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Showing posts from December, 2014

Thought for 2015

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'Now, obviously, the things that it is necessary to do are not the things that have been done, but the ones that have not yet been done' ~ John Cage A very happy and rewarding New Year to all my readers. Photo was taken by me at the 2008 John Cage Happening in Bruges. Any other copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use" for critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Also on Facebook and Twitter .

What I learned in 2014

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I am less interested in Truth with a capital T and more interested in truths, plural. That quote actually comes from Kevin Kelly (b. 1952), who was founding executive editor of Wired magazine, and an editor/publisher of the Whole Earth Review . It is taken from his contribution to How is the Internet Changing the Way You Think? I took the photo of Ladakhi women at the Thiksey Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in Ladakh during my trip to the Dalai Lama's Kalachakra teachings this summer; one of many highlights of a year during which I uncovered plural truths . Photo is (c) On An Overgrown Path 2014. Any other copyrighted material is included as "fair use" for the purpose of critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Also on Facebook and Twitter .

ECM has a lot to answer for

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In the Telegraph Ivan Hewett nominates the collaboration between Tunisian oud virtuoso Dhafer Youssef and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kristjan Jarvi as one of his five worst classical moments of 2014 . I wasn't at the Barbican concert which Iven Hewett describes as a "toe-curling example of vapid 'cross-over'”. But it is a judgement which chimes with me, because I would have to nominate Dhafer Youssef's Birds Requiem as among my least satisfying CD purchases of 2014. Birds Requiem is released on the Sony owned Okeh label , which has been rejuvenated in an attempt to grab market share from ECM. Ignore the subtle Okeh logo, and Birds Requiem would pass as an ECM release. The monochrome artwork is pure ECM. As is the music - ethnically correct easy listening which never leaves the formulaic groove that fellow Tunisian oud virtuoso Anouar Brahem 's recent work for ECM is also stuck in. Don't get me wrong, I respect and admire ECM . But ma

We are by nature analogue beings

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Commenting on a 2012 post Norman Perryman reminded us that "We are by nature analogue beings, consisting of fluid organic substances". While this year, in another comment, Halldor opined that "This digital fixation is damaging live classical music". Just as my digital photo of Ladakhi children taken on the overland trip from New Delhi to Leh is a representation of, but not replacement for the analogue subject, so digital formats provide a representation of, but not replacement for live performances of classical music. As Norman Perryman explained in his comment, the current digital fixation is breeding listeners who are being denied any emotional involvement in real time and space. As a result, this new digital audience is missing out on the vital experience of witnessing a creative act in real time. Also on Facebook and Twitter . Photo is (c) On An Overgrown Path 2014.

In search of 'le point vierge'

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That icon of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus was photographed by me last week at the Coptic monastery of Dayr Mar Girgis in Upper Egypt. The Trappist monk, mystic and author Thomas Merton wrote of le point vierge - the virgin point - and described how there is "at the center of our being a a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God... which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will". Le point vierge is found in different forms in the great wisdom traditions, particularly in Sufism, and it is from this tradition that Thomas Merton developed his vision of a point of pure truth. This vision is also found in popular culture: for instance in John Lennon's Imagine, which - in an unashamed hymn to le point vierge - implores us to "imagine there is no heaven.. no religion... no countries.. no possessions". This search for a poi

What really matters is whether music moves the listener

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At this festive time it is worth revisiting two Christmas oratorios that have featured here in past years. Last year I praised Paul Constantinescu's Byzantine Christmas oratorio 'The Nativity' for being "music that is neither easy nor difficult to listen to", while two years earlier I recommmended Pau Casal's oratorio El Pessebre (The Manger) as "a delightfully derivative concoction; just let's say that if you like Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel you will like El Pessebre ." I make no claim that 'The Nativity' and El Pessebre are masterpieces. In fact I have developed a deep suspicion of the designation 'masterpiece', which no longer recognises intrinsic merit, but instead merely expresses establishment approval. It does not matter whether a work is a masterpiece or not. What really matters is whether it moves the listener. And, despite the received wisdom that creates gluts of Mahler, Britten, R. Strauss and, next year

You are looking at the future of classical music journalism

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Quite rightly there is much lamenting about the enforced departure of New York Times music critic Allan Kozinn. Quite wrongly the lamenting is being led by Norman Lebrecht* , who single-handedly has pioneerd the audience whoring click baiting school of tabloid music journalism that has made the informed writing of Allan Kozinn and others redundant. Quite hypocritically the classical music establishment is lamenting the demise of erudite critics and journalists while at the same time throwing its weight behind tabloid music journalism . * All links to Slipped Disc are indirect to avoid swallowing click bait; the cited reference should appear at the top of the Google search results. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use" for critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Also on Facebook and Twitter .

Have a nice tripe

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Arrived back at Gatwick Airport from Upper Egypt where I took the photo above on a Nile ferry . Collected car from long term car park and turned on BBC Radio 3 for first time in months. Greeted by the unctuous Petroc Trelawny asking: "I don't want to nag, but have you voted in Radio 3's favourite Christmas carol competition"? Turn radio off immediately. Maybe I'll tune in again to BBC Radio 3 sometime next year to see if the tripe is more palatable when new network controller Alan Davey is onboard . Also on Facebook and Twitter . Any copyrighted material is included as "fair use" for critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s).

Learn as if you were to live forever

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Mahatma Gandhi exhorted us to "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever" . So, accordingly, I celebrated my recent coming of (old) age by taking the overnight Stena Line ferry seen above across the North Sea from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, from where the excellent Dutch public transport network took me on the path of more living and learning. My first destination was Norman Perryman's studio in Amsterdam. Norman's experiments in fusing kinetic art with classical music have long appealed to me, and when I wrote about his Aldeburgh Festival appearance with Pierre Laurent-Aimard I asked Has classical music finally found its contact high? Norman works exclusively in the analogue domain . He paints on multiple overhead projectors, and the audience can watch the creation and dissolution of his fluid images on a giant screen in real time, as his brushwork flows, pulsates convulses in time with the music. Quite understandably

Masterclass for Kyung Wha Chung

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Photo was taken by me at the recent concert by Sufi master Sheikh Hassan Dyck and friends in Katwijk , Holland. Both the Sheikh and the young audience member had colds, so Sheikh Hassan tossed the youngster a cough sweet. A great time was had by all - including grumpy old me . More on that concert - Sheikh Hassan's not Kyung Wha Chung's - via this link . Also on Facebook and Twitter . Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use" for critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s).