Balletic Synaesthesia
May 13, 2008 12:18 AM
The Balanchine ballet Jewels, premiered in 1967, was this genre's first three-act abstract work. Connecting the parts only through the artifice of contrasting gem colours - emeralds and the music of Faure, rubies with Stravinsky and finally diamonds, set in gold and white and silver to the rich tones of Tchaikovsky. This great performance art is synaesthesia in action, a gorgeous blending of colour, sound and movement which sometimes overwhelmed my own senses and occasionally did not. ...
Daffodils in the sunshine take on a new aspect when they've just been background to a performance of 'Spring' from Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Members of Elegant Music are here (below) relaxing in a break from rehearsals for a client's special occasion.
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Sunday 23 December 2007 was the date for an occasion to remember: Carols Round the Christmas Tree at Sudley House, the historic home of a Victorian Mayor of Liverpool. The free singalong afternoon concert saw almost three hundred people came to enjoy the company and the carolling with Live-A-Music and the Children's Choir. ... 
Professional orchestra musicians' employment and pay is a mystery to most people. Do players have 'real' jobs, too? is a common question. And is it all very glamorous? The latest survey of orchestral pay in the UK gives some answers - not much glamour, not too much pay, and little time for anything else. But for many players the commitment remains.
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Summer 2007 has been a special opportunity for HOPES and Live-A-Music to provide Children's Music Workshops, thanks to generous funding from Awards for All. The workshops, held alternately in the city centre and a close-by suburb, have focused on themes developed by the children themselves - in one case, a 'symphony' featuring global warming, drifting snow, salsa / jazz and a roller-coaster! Following sessions in July and mid-August, the next workshops in the series are on Saturday 8 September in Mossley Hill Parish Church Hall. ... 
The BBC Proms offer many different routes to enlightenment, but this is a new one to me. A listing of events for August tells us that some singers are 'singers' or 'vocalists', and others are sopranos, mezzos, tenors, basses or, indeed, 'voices'. A look at the particular concert programmes suggests why this may be... ... 
HOPES: The Hope Street Association marks the thirtieth anniversary of the inaugural Hope Street Festival with a HOTFOOT 2007 concert offering many elements of previous such events. Tayo Aluko, Tony Burrage, Richard Gordon-Smith, Sarah Helsby-Hughes, Hughie Jones, Roger Phillips and Surinder Sandhu join children from Merseyside schools and the stalwart HOPES Festival Orchestra and Choir for an event not be missed. ... 
Will the next few decades see reduced opportunities to follow a performing career in the UK's major (inter-)national orchestras? On current evidence, that the answer may be Yes. Whilst ‘classical’ music at the highest levels will continue to stake its claim in the cultural universe, extended career progression for most orchestral musicians is probably diminishing.
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Rarely are artistic installations truly inspirational, but the use by George Michael and Kenny Goss of John Lennon's piano, on which Lennon composed the song Imagine, is one such example. This travelling piano scenario is art, goodwill and common humanity all rolled into one.
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Elegant Music is a long-established, independent free-lance ensemble of fully professional classically-trained musicians who provide high quality music and easy listening for private, family and corporate events, after-dinner and soiree concerts, and special occasions. As individual players and singers we appear in our own rights with the North West's most prestigious symphony orchestras and other performing arts organisations; and we come together as Elegant Music to offer classical music and lighter musical entertainment in venues across the region and beyond. 
The Live-A-Music Children's Workshops on 5 April in Mossley Hill Parish Church Hall, Liverpool 18 were action-packed, with much creative sparking between the children, musicians and 'supporting cast' of accompanying (grand) parents and younger brothers and sisters. Themes included 'Music, Myth and Magic', 'Animal Samba' and 'Symphony' - with the children also performing a work of their own. ... 
Live-A-Music (Liverpool) is planning a series of Children's Music Workshops at Easter (Thursday 5 April) and over the Summer break. The workshops, run by fully qualified and experienced leaders, are for children aged 7-plus (younger siblings may be accepted) and will be in Mossley Hill Parish Church Hall, Rose Lane, Liverpool 18.
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It's surprising that so little music happens in most European cities in August. Obviously some musicians take their holidays then, but others might be pleased to work during the holiday period. The scope for entertaining and engaging tourists and visitors during the high summer season is probably quite significant. ... 
The Hope Street Festival in Liverpool, delayed from Midsummer, was on Sunday 17 September. This exciting milestone in Hope Street's history, introducing of a start-of-season early Autumn 'Feast' to go in future alongside the Summer Festival, is however neither the beginning nor the end of the journey. ... 
The black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912) is known almost exclusively for his large-scale work, 'Hiawatha's Wedding Feast'. There is however much more to this fascinating man than just one work, including the story behind his very early chamber music works such as the Opus 1 Piano Quintet of 1893.
Mark Simpson, BBC Young Musician of the Year, may be only seventeen but his musical achievements are breathtaking. Performer, composer and general enthusiast for all things musical, Mark demonstrates yet again that musical talent cannot be stereotyped. As ever, it will find its own way forward. ... 
Robyn Archer's resignation, announced today, as artistic director of Liverpool's Culture Company leaves many questions about what the 2007 and 2008 celebrations are actually intended to achieve. Acknowledging this simple reality would help a great deal in making progress. ... 
Musicians and their instruments often have a very particular relationship, almost 'human' in some respects. Here is an example of a three-way arrangement which offers even those on the side-line, in this case the notoriously long-suffering 'orchestra wife', something uniquely special and positive. ... 
Covent Garden's Theatre Museum is the National Museum of the Performing Arts, a unique and special place. But it is currently under threat of closure. An urgent rescue bid is being considered by the Museum's nearby neighbour, the Royal Opera House. Success in this venture is not only essential for the greater good of both parties, but also offers encouragement to those who see that to survive the arts must work together. ... 
There is a nostalgia in the cultural calendar at present. Memories of the 50s and 60s are to be found in both drama (The Liverpool Playhouse) and museums (the national Theatre Museum). Interesting to look at, without doubt. But perhaps much less fun to have had to live in. ... 
The Association of British Orchestras today overtly acknowledged the health risks of orchestra playing. But for many orchestral musicians the reality of every day life is sparse professional support, low esteem, low pay and no say - exactly the conditions in which ill-health, stress and worry thrive. ... 
The 800th Anniversary of Liverpool in 2007, and the Liverpool European Capital of Culture Year in 2008, are hugely important milestones for the city. So how are we, citizens of the city or of Europe and the world, going to measure the success of these years, once we reach 2009?
Kids' play is in one way serious stuff, but that's no reason why fun shouldn't also be far less than serious for them and for the grown-ups too. Here are some ideas to try which came from a survey of children earlier in the year, plus a few suggestions for the adults as well... Go for it, and enjoy! ... 
Shows are far more complicated to produce than many in the audience will ever realise. Here's a light-hearted 'poetic' guide for anyone who fancies chancing their hand as promoter or director of a musical or theatrical event... ... 
Is 'high culture' in reality only for 'tourists' in a city like Liverpool? Have civic leaders confused seeking excellence with its occasional and much less desirable adjunct, exculsivity? If the city is serious about opportunities to support the personal development of its citizens and the economic health of its communities, 'high' arts and culture surely have to integral to the experience of the many, not just of the few. ... 
British Orchestras are under severe financial threat because of new tax rules. The likelihood is that this threat will somehow be resolved. But will most orchestra performers still find, skilled as they are, that their own professional position remains precarious? ... 