Backstage in September

This is Backstage, a newsletter all about looking behind the scene of classical music and related topics, with the odd date for your diary.

found @ VandA, Dundee

This month I am listening to …

Pawel Siwczak playing Haydn. Pawel is a harpsichordist and forte pianist and the founder of Bach Club and my partner in many musical collaborations.  

For this recording, Pawel uses a fortepiano, modelled on an original by Walter & Sohn, c.1805, expertly crafted by world-renowned maker Paul McNulty. The instrument allows for unparalleled transparency and clarity of articulation, at the same time showcasing the range of colours: from a rich bass, to singing trebles and a true una corda. It is in comparison a more delicate sound than that of the modern piano. Have a listen.

I am reading …

Compass, a dreamscape of a novel by Mathias Enard, in which a musicologist in a single sleepless night reminiscences over his difficult love for the Orient (and a colleague), whilst peeling away the layers of influences writers, musicians, artists and explorers have had on the idea, image and realities of the Middle East and its relations with the West. 

‘I look at all these men, all these souls still walking around us: who was Liszt, who was Berlioz, who was Wagner and all the people they knew, Musset, Lamartine, Nerval, an immense network of texts, notes and images, …   that links Beethoven to Balzac, to James Morier, to Hofmannsthal, to Strauss, to Mahler, and to the sweet smoke of Istanbul and Tehran…’

A book so full of stories, comments and connections, that I was constantly looking up a poem, a piece of music or the biography of an explorer. This did not seem as an interruption but rather added to the joy of reading this book which is encyclopaedic and profound.

Published by Fitzcarraldo Editions

I am looking at …

this gorgeous House of Music in Budapest, which I visited in the summer. Designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, it sits within the City Park and is as inspiring as it is inviting. (photo dezeen.com)

I am thinking about …

Programming, an art form in itself. Pulling together artists, visions and stories to create the perfect synergy to engage and excite the audience is no mean feat.

Last week I read an interview in Van Magazin with American composer and bassoonist Joy Guidry, and their ideal approach to concert programming today. 

‘I think, a perfect concert could consist of  Brahms’ Tragischer Ouvertüre, an amazing piece. Then a piece by an indigenous person. A piece from a black artist, Asian, East Asian  composer … show the reality. show how the world actually looks like!’

There are so many different and exciting new concert formats. And in order to move classical music out of its suffocating niche, we need to be daring, experimental and colourful. We sometimes need to meet new audiences on their turf, so we can share our passion and enthusiasm for so much brilliant music, old and new. We owe it to our established audiences to throw something surprising into the mix, showcase a well known piece in a completely different light and highlight the future!

There is so much to say about this subject, and to discuss. I hope you won't mind if I come back to it from time to time. And I am sure you will have some thoughts on the subject too …

and I like …

this great initiative involving some of Bach Club's friends. 

Thanks for reading.

Kirsten

PS

There is a lot of reading, listening, research and travel involved in my line of work; I stumble across many interesting things and ideas I can't just leave behind so I decided to write about them and share with you.