Tag Archives: inspiration

The Heat and the Passion of the Mediterranean – London Symphony Orchestra

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Sunday 18th January,
The Barbican Centre, London

Wow! Sunday night at the Barbican Centre was one of those rare concerts where every single note was pulsating with energy and vibrancy. From the first chord of Verdi’s Force of Destiny Overture to the final flourish of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Cappricio Espagnol, the London Symphony Orchestra were a phenomenal musical force. The focal point of this raw passion was undoubtedly conductor Xian Zhang, whose presence on the podium seemed to constantly push the ensemble to greater heights and often tempos.

The aptly-named Force of Destiny Overture showcased an impressive blend of orchestral sound, particularly in the woodwinds. There is an elusive moment when flute, clarinet, oboe and bassoon combine to give a shimmering unified colour that seems more than the sum of the parts, and the principal winds of the LSO seemed to slip in and out of this state with utter ease. The orchestral sound as a whole was crisp and sparkling, with technically difficult passages in the strings ringing out with amazing clarity.

Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2, the centrepiece of the exhilarating program, was an emotional rollercoaster. Ukranian pianist Valentina Lisitsa played with amazing dexterity and attention to detail, ensuring that even the densest passages rang out. The work was described at its premiere as one that “left its listeners frozen with fright, hair standing on end”, and this performance captured that feeling of terror bordering on fantastical. The Intermezzo – one moment eerily grotesque, the next whimsical – was a particular highlight.

Following the interval it was party time, though Zhang and the orchestra instilled both Manuel de Falla’s Three Dances from ‘The Three-Cornered Hat’ (Suite No. 2) and Cappricio Espagnol with dramatic energy rather than carefree. Christine Pendrill’s cor anglais in the de Falla was rich and round, and the orchestra’s technical precision and intense trust as an ensemble allowed the music to sparkle and dance.

Bravo LSO – the concert was deservedly packed and quite a stunner!

Day 103 – January 11th – Some more time

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Last night my bed fell apart! The slating underneath came away in one corner so that my mattress wasn’t supported, which was something of a shock. I moved the mattress onto the floor for the night, but was rather nervous as to what my landlords would say when I reported it to them this morning. Luckily Carol and Andy were rather unsurprised – apparently when families rent the dairy in the summer children bounce a bit on the rather badly-made beds and it happens all the time. Rather a relief, and thanks to Andy I now have a perfectly solid bed to sleep on again tonight.

Trevor emailed us this afternoon to say that he has laryngitis and that class is postponed until either Tuesday or Wednesday. While I’m sorry he’s not well, a little part of me also jumped for joy at the thought of a few more days to work on my studies! Andersen no. 11 is proving to be a bit of a tricky one with lots of sneaky accidentals. While it needs to be beautifully phrased and take into account the numerous appoggiaturas, it is also really fast at crotchet = 116. I’m aiming for phrasing, expression and not cutting note endings above speed, though both would be ideal. Trevor really does love these studies, and I can see why – they are so musical and nuanced yet really demand good technique.

Something that I forgot to write about a few days ago is a book that I’ve finished reading – Cadence by Emma Ayres. I listened to her present the breakfast show on ABC Classic FM as a teenager, and she taught cello at my secondary school. The book, however, tells the story of both her studies on the viola and a cycle ride that she did from England to Hong Kong before she came to Australia. It’s a beautiful memoir, challenge and self-reflection laced with incredibly powerful descriptions of music. I found the read immersive (I read about 150 pages on the trip down from Grimsby) and inspiring, both from a musical and literary point of view. Wonderful stuff.

Day 36 – November 5th – Whiling away the wet weather

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I meant to call this post ‘Remember, remember…’ as tonight is Guy Fawkes night and I have some lovely memories of going to see the bonfire and fireworks from when I was little. However, today has been soggy and wet, and the local bonfire night isn’t happening until the weekend. Instead, I want to use this post to mull on a slightly different topic – how to fill my time here through the winter so that I can be the musician I want to be at the end of it.

Despite the rain, or maybe because of it, I woke up early, but then decided it was probably not the best idea to get drenched going for a run. So I started practising early (my flatmates were both awake thought!), and as a result got five hours of flute practice done by 3:30pm. I kept a hopeful lookout for some better weather, but the best was an uninspiring light drizzle. I felt itchy, in need of things to do that would keep me excited – I’ve never been one for watching lots of TV shows and so that was out as an option for the afternoon.

I ended up filling my time with a few things, some more productive than others. I baked chocolate, date and hazelnut brownies, improvising a little since we’d run out of eggs, which both great fun and warming. The result was moderately successful, it turns out that substituting greek yogurt for the eggs results in a nice gooey texture, but isn’t quite as good at binding everything together. Looks like I’ll offering everyone a fork when we eat them tomorrow!

Chocolate, date and hazelnut brownies. Look and taste good, but somewhat lacking in structural integrity!

Chocolate, date and hazelnut brownies. Look and taste good, but somewhat lacking in structural integrity!

I’ve also achieved my daily goal on Duolingo, where I’m trying to learn German, and have almost finished reading Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw in preparation for out trip to see Benjamin Britten’s opera this Friday. While baking, I listened to an episode of the radio series National Contemporary Landscapes, which I did some work on at 3MBS just before leaving Australia but haven’t yet had a chance to tune into. I listened to a CD of Robert Dick’s flute music as part of my extra work for Trevor as well, and plan on doing some reading for my project later this evening.

One of the things at the forefront of my mind with this course is that it could be the last period of being a student that I have for some time. Of course, I’d like to do a PhD eventually, but who knows what the work/study balance will be when that comes round. I want to emerge from this course not only as an expressive, technically competent flute player, but also as a savvy, skilled, opinionated and thinking musician who can hold my own and create exciting opportunities in a competitive and demanding field. I’d like to be the flautist that other musicians want to work with, not only for being a good player, but also because I’m engaged, individual and can bring other skills to the table. I’d also like to continue to combine performance with arts work in a broader sense, be that through writing, radio, concert organisation or indeed something else.

Trevor’s course is very much geared to getting an orchestral job, and while many of the musical skills are essentially the same, I know that to make the best use of my time here I need to have my own professional development projects on the go as well. I suppose my conclusion is that there is plenty to do to fill my time, rather too much in fact! I just need to pace myself, decide what is really important to me and keep my long-term goals in mind. I definitely don’t want to waste my time here watching TV shows online (as a few are), but do need to give myself down time as well, whatever form that takes.

Day 25 – October 25th – Diverse inspiration

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Mostly a quiet practice day today, and with a good sleep last night things were better than yesterday.

I upped the tempo for the Practice Book 6 exercises to crotchet = 120 because Roya said she had and I didn’t want to be left behind. 116 would probably have been a safer bet, but I got through them. Major scales and all my arpeggios felt really good, but the melodic minors are still driving me up the wall. I think some of it’s that I worry about the turn around at the top, then of course I chicken out! Andersen No. 4 is tricky with all the leaps – at the moment I feel like it’s all the notes, a clear staccato or speed. If I can get two working together by Monday I’ll be happy!

Two little pieces of inspiration I found today:
1. My running circuit, which is still three miles long, but which I accomplished in 25min. We live at the top of a hill, and so my circuit involves going both up and down a hill. At the start of the month, I turned right out of the dairy, going round anticlockwise, and dying every time I reached the hill to come back up because it’s really steep. By the end of the first week I was making no progress, so started turning left out of the dairy and running clockwise round. There is still exactly the same amount of hill to go up, but it’s spread over a longer distance, and I can now run all the way without stopping (or feeling like I’m going to die!). Lesson: looking at things a different way can often make a huge difference!

2. I picked up a book at Trevor’s on Thursday, Becoming an Orchestral Musician by Richard Davis. I mentioned a while ago that Trevor had given me a book called The Handbook to Higher Consciousness in the hope that it might help me to play more expressively, and while I have been reading it, I certainly haven’t been enjoying it. The Davies has a chapter on performance philosophy, which talks about a number of points, specifically giving music that je ne sais quoi. Three ideas were given: playing as if it’s the last day of your life, playing as if it’s the first time you’re experiencing the music, and finally the importance of always taking your audience on a musical journey. Nothing I haven’t heard or read before, but refreshing to read again. And tonight on our walk, I plucked up the courage to tell Trevor I’m not getting along with his choice of reading material!

For dinner, I made a yummy aubergine and courgette soup with plenty of garlic to stave off any looming colds. Final lesson of the day: cooking is relaxing.