracker Concert always feels like the start of the festive season. It's a lovely family-friendly Sunday afternoon celebration of Christmas music, which each year seems to feature the orchestra wearing ever more ridiculous attire. The prize this year must go to my fellow horn player Ian Frankland who played the entire second half of the concert dressed as a giant Christmas cracker! Sunday's concert was the first Christmas Cracker for our new regular conductor John Gibbons, who also took on the role of compère. Our theme was 'Christmas in the Toy Box' – a programme including Leon Jessel's 'Parade of the Tin Soldiers' and music by Randy Newman from the film 'Toy Story'. We also played Malcolm Arnold's 'Fantasy on Christmas Carols' and the 'Sleigh Rides' by Frederick Delius and Leroy Anderson (finishing with a pair of braying trumpets to surprise our regular audience). But the main attraction was 'Paddington Bear's First Concert' – one of the best works for orchestra and narrator – in which Herbert Chappell creates an extensive theme and variations from his signature tune for the old BBC TV 'Paddington'. Michael Bond's story is quintessential 'Paddington' and our performance on Sunday was brilliantly brought to life by former NSO conductor Graham Tear whose Paddington, Mrs Bird and Mr Gruber were spot on!
Friday, December 11, 2015
'Robin Hood: The Arrow in the Oak' by Sue Sachon
11 December 2015
On Saturday we were back at the TADS Theatre in Toddington for the amateur theatre group's annual pantomime. Each year they present a wholly original pantomime, written by a member of the company. This year the show was Sue Sachon's 'Robin Hood: The Arrow in the Oak'. All the usual pantomime elements were incorporated into a story that drew on some lesser known legends of Robin Hood as well as turning the famous archery contest into an X-factor-style talent contest. The cast were great. I particularly enjoyed the performances by Elizabeth Hall and Emily Venn as the Sheriff of Nottingham's henchmen – they looked like they were having a ball! The whole thing was great fun but the best moment was in the kitchen scene where the chef sneezed and a small child in the audience automatically, quietly and very politely said “bless you”.
On Saturday we were back at the TADS Theatre in Toddington for the amateur theatre group's annual pantomime. Each year they present a wholly original pantomime, written by a member of the company. This year the show was Sue Sachon's 'Robin Hood: The Arrow in the Oak'. All the usual pantomime elements were incorporated into a story that drew on some lesser known legends of Robin Hood as well as turning the famous archery contest into an X-factor-style talent contest. The cast were great. I particularly enjoyed the performances by Elizabeth Hall and Emily Venn as the Sheriff of Nottingham's henchmen – they looked like they were having a ball! The whole thing was great fun but the best moment was in the kitchen scene where the chef sneezed and a small child in the audience automatically, quietly and very politely said “bless you”.
'A God in Ruins' by Kate Atkinson
11 December 2015
Kate Atkinson's novel 'Life After Life' (reviewed here in June 2013) was a family saga with a twist, following Ursula Todd through a series of interrupted versions of her life with a Groundhog Day structure. Though Ursula's life, spanning most of the twentieth century, is the focus of the book, it is the love story of her younger brother Teddy and his childhood sweetheart Nancy that forms the emotional heart of the novel. Kate Atkinson has now returned to the Todd family with 'A God in Ruins' – a sequel or companion piece to 'Life After Life' (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Alex Jennings) which tells Teddy's story. Kate Atkinson is an ambitious novelist whose beautifully written prose creates very easily accessible books that play mischievously with the form of the novel. In 'A God in Ruins' she abandons the tricksy stop-start format of 'Life After Life' in favour of painting a picture of Teddy's life which jumps forwards and backwards in time, only gradually filling in the gaps. This jigsaw plot wrong-foots the reader as many of our assumptions and theories are disproved. Atkinson also pulls the rug from under fans of the previous novel by showing Teddy to have had a fairly dull life, his romance with Nancy proving not to have been quite so perfect as Ursula thought it. 'A God in Ruins' is dominated by Teddy's wartime service as a bomber pilot: the descriptions of bombing missions over Germany are detailed and harrowing and this experience colours all of Teddy's later life and relationships. 'A God in Ruins' is a uniformly melancholy book and often feels quite slow (and maybe over long) but I can forgive it much for its ending – do read right to the end for a satisfyingly clever twist. 'A God in Ruins' is sad, slow, frustrating but also rather brilliant.
Kate Atkinson's novel 'Life After Life' (reviewed here in June 2013) was a family saga with a twist, following Ursula Todd through a series of interrupted versions of her life with a Groundhog Day structure. Though Ursula's life, spanning most of the twentieth century, is the focus of the book, it is the love story of her younger brother Teddy and his childhood sweetheart Nancy that forms the emotional heart of the novel. Kate Atkinson has now returned to the Todd family with 'A God in Ruins' – a sequel or companion piece to 'Life After Life' (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Alex Jennings) which tells Teddy's story. Kate Atkinson is an ambitious novelist whose beautifully written prose creates very easily accessible books that play mischievously with the form of the novel. In 'A God in Ruins' she abandons the tricksy stop-start format of 'Life After Life' in favour of painting a picture of Teddy's life which jumps forwards and backwards in time, only gradually filling in the gaps. This jigsaw plot wrong-foots the reader as many of our assumptions and theories are disproved. Atkinson also pulls the rug from under fans of the previous novel by showing Teddy to have had a fairly dull life, his romance with Nancy proving not to have been quite so perfect as Ursula thought it. 'A God in Ruins' is dominated by Teddy's wartime service as a bomber pilot: the descriptions of bombing missions over Germany are detailed and harrowing and this experience colours all of Teddy's later life and relationships. 'A God in Ruins' is a uniformly melancholy book and often feels quite slow (and maybe over long) but I can forgive it much for its ending – do read right to the end for a satisfyingly clever twist. 'A God in Ruins' is sad, slow, frustrating but also rather brilliant.
Friday, December 04, 2015
The Polka Dots
4 December 2015
On Saturday we were at the Abbey Theatre in St Albans to see The Polka Dots – a female vocal trio who sing close harmony swing in the style of the Andrews Sisters. Their material includes songs from the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s as well as more contemporary repertoire (including Sade, Amy Winehouse, George Michael and Caro Emerald songs) but all sung (to backing tracks) in big-band arrangements. The Polka Dots are very impressive singers and their between-songs patter and banter are charming – with three strong personalities shining through. With the addition of some slickly co-ordinated dancing this added up to a very entertaining evening. And it seemed like most of the enthusiastic, packed audience were Polka Dots regulars.
On Saturday we were at the Abbey Theatre in St Albans to see The Polka Dots – a female vocal trio who sing close harmony swing in the style of the Andrews Sisters. Their material includes songs from the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s as well as more contemporary repertoire (including Sade, Amy Winehouse, George Michael and Caro Emerald songs) but all sung (to backing tracks) in big-band arrangements. The Polka Dots are very impressive singers and their between-songs patter and banter are charming – with three strong personalities shining through. With the addition of some slickly co-ordinated dancing this added up to a very entertaining evening. And it seemed like most of the enthusiastic, packed audience were Polka Dots regulars.
Friday, November 27, 2015
'The Winter's Tale' by William Shakespeare
27 November 2015
On Thursday I was at Leighton Buzzard Theatre to see the live screening of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company production of 'The Winter's Tale' from the Garrick Theatre in London. It was great to see Branagh on stage again: his performance as Leontes reminded me of seeing him in Chekhov’s ‘Ivanov’ (reviewed here in September 2008). He is a very physical performer, his whole body crumpling as he discovers the devastating news of his son's death. It was also wonderful to see Judi Dench as Paulina, exuding a moral authority but also a mischievous humour. Kenneth Branagh and Rob Ashford previously co-directed the 2013 Manchester International Festival production of Macbeth (reviewed here in July 2013). Their 'Winter's Tale' felt like a fairly old-fashioned production, without many bells and whistles, with the focus on the acting – which was of a universally high standard. And the 'exit pursued by a bear' – so often a risible moment – used video projection to make it savagely frightening.
On Thursday I was at Leighton Buzzard Theatre to see the live screening of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company production of 'The Winter's Tale' from the Garrick Theatre in London. It was great to see Branagh on stage again: his performance as Leontes reminded me of seeing him in Chekhov’s ‘Ivanov’ (reviewed here in September 2008). He is a very physical performer, his whole body crumpling as he discovers the devastating news of his son's death. It was also wonderful to see Judi Dench as Paulina, exuding a moral authority but also a mischievous humour. Kenneth Branagh and Rob Ashford previously co-directed the 2013 Manchester International Festival production of Macbeth (reviewed here in July 2013). Their 'Winter's Tale' felt like a fairly old-fashioned production, without many bells and whistles, with the focus on the acting – which was of a universally high standard. And the 'exit pursued by a bear' – so often a risible moment – used video projection to make it savagely frightening.
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