tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50889501398024596312024-03-05T07:28:01.667+00:00mathewtuckerMathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-20851564684659358082011-11-03T22:34:00.007+00:002011-11-04T00:03:34.073+00:00Symphony/BBC4Elegantly shot in some of Europe's finest cities, including London, this new four part series on the symphony featured the personable yet strangely dead-pan Simon Russell Beale as a presenter. <br /><br />Starting with Haydn (didn't Charles Hazelwood do something similar about him for the Beeb a short while ago?)through Mozart and Beethoven, Russell Beale traced the symphony's earliest journeys through a succession of ornate palaces and concerts halls. Lovely though they were, the visual impact of each lessened the longer the programme went on. <br /><br />Frustratingly, as is so often the case with classical music docs, very little of the symphonies being performed were allowed to breathe for more than thirty seconds before someone started gabbling over them. A pity; the excellent Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, under the direction of Mark Elder, appeared to be on cracking form. With an asset like this, who better than they to really make the case for the symphony?Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-75249483446933093992011-09-16T19:33:00.006+01:002011-09-16T21:23:32.260+01:00Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, SpyThis new telling of John le Carre's spy thriller somehow manages to feel longer than the seven-part BBC series that predates it by thirty years. <br /><br />It's not a bad movie, just a tad ponderous. Could the director's detailed recreation of shabby 1970s London have come at the expense of a more compelling narrative flow? <br /><br />In its favour, the Gentleman's club aura that was evoked in the BBC version is completely stripped away. This 'circus' is made up of a bunch of ugly, hacked-off, lower-middle class spooks. <br /><br />At its quiet centre is Gary Oldman as George Smiley. He has been praised for wresting the Smiley character from the long shadow of Alec Guinness. Maybe, but for my money he sounded remarkably like him.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-88106500245759348452011-09-08T11:04:00.008+01:002011-09-08T12:42:15.309+01:00Prom 70/RAHGod, so long since I've blogged. Have you missed me?...deafening silence.<br /><br />I've only been to two Proms this year (but have heard plenty on the radio) mainly because South Ken is such a schlep but also because of my long term downer on the Royal Albert Hall as a suitable venue for classical music (<a href="http://mathew-tucker.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-direction-for-proms.html.">mathewtucker passim</a>). <br />However, there are one or two pieces in the repertoire I've always fancied hearing there, one of which, The Planets, was on show last night. My main fascination has been the work's final movement - Neptune - which Holst concludes with an off-stage female chorus. How would this, probably one of the most ethereal works of the twentieth century, come across in the Royal Albert Hall's cavernous space? It was too good a prospect to turn down. Thankfully, the hall and the combined forces of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Holst Singers didn't disappoint. <br /><br />The orchestra, under David Robertson, had to visit six other planets before we got there, an amazing journey that explored every nook and cranny of orchestral timbres. And if Robertson's tempos ebbed and flowed rather awkwardly at times, it was none the less the most blistering account of the work one could ever hope to encounter. The audience paid absolutely no attention to convention, bursting into applause after each movement that was reciprocated by Robertson with his little nods and smiles of appreciation (no purist he). <br /><br />And so to Neptune, Holst's final stop in space. Even before the movement started, eyes in the arena were being averted to the upper reaches of the hall in expectation of the off-stage female chorus. Then, out of nowhere, the faint and wordless sounds of the singers emerged from the darkest corner of the gallery (yes, such a place does exist, I've been there and it's lovely). So faint in fact they really could have been singing from outer space. As their voices grew in volume, the entire audience craned their necks upwards in Spielbergian awe. You could have heard a pin drop in that arena. <br /><br />Then it was over. A piece of Albert Hall magic. My only regret is that the singers who had been invisible throughout, did not appear for the tumultuous applause at the end, but they had probably flown away by then.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-43946452011670452232011-07-05T17:29:00.005+01:002011-07-05T17:51:12.487+01:00Two Boys/ENOHmm. Good but not the work that heralds a new beginning for contemporary opera, it's just not interesting enough for that. It's basically Prime Suspect set to music. Nico Muhly's score is richly textured and always feels as if it's about to bloom into something wonderful but in the end is constrained by the plodding drama's unrelenting darkness. Still, one highlight of the entire production has been ENO's rather brilliant video campaign which has gone viral on Youtube I hear.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-78508657716824273092011-07-03T11:22:00.006+01:002011-07-03T11:55:04.140+01:00Glee/O2Blog terribly neglected of late but good old fashioned work intervened to put it on the back burner. So, Glee at the O2 (basically a shopping mall with a very large concert venue in the middle). To be fair, the sight-lines inside are excellent. God knows, they need to be given the huge distance between where we were sitting in the outer reaches and the stage. As for Glee, what a remarkable product; a show brimming with politically correct characters and somehow becoming the new template for mainstream entertainment -how did that happen? Everyone in it is a modern day hero, fighting for and being proud of who they are. It's also a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">homage</span> to good pop songs I suppose.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-235924771233439442011-04-01T21:54:00.004+01:002011-04-01T22:17:22.522+01:00The Noisettes/Favela Chic<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Uber</span> trendy bar <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Favela</span> Chic played host to Guy Chambers' <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Orgasmatron</span> - a kind of variety show for up and coming music acts. I won't say too much about Hot <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Skank</span> - I think the name says it all - but the night's headliners, The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Noisettes</span> are well and truly destined for great things. Fortunate then that they are the subject of a forthcoming BBC doc on song writing. Hifht <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRFHiBW9RE8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRFHiBW9RE8</a>Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-46868530853745104692011-03-18T13:48:00.008+00:002011-03-18T15:10:41.298+00:00LSO Chamber Ensemble/St Luke's<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">UBS</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Soundscapes</span> is a long standing concert series that takes place at the ever so attractive <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">LSO</span> St Luke's. With its emphasis on informality (you can drink alcohol basically) and musical eclecticism, most of the artists hitherto have been drawn from the jazz and world music circuit. Less in evidence have been classical performers which was partially rectified last night with a concert given by the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">LSO</span> Chamber Ensemble.<br /><br /><br /><br />Entitled 'Beethoven Plus', it allowed several of the orchestra's principals to strut their stuff in small ensembles and as soloists, an opportunity if ever there was for some unlikely corners of the repertoire to be explored. Chris Richards gave an immaculate account of Stravinsky's Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo which was preceded by a work for double bass, violin and piano by the little known composer <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Bottesini</span>. It is, I'm told, a bit of a sacred cow in the double bass world that demands deft movement over the strings' harmonics. The soloist, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Rinat</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ibragimov</span> certainly didn't disappoint, his performance getting the biggest cheer of the evening.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Beethoven's Septet in Eb rounded off an interesting night out, perhaps one for the musically curious than the layman. And if at times it felt a little like a school concert - one or two of the players need to work on their public speaking - it is hopefully the start of more regular appearances by this fine group of musicians.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-71289806406025903692011-03-07T11:19:00.009+00:002011-03-07T21:30:08.178+00:00Madam Butterfly/Royal Albert HallPuccini's arias have been the mainstay of every passing crossover act for so long it's easy to forget how masterful his complete operas are. I've got Raymond Gubbay to thank for this. What? The Gubbster, isn't he one of the bad guys, you know, singers with microphones, fireworks etc? Well, yes in some people's eyes, he's not exactly Mr High Brow, and I for one am rather pleased he isn't; it takes chutzpah to transfer a well loved work like Madam Butterfly from the opera house into the cavernous Royal Albert Hall AND make it work.<br /><br /><br /><br />The fact is if you can use the Royal Albert Hall space effectively, as Gubbay and his team have, it gives opera an entirely new dimension. For a start, you can see it in the round, which can't fail to bring audiences closer to the action. And being the size it is, the RAH arena invites a greater scope for visual ambitions, in this case a large water garden (yep, real water) that surrounds Butterfly's house. But it's what this production achieves aurally that really hits home, in particular the humming chorus in Act II which wafts down magically from the gallery into a dimmed auditorium with only Chinese lanterns for light. Beat that Royal Opera.<br /><br /><br /><br />There is a price to pay for this. The singers are miked-up and while this is a crime too far for some opera-goers, I don't see how it can be avoided in a large venue like the Royal Albert Hall. Sure, you do lose some purity of tone and at times a certain shrillness creeps in, particularly at the top end of the singers' range. On balance though, the theatrical gains far outweigh any reservations I have about the whole microphone issue.<br /><br /><br /><br />So, Mr Gubbay, when are you going to do The Ring?Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-82437316106619038122011-02-15T09:11:00.005+00:002011-02-15T11:08:05.833+00:00Milos Karadaglic/The Ivy ClubA lunchtime showcase for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Milos</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Karadaglic</span></span>, a twenty something guitarist from Montenegro recently signed by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Deutsche</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Grammophon</span>. Despite its ubiquity, the guitar's profile as a solo instrument doesn't match that of the piano or the fiddle. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Presumably</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">DG</span> believe there is a gap in the market so who better to fill it than a Mediterranean dish like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Milos</span>.<br /><br />OK, so it was only a show case but it would have been more refreshing if he had come up with something other than <em>Romance</em>, you know, that tune favoured by buskers the world over? But it was Valentine's day, he reminded us.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Laydees</span>, form an orderly queue....Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-91197371116906381402011-02-06T11:23:00.002+00:002011-02-06T12:15:38.791+00:00Ivana Gavric/The Forge<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Lordy</span>, another new(<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ish</span>) venue to check out. The Forge is a chapel sized concert venue located at the back of a flashy Italian restaurant in Camden. So far in its relatively short life it has played host to a healthy <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">mixture</span> of jazz, world and classical music, all done, it would seem, without a penny of public subsidy. Good luck with that!<br /><br />Stepping into the beige coloured hall this weekend is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ivana</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Gavric</span>, a young Sarajevo born pianist who has been doing great things since leaving the Royal College of Music in 2005. As curator of The Forge's mini Janacek Festival, In The Mists, she devoted an evening to virtually all of Janacek's solo piano works (there would be more, she told us, were it not for Janacek throwing them into a river in an unsatisfied rage). What remains is still some of the best music Janacek ever wrote. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Gavric</span> might have imposed herself on Janacek's angular rhythms more forcefully at the beginning but she settled into her role as story teller with great tenderness, helped, I'm sure by The Forge's welcome intimacy.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-9633741571946059972010-12-11T10:32:00.006+00:002010-12-11T11:29:58.414+00:00Blackbeard's Tea Party/The Good ShipThis lively folk-rock band (I'm sure I could refine this categorisation but it will do for now) have been having such a ball in their native York that it's only now they've ventured down to London. And not before time. Playing in the ever so slightly eccentric The Good Ship in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kilburn</span> - the stage is downstairs and the audience is upstairs - the six strong band ran through their energetic set with barely a pause for breath. Eschewing the plethora of instruments that accompany some of their contemporaries, Blackbeard's Tea Party like taking things right back to basics. That's not to say they lack any musical expertise, quite the opposite, as ably demonstrated by the fiddle and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">accordion</span> of Laura Barber and Paul Young, the focus of the band's distinctive sound. The audience loved them, some of whom were Londoners. So please, come again .<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blackbeardsteaparty.com/index.html">http://www.blackbeardsteaparty.com/index.html</a>Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-25389541877286668552010-11-07T13:01:00.010+00:002010-11-08T09:24:11.960+00:00Lore Lixenberg/Rich MixLore Lixenberg is mezzo-soprano with a more interesting hinterland than your average opera singer. Although no stranger to the more conventional end of the operatic spectrum, she has made her name in more offbeat and experimental ventures like <em>Jerry Springer - The Opera</em>.<br /><br />Tonight at Rich Mix in Shoreditch (no I've never heard of it before either) she performed - sometimes in person, sometimes on a pre-prepared recording - a selection of electronic plainchants some of which were beautifully effective. Jamie Telford's <em>Gaudiamus Lixenburgos </em>was particularly engaging. Based on a 16th century round multi-tracked by Lixenberg, he enveloped this celebration of Spring with wonderful bursts of colour by cleverly distorting the vocal line.<br /><br />The remaining pieces lacked the same coherence as the Telford, coming dangerously close to unyielding wallpaper music.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-86510161281984662562010-11-03T23:17:00.014+00:002010-11-04T13:50:25.324+00:00Armonico Consort - Super Size Polyphony/Cadogan HallIt's not often you get to hear the big polyphonic blockbusters of the renaissance by the likes of Tallis and Ockeghem. Their very complex, multiple voice parts have placed them out of bounds for most choral groups. You would think then that this rare outing of some of the most magnificent church music ever written might have generated a bit more interest than was in evidence at the Cadogan Hall last night.<br /><br />The programme's premise, devised by David Buckley, a former Wells Cathedral chorister who now writes film scores in Hollywood, was that most of these outrageously ambitious works didn't stem from composers' God fearing devotion but rather as a consequence of challenges they set themselves 'after a session or two in the local tavern'.<br /><br />If that's the case, I'd love to know what kind of state Thomas Tallis must have been in to come up with his audacious <em>Spem in Alium</em>, a motet scored for 40 individual parts, divided into eight choirs of five voices each.<br /><br />Holding scores the size of The Guardian, the vocal ensemble Armonico Consort, boosted by the rather worried looking choir of Gonville and Caius College Cambridge, made sure the occasion didn't go to waste by singing it twice. Forming a large square that took in the Cadogan Hall's auditorium and stage, the different choirs passed the music around with seamless ease thanks in no small part to the cool head of conductor Christopher Monks.<br /><br />If there was a pervading tentativeness about about the evening, not helped by the hall's airless acoustic, it was still a terrific display of choral bravery that any self-respecting early music nut would have lapped up.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-46910601773366948122010-10-13T11:24:00.003+01:002010-10-13T16:26:45.150+01:00Limelight/The 100 ClubMy second visit to this pioneering club and I still think it's a good idea. Ok, so the Limelight have been lucky with their audiences, most of whom know when not to go to the loo or order a drink. And although the air conditioning could be a problem for some listeners, I found myself forgetting about it once the performances begin.<br /><br /><br /><br />On the bill last night, sets (do classical singers do sets?) from the tenor Marcus Farnsworth, followed by the American countertenor Gerald Thompson. Both took advantage of the informality of the venue by spending time explaining the background to the works they were singing. In turn, the music felt that bit more inviting than usual. Great stuff.<br /><br />After the interval (during which Annie Lennox was needlessly pumped over the PA system - come on, surely this audience can get by without superfluous white noise?), the Swingle Singers entertained with their usual brand of annoying yet brilliant a cappella singing. Annoying because there's unrelenting heartiness to their <em>duffy duffy do-do </em>sound, brilliant because they do what they do so well. I was completely disarmed by a James Taylor song from their new album called <em>On The 4th Of July. </em>Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-73546480734291593632010-10-10T11:02:00.003+01:002010-10-15T17:53:28.609+01:00Monteverdi's Flying Circus/Bridge House Theatre, Warwick, The Reservoir Frogs/West Reservoir, Alfred/Kings PlaceShould have blogged about this earlier but hey ho..So, Monteverdi's Flying Circus. Nice show that manages to combine Monteverdi's greatest hits (courtesy of the Armonico Consort) with a play about the cantankerous old genius's dying days. His battles with former employers, the church (who hated his revolutionary harmonies) and his own family were all brought to the fore in a spluttering rage by the excellent Philip Madoc. Once he got going, the 'play' aspect of this joint venture suddenly become far more coherent but it did take a while to find its feet.<br /><br />My music event of the year thus far was the debut of Reservoir Frogs at the West Reservoir in Stoke Newington. This very fine soul band - made up of members of the Mike Flowers Pops, Faithless, Dream Topping and the Highbury Soul Band - played a brass heavy set to a small but select crowd at a former pumping room whose boomy acoustic probably ensured the sound carried a lot further than the the next door Pirates' Playhouse. Will they return though, that's what I want to know. Any offers of work gratefully received. Here's a clip:<br /><br /><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyJNBmzC-EEgvAwkVKN_FUGCIYxZ5BsFf2zF_fvQdzGYrOV-t8F6aMBGbJ1iUhKOWiVIn7ANd3cSZQomWN6XA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p>Finally, good to see Ian Page, artistic director of the Classical Opera Company score a hit with Thomas Arne's Alfred at the Kings Place last night. Arne was a contemporary of Handel's which, alas, has made him a bit of an also ran in the history of English music. But, as COC brilliantly demonstrated, he did write some lovely stuff, including the opera/masque Alfred. </p><p>The talents of Page's young cast outshone the quaint and unintentionally funny libretto - spoken by a magisterial Michael Maloney - that concluded with a sprightly 'Rule Britannia', as far removed from the lazy jingoism it is now associated with.</p>Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-45747298792649298712010-09-20T19:34:00.003+01:002010-09-20T19:56:35.461+01:00John Bennett Big Band/Half MoonAlways a treat to see a good big band in action, especially one that knows how to let its hair down. The John Bennett Big Band has been a regular at the Half Moon in Herne Hill for a fair few years and in that time has built up a very loyal following.<br /><br />I can see why. £5 at the door, some cracking tunes with the ever soulful Barbar Gough on vocals, this has to be one of the capital's best musical bargains. I'm only sorry John Bennett's attempt to pull off a similar residency in Hoxton never took off. Sarf London 1 - North London 0.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-18507209823436701182010-09-17T19:03:00.002+01:002010-09-17T19:15:47.023+01:00Mike Figgis/Kings PlaceThe pleasingly maverick film maker Mike <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Figgis</span> gave an absorbing account of his experimental film 'Time Code' at Kings Place on Wednesday night. It's actually a bit of a mess; four interlinking stories all shot at the same time and presented in split screen. The concept wasn't the problem - '24' took up some of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Figgis's</span> ideas later on - but the rather flimsy plot. And it did ramble on rather. Me and my companion tried to make an early exit only to find our path blocked by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Figgis</span> and Anthony <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Gormley</span>. I ask you...Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-51217985554869751902010-09-13T09:52:00.003+01:002010-09-13T10:23:43.357+01:00Late Review BBC2The late night arts show had an interesting discussion on the music biz this week. Thankfully the Guardian's Tom Service was on hand to throw in some challenging thoughts that gave the programme a real fizz. His inclusion made me realise how rare it is to see a classical music bod contribute to a debate like this and all the better and more rounded a conversation it was too. So, well done Mr Service.<br /><br />The most alarming thing to come out of this discussion was to hear Miranda Sawyer wonder why she had to keep so quiet at a classical concert she once went to. I know she takes her music very seriously but when you hear a top music critic come out with comments like that you realise what a disconnect there is between the pop/rock world and classical music. If I was being unkind, I would ask whether she actually listens to music beyond the noise it makes?Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-67073021563412177662010-09-03T13:11:00.002+01:002010-09-03T13:15:29.419+01:00Mr, Not MaestroI recently filmed a conducting master class at the Royal Academy of Music in London. It was being taken by the English born conductor Benjamin Zander who over several days coaxed and cajoled his young apprentices through the finer aspects of this multi-faceted skill.<br /><br />Sometimes Zander would break off from conducting and make the students dance or sing in an attempt to acquire some unique insights into a particular work, and to make them less intimidated by the experience.<br /><br />The classes were done in a spirit of fun quite at odds with the severe, almost intimidating image conductors have in the popular imagination. While there are plenty of authoritarian figures out there (no names mentioned) it’s certainly not a recognisable stereotype for many younger conductors coming through.<br /><br />And yet it’s a myth that shows little sign of diminishing. Take the BBC’s recent programme on conducting. It was called ‘Maestro’, an Italian word meaning ‘master’ or ‘teacher’ but has these days become universal shorthand for someone (usually a conductor) with an almost unworldly musical prowess, surely the very opposite of what the BBC was trying to convey. Indeed as far as the media is concerned, anyone who has had a modicum of success on the podium is now branded a maestro no matter how well deserved. This only strengthens the old refrain that classical music is elitist because it suggests it has to be passed down to an audience by an Italian speaking grandee.<br /><br />Nor is maestro an accurate description of what most conductors do, or should do. As Ben Zander kept saying at his master class, the best conductors aren’t there to stamp their authority on players but to engage with them, many of whom share as much, if not more, musical expertise, and to harness their talents for the greater good.<br /><br />Yes, there are some great conductors out there with brilliant artistic vision that are fully deserving of praise. But doesn’t the word ‘maestro’ take things a little too far? Conductors are conductors – some good, some not so good – who already have big enough egos not to have this extra ounce of flattery imparted by this word.<br /><br />So next time you have the urge to call someone maestro remember what it means in English. Would you really call someone ‘master’? Of course you wouldn’t, unless you wanted to sound like a complete fool.<br /><br />***<br /><br />The Proms season has reignited the debate about clapping in between the movements of a symphony or concerto, a trend very much on the increase. It’s hard to tell whether this is a consequence of the way classical music is presented in bite size chucks on radio stations like Classic FM, or a wider example of audience power, happy to cast aside outdated conventions.<br />Some say it breaks the music’s spell while others, including performers like violinist Daniel Hope, positively welcome it. It’s not something that keeps me awake at night but an easy way to settle the matter would be for the conductor or soloist to ask the audience to refrain from applauding until the end of the work. Otherwise those who want to clap should feel perfectly entitled to do so.<br /><br />***<br /><br />Staying with the Proms, it’s great to see the number of child-friendly events on offer from the hugely popular Dr Who Prom to the Family Music events at the Royal College of Music. So why not go the extra mile and have children’s concerts at RAH every Saturday morning during the Proms season? It would be a very welcome throw back to the Robert Mayer Concerts of my youth, a music series founded by the German born philanthropist whose Saturday morning concerts filled the Festival Hall week in week out for many years.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-80162821581757423092010-08-25T12:10:00.002+01:002010-08-25T13:05:05.377+01:00Limelight/The 100 ClubLondon boasts a growing number of endeavours that present classical music in places far removed from the traditional concert hall. Now into its second year, Limelight is one such venture that has been lucky enough to bag The 100 Club on Oxford Street for its monthly outing.<br /><br />I couldn't tell you whether hosting at this venue, famed for its Northern Soul nights, has tempted new audiences through the door but it certainly offers the listener a very rewarding intimacy unmatched by more conventional confines including the Wigmore Hall. <br /><br />And so it was the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra performed a multi-coloured interpretation of Vivaldi's Four Seasons complete with barking fiddle players, a castanet touting percussionist and other accompanying sound effects. They were followed by Norway's other great cultural export, Leif Ove Andsnes who performed Chopin to a rapt audience. Even the queue for the bar seemed to evaporate once he began playing.<br /><br />I'd be surprised if more people didn't climb on the band-wagon that Limelight and others have started. Once experienced, you wonder why you haven't had your classical music served up like this before. It's an experiment the good people at the Proms would do well to consider.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-61653818711602144232010-08-23T20:30:00.002+01:002010-08-23T20:44:59.084+01:00Prom 49/RAHA Celebration of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Cracking good - to see an orchestra this size play the R+H scores the way they would have been recorded for the big screen is a rare treat. Conductor John Wilson's attention to detail was staggering, even down to the rate of the first trumpet's vibrato. He and his fine hand-picked orchestra will be back next year, I'm absolutely sure of that. Is it sacrilege to suggest a Prom (other than the Last Night) that positively encourages audience participation? I've never seen so many Prommers straining at the leash to sing along but not having the gumption to do so..Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-62613815325869813882010-08-22T09:57:00.004+01:002010-08-22T11:29:01.491+01:00Endorset, Tete a Tete/Riverside Studios<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_nrIR-zyvRt0YDebVbs0P_AwgPDd-lXBJodwuD47HdcK7la7rnG11Mgjm1VKaIGba5hx8ooynLfmeRLUWsbl0Irni-NUiRKTsAws7G2hJ7mIvs0Nwtbzl1yEHLUP6o0QTaOE84QC73hc/s1600/endorset.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508158951363918066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 198px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_nrIR-zyvRt0YDebVbs0P_AwgPDd-lXBJodwuD47HdcK7la7rnG11Mgjm1VKaIGba5hx8ooynLfmeRLUWsbl0Irni-NUiRKTsAws7G2hJ7mIvs0Nwtbzl1yEHLUP6o0QTaOE84QC73hc/s320/endorset.jpg" border="0" /></a> Took a day out from the summer holiday to play at the <strong>Endorset Festival </strong>in Dorset (geddit?) which, conveniently, was up the road from where we were staying. Endorset's no Glastonbury, and all the better for it, a low-key affair that's entirely at ease with itself as a show case for Cow Punk (well, that's how it was described to me) very much in keeping with its unassuming rural location.<br /><br /><br /><br />My guest appearance with Johnny and the Bees was pleasingly early in the day and despite a few syncronisation issues among the band, it passed off without incident, or applause. Good fun tho..<br /><br /><br />Described as an opera laboratory, the <strong>Tete a Tete Opera Festival </strong>features new and innovative drama and storytelling driven by music and the voice. It's all a bit random which makes this festival so intriguing. I could have done without the shapeless mortuary gloom of Robert Hugill's When a Man Knows (when an opera begins with the words 'You Fucking Bastard', you know you're in for a long evening).<br /><br />Things vastly improved with Gutter Press, a witty satire on the paparazzo and starlets with an interesting twist in the tale. The show's writer, James Richards has described it as an operusical, an interesting concept but ultimately too ambiguous an idea. Far better would be for Richards' composing partner, Fergal O'Mahony to work-up some hits from his lively score to give Gutter Press any real chance of commercial success.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-35029592045328917062010-07-19T09:35:00.005+01:002010-07-19T12:53:59.071+01:00Voce/Grosvenor Chapel, MayfairAnyone wishing to avoid the sweat box that is the Royal Albert Hall at this time of year could have done a lot worse than attend this sparkling summer concert by the chamber choir, Voce. It's an attractive ensemble, in all senses of the word, 'of around thirty people in their 20s and 30s' (whether that's policy or an accident I'm not sure) that's directed by its founder, Suzi Digby.<br /><br />On show last night were works by Handel and Pergolesi plus a couple of pieces from a collection of manuscripts, unheard since their composition, that have been in the keep of the descendants of the Duke and Duchess of Montagu. This included <em>Numi, numi pietosi </em>by Hurka de Monti (c.1753-1823), an Austro-Hungarian who became a piano tuner in Glasgow, and <em>When Saul was King over us </em> by Giovanni Battista Bononcini (1670-1747, an Italian brought to London by the Duke of Burlington where he composed several operas for Handel's Royal Academy of Music before leaving for Vienna where he apparently died in poverty. <br /><br />Lovely though they were, with some very assured solos from various members of the choir, they were easily eclipsed by Monteverdi's Love Madrigals that followed. I'd only ever heard these sung by a small ensemble before but strangely in the hands of a large choir, Monteverdi's exquisite harmonies felt more succulent and exciting. <br /><br />The highlight was Mike Brewer's piece <em>Amore Vittorioso</em>, especially commissioned by Voce, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Monteverdi's setting of the Vespers. It was a stunning piece, imagine a 16th century madrigal on LSD, with two trumpeters crowning the work with Monteverdi like fanfares.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-30044815729978566652010-07-14T09:52:00.009+01:002010-07-14T10:02:22.134+01:00A New Direction for the PromsThis is my piece on the Proms that the Standard was going to run but in its wisdom chose not to..<br /><br /><br /><strong>This week the BBC Proms launches a new season of mouth watering concerts with some of the biggest names in the classical world. It’s a pity then that the venue – the Royal Albert Hall – does not match up to the quality of the music making. So says Mathew Tucker who says it's time to think the unthinkable about the world’s greatest music festival.</strong> <br /><br />The Proms are special. I still remember the transformative effect my first visit to the Royal Albert Hall had on me back in 1982. A mate and I travelled up from Sussex to hear the Philharmonia and the pianist Yefim Bronfman play Bartok’s 2nd Piano Concerto. Back then we had time to spend most of the day queuing for the all standing arena and we were rewarded with places right at the front. So close were we to the stage that we got the giggles watching Bronfman’s facial contortions as he sprinted towards the end of the concerto. Laughter aside, I was bowled over by what I heard – the piano’s opening run followed by the brass fanfare convinced me I should go to music college. <br /><br />Since then I have made a point of clocking into the Proms every summer. The staggering range of concerts from the world’s finest bands, conductors, soloists and singers night after night is probably one of the best reasons for living in the UK. <br /><br />These days though I’m far more likely to listen to the Proms on the radio than I am hearing them in the flesh. There are practical reasons for this but mainly it’s because I don’t think the Prom’s home, the Royal Albert Hall, is a good enough venue. I have always tried to put my misgivings about the building to one side by making a virtue of the Albert Hall’s iconic status. But I’ve traipsed over to West London on too many occasions only to hear music die in the hall’s cavernous space before it has a chance to make an impact on the audience. Instead of leaving uplifted, I make the lonely trek back to South Kensington tube feeling frustrated, confident in the knowledge that in any other concert hall the music would have been served so much better. <br /><br />Don’t get me wrong, for certain things the RAH is perfect. Raymond Gubbay’s operas make magnificent use of the hall’s interior, and its Victorian opulence really suits the glamour of the Classical Brits. Rightly or wrongly both these events are amplified so there’s no danger of missing anything (even if you want to). But for classical music served up acoustically like it is at the Proms, the building is simply not fit for purpose. <br /><br />The usual retort about the RAH’s acoustical short comings is that it depends on where you stand or sit. If you are lucky enough to get a decent spot in the arena the power of the music can be overwhelming (as I can testify). And I can’t think of anything more serene than lying in the gallery that runs round the top of the dome with choral music wafting up from below. So the RAH does have its benefits but for the majority of the audience the sound quality is too hit and miss and that, for the world’s greatest music festival, is nothing short of shameful. <br /><br />So what am I proposing? Of course in some far off utopia the ideal would be for a purpose built concert hall for the Proms, perhaps with the Prommers themselves raising some of the cash and co-owning the venue with whoever else is able to stump up the money. But that’s a pipe dream, especially in the current financial climate. No, my solution is quite simple. We swap the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Festival Hall. Here’s why. <br /><br />Its central location next to the River Thames is second to none with easy links to and from London. There are things to do before and after concerts with shops, restaurants, art galleries and theatres on the doorstep (not to mention the London Eye). <br /><br />But the best reason is the Royal Festival Hall and the rest of the Southbank Centre itself. Here you have one of the most well-defined and exciting cultural centres on the planet. Just imagine how well the Proms with all its increasing ambitions and variety would utilise the different venues at the Southbank – the Festival Hall for the main concerts, the Queen Elizabeth Hall for late night stuff, the Purcell Room for chamber music. Then there are all of the Festival Hall’s other spaces perfect for workshops, free music and talks. And let’s not also forget the areas outside the building that brim with possibilities. <br /><br />I can already hear opponents of this idea sharpening their knives. Haven’t you over looked something? Can you actually stand – or should I say Prom – in the Festival Hall? Well no, you can’t, at least not at the moment. But assuming the BBC continues to underwrite the event, there’s no reason to believe ticket prices would be any less of a bargain. There may be fewer available – the RFH’s capacity is 2500 compared to the RAH’s 5550 - but apart from appearances by the likes of the Berlin Philharmoniker and the Last Night of the Proms, it’s still a rare thing to see the Royal Albert Hall bursting at the seams. Surely the Festival Hall’s superior acoustic is a price worth paying for some reduction in seats (which, incidentally, are far more comfortable). For those unable to get into the blockbuster events it would still be possible to experience and savour the occasion on a big screen in the Festival Hall’s ballroom. It works at Wimbledon, why not at the Proms? <br /><br />But the Proms and the Royal Albert Hall are so intertwined, it’s become a tradition say RAH loyalists. Yet the Proms began life at the Queen’s Hall in 1895 followed by a brief residency at the Bedford Corn Exchange during the Second World War before the Royal Albert Hall became the regular fixture. So it’s not a relationship set in stone. And if tradition is so important, the Royal Festival Hall was the centrepiece of that most inclusive event of them all, the 1951 Festival of Britain which brought music and arts into the lives of ordinary people. This legacy far better represents the Proms democratic ethos than the quaint Victoriana of the Royal Albert Hall. <br /><br />I believe it’s time to drop our sentimental attachment to the Royal Albert Hall and move the Proms Eastwards to London’s South Bank where its long-term future should lie. Focused in one place in the heart of the capital would give the organisers many more opportunities to expand the Proms remit and encourage a far greater – and diverse – audience with classical music still at the very core of things. Best of all, the music would sound better. And that for me is what the Proms are all about, hearing music.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088950139802459631.post-53634132371682988662010-06-25T09:58:00.013+01:002010-06-25T18:43:03.211+01:00Zaide/Sadler's WellsFounded in 1997 the Classical Opera Company specialises in Mozart so it was only a matter of time before it turned its hand to Zaide, Mozart's unfinished opera from 1779. In a nutshell: Zaide is a favourite of a nasty sultan. She makes the mistake of falling in love with a slave. She runs off with him, gets caught and all hell breaks lose until sultan sees the error of his ways. <br /><br />Composed when he was only 23, Mozart wrote about seventy minutes worth of music set to a German text (his father thought this would play well with Emperor Joseph II who wanted to start a German-language opera company in Vienna) before putting it aside when the commission for Idomeneo came in. <br /><br />There have been various stabs at reviving the opera ever since but attempts at staging a complete version have been rare, until now thanks to COC's artistic director Ian Page. Cleverly picking other works by Mozart from around the time he wrote Zaide, Page has concocted a finished Zaide with a new English libretto by the poet Michael Symmons Roberts. <br /><br />Were this a purely musical exercise then Page's experiment would have paid off. The problem though is the spoken dialogue that links the different arias - melodram, a sort of precursor to sung recitative - provided by Ben Power and the opera's director Melly Still. Totally melodramatic in the modern sense, not even the world's greatest actor would have done justice to this clunky sub-comic book text which comes dangerously close to undermining Page and Symmons Roberts' efforts. <br /><br />It would have been much better - and fairer on the singers - if this role had been taken by a narrator as has been the convention in past. That way the production team would have been spared the audience's embarrassed titters and we could have all got home a lot quicker. The 19 bus is notoriously infrequent at that time of night.Mathewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514641113536496271noreply@blogger.com0