On An Overgrown Path

Well not exactly, but I'm away from the keyboard and off to the fine county that was the birthplace of composer George Lloyd , home to Malcolm Arnold who wrote a set of his English Dances there in the 1960s and the location of the castle that inspired Arnold Bax's Tintagel . Back soon, there may be a delay in uploading comments but keep them coming. In the meantime please support other music blogs here and here and don't forget Elliott Carter and Michael Tippett on Future Radio . Fishing boat on Aldeburgh beach (c) On An Overgrown Path 2008. Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

In the summer of 1919 John Barbirolli was a member of the orchestra for Diaghilev's second post-war season of the Russian ballet ... His particular memory of this season, apart from the pleasure of playing in Stravinsky's Firebird and Petrushka, was of Diaghilev's insistence that Manuel de Falla should conduct his own ballet, Tricorne. Despite the composer's protestations that he was not competent to do it, Diaghilev almost dragged him to the pit at rehearsal. After a few bars they reached some cross-rhythms. Falla stopped beating so the orchestra stopped. 'No, no,' he cried, 'you go on.' He was totally unable to conduct the rhythms he had devised - from Barbirolli the authorised biography by Michael Kennedy. No, my header photo is not Manuel de Falla; it's Michael Tippett conducting in St Louis in 1968. On March 2 I am playing a recording of Tippett conducting his Second Symphony on my Future Radio programme . Composers have rather a chequered hi...

My post identifying music blogs blocked by the Chinese government has caused justified indignation over on Renewable Music , Soho the Dog and elsewhere. But here is how you breach the great firewall of China. Make sure New Music Reblog mirrors your site, because that's not blocked. Martin Scorsese's 1997 film Kundun, with its Philip Glass score, was a brave and pioneering anti-Chinese government statement . Remember you read it here first . Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

From Beyond the Stave reports - Another interesting programme from our near-neighbour On an Overgrown Path on Future Radio , which will be broadcasting a (somewhat early) centenary tribute to Elliott Carter on Sunday February 24th. Once again those wanting to learn more about the 99 year old Mr Carter will be pleased to know that we have a paperback selection of his essays and lectures . Furthermore, in the Autumn we’ll be co-publishing an exciting new volume with the Paul Sacher Stiftung , Elliott Carter: A Tribute in Letters and Documents (exact title still to be announced) edited by Felix Meyer and Anne C Shreffler. More – including an early extract - on what promises to be a stunning volume in later posts. Available – as always – from a loyal band of specialist retailers . Read more about Paul Sacher here. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of ...

happening - a gathering of people at which something happens. A party or function where people indulge in activities contrary to the social norm. ~ from John Basset McCleary's Hippie Dictionary . If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all ~ John Cage The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason ~ John Cage. Which is more musical: a truck passing by a factory or a truck passing by a music school? ~ John Cage As far as consistency of thought goes, I prefer inconsistency ~ John Cage There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see, something to hear ~ John Cage John Cage was really happening in Bruges, Belgium on February 17, 2008 as my photos show. The one above w...

Ewa Strusinska has been appointed assistant conductor of orchestra of the moment , the Hallé in Manchester. Ms Strusińska (above) was born in Poland and studied at the Frederic Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw. She has built her reputation in the mainstream repertoire but has also conducted music by Brett Dean , Einojuhani Rautavaara and Edward Gregson . Because Ms Strusińska is female we are, thankfully , spared her age in the press coverage. But, to maintain equality of the sexes, I can reveal she was born in the year Benjamin Britten died. Feminine World Music here. Photo credit Bamberger Symphoniker . Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

'Feminine music? Try Meredith Monk ' - suggests Richard Friedman on From up here you should see the view . Lots more music from female composers here. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Mr. Holland: I doubt that you would enjoy any of the Naxos McKay discs , and I would not waste your time and money on them if I were you. I think you probably would be appalled by all three of them. However, I bet you might enjoy all three Naxos George Rochberg discs : the Violin Concerto, the Second Symphony and the Fifth Symphony. The Naxos recording of the Rochberg Violin Concerto is the original version, before Isaac Stern imposed severe cuts on the piece. The Second Symphony is serial, and very, very beautiful. I think you would love it. I am told that George Szell admired the work. The Fifth Symphony is mostly tonal, and also a very strong work. It was written for Solti and Chicago. I suspect that you would find the three Rochberg discs to be very rewarding, while I think any of the McKay discs would cause you to grind your teeth. Writes Andrew on my post about puffery and closed-mindedness . Read more about George Rochberg in this tribute headed Composer Who Rebelled Against M...

Chandos Records has a new blog and it looks rather familiar. Now they need some decent photos and album covers and to work out how hyperlinks work. Talking of technology Jean-Michel Jarre is performing his 1977 album Oxygene live at the Albert Hall in March and he is using the original Mellotron , string-ensemble Eminents and VCS 3 synthesisers for the gig, not a computer or pre-recorded track in sight. He thinks the analogue sound is better, and he's not the first to say it . Jarre has a classical pedigree, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire and also with the father of musique concrète , Pierre Schaeffer at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales . More in the Independent . Staying at the Albert Hall Vernon Handley may not yet have his Knighthood , but my sources tell me he has a 2008 BBC Prom after a long absence from the venue. This is the first season for the new Proms director (and BBC Radio 3 controller) Roger Wright after the Michael Ball years of Nicholas Kenyon . At lea...

Two contrasting responses from America to my post Third rate music on Naxos' American classics? Flinging merde - ' Granted some of the stuff that Naxos has packaged in that series has been less than distinguished but operating in a cultural establishment where critics treat every cow patty ever dropped by the likes of Alwyn (above) and Bax and Finzi and Michael Tippitt (sic) as if it were fois gras, Clements is hardly in a position to fling merde' - from Sequenza21 , and I'm sure Norman Lebrecht would approve of that misspelling of Tippett. The true beauty of the effort - ' Personally speaking I expect listener reaction to concert music is heavily dependent on emotional mood and cultural/historical context . The concept of "ratings" and "tiers" for composers is pretty much an over-rated specialization of critics, which serves the purpose of puffery and closed-mindedness. My father is the American composer George Frederick McKay (photo be...

'Question is - what's more environmentally friendly - going to an independent store, by anything else than on foot, or ordering a CD online?' - asked the irrepressible violainvilnius in a comment on a recent post. I don't know the answer, but we've just arrived back from Belgium with a bunch of CDs bought from an independent dealer and managed to travel by walking, a bicycle, train, bus and just one short taxi ride on the whole trip. The main part of the journey was by Eurostar train which now leaves London from the splendidly restored St Pancras station, seen in my photo above, and stops at Lille before arriving in Brussels just one hour and fifty three minutes later. It may not be environmentally perfect, but it's a step in the right direction. Now playing - MGV ( Musique à Grand Vitesse ) by Michael Nyman . This 27 minute orchestral work was commissioned by the Festival du Lille for the inaugaration of the TGV North-European line which we travelled on to...

I've been let out of the Cage for a few days. Back soon, meanwhile support other music blogs here and here and follow the path here . Photo taken outside my study window a couple of weeks ago (c) On An Overgrown Path . Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

CDs just seem to get shorter. After 48 minutes from the Kronos Quartet yesterday comes a new Deutsche Grammophon full price release today of Mikhail Pletnev playing Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto which lasts for 38 minutes. But neither match the Wergo CD of Stockhausen's Kontakte I wrote about here which plays for just 34 minutes 56 seconds. Is that a record? Or is it an MP3 file? More music and mathematics here. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is one of his best known works, and Tudor church music was a major influence on the composer. During 2008 I am playing all the Vaughan Williams symphonies on my Future Radio programme , and this Sunday (Feb 17) it is the turn of the Eighth Symphony. This for many, including me, is one of his finest works, and it certainly destroys the myth of the composer as a backward looking English pastoralist, with its scoring for vibraphone, xylophone, tubular bells, glockenspiel and three tuned gongs. I'm coupling all the Vaughan Williams Symphonies with choral music from Thomas Tallis . This will be taken from the splendid new 10CD box of Tallis' complete works at bargain price from Brilliant Classics sung by the Chapelle du Roi directed by Alistair Dixon . Tallis also composed a number of instrumental works which are included in the box. They are not of the same peerless quality as his choral works, but are, nevertheles...

In that classic 1968 film The Graduate Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) is given some of the most famous advice in cinema history: Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you - just one word. Ben: Yes sir. Mr. McGuire: Are you listening? Ben: Yes I am. Mr. McGuire: 'Plastics.' Ben: Exactly how do you mean? Mr. McGuire: There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it? Ben: Yes I will. Mr. McGuire: Shh! Enough said. That's a deal. Right now that conversation is being repeated with a slight twist: Agent: I just want to say one word to you - just one word. Musician: Yes sir. Agent: Are you listening? Musician: Yes I am. Agent: 'China' ... Orchestras are listening , composers from Gustav Mahler to Damon Albarn have been listening for years, Google are listening , and even Jordi Savall is listening . I'm quite sure Terry Riley and the Kronos Quartet don't need to listen to their agent, but their latest CD is on-message anyway. Th...

The all day John Cage Happening in Bruge, Belgium this Sunday (Feb 17) is a complete sell-out. On An Overgrown Path will be there and also at Morton Feldman's Rothko Chapel two days before. Adventurous programming and new music is certainly pulling in the European audiences, and the next hot ticket looks to be the happening previewed below, and we will be there as well: spnm’s experimental music night The Sound Source returns to Kilburn’s Luminaire (see footer photo) on 12 March with an unusual and creative response to the work of Karlheinz Stockhausen . Headlining the event are Belgian pianist Daan Vandewalle , who will perform Klavierstücke I-IV , and drummer and percussionist Chris Cutler , who will join him for a version of Kontakte . Electronic artist Scanner completes the line-up with some Stockhausen-inspired works. Rounding off the evening, the three will team up to perform a newly commissioned tribute to one of Stockhausen’s hidden gems, Stockhoven/Beethausen . The ...

Interesting post (and audio sample) on the Swedish composer Kurt Magnus Atterberg (1887-1974), seen in my header photo, from a Harvard student, musician and broadcaster and blogger. More on those WHRB orgies here , follow my Danish thread here. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Amid all the debate about the benefits of free recorded music shouldn't we be asking if live music has the same price elasticity? Would cutting the cost of concert tickets attract new listeners and boost audiences? One case study suggests it would. I have already written here about the success achieved by Aldeburgh Music in building audiences for adventurous repertoire. Aldeburgh has an established policy of half-price tickets for anyone under 27, no other qualification such as student status are required although Aldeburgh also runs its own student card. Extending discounts beyond students is a smart move. Student concessions have an image of uncomfortable seats way up in the 'gods'. There are a lot of high disposable income under 27s who are not students and who haven't yet 'got' classical music. They buy designer brands, drive nice cars, and leverage price elasticity through websites such as Lastminute.com . They want decent seats at a concert, and if they ...

From Beyond the Stave - Cage on Future Radio. A few miles up the road from Boydell’s Suffolk office is the home of the stimulating and often outspoken blog, On an Overgrown Path . The associated Future Radio broadcast this coming Sunday (February 10th, repeated on Monday) will feature the music of John Cage . Anyone coming away from this programme with an appetite for more should investigate Peter Dickinson ’s recent book of interviews with and about the composer, CageTalk , described as “a valuable and enjoyable read” by BBC Music Magazine and an “ideal introduction to Cage” by the venerable Times Literary Supplement. Available, as they say, from all good booksellers, some of whom may be found here . My photo shows John Cage to students of Oberlin College , March 1973 (photo credit: Narrye Caldwell) and is linked from this excellent resource . More on John Cage here. Future Radio feed on right-hand side-bar. Audio fAny copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair us...

A year ago there was quite an outcry when BBC Radio 3 controller Roger Wright announced an 'improvement' to the network's schedules which involved moving the weekly live broadcast of Choral Evensong from Wednesdays to Sundays. Roger Wright has just announced another 'improvement' to the schedules. Choral Evensong is being moved back to Wednesdays . More Choral Evensong fun and games here. Header image is of Norwich Cathedral Choir . Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Naxos, which pioneered discs for a fiver, counts every penny. Five-star treatment is a rarity. "In our company, even with conductors, it goes by age. Below 50, you travel economy; above 50, you travel business class; above 60, you can travel first class. That's the way it has to be" - says Naxos founder Klaus Heymann in an interview in today's Guardian . My photo shows a sub-50 Kyung-Wha Chung and André Previn on a tour flight. But when your net worth reaches £190 million you travel in your own jet . Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

'Some of the best cover art ever was on the EMI Reflexe series' - said David Cavlovic . I'll second that David, and what a fabulous series Gerd Berg's Reflexe was from EMI Electrola in Germany in the 1970s. There were LPs from Thomas Binkley and his Studio der Frühen Musik (cover art above), The Hilliard Ensemble , Hans-Martin Linde and his Linde-Consort, Michel Piguet and the Ricercare-Ensemble für alte Musik , Zurich and, of course, Jordi Savall and his Hespèrion XX Ensemble with their early recordings. More history of the Reflexe series here. As I have said before, a picture is worth a thousand words . Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

BBC Radio 3's CD Review programme has been on a jolly to Arles in the South of France. The event was French label Harmonia Mundi's 50th anniversary sales conference, and payback time came last Saturday when the BBC programme played the contents of the conference goody bag and gave several senior French executives a lot of valuable airtime to promote the Harmonia Mundi solution for today's turbulent classical music market. In simple terms the Harmonia Mundi solution is internet bad and independent sector good. Now I am a huge fan of both Harmonia Mundi recordings and independent record stores and feature both here frequently. The header photo of the excellent Harmonia Mundi store in Avignon was taken by me last September and I have spent an awful lot of Euros in their French stores over the years. So congratulations to Harmonia Mundi on fifty wonderful years, and it's great to find such solid support for independent bricks and mortar stores. But just a minute, look at...

It was, as I remember, through Jean [Erdman} - who is to dancing what Vivaldi was to music - that we met the other member of the party, composer John Cage, who had then become interested in the relationship of music to Zen and was beginning to explore the melodies of silence. My principal tie with John was that we had the same kind of humour, for he would simply bubble with laughter whenever describing his latest plans for musical outrage, such as a very formal piano recital in full evening dress, complete with an assistant to turn the pages, in which, however, the score consisted entirely of rests. The joke wasn't merely that he was getting away with murder in the hopelessly deranged world of avant-garde music, so as to constitute the master charlatan of all, but that beyond all this and to make matters still funnier, he had also discovered and wanted to share the meditation process of listening to silence. This is simply to close your eyes and allow your ears to resonate with wh...

We all knew it was true . But here is forensic confirmation . Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Ambitious conductors start here. There are some excellent tips in Tim Ashley's Guardian profile of Vasily Petrenko on what it takes today to become principal conductor of an orchestra. Here are some of the buzzwords from the lavish double-page spread - "big, blond, handsome ... age of 30 ... youngish fashionable crowd ... easy on the eye and a balletic mover on the podium ... wowing everyone ... Russian bombshell ... striking determination". And yes, contemporary music is mentioned. In the penultimate paragraph. But, unlike On An Overgrown Path, the anti-Iraq war Guardian doesn't mention that ambitious young conductors also need to strut their stuff for Condoleezza Rice as well as on Second Life . Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmai...

I'll be interested in American readers' reactions to the start of this review by the Guardian's Andrew Clements - ' Considering how much third-rate music has been included in Naxos's American Classics series, Elliott Carter has so far been poorly served by the budget-price label. But in the year of the composer's 100th birthday, this - the first of two discs that will include all five of Carter's string quartets - could be the start of a major addition to his discography.' Andrew Clements then goes on to write a glowing five-star review of Naxos' new CD of Elliott Carter's String Quartets Nos 1 and 5 performed by the Pacifica Quartet . I'll agree whole-heartedly with his verdict on the Carter Quartets, I bought them last week and they are superb performances of superb music. But I am not so sure about his other views. That judgement of 'third-rate music' raises the interesting point of should a critic focus primarily on the interpr...