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Last Tango in Braidwood
Here is a review of a concert of student compositions, held at the then Canberra School of Music, on 31 October 1978. It is interesting that the student composer of one of the least impressive works...
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Breakfast with Rhythmica
Earlier today I caught a rainy, late morning gig by Rhythmica as part of the Southport Jazz on a Winter’s Weekend Festival. The quintet comprises Mark Crown on trumpet, Peter Edwards piano, Peter...
View ArticleCocktails with Rhythmica
Another superb gig from Rhythmica, this time in the Cafe of Foyle’s Bookshop in London. After last weekend’s wake-up call in Southport, tonight’s gig was at a more civilized hour. But the pace and...
View ArticleConcert concat
As part of the diverse mental attic that this blog is, this post simply lists live music I have heard, as best my memory serves. In some cases, I am also motivated to write about what I heard. Pekka...
View ArticleMendelssohn in Wigmore Street
At Wigmore Hall last night was a thrilling performance by the Scottish Ensemble, a string orchestra, together with Scottish pianist Alasdair Beatson. The program comprised works by Stravinsky and by...
View ArticleBalmain boys don’t cry
One of my great-great-great-grandfathers, William Graham Peverley (1811 – 1893), established a ship-building business in East Balmain, Sydney, in 1853 or 1854. The location was east of St Mary’s...
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Ein Deutsche Hamlet
Earlier this month, I caught Schaubuhne Berlin’s Hamlet at the Barbican London. What an amazing ride! This was Hamlet as a comedy, contemporary, knowing, witty, and alive. I imagine the experience...
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Moscow Soloists in London
This past week I attended a concert in the Cadogan Hall by the Moscow Soloists String Chamber Ensemble, led by violist Yuri Bashmet. The concert seems to have attracted many in London’s large...
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Brass in Tyalgum
The Brass Band of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music is the only English-style brass band in an Australian tertiary music college, which says something about the impoverished musical taste of...
View ArticleWho’s afraid of Hamlet?
The best stage production of Hamlet I have seen so far was that of Calixto Bieito, in a 2003 production for the Edinburgh Festival, which I caught in Birmingham in September 2003. This production set...
View ArticlePolice report: “Romeo and Juliet” scam
Police report of “Romeo and Juliet” Confidence Scam: Location of crime: Upstairs Foyer, Greenwood Theatre, Guy’s Campus, King’s College London. Date of crime: Evenings of 5th, 6th, 7th February 2014....
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Badly suppressed laughter
When a group of people jointly undergo an intensely searing experience, especially one where they face a mortal enemy or opponent, a bond is created between the participants that outsiders can find...
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Earth moving in Folkestone
Two life-changing concerts this weekend, both including Finnish violin virtuoso, Pekka Kuusisto, and both in Folkestone as part of the annual Sacconi Quartet’s Chamber Music Festival. The first was a...
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Rising by sin
On Friday, I was privileged to see a final dress rehearsal of King’s Shakespeare Company’s production of Measure for Measure. Performed as a cabaret, the production is set in Weimar Germany, and the...
View ArticleGuy Burgess and Bosie Douglas
I am reading Andrew Lownie’s fascinating new biography of Guy Burgess, member of the Soviet spy circle, the Cambridge Five. Lownie’s book contains something very curious. (I am reading a Kindle...
View ArticleEnds and Means
I have just read the memoir of Michael Hayden, USAF General and former head of both NSA and CIA. The book is interesting and mostly well-written. It appears, as much as such a memoir could be, honest...
View ArticleThe Italians
A book review by Gian-Carlo Rota [1991], Editor of Advances in Mathematics (volume 88, issue 2, page 301): Review of: S. S. ABHYANKAR: Algebraic Geometry for Scientists and Engineers. American...
View ArticleBrass in Tyalgum
The Brass Band of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music is the only English-style brass band in an Australian tertiary music college, which says something about the impoverished musical taste of those...
View ArticleWho's afraid of Hamlet?
The best stage production of Hamlet I have seen so far was that of Calixto Bieito, in a 2003 production for the Edinburgh Festival, which I caught in Birmingham in September 2003. This production set...
View ArticlePolice report: "Romeo and Juliet" scam
Police report of “Romeo and Juliet” Confidence Scam: Location of crime: Upstairs Foyer, Greenwood Theatre, Guy’s Campus, King’s College London. Date of crime: Evenings of 5th, 6th, 7th February 2014....
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