Lotti

Having a fab day. Booked for a nice Vaughan Williams gig in November. Booked to deliver a music lecture in March on a topic of my choosing. Lovely teaching this afternoon and this evening am leading a music appreciation session on Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata.

Topped off with a chocolate hobnob.

Have you read Still Life by Sarah Winman ? It’s a beauty.

YouTube video by Matthew Lipman Matthew Lipman and Jeremy Denk | Clarke Viola Sonata

We’re listening tonight to the tremendous Viola Sonata by Rebecca Clarke. It’s very English, but there are hints of Debussy here and there. If you ever doubted the viola could occupy the spotlight, you need to hear this.

youtu.be/d-M4UznmeCA?...

YouTube video by BBC Radio 3 Poulenc: Sextet - BBC Proms 2013

For those who enjoyed the Poulenc Double Piano Concerto, here’s his Sextet for piano and winds. We’re listening to it next week (Monday 14th. )

It was written the same year and has the same wonderful mix of bonkers energy and almost sacred beauty.

youtu.be/CGtDGYU9Dos?...

YouTube video by Kate Price Henryk Górecki: Totus Tuus (Choir of New College, Oxford)

Górecki’s Totus tuus for a glorious Sunday morning. The music shines with ecstatic fervour.

youtu.be/GT-fogvEMTs?...

Thank you!

I only discovered this mass quite recently and it blew me away. I don’t know all his symphs, but 4,5 and 7 all do it for me!
I wonder if it’s poss helpful to think of them as similar to the sacred works - expressing a sense of wonder and humility at the universe? I think that’s why they’re so huge.

YouTube video by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra - Topic R. Strauss: Metamorphosen, TrV 290

With so much division in the world, today I’m sharing music born in the aftermath of hatred. In 1945, the elderly Richard Strauss wrote Metamorphosen, a work of deep sorrow, as he looked on the ruins around him.

In memoriam.

youtu.be/awLkK-9lTBg?...

Phenomenal concert tonight at Bristol Beacon from The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with Stephen Hough. Rachmaninov’s first concerto was splendid and Shostakovich 10 in second half blew me away. Enjoyed Dani Howard’s Butterfly Effect too - very striking. What a wonderful and uplifting evening.

'Farage Boats' is a useful term and should be normalised.

YouTube video by Eduardo Leandro Luciano Berio - SINFONIA, with Roomful of Teeth, Eduardo Leandro, SBSO

Berio’s Sinfonia begins in a whisper - eerie and breathless, the voices half-chanting like a spell being cast. From this spooky, ritual-like opening, an extraordinary soundworld unfolds. It’s unexpected and strange, and totally mesmerising.

youtu.be/qA2mXSUt77o?...

Ah Bristol, you absolute beauty. Never fails!

YouTube video by dragan1412 Handel Giulio Cesare Son nata a lagrimar Randi Stene, Tuva Semmingsen Royal Danish Theater

Poor you - some days are just rubbish. Can’t help with the animal, but maybe Handel can help soothe and support?

youtu.be/fjzRr61ZsHk?...

Watch this - 7 seconds of your life you won’t regret. 🤣👌

YouTube video by Academy of Ancient Music Handel: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba | Academy of Ancient Music

Start the week right with Handel’s bold and energetic Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.

Whatever you have to accomplish this week - just pop this in your ears for 3 minutes and there’ll be no stopping you!

Happy Monday one and all!

youtu.be/U9FaoRJAgII?...

YouTube video by Lennyforever Virgil Thomson: The Seine at Night - Leonard Bernstein - New York Philharmonic (1961)

Something a bit different a Sunday evening brings the weekend to a close. Close your eyes and remember Paris, with Virgil Thomson’s The Seine at night.

youtu.be/qBKbdgFQnHc?...

Clifton suspension bridge.

YouTube video by MusicLover Anna Fedorova - Chopin - Waltz in A minor Op. 34 No. 2

Chopin today, and in a minor mood.

The Op 34 waltzes will be on my music appreciation programme in the new year and they’re in my head this morning.

Just listen to the 2nd waltz (c40 seconds in) and tell me you don’t weep for the world?

youtu.be/rIgdaDqk0rU

Leonin and Perotin - or “Len and Pete” as my old university Head of Dept used to call them. I listened to some Machaut recently for the first time in years and it blew me away. How did I not notice its beauty sooner?!

What/who have you been listening to? I’m just embarking on a 12th century Hildegard exploration…

Love the puddle reflection!

Isn’t it? Glad it hit the spot for you too.

YouTube video by Paolo Manzionna Itzhak Perlman and Isaac Stern play Bach Double Concerto (2)

Bach’s Double Violin Concerto, slow movement.

Just a glimmer of beauty and something of the greater good of the world. I hope it sets up your Friday to be rooted in what matters, and not to dwell on the noise of everything that disturbs.

youtu.be/axFUvA_he-o?...

If you’re in or near Swindon on October 18th and love Brahms Requiem, this is for you!
I’ll be singing the heart-stoppingly gorgeous sop solo.

www.swindonchoral.org.uk/dbpage.php?p...

We’ll be listening to this work and discussing it on Saturday 20th Sep. Join us on Zoom to find out more (link to this and other events in my bio.)

YouTube video by JussenVEVO Lucas & Arthur Jussen – Poulenc Concerto For Two Pianos | Second Movement (2017)

Poulenc - once described as half monk, half naughty boy. The Concerto for two pianos certainly captures the naughtiness and the lyrical 2nd movement hints at his deeper nature.
Which side of his character do you hear?

youtu.be/mOHMTBf1gyE?...

YouTube video by Sinfonia Rotterdam Rossini - Overture The barber of Seville - SINFONIA ROTTERDAM MUSIC MOMENT

Friday fun from Rossini with his overture to the Barber of Seville. Nothing deep here - just great tunes and OTT crescendos. Essential smile-fuel.

youtu.be/CjwSI84ylcw?...

YouTube video by Rique Borges Benjamin Britten: Cello Suite No. 3, Op. 87 (Cello: Jean-Guihen Queyras)

If you’re feeling the need for something introspective this morning, I offer the 3rd Britten Cello Suite. It will take you through a range of intense emotions.
#classicalmusic
youtu.be/ESnKDVj_nOo?...

Good morning Bristol, you absolute beauty

There are still some spaces available for my Rachmaninov Day in Clevedon on Oct 11th. These are always lovely - sunny seaside Clevedon, small friendly group, easy chit chat. I’ll play you loads of beautiful music & weave in Rach’s story & place in music history.
casaclevedon.org.uk/course-booki...