Category: Journal
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Arts Council England announces Round 2 (over £1m) recipients of Culture Recovery Fund
Arts Council England and DCMS have today announced the latest tranche of grants given to arts and culture organisations across the country. The organisations who have received over £1 million in the second round are: Sheffield City Trust £2,243,000 The Lowry Centre Trust £3,000,000 North York Moors Historical Railway Trust £1,904,902 Academy Music Group Ltd…
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My new pal: Beethoven’s violin concerto
Meet my new pal: Beethoven’s violin concerto. I was originally a little unsure of it when I first came across it. It wasn’t Tchaikovsky. Or Mendelssohn. Or Brahms. It seemed heavier, laden with I don’t know what. Much deference seemed to be paid to it. And it was long. Very long. Something has changed in…
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Fractured sound
Earlier this week I took a trip to Henry Wood Hall in London to hear Jack Liebeck recording Ysaye sonatas for Orchid Classics. I was only there for an hour, but hearing fractured sequences of a vaguely familiar piece created a moment that seemed to go on for ever. The live audience experience is right…
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Being in amongst the tribe
It has been quite a day. There was occasion (much-missed these past few months); an unexpected shared sense of purpose; a sense of personal responsibility; and possibly even a feeling of vindication too. I suspect I’m a bit of a shit journalist. That’s what I thought when I headed back from the freelance musicians demonstration…
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Bell Music to close
That Bell Music has continued for so long is testament to their spirit. We will no doubt see Mike Bell pop up somewhere or other. Consider this an early warning for similarly saddening announcements to come.
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Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra kicks off the digital season
Orchestras need not worry about live, only creating a sense of occasion.
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Viability and Jess Gillam’s Decca Release
Talk of viable jobs in the mainstream media today triggered my inner lefty. Or was it my inner liberal? I’m still not clear whether advocating the arts makes me a lefty or a liberal. Either way, the word was a trigger word deliberately placed in press releases, speeches and ‘reports’ intended to enflame and enrage.…
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Levit, Malta, and the 6 month thing
I’ve been listening to Igor Levit’s Gramophone category winning album of Beethoven piano sonatas A LOT this week. Hitherto Beethoven’s creations for the keyboard have presented themselves as a marathon to get through. This week they’ve made sense of the world. They’ve also been things I’ve wanted to return to like a snack in the…
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Nice work
The Philharnonia premiered a concert this evening via their YouTube and Facebook channels, with a simulstream via that other radio station dedicated to classical music, Classic FM. Some thoughts bubbled up to the surface whilst I was chopping veg for the casserole tonight. First, the slew of YouTube premieres from various bands are a lovely…
