Category: Blog
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In praise of the London Mozart Players
This weekend feels like one of those important transition times. This partly down to the government eagerness getting us back to the good-old-British-pub, the busy-ness of the nearby South Circular, and the comfort our neighbours display welcoming a considerable number of pals into their garden this afternoon, people who are quite happy hugging and stroking…
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BBC Proms 2020 details announced and highlights selected
A summer of concert broadcasts to listen to. It’s basically how I consume the Proms anyway.
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Borlotti Buitoni’s deft piece of comms
An unexpected delivery today through the letterbox. A spongy brown envelope in which was a tote bag and a face mask. Inventive marketing I thought. Arresting communications, as I retrieved the Borlotti Buitoni Trust branded mask and bag. I’ll admit that I still don’t like wearing a mask. It’s dehumanising. I hate not seeing other…
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Nicola Benedetti, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and Sir Simon Rattle speak to DCMS’ Oliver Dowden about the needs of UK orchestras post-lockdown
Sir Simon Rattle to DCMS’ Oliver Dowden: “We are poised and ready for collaboration, to urgently save our industry and its thousands and thousands of jobs.” I read Sir Simon Rattle’s Times interview first thing on Sunday morning in bed as soon as I woke up. Take it from me this is not the best…
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James Recknell
A member of my musical family has passed away; an opportunity to take stock presents itself.
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Oliver Dowden in the Evening Standard
I’m a little late to the Dowden interview in the Evening Standard. This late discovery doesn’t change the view expressed in the previous post. If anything the interview only backs it up. Julian Glover’s interview is a positive profile piece, seeking to project Dowden as the nice guy. The kind of Everyman the arts world…
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UK orchestras in a post-lockdown world: a warning shot from The Guardian, and a hint of resilience and determination from The Times
The story we tell about how classical music adapts is vital to its very survival in the short, mid and long term.
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The (kind of) 2020 Aldeburgh Festival
If memory serves me correctly, 2020 is the first time the 72-year-old Aldeburgh Festival won’t be going ahead. No surprises why. COVID. This is notable because of the oft-told story of Benjamin Britten’s annual jamboree. Fire at Snape Maltings Concert Hall back in 1967 on the eve of that year’s festival might have threatened proceedings.…
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More about the Lockdown Wigmore Hall Concerts
Musicians are reassuring us audience members that they’re continuing to play as they await our return to the auditorium.
