‘The Jaws Open’: Brahms Symphony 1
This is the first in a series of ‘piano presentations’ that I will be doing on iconic orchestral moments. There is a sense in which Brahms was stepping into the ring with this symphony, taking on the all-time symphonic heavyweight, Beethoven. People were full of expectation. Could he say anything after the might of Beethoven’s […]
Spoken Sonata workshop
Some images from yesterday’s workshop at Bristol’s Institute for Advanced Studies. What happens when you create poems that follow sonata form and its processes really closely?
What makes James MacMillan’s music so moving?
I don’t often cry uncontrollably when listening to Radio 3’s ‘Building a Library’. But on a distant Saturday – was it seven years ago? – it happened. The piece was James MacMillan’s modern masterpiece, ‘Seven Last Words from the Cross’, written in 1994. From that point, I was hooked to his music and have […]