27 September 2019
We had a wonderful holiday in Germany last week, staying in Ruhpolding – a beautiful small town in the Bavarian Alps, 30 minutes from Salzburg. The flat valleys, steep mountains and lush green countryside were very similar to the area around Kitzbuhel in the Austrian Tyrol, which we visited in September 2016. We had some lovely late summer sunshine and used the cable cars and chair lifts to get some spectacular views. We did a lot of walking - on the Rauchsberg, Hochfelln and Unternberg mountains, around the Lödensee, Mittersee and Weitsee lakes and from the towns of Reit im Winkl and Inzell as well as visiting the pretty medieval town of Traunstein. You can see a selection of my holiday photos at: https://culturaloutlook.blogspot.com/search/label/Bavaria2019
Friday, September 27, 2019
Friday, September 13, 2019
'French Exit' by Patrick deWitt
13 September 2019
Patrick deWitt is trying to be the Stanley Kubrick of contemporary novelists, with each of his books exploring a completely different genre. After his brilliant quirky Gold Rush Western ‘The Sisters Brothers’ (reviewed here in October 2015) and the strange, funny, middle-European fairytale ‘Undermajordomo Minor’ (reviewed here in September 2016) he has now turned his hand to an old-fashioned ‘tragedy of manners’ in his latest novel ‘French Exit’ which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Laurence Bouvard. This feels like a chamber piece compared to the previous novels: it is a fairly short book in which not too much happens. A rich widow and her son lose their fortune and have to leave Manhattan to live in a friend’s apartment in Paris. Along the way they accumulate a collection of friends, acquaintances and tradesmen to whom they are mostly rude or indifferent. It’s an odd tale, slightly surreal and often frustrating. None of the characters are particularly likeable but the book has a strange charm. It reminded me a little of the play ‘You Can’t Take It With You’ by George S Kaufman and Moss Hart (reviewed here in January 2012) which features a house guest who arrived six years ago to deliver ice and never left. There is also an echo of PG Wodehouse about the idle rich characters – and the novel feels like it should be set in the Wodehouse era, despite apparently being present-day. It’s not trying to be funny in the manner of Wodehouse, though it builds gently until you reach a set-piece farce scene without realising it. ‘French Exit’ is a peculiar, detached piece of storytelling which I didn’t think was entirely successful but Patrick deWitt is a fascinating writer and it will be interesting to see which genre he chooses next.
Patrick deWitt is trying to be the Stanley Kubrick of contemporary novelists, with each of his books exploring a completely different genre. After his brilliant quirky Gold Rush Western ‘The Sisters Brothers’ (reviewed here in October 2015) and the strange, funny, middle-European fairytale ‘Undermajordomo Minor’ (reviewed here in September 2016) he has now turned his hand to an old-fashioned ‘tragedy of manners’ in his latest novel ‘French Exit’ which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Laurence Bouvard. This feels like a chamber piece compared to the previous novels: it is a fairly short book in which not too much happens. A rich widow and her son lose their fortune and have to leave Manhattan to live in a friend’s apartment in Paris. Along the way they accumulate a collection of friends, acquaintances and tradesmen to whom they are mostly rude or indifferent. It’s an odd tale, slightly surreal and often frustrating. None of the characters are particularly likeable but the book has a strange charm. It reminded me a little of the play ‘You Can’t Take It With You’ by George S Kaufman and Moss Hart (reviewed here in January 2012) which features a house guest who arrived six years ago to deliver ice and never left. There is also an echo of PG Wodehouse about the idle rich characters – and the novel feels like it should be set in the Wodehouse era, despite apparently being present-day. It’s not trying to be funny in the manner of Wodehouse, though it builds gently until you reach a set-piece farce scene without realising it. ‘French Exit’ is a peculiar, detached piece of storytelling which I didn’t think was entirely successful but Patrick deWitt is a fascinating writer and it will be interesting to see which genre he chooses next.
Friday, September 06, 2019
'The Entertainer' by John Osborne
6 September 2019
On Thursday we were at Milton Keynes Theatre to see ‘The Entertainer’ by John Osborne. ‘The Entertainer’ is such an iconic play, famous for Laurence Olivier’s self-deprecating performance and his endorsement of the angry young playwright. It’s one of those plays you feel you know, without having seen it. So it was fascinating to sit through a performance of ‘The Entertainer’ for the first time and to find that much of the play wasn’t what I had expected. The front-of-curtain routines in which the fading music-hall star Archie Rice is objectionable, embarrassing and sad yet, still manages occasionally to be genuinely funny, were wonderfully performed by Shane Richie. But the scenes in his family home surprised me, with Sara Crowe’s Phoebe an apparent prototype for Beverley in Abigail’s Party (reviewed here in March 2018) and the Rice family dynamic an uncanny predecessor of the Trotters in ‘Only Fools and Horses’. I also saw an unexpected parallel with 'The Remains of the Day' by Kazuo Ishiguro – both stories reflecting on the end of empire and a shift in Britain’s place in the world. Bizarrely, I spotted this similarity because Pip Donaghy, who played Archie’s father Billy Rice – a retired performer coaxed back onto the stage by his son, with disastrous consequences – also played Stevens Senior – a retired butler coaxed back into service by his son, with disastrous consequences – in the stage adaptation of ‘The Remains of the Day’ that we saw at the Royal Theatre, Northampton earlier this year (reviewed here in March 2019). Sean O’Connor’s production of ‘The Entertainer’ shifts the setting from 1957, with its backdrop of the Suez crisis, to 1982 and the Falklands War. This works well, without requiring much adjustment to the text. The action is interspersed with recordings of news broadcasts, giant projections of tabloid newspaper headlines and plenty of 80s pop music. This setting also now has the effect of making Archie Rice – as an ageing old-fashioned comedian in the early 1980s – seem even more seedy. ‘The Entertainer’ is an uncomfortable watch – a sad commentary on Britain’s global role that feels very timely.
On Thursday we were at Milton Keynes Theatre to see ‘The Entertainer’ by John Osborne. ‘The Entertainer’ is such an iconic play, famous for Laurence Olivier’s self-deprecating performance and his endorsement of the angry young playwright. It’s one of those plays you feel you know, without having seen it. So it was fascinating to sit through a performance of ‘The Entertainer’ for the first time and to find that much of the play wasn’t what I had expected. The front-of-curtain routines in which the fading music-hall star Archie Rice is objectionable, embarrassing and sad yet, still manages occasionally to be genuinely funny, were wonderfully performed by Shane Richie. But the scenes in his family home surprised me, with Sara Crowe’s Phoebe an apparent prototype for Beverley in Abigail’s Party (reviewed here in March 2018) and the Rice family dynamic an uncanny predecessor of the Trotters in ‘Only Fools and Horses’. I also saw an unexpected parallel with 'The Remains of the Day' by Kazuo Ishiguro – both stories reflecting on the end of empire and a shift in Britain’s place in the world. Bizarrely, I spotted this similarity because Pip Donaghy, who played Archie’s father Billy Rice – a retired performer coaxed back onto the stage by his son, with disastrous consequences – also played Stevens Senior – a retired butler coaxed back into service by his son, with disastrous consequences – in the stage adaptation of ‘The Remains of the Day’ that we saw at the Royal Theatre, Northampton earlier this year (reviewed here in March 2019). Sean O’Connor’s production of ‘The Entertainer’ shifts the setting from 1957, with its backdrop of the Suez crisis, to 1982 and the Falklands War. This works well, without requiring much adjustment to the text. The action is interspersed with recordings of news broadcasts, giant projections of tabloid newspaper headlines and plenty of 80s pop music. This setting also now has the effect of making Archie Rice – as an ageing old-fashioned comedian in the early 1980s – seem even more seedy. ‘The Entertainer’ is an uncomfortable watch – a sad commentary on Britain’s global role that feels very timely.
'Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense' by The Goodale Brothers
6 September 2019
The pretty seaside town of Sheringham in North Norfolk is one of our favourite places. When we lived nearer we used to have regular day trips to Sheringham every summer to walk the dogs in Sheringham Park (a large National Trust country park) and along the seafront, before finishing the day with a visit to Sheringham Little Theatre. Since we have moved further away we have been less frequent visitors: our last trip was eleven years ago, when we saw the play 'Dangerous Obsession' by N J Crisp (reviewed here in July 2008). So it was a lovely trip down memory lane to return to Sheringham last weekend. The Little Theatre (capacity 180) still runs an old-fashioned weekly rep company over the summer months, with the same set of actors putting on a different play each week. On Saturday we saw them perform ‘Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense’. This is a dramatisation by The Goodale Brothers of a P G Wodehouse tale, made even more entertaining by framing it as a play-within-a-play, as Bertie Wooster, Jeeves and fellow butler Seppings attempt to act out the story for us. The challenges of playing multiple characters, often within the same scene, create a wonderful theatrical farce. Nick Earnshaw’s production, starring David Tarkenter, Steve Banks and Ryan Starling, was great fun and a lovely end to a beautiful sunny day by the seaside.
The pretty seaside town of Sheringham in North Norfolk is one of our favourite places. When we lived nearer we used to have regular day trips to Sheringham every summer to walk the dogs in Sheringham Park (a large National Trust country park) and along the seafront, before finishing the day with a visit to Sheringham Little Theatre. Since we have moved further away we have been less frequent visitors: our last trip was eleven years ago, when we saw the play 'Dangerous Obsession' by N J Crisp (reviewed here in July 2008). So it was a lovely trip down memory lane to return to Sheringham last weekend. The Little Theatre (capacity 180) still runs an old-fashioned weekly rep company over the summer months, with the same set of actors putting on a different play each week. On Saturday we saw them perform ‘Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense’. This is a dramatisation by The Goodale Brothers of a P G Wodehouse tale, made even more entertaining by framing it as a play-within-a-play, as Bertie Wooster, Jeeves and fellow butler Seppings attempt to act out the story for us. The challenges of playing multiple characters, often within the same scene, create a wonderful theatrical farce. Nick Earnshaw’s production, starring David Tarkenter, Steve Banks and Ryan Starling, was great fun and a lovely end to a beautiful sunny day by the seaside.
Friday, August 30, 2019
'Sweet Caress' by William Boyd
30 August 2019
I’ve been reading ‘Sweet Caress’ by William Boyd – a novel published in 2015 which weaves a 20th century family saga around a collection of old black and white photographs. Subtitled ‘The Many Lives of Amory Clay’ it tells the story of a woman born in 1908 whose personal and professional life bears witness to some of the most significant world events of the century. This reminded me of Kate Atkinson’s ‘Life After Life’ (reviewed here in June 2013) whose protagonist, Ursula Todd, is born in 1910. But ‘Sweet Caress’ is a much less tricksy novel: it’s a fairly conventional saga, partly told in hindsight by the older Amory Clay in 1977. William Boyd seems to have used a set of (apparently) unconnected photos as the inspiration for his story, making Amory Clay a professional photographer and constructing her history to explain how she came to be in each of the places and events depicted by the photos. The result is an enjoyable novel which lacks the literary ambition of ‘Life After Life’ but demonstrates William Boyd’s skills in engaging the reader: again and again when I was planning just to read to the end of a chapter I found myself unable to stop because I desperately wanted to know what happened next. Describing a book as a ‘page-turner’ can feel like damning with faint praise but ‘Sweet Caress’ is an entertaining read.
I’ve been reading ‘Sweet Caress’ by William Boyd – a novel published in 2015 which weaves a 20th century family saga around a collection of old black and white photographs. Subtitled ‘The Many Lives of Amory Clay’ it tells the story of a woman born in 1908 whose personal and professional life bears witness to some of the most significant world events of the century. This reminded me of Kate Atkinson’s ‘Life After Life’ (reviewed here in June 2013) whose protagonist, Ursula Todd, is born in 1910. But ‘Sweet Caress’ is a much less tricksy novel: it’s a fairly conventional saga, partly told in hindsight by the older Amory Clay in 1977. William Boyd seems to have used a set of (apparently) unconnected photos as the inspiration for his story, making Amory Clay a professional photographer and constructing her history to explain how she came to be in each of the places and events depicted by the photos. The result is an enjoyable novel which lacks the literary ambition of ‘Life After Life’ but demonstrates William Boyd’s skills in engaging the reader: again and again when I was planning just to read to the end of a chapter I found myself unable to stop because I desperately wanted to know what happened next. Describing a book as a ‘page-turner’ can feel like damning with faint praise but ‘Sweet Caress’ is an entertaining read.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
'Yesterday' by Danny Boyle
21 August 2019
On Tuesday we were at the Odeon in Milton Keynes to see Danny Boyle’s film ‘Yesterday’, written by Richard Curtis and Jack Barth. It’s a charming romcom, silly and ridiculous but completely loveable. Himesh Patel plays Jack, a struggling singer songwriter involved in traffic accident, who comes round to discover he is now in a world where nobody has heard of The Beatles, except him. Jack struggles to remember the lyrics to as many Beatles songs as he can and soon becomes feted as the greatest ever songwriter. But fame and fortune takes him away from his childhood friend/fan/manager/driver Ellie, adorably played by Lily James who was so brilliant in Ivo van Hove’s 'All About Eve' (reviewed here in April 2019). The real stars of the show, however, are those classic Beatles songs. You don’t need to know anything about The Beatles to enjoy ‘Yesterday’ but by presenting 17 of their best songs as fresh compositions it reminds us what all the fuss was about.
On Tuesday we were at the Odeon in Milton Keynes to see Danny Boyle’s film ‘Yesterday’, written by Richard Curtis and Jack Barth. It’s a charming romcom, silly and ridiculous but completely loveable. Himesh Patel plays Jack, a struggling singer songwriter involved in traffic accident, who comes round to discover he is now in a world where nobody has heard of The Beatles, except him. Jack struggles to remember the lyrics to as many Beatles songs as he can and soon becomes feted as the greatest ever songwriter. But fame and fortune takes him away from his childhood friend/fan/manager/driver Ellie, adorably played by Lily James who was so brilliant in Ivo van Hove’s 'All About Eve' (reviewed here in April 2019). The real stars of the show, however, are those classic Beatles songs. You don’t need to know anything about The Beatles to enjoy ‘Yesterday’ but by presenting 17 of their best songs as fresh compositions it reminds us what all the fuss was about.
Friday, August 16, 2019
'The Book of Traps and Lessons' by Kate Tempest
16 August 2019
Writing here in October 2014 I said “Kate Tempest is a name to watch.” Since then the South London poet/rapper/playwright/novelist has continued to impress, with an eclectic track record that has been consistently brilliant. Her new album ‘The Book of Traps and Lessons’ feels more reflective and less angry than its predecessor ‘Let Them Eat Chaos’ (reviewed here in October 2016). The beats have been stripped back (by producer Rick Rubin) to leave Kate Tempest’s distinctive voice revealed more obviously as poetry backed by music, rather than rap. The wordplay is incredibly clever, full of double meanings that turn the sense of a phrase on a single word. Each track reveals more each time you listen to it. Tempest hasn’t lost her anger, suggesting the UK is a nation living “in the mouth of a breaking storm”. She says “I’m a child of the gimme more nation” and “our leaders aren’t even pretending not to be demons”. But the scale of our looming crises now require more than anger and there is optimism in ‘The Book of Traps and Lessons’ in its celebration of love and dancing. Listen to the track ‘People’s Faces’ (and read the lyrics) at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRULtXn6W0s
Writing here in October 2014 I said “Kate Tempest is a name to watch.” Since then the South London poet/rapper/playwright/novelist has continued to impress, with an eclectic track record that has been consistently brilliant. Her new album ‘The Book of Traps and Lessons’ feels more reflective and less angry than its predecessor ‘Let Them Eat Chaos’ (reviewed here in October 2016). The beats have been stripped back (by producer Rick Rubin) to leave Kate Tempest’s distinctive voice revealed more obviously as poetry backed by music, rather than rap. The wordplay is incredibly clever, full of double meanings that turn the sense of a phrase on a single word. Each track reveals more each time you listen to it. Tempest hasn’t lost her anger, suggesting the UK is a nation living “in the mouth of a breaking storm”. She says “I’m a child of the gimme more nation” and “our leaders aren’t even pretending not to be demons”. But the scale of our looming crises now require more than anger and there is optimism in ‘The Book of Traps and Lessons’ in its celebration of love and dancing. Listen to the track ‘People’s Faces’ (and read the lyrics) at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRULtXn6W0s
Friday, August 09, 2019
'The Lehman Trilogy' by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power
9 August 2019
The defining moment of the 2008 banking crisis was the fall of Lehman Brothers Bank. The iconic image of traders leaving its skyscraper headquarters in New York carrying their personal effects in cardboard boxes summed up a grim period in our recent history. Sam Mendes’ National Theatre production of ‘The Lehman Trilogy’, which we saw in a NTLive encore screening at the Quarry Theatre in Bedford on Thursday, tells the story of Lehman Brothers – from the arrival in America of the three immigrant brothers from Bavaria in the 1840s to the collapse of the bank eleven years ago. ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ is an adaptation by Ben Power of Stefano Massini’s nine hour long Italian radio play. Although Power has trimmed the play considerably it still lasts three and a half hours, in three acts with two intervals. But it’s an amazing theatrical performance. Three actors – Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miles and Adam Godley – play the Lehman brothers, their sons, grandsons, wives and a host of other characters in an acting masterclass. There are no costume changes and hardly any props, but the switches between characters are clear from small changes in facial expressions and posture. The play is mostly narration rather than dialogue, with the three actors taking turns to provide the narrative voice like a Greek chorus. This might have made for a dull play but the story is gripping and the script is playful and poetic, full of recurring phrases and repetitive episodes. The staging (by Es Devlin) is simple but inventive, with the three actors enclosed in a giant rotating transparent box through which we see constantly changing back projections (by Luke Halls). Apart from a boardroom table and chairs, the only furniture is a pile of the infamous cardboard boxes, which are used to construct each scene in this epic family saga. The actors are accompanied by Nick Powell’s sparse music, performed on a single piano in front of the stage by Candida Caldicot. It’s an unusual but incredibly effective theatrical experience. The focus is on the history of Lehman Brothers and the development of Western capitalism: there isn’t much detail about the causes of the 2008 crash. But it’s a fascinating story, brilliantly acted.
The defining moment of the 2008 banking crisis was the fall of Lehman Brothers Bank. The iconic image of traders leaving its skyscraper headquarters in New York carrying their personal effects in cardboard boxes summed up a grim period in our recent history. Sam Mendes’ National Theatre production of ‘The Lehman Trilogy’, which we saw in a NTLive encore screening at the Quarry Theatre in Bedford on Thursday, tells the story of Lehman Brothers – from the arrival in America of the three immigrant brothers from Bavaria in the 1840s to the collapse of the bank eleven years ago. ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ is an adaptation by Ben Power of Stefano Massini’s nine hour long Italian radio play. Although Power has trimmed the play considerably it still lasts three and a half hours, in three acts with two intervals. But it’s an amazing theatrical performance. Three actors – Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miles and Adam Godley – play the Lehman brothers, their sons, grandsons, wives and a host of other characters in an acting masterclass. There are no costume changes and hardly any props, but the switches between characters are clear from small changes in facial expressions and posture. The play is mostly narration rather than dialogue, with the three actors taking turns to provide the narrative voice like a Greek chorus. This might have made for a dull play but the story is gripping and the script is playful and poetic, full of recurring phrases and repetitive episodes. The staging (by Es Devlin) is simple but inventive, with the three actors enclosed in a giant rotating transparent box through which we see constantly changing back projections (by Luke Halls). Apart from a boardroom table and chairs, the only furniture is a pile of the infamous cardboard boxes, which are used to construct each scene in this epic family saga. The actors are accompanied by Nick Powell’s sparse music, performed on a single piano in front of the stage by Candida Caldicot. It’s an unusual but incredibly effective theatrical experience. The focus is on the history of Lehman Brothers and the development of Western capitalism: there isn’t much detail about the causes of the 2008 crash. But it’s a fascinating story, brilliantly acted.
Monday, August 05, 2019
'Things in Jars' by Jess Kidd
5 August 2019
We seem to be living in a golden age for detective/fantasy/science fiction novels set in Victorian England. I’ve written here recently about the ‘Newbury and Hobbes’ series by George Mann (‘The Affinity Bridge’, reviewed here in June 2019) and I’ve just finished reading ‘Things in Jars’ by Jess Kidd (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Jacqueline Milne). ‘Things in Jars’ is a much more literary work, each sentence beautifully crafted in the manner of a poet. The mystery centres on a missing child but takes us into a world of collectors of scientific curios, weird creatures and circuses. It reminded me of another recent novel of Victoriana, 'The Essex Serpent' by Sarah Perry (reviewed here in September 2016) but ‘Things in Jars’ has the driving plot I longed for in my review of Sarah Perry’s novel. The almost incidental appearance of a ghost assisting the detective also made me think of 'Rivers of London' by Ben Aaronovitch (reviewed here in June 2018). ‘Things in Jars’ is an unusual, compelling thriller and, in Bridie Devine – the flame haired, pipe smoking Irish detective with the ugly hat, Jess Kidd has created a wonderful lead character that deserves a series of novels.
We seem to be living in a golden age for detective/fantasy/science fiction novels set in Victorian England. I’ve written here recently about the ‘Newbury and Hobbes’ series by George Mann (‘The Affinity Bridge’, reviewed here in June 2019) and I’ve just finished reading ‘Things in Jars’ by Jess Kidd (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Jacqueline Milne). ‘Things in Jars’ is a much more literary work, each sentence beautifully crafted in the manner of a poet. The mystery centres on a missing child but takes us into a world of collectors of scientific curios, weird creatures and circuses. It reminded me of another recent novel of Victoriana, 'The Essex Serpent' by Sarah Perry (reviewed here in September 2016) but ‘Things in Jars’ has the driving plot I longed for in my review of Sarah Perry’s novel. The almost incidental appearance of a ghost assisting the detective also made me think of 'Rivers of London' by Ben Aaronovitch (reviewed here in June 2018). ‘Things in Jars’ is an unusual, compelling thriller and, in Bridie Devine – the flame haired, pipe smoking Irish detective with the ugly hat, Jess Kidd has created a wonderful lead character that deserves a series of novels.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
'Big Sky' by Kate Atkinson
30 July 2019
What a treat to return to the world of Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie novels after so many years. The fifth novel in the series, ‘Big Sky’, belatedly follows ‘Started Early, Took My Dog’ (reviewed here in April 2011). Jackson Brodie (and several other returning characters) have moved on since then but ‘Big Sky’ is a familiarly multi-stranded mystery, most of which Brodie the private investigator seems unaware of until it bumps into him. The subject matter is particularly grim this time, with a story of child sexual abuse and modern slavery. But Atkinson manages to find humour in dark corners. I love the way each character’s interior thoughts are frequently answered by someone else (in a kind of flashback to when they had previously discussed the same points). And it was lovely to read ‘Big Sky’ as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Jason Isaacs, who played Jackson Brodie in the TV adaptations of the earlier novels.
What a treat to return to the world of Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie novels after so many years. The fifth novel in the series, ‘Big Sky’, belatedly follows ‘Started Early, Took My Dog’ (reviewed here in April 2011). Jackson Brodie (and several other returning characters) have moved on since then but ‘Big Sky’ is a familiarly multi-stranded mystery, most of which Brodie the private investigator seems unaware of until it bumps into him. The subject matter is particularly grim this time, with a story of child sexual abuse and modern slavery. But Atkinson manages to find humour in dark corners. I love the way each character’s interior thoughts are frequently answered by someone else (in a kind of flashback to when they had previously discussed the same points). And it was lovely to read ‘Big Sky’ as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Jason Isaacs, who played Jackson Brodie in the TV adaptations of the earlier novels.
WOMAD 2019
30 July 2019
My annual visit to the WOMAD Festival, in Charlton Park near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, was slightly shorter than usual this year as we were attending a wedding in Lancashire last Friday. But I made it to WOMAD for Saturday and Sunday and experienced near perfect weather – dry and warm, not too hot and not a drop of rain. The music was pretty good too. I saw 14 full performances from across the globe. My highlights included the other worldly ethereal sounds of South Saami singer Marja Mortensson from Norway joiking accompanied by electronics, percussion and tuba. The former child soldier turned rapper Emmanuel Jal from South Sudan is a brilliant showman, performing here with his sister Nyaruach from whom he was separated for 20 years. I enjoyed the exuberant set by Balkan brass/klezmer band Lemon Bucket Orkestra from Toronto. And it was great to see ‘Kraftwerk Re:Werk’ - a symphonic reworking of the classic 1977 Kraftwerk album ‘Trans-Europe Express’ by composers Charlotte Harding and Lloyd Coleman. The performance of this 40-minute, 6-movement piece by Army of Generals and the British Paraorchestra (the orchestra of professional disabled musicians originally formed for the London 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony) conducted by Charles Hazlewood was stunning. I also really enjoyed seeing Orquesta Akokan – a gloriously old-fashioned band from Cuba playing traditional mambo and swing from the 1940s and 1950s. But my pick of the festival was the six piece vocal group San Salvador, from the Massif Central in southern France, who sing in Occitan, mostly a capella but with occasional drums and other percussion. Their scrunchy vocal harmonies (sung by three men and three women) reminded me of my favourite Finnish folk/rock band Värttinä (reviewed here in August 2006) and of the famous Sardinian singing shepherds, Tenores de Bitti (reviewed here in June 2007). I loved how theatrical each of San Salvador’s long and varied songs were, while being performed with a serious intensity. There was no imploring the audience to clap along nor any need to whoop up the crowd – just a hypnotic performance of vocal drones, rapid fire chanting (sounding at times like the auctioneer in a livestock sale) and complex accelerating rhythms. And the massive crowd in the Siam Tent responded with the most genuine and prolonged wave of adulation of the weekend. Take a look at San Salvador performing at Womex 2018 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgUhP9qQYBw And you can see a selection of my photos from WOMAD 2019 at: https://culturaloutlook.blogspot.com/search/label/WOMAD2019
My annual visit to the WOMAD Festival, in Charlton Park near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, was slightly shorter than usual this year as we were attending a wedding in Lancashire last Friday. But I made it to WOMAD for Saturday and Sunday and experienced near perfect weather – dry and warm, not too hot and not a drop of rain. The music was pretty good too. I saw 14 full performances from across the globe. My highlights included the other worldly ethereal sounds of South Saami singer Marja Mortensson from Norway joiking accompanied by electronics, percussion and tuba. The former child soldier turned rapper Emmanuel Jal from South Sudan is a brilliant showman, performing here with his sister Nyaruach from whom he was separated for 20 years. I enjoyed the exuberant set by Balkan brass/klezmer band Lemon Bucket Orkestra from Toronto. And it was great to see ‘Kraftwerk Re:Werk’ - a symphonic reworking of the classic 1977 Kraftwerk album ‘Trans-Europe Express’ by composers Charlotte Harding and Lloyd Coleman. The performance of this 40-minute, 6-movement piece by Army of Generals and the British Paraorchestra (the orchestra of professional disabled musicians originally formed for the London 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony) conducted by Charles Hazlewood was stunning. I also really enjoyed seeing Orquesta Akokan – a gloriously old-fashioned band from Cuba playing traditional mambo and swing from the 1940s and 1950s. But my pick of the festival was the six piece vocal group San Salvador, from the Massif Central in southern France, who sing in Occitan, mostly a capella but with occasional drums and other percussion. Their scrunchy vocal harmonies (sung by three men and three women) reminded me of my favourite Finnish folk/rock band Värttinä (reviewed here in August 2006) and of the famous Sardinian singing shepherds, Tenores de Bitti (reviewed here in June 2007). I loved how theatrical each of San Salvador’s long and varied songs were, while being performed with a serious intensity. There was no imploring the audience to clap along nor any need to whoop up the crowd – just a hypnotic performance of vocal drones, rapid fire chanting (sounding at times like the auctioneer in a livestock sale) and complex accelerating rhythms. And the massive crowd in the Siam Tent responded with the most genuine and prolonged wave of adulation of the weekend. Take a look at San Salvador performing at Womex 2018 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgUhP9qQYBw And you can see a selection of my photos from WOMAD 2019 at: https://culturaloutlook.blogspot.com/search/label/WOMAD2019
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
The Anniversary Games 2019
24 July 2019
On Saturday we made our first return, seven years after London 2012, to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London to watch the Anniversary Games IAAF Diamond League Athletics meeting in the Olympic Stadium. It was great to be back, and wonderful to see some high quality, competitive international athletics. Athletics competitions always seem to be meticulously choreographed, slickly alternating between track races and field events so there is always something to watch. Some of the highlights for me from Saturday were watching a magnificent Laura Muir win an impressive 1500, seeing one of the stars of the 2012 Paralympics, Jonnie Peacock, back to winning ways, Norwegian Karsten Warholm setting a new European record in the 400m hurdles, and the Jamaican sprinter Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce running a storming final leg to dip ahead of the Great Britain team in the 4x100m relay. You can see a selection of my photos from the Anniversary Games at: https://culturaloutlook.blogspot.com/search/label/AnniversaryGames2019
On Saturday we made our first return, seven years after London 2012, to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London to watch the Anniversary Games IAAF Diamond League Athletics meeting in the Olympic Stadium. It was great to be back, and wonderful to see some high quality, competitive international athletics. Athletics competitions always seem to be meticulously choreographed, slickly alternating between track races and field events so there is always something to watch. Some of the highlights for me from Saturday were watching a magnificent Laura Muir win an impressive 1500, seeing one of the stars of the 2012 Paralympics, Jonnie Peacock, back to winning ways, Norwegian Karsten Warholm setting a new European record in the 400m hurdles, and the Jamaican sprinter Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce running a storming final leg to dip ahead of the Great Britain team in the 4x100m relay. You can see a selection of my photos from the Anniversary Games at: https://culturaloutlook.blogspot.com/search/label/AnniversaryGames2019
Thursday, July 18, 2019
'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by William Shakespeare
18 July 2019
We last saw the Lord Chamberlain’s Men when they performed ‘Twelfth Night’ in the gardens of Woburn Abbey in 2009 (reviewed here in August 2009). This all male outdoor theatre company, a re-creation of Shakespeare’s original troupe of travelling players, specialises in traditional performances of Shakespeare plays. There are no modern references, props or gimmicks, just a group of excellent actors in full Elizabethan costume – with all the female parts played by men. On Wednesday we were back at Woburn Abbey to see the Lord Chamberlain’s Men in Peter Stickney’s excellent production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. It was another high quality performance that really gives you an idea of what it might have been like to see the play in Shakespeare’s time. Unlike many of the touring outdoor theatre companies, there is no breaking of the fourth wall, ad-libbing with the audience or pinching food from people’s picnics – just good acting which takes you into the imaginary world of the play and reminds you how good it is, and how funny.
We last saw the Lord Chamberlain’s Men when they performed ‘Twelfth Night’ in the gardens of Woburn Abbey in 2009 (reviewed here in August 2009). This all male outdoor theatre company, a re-creation of Shakespeare’s original troupe of travelling players, specialises in traditional performances of Shakespeare plays. There are no modern references, props or gimmicks, just a group of excellent actors in full Elizabethan costume – with all the female parts played by men. On Wednesday we were back at Woburn Abbey to see the Lord Chamberlain’s Men in Peter Stickney’s excellent production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. It was another high quality performance that really gives you an idea of what it might have been like to see the play in Shakespeare’s time. Unlike many of the touring outdoor theatre companies, there is no breaking of the fourth wall, ad-libbing with the audience or pinching food from people’s picnics – just good acting which takes you into the imaginary world of the play and reminds you how good it is, and how funny.
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
16 July 2019
On Sunday I played in the Northampton Symphony Orchestra’s annual Friends’ Concert, bringing to an end our 125th anniversary concert season. This end of season party is an exclusive concert for the Friends of the Orchestra who have supported NSO over the past year. It gives the orchestra the chance to play a variety of shorter pieces that wouldn’t fit into a standard concert programme, and finishes with a buffet for the Friends and the orchestra. This year our conductor, John Gibbons, programmed two English folk songs delightfully arranged for strings by Frank Bridge (‘Sally in Our Alley’ and ‘Cherry Ripe’) followed by the ‘Capriol Suite’ by Peter Warlock, not in the original version for string orchestra but alternating between two arrangements for brass and woodwind. The main focus of the concert was a performance of the two suites from Edvard Grieg’s incidental music to ‘Peer Gynt’, which we played in the order they appear in Ibsen’s play so that John could give the audience his personal interpretation of the story of Peer Gynt (a play he admitted he has never seen!) between the movements. It is a bonkers story – worth watching this excellent Classics Explained YouTube video if you aren’t familiar with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBgPqhBUE2o The orchestra played beautifully, with woodwind impressing in ‘Morning’, strings showing precision in the chromatic challenges of ‘Anitra’s Dance’ and brass powering us through ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’. But the stars of the show were the tuba and trombone players joining the percussion section for the ‘Arabian Dance’! We finished the concert with the third movement of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Symphony No 6 (Pathétique)’ - that famous glorious march that is usually punctured by the angst of the symphony’s final movement, but here was allowed to remain as a triumphant finale to our concert and our anniversary season.
On Sunday I played in the Northampton Symphony Orchestra’s annual Friends’ Concert, bringing to an end our 125th anniversary concert season. This end of season party is an exclusive concert for the Friends of the Orchestra who have supported NSO over the past year. It gives the orchestra the chance to play a variety of shorter pieces that wouldn’t fit into a standard concert programme, and finishes with a buffet for the Friends and the orchestra. This year our conductor, John Gibbons, programmed two English folk songs delightfully arranged for strings by Frank Bridge (‘Sally in Our Alley’ and ‘Cherry Ripe’) followed by the ‘Capriol Suite’ by Peter Warlock, not in the original version for string orchestra but alternating between two arrangements for brass and woodwind. The main focus of the concert was a performance of the two suites from Edvard Grieg’s incidental music to ‘Peer Gynt’, which we played in the order they appear in Ibsen’s play so that John could give the audience his personal interpretation of the story of Peer Gynt (a play he admitted he has never seen!) between the movements. It is a bonkers story – worth watching this excellent Classics Explained YouTube video if you aren’t familiar with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBgPqhBUE2o The orchestra played beautifully, with woodwind impressing in ‘Morning’, strings showing precision in the chromatic challenges of ‘Anitra’s Dance’ and brass powering us through ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’. But the stars of the show were the tuba and trombone players joining the percussion section for the ‘Arabian Dance’! We finished the concert with the third movement of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Symphony No 6 (Pathétique)’ - that famous glorious march that is usually punctured by the angst of the symphony’s final movement, but here was allowed to remain as a triumphant finale to our concert and our anniversary season.
Friday, July 12, 2019
Wimbledon 2019
12 July 2019
On Wednesday we were very lucky to have tickets for Wimbledon Centre Court where we saw the men’s singles quarter finals between Novak Djokovic and David Goffin & Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori. It was a hot, sunny day and we had great seats quite close to the court. After a close and entertaining first set Djokovic ran away with the first match in straight sets but the four-set tussle between Federer and Nishikori was much closer. It always looked like Federer would triumph but Nishikori never gave up and played some wonderful tennis. At the end of the afternoon we were treated to a ladies’ doubles invitation match featuring Martina Navratilova which was great fun, with Martina (now 62 years old) still playing brilliantly (and winning).
On Wednesday we were very lucky to have tickets for Wimbledon Centre Court where we saw the men’s singles quarter finals between Novak Djokovic and David Goffin & Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori. It was a hot, sunny day and we had great seats quite close to the court. After a close and entertaining first set Djokovic ran away with the first match in straight sets but the four-set tussle between Federer and Nishikori was much closer. It always looked like Federer would triumph but Nishikori never gave up and played some wonderful tennis. At the end of the afternoon we were treated to a ladies’ doubles invitation match featuring Martina Navratilova which was great fun, with Martina (now 62 years old) still playing brilliantly (and winning).
'Measure for Measure' by William Shakespeare
12 July 2019
‘Measure for Measure’ has never been one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. I last saw it at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2012 (reviewed here in January 2012) which was the first time it really held my attention. But Gregory Doran’s new production for the Royal Shakespeare Company, which we saw at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon last Thursday, has finally won me over to the play. Apart from moving the setting to 1900s Vienna, this is a very straightforward production which concentrates on the acting. Antony Byrne (who I saw as Antony in the RSC production of ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ reviewed here in December 2017) commands the stage as the Duke and Claire Price (who was so brilliant as Petruchia in Justin Audibert’s RSC production of ‘The Taming of The Shrew’, reviewed here in March 2019) provides the moral voice of conscience as Escalus. Sandy Grierson (Touchstone in ‘As You Like It’, reviewed here in April 2019) manages to make Angelo both loathsome and sympathetic, and Lucy Phelps (Rosalind in that same recent production of ‘As You Like It’) brings an earnest disbelief to Isabella’s reaction to Angelo’s indecent proposal that makes us see the play in a post #metoo context.
‘Measure for Measure’ has never been one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. I last saw it at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2012 (reviewed here in January 2012) which was the first time it really held my attention. But Gregory Doran’s new production for the Royal Shakespeare Company, which we saw at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon last Thursday, has finally won me over to the play. Apart from moving the setting to 1900s Vienna, this is a very straightforward production which concentrates on the acting. Antony Byrne (who I saw as Antony in the RSC production of ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ reviewed here in December 2017) commands the stage as the Duke and Claire Price (who was so brilliant as Petruchia in Justin Audibert’s RSC production of ‘The Taming of The Shrew’, reviewed here in March 2019) provides the moral voice of conscience as Escalus. Sandy Grierson (Touchstone in ‘As You Like It’, reviewed here in April 2019) manages to make Angelo both loathsome and sympathetic, and Lucy Phelps (Rosalind in that same recent production of ‘As You Like It’) brings an earnest disbelief to Isabella’s reaction to Angelo’s indecent proposal that makes us see the play in a post #metoo context.
'Much Ado About Nothing' by William Shakespeare
12 July 2019
We first encountered the Handlebards at the 2018 Milton Keynes International Festival, where we saw their all-female troupe performing ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (reviewed here in July 2018). The Handlebards are “cycling actors who carry all the set, props and costume needed to perform extremely energetic, charmingly chaotic and environmentally sustainable Shakespeare plays across the globe”. Last Monday we were in the garden of the Quarry Theatre in Bedford to see the Handlebards’ all-male troupe performing ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. It was a really enjoyable show, with a well-judged mixture of silliness and impressive acting. There was lots of audience interaction, good use of bicycle handlebars and bells and much fun had with the challenges of four actors playing multiple parts in the same scene.
We first encountered the Handlebards at the 2018 Milton Keynes International Festival, where we saw their all-female troupe performing ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (reviewed here in July 2018). The Handlebards are “cycling actors who carry all the set, props and costume needed to perform extremely energetic, charmingly chaotic and environmentally sustainable Shakespeare plays across the globe”. Last Monday we were in the garden of the Quarry Theatre in Bedford to see the Handlebards’ all-male troupe performing ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. It was a really enjoyable show, with a well-judged mixture of silliness and impressive acting. There was lots of audience interaction, good use of bicycle handlebars and bells and much fun had with the challenges of four actors playing multiple parts in the same scene.
Friday, June 28, 2019
'Small Island' based on the novel by Andrea Levy, adapted by Helen Edmundson
28 June 2019
I have written here before about Andrea Levy’s ‘Small Island’ – one of my favourite novels of recent years – a moving tale of Caribbean immigrants to the UK after the Second World War which manages to show you events through the eyes of each of the main protagonists so that you amazingly find yourself simultaneously sympathising with both sides of the racial prejudice at the heart of the story. It’s a brilliant novel and I had some trepidation about going to see the NTLive screening of Rufus Norris’s National Theatre production of Helen Edmundson’s stage adaptation of ‘Small Island’ at the Odeon in Milton Keynes on Thursday. Much as I knew I would enjoy revisiting Andrea Levy’s rich characters, I worried that the theatrical version would have to reduce a long and complex book so much that the best aspects might be lost. I need not have worried. Helen Edmundson has created a very inventive play of two halves which works extremely well. Whereas the novel starts with the arrival in post-war London, from Jamaica, of Hortense and Gilbert and then fills in the back story of each of the main characters through lengthy flashbacks, the stage version uses the flashbacks to create a linear, chronological first half. Rufus Norris uses the vast stage of the Olivier Theatre to create an epic, cinematic story, spanning decades and continents. After the interval the second half of the play starts with Hortense and Gilbert arriving in London and tells their ‘present day’ story as a more straightforward play-within-the-play, claustrophobically focussed on two rooms in Queenie’s house. By the time we get to this main story of West Indian immigrants coping with the harsh realities of 1940s London, we already know each character well. It’s an incredibly emotional story – funny, moving and shocking. It was great to be in a packed cinema to experience the collective gasps of the audience at some of the viciously racist language. And the acting was excellent, with the two female leads – Leah Harvey as Hortense and Aisling Loftus as Queenie – both outstanding. My only slight disappointment was with the portrayal of Queenie’s husband, Bernard. I think Andrea Levy’s greatest achievement in the novel was to allow the reader despise this most horribly racist bully, before filling in his backstory (particularly his experiences in the RAF in Burma and India) and making us shocked to find we can begin to find some sympathy for Bernard. In the play I felt the actor playing Bernard was too young: in the early scenes he came across as a socially awkward young man who was slightly too likeable. And because Bernard’s wartime experiences are cut from the play, and only briefly referred to in passing, we don’t really get the chance to see events from his point of view, making him seem jarringly unredeemed at the end. But apart from this slightly missed opportunity, the National Theatre production of ‘Small Island’ was truly excellent and it was wonderful to see it attracting a truly diverse audience – both in the theatre and the cinema.
I have written here before about Andrea Levy’s ‘Small Island’ – one of my favourite novels of recent years – a moving tale of Caribbean immigrants to the UK after the Second World War which manages to show you events through the eyes of each of the main protagonists so that you amazingly find yourself simultaneously sympathising with both sides of the racial prejudice at the heart of the story. It’s a brilliant novel and I had some trepidation about going to see the NTLive screening of Rufus Norris’s National Theatre production of Helen Edmundson’s stage adaptation of ‘Small Island’ at the Odeon in Milton Keynes on Thursday. Much as I knew I would enjoy revisiting Andrea Levy’s rich characters, I worried that the theatrical version would have to reduce a long and complex book so much that the best aspects might be lost. I need not have worried. Helen Edmundson has created a very inventive play of two halves which works extremely well. Whereas the novel starts with the arrival in post-war London, from Jamaica, of Hortense and Gilbert and then fills in the back story of each of the main characters through lengthy flashbacks, the stage version uses the flashbacks to create a linear, chronological first half. Rufus Norris uses the vast stage of the Olivier Theatre to create an epic, cinematic story, spanning decades and continents. After the interval the second half of the play starts with Hortense and Gilbert arriving in London and tells their ‘present day’ story as a more straightforward play-within-the-play, claustrophobically focussed on two rooms in Queenie’s house. By the time we get to this main story of West Indian immigrants coping with the harsh realities of 1940s London, we already know each character well. It’s an incredibly emotional story – funny, moving and shocking. It was great to be in a packed cinema to experience the collective gasps of the audience at some of the viciously racist language. And the acting was excellent, with the two female leads – Leah Harvey as Hortense and Aisling Loftus as Queenie – both outstanding. My only slight disappointment was with the portrayal of Queenie’s husband, Bernard. I think Andrea Levy’s greatest achievement in the novel was to allow the reader despise this most horribly racist bully, before filling in his backstory (particularly his experiences in the RAF in Burma and India) and making us shocked to find we can begin to find some sympathy for Bernard. In the play I felt the actor playing Bernard was too young: in the early scenes he came across as a socially awkward young man who was slightly too likeable. And because Bernard’s wartime experiences are cut from the play, and only briefly referred to in passing, we don’t really get the chance to see events from his point of view, making him seem jarringly unredeemed at the end. But apart from this slightly missed opportunity, the National Theatre production of ‘Small Island’ was truly excellent and it was wonderful to see it attracting a truly diverse audience – both in the theatre and the cinema.
Friday, June 21, 2019
Fever-Tree Tennis Championships 2019 at Queen's Club, London
21 June 2019
On Thursday we made a first-ever visit to the Queen’s Club in West London to see the pre-Wimbledon Fever-Tree Championships. After most of the matches scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday were postponed by rain, we were extremely lucky to see more than nine hours of uninterrupted tennis on Centre Court. The Argentinian clay-court specialist Diego Schwartzman played brilliantly to beat reigning champion Marin Čilić in straight sets. We saw two extremely close matches decided by final set tie breaks, with Nicolas Mahut triumphing over Stan Wawrinka (in the best match of the day) and the top seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, finally beating Jérémy Chardy of France after both men had succumbed to nerves when serving for the match. Finally we were thrilled to see the return to competitive tennis of Andy Murray, playing doubles with Feliciano López. Murray got an incredible reception from the Centre Court crowd and he and Lopez won a thrilling match against the top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah at the end of a wonderful day of tennis at Queen’s.
On Thursday we made a first-ever visit to the Queen’s Club in West London to see the pre-Wimbledon Fever-Tree Championships. After most of the matches scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday were postponed by rain, we were extremely lucky to see more than nine hours of uninterrupted tennis on Centre Court. The Argentinian clay-court specialist Diego Schwartzman played brilliantly to beat reigning champion Marin Čilić in straight sets. We saw two extremely close matches decided by final set tie breaks, with Nicolas Mahut triumphing over Stan Wawrinka (in the best match of the day) and the top seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, finally beating Jérémy Chardy of France after both men had succumbed to nerves when serving for the match. Finally we were thrilled to see the return to competitive tennis of Andy Murray, playing doubles with Feliciano López. Murray got an incredible reception from the Centre Court crowd and he and Lopez won a thrilling match against the top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah at the end of a wonderful day of tennis at Queen’s.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
18 June 2019
The Northampton Symphony Orchestra held its first rehearsal on 24 October 1893 with 21 members and gave its first concert in a crowded Northampton Town Hall on 20 January 1894, having grown to 40 players. The programme consisted of a large number of short ‘light’ pieces, including songs. The orchestra’s second concert the following November was a ‘grand success’ and the £10 surplus from the concert was used to buy 31 music stands and a cupboard to keep them in. In the following 125 years the Northampton Symphony Orchestra has gone through many changes but, in celebrating this momentous anniversary with a gala concert at the Derngate in Northampton last Saturday, I think we showed that the orchestra is arguably the biggest and best it has ever been. We had assembled a mammoth orchestra (116 players) for a mammoth programme.
The concert opened with a new piece commissioned by NSO to mark its 125th anniversary. ‘Overture: From the Heart of the Rose’ by the young composer Alga Mau, paints a picture of Northampton and the surrounding countryside from the bustling Victorian town of 1893 to the present day. It is, in part, a deliberate homage to the music of Eric Coates, whose ‘London Suite’ Alga Mau remembers playing during his time in the Northamptonshire County Training Orchestra. The overture is a tuneful, jolly piece which deserves many more performances. It was followed by a rousing performance of William Walton’s ‘Crown Imperial’, written for the coronation of King George VI in 1937, perhaps the best known piece on the programme.
The climax of the first half of the concert was Tchaikovsky’s ‘Piano Concerto No 2’ played by Peter Donohoe, who has been one of the UK’s best known pianists since winning the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow in 1982. I have fond memories of performing the Grieg Piano Concerto with Peter Donohoe in a youth orchestra concert in Manchester when I was still at school and it was amazing to see him again so many years later with the same virtuoso technique, thrilling style and showmanship. Tchaikovsky’s Second Piano Concerto is a huge and fascinating work but is much less often performed than its more famous predecessor. The first movement lasts more than twenty minutes and feels almost like a complete work in itself: applause from our audience in the Derngate felt natural and deserved, and was smilingly acknowledged by Peter Donohoe. The second movement of the concerto is a beautiful and surprising triple concerto for violin, ‘cello and piano. In Saturday’s concert the orchestra’s Leader, Stephen Hague, and Principal ‘Cellist, Corinne Malitskie, played the solo parts stunningly. It was a mesmerising performance which transfixed the large Derngate audience – a real highpoint of the evening. The final movement of the concerto was a frenetic romp with Peter Donohoe racing the orchestra to a thrilling finish. He then treated us to an encore, playing the teasingly contemplative ‘Dumka’ by Tchaikovsky.
In the second half of the concert we played ‘An Alpine Symphony’ by Richard Strauss – a piece most French horn players dream of playing but rarely have the opportunity. The symphony is scored for 20 horns – 8 horns on stage (including 4 also playing Wagner tubas) and 12 offstage horns (4 playing each of 3 parts). Given that most orchestras usually have 4 horn players it is a major challenge to amass sufficient forces. We managed to bring together 17 horn players (from orchestras in Northampton, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Luton and Windsor & Maidenhead) which allowed us to cover all the parts and sounded fantastic. ‘An Alpine Symphony’ was one of the first pieces I played with NSO – in a one-day workshop with members of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2000 – and it was amazing to finally get the chance to perform the symphony in a concert 19 years later, as part of this massive horn section.
Richard Strauss’s programmatic symphony tells the story, in 22 short movements, of a mountain climb in the Alps. The trek begins before dawn, witnesses sunrise before embarking on the main ascent, travels through woods, by a brook and past a waterfall. It continues through flowering meadows, past cattle grazing on high pasture, emerging into bright sunlight on the glacier then reaching the summit. In the descent the party are caught in a furious storm before the symphony finishes back at the foot of the mountain with sunset and a return to night.
One of the most memorable moments of the symphony is the sound of a hunt in the distance, created by an offstage brass section. This offstage section only lasts about 40 seconds, and happens about 6 minutes after the start of this long symphony, so I am particularly grateful to everyone who joined us on Saturday just to create this brief but vital musical moment. I think the offstage section went even better in performance than it had in rehearsal, perfectly co-ordinated with the orchestra on stage, and it sounded fantastic.
The Alpine Symphony was a considerable challenge for the orchestra but I think our performance was really special. NSO conductor John Gibbons, who was deservedly awarded a British Empire Medal, for services to music, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours last week, managed to create a moving, disciplined and powerful performance from the mass of performers on and off stage. There were so many highlights it would be impossible to mention them all but I particularly loved our brilliant percussion section who created a terrifying storm, and the brass section were outstanding with amazingly piercing high notes from the trumpets. For me, however, there was nothing better than that magical moment, at the summit of the mountain, when the 12 onstage horns all played together for the first time. It was incredible to be part of this huge team effort, and it was a wonderful way to celebrate 125 years of the Northampton Symphony Orchestra.
[Many thanks to Graham Tear's excellent programme notes from which I have blatantly pinched!]
The Northampton Symphony Orchestra held its first rehearsal on 24 October 1893 with 21 members and gave its first concert in a crowded Northampton Town Hall on 20 January 1894, having grown to 40 players. The programme consisted of a large number of short ‘light’ pieces, including songs. The orchestra’s second concert the following November was a ‘grand success’ and the £10 surplus from the concert was used to buy 31 music stands and a cupboard to keep them in. In the following 125 years the Northampton Symphony Orchestra has gone through many changes but, in celebrating this momentous anniversary with a gala concert at the Derngate in Northampton last Saturday, I think we showed that the orchestra is arguably the biggest and best it has ever been. We had assembled a mammoth orchestra (116 players) for a mammoth programme.
The concert opened with a new piece commissioned by NSO to mark its 125th anniversary. ‘Overture: From the Heart of the Rose’ by the young composer Alga Mau, paints a picture of Northampton and the surrounding countryside from the bustling Victorian town of 1893 to the present day. It is, in part, a deliberate homage to the music of Eric Coates, whose ‘London Suite’ Alga Mau remembers playing during his time in the Northamptonshire County Training Orchestra. The overture is a tuneful, jolly piece which deserves many more performances. It was followed by a rousing performance of William Walton’s ‘Crown Imperial’, written for the coronation of King George VI in 1937, perhaps the best known piece on the programme.
The climax of the first half of the concert was Tchaikovsky’s ‘Piano Concerto No 2’ played by Peter Donohoe, who has been one of the UK’s best known pianists since winning the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow in 1982. I have fond memories of performing the Grieg Piano Concerto with Peter Donohoe in a youth orchestra concert in Manchester when I was still at school and it was amazing to see him again so many years later with the same virtuoso technique, thrilling style and showmanship. Tchaikovsky’s Second Piano Concerto is a huge and fascinating work but is much less often performed than its more famous predecessor. The first movement lasts more than twenty minutes and feels almost like a complete work in itself: applause from our audience in the Derngate felt natural and deserved, and was smilingly acknowledged by Peter Donohoe. The second movement of the concerto is a beautiful and surprising triple concerto for violin, ‘cello and piano. In Saturday’s concert the orchestra’s Leader, Stephen Hague, and Principal ‘Cellist, Corinne Malitskie, played the solo parts stunningly. It was a mesmerising performance which transfixed the large Derngate audience – a real highpoint of the evening. The final movement of the concerto was a frenetic romp with Peter Donohoe racing the orchestra to a thrilling finish. He then treated us to an encore, playing the teasingly contemplative ‘Dumka’ by Tchaikovsky.
In the second half of the concert we played ‘An Alpine Symphony’ by Richard Strauss – a piece most French horn players dream of playing but rarely have the opportunity. The symphony is scored for 20 horns – 8 horns on stage (including 4 also playing Wagner tubas) and 12 offstage horns (4 playing each of 3 parts). Given that most orchestras usually have 4 horn players it is a major challenge to amass sufficient forces. We managed to bring together 17 horn players (from orchestras in Northampton, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Luton and Windsor & Maidenhead) which allowed us to cover all the parts and sounded fantastic. ‘An Alpine Symphony’ was one of the first pieces I played with NSO – in a one-day workshop with members of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2000 – and it was amazing to finally get the chance to perform the symphony in a concert 19 years later, as part of this massive horn section.
Richard Strauss’s programmatic symphony tells the story, in 22 short movements, of a mountain climb in the Alps. The trek begins before dawn, witnesses sunrise before embarking on the main ascent, travels through woods, by a brook and past a waterfall. It continues through flowering meadows, past cattle grazing on high pasture, emerging into bright sunlight on the glacier then reaching the summit. In the descent the party are caught in a furious storm before the symphony finishes back at the foot of the mountain with sunset and a return to night.
One of the most memorable moments of the symphony is the sound of a hunt in the distance, created by an offstage brass section. This offstage section only lasts about 40 seconds, and happens about 6 minutes after the start of this long symphony, so I am particularly grateful to everyone who joined us on Saturday just to create this brief but vital musical moment. I think the offstage section went even better in performance than it had in rehearsal, perfectly co-ordinated with the orchestra on stage, and it sounded fantastic.
The Alpine Symphony was a considerable challenge for the orchestra but I think our performance was really special. NSO conductor John Gibbons, who was deservedly awarded a British Empire Medal, for services to music, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours last week, managed to create a moving, disciplined and powerful performance from the mass of performers on and off stage. There were so many highlights it would be impossible to mention them all but I particularly loved our brilliant percussion section who created a terrifying storm, and the brass section were outstanding with amazingly piercing high notes from the trumpets. For me, however, there was nothing better than that magical moment, at the summit of the mountain, when the 12 onstage horns all played together for the first time. It was incredible to be part of this huge team effort, and it was a wonderful way to celebrate 125 years of the Northampton Symphony Orchestra.
[Many thanks to Graham Tear's excellent programme notes from which I have blatantly pinched!]
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