A great night out at the Barbican to hear the London Symphony Orchestra on blistering form with Nikolai Znaider. Meet my lovely Classic Discovery group – 24 people who don’t normally go to concerts.
Airbrushing Eric? Some thoughts on Delius
February 8, 2013 By
Just watched John Bridcut’s documentary on Delius: Composer, Lover, Enigma. If all classical music documentaries were like this, I’d be happy.
Something that’s caused a lot of comment is Bridcut’s distinctive technique of filming leading musicians while they’re listening to pieces of music – analysing, reflecting, and often being profoundly moved by it. I don’t usually like the practise of talking over music, but for me in this case his approach does work. Particularly when, as in the case of Sir Andrew Davis, an interviewee becomes so choked up with the music that he can hardly speak…
But where was Eric Fenby? He gets just one mention in ninety minutes – no doubt a reaction against those documentaries a generation ago where Delius’s amanuensis got almost equal billing with the composer himself, but odd nonetheless. By coincidence, I picked up a copy of Fenby’s Delius memoir in a second-hand shop last week. It’s a great read, with some interesting insights into this determined and difficult composer, who was living a life of glorious musical isolation well before the syphilis kicked in. Striking points include:
- Fenby’s description of Delius as “hard, stern, proud, cynical, godless, completely self-absorbed;”
- the fact that Delius never spoke to the villagers at Grez-sur-Loing in all his time there, despite prevailing on them not to use electricity while he was listening to his music being broadcast on the BBC, to improve the reception;
- his view that it was fatal to have more than a nodding acquaintance with the music of other composers;
- he wasn’t interested in literature, Nietzsche aside;
- and some interesting pen-portraits of Delius’s friends, including the amazing Percy Grainger – never a man to use a front door when he could jump out of a first-floor window!
Delius as I Knew Him is reprinted by Dover, and the complete text is available on Google Books.
Futurist Theatre, Scarborough
September 17, 2012 By
Just back from a gig with Gerard Kenny at the delightful Futurist (sic) Theatre in Scarborough – its decor seemingly unchanged since 1975:
Kitchen table session #1 – Dorian Ford
August 29, 2012 By
In May 2012 I got together round the kitchen table in London with pianist Dorian Ford to talk about classical music, jazz, improvisation, creativity – and to play some tunes. This is the result.
Sandy & Dorian Kitchen Table podcast #1:
Crash Course in Classical Music at the Voewood Festival
August 24, 2012 By
I’m doing my Classical Music Crash Course at the Voewood Festival this Sunday – from Bach to Stockhausen in 60 minutes flat. Why not pre-listen to the playlist? I’ve put a selection of Youtube links on the Classic Discovery Facebook page – and maybe see you there:
https://www.facebook.com/classicdiscovery
http://www.voewoodfestival.com/
no wind-up gramophones here
August 9, 2012 By
Had a great time at the Mozart Opera Festival in Warsaw last month. But it’s a good job I didn’t take my wind-up gramophone into the grounds of Nieborow Palace!
