Blog
In memory, in sound and silence
James Macmillan's Memento was written in memory of a friend, David Huntley, the representative of Boosey & Hawkes in the USA, who died in 1994. Memento delicately treads along the borderline of silence and sound. The sounds are hints, faint memories, of...
The feminine side of Mendelssohn
When Felix Mendelssohn visited Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1842, the Queen, who apparently had a delightful singing voice, chose a song, ‘Italien’ (published as Felix’s Op 8 No 3), from a bunch of songs that he had brought along with him. Felix then had to...
Knock, Knock, Knock
Who’s there?Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart c. 1783 by Joseph Lange, Mozart's brother-in-law.Mozart’s involvement with Freemasonry has been the subject of much speculation and discussion. Freemasonry had a very significant part to play in the last eight years of his life. He...
M for Memento
In our next series of concerts we open with Mozart's string trio K. 563. Mozart described this piece as a divertimento, implying that it is superficial light music when in fact it is one of his finest works, written at the peak of his powers. The writing for the...
