PrettyInScarlett

Spring is coming and with it the choice of concerts seems to expand! Prompted by the ever-useful Music in Durham website, for the first time I attended a Durham University Music Society  concert and my first experience of a piano duo (2 people, 2 pianos rather than a duet which is 1 piano). Quite a reasonable gathering for a Monday evening in the Concert Room in the Music Department on Palace Green.   The Parnassus Piano Duo , Simon Callaghan and Hiro Takenouchi, make an understated but excellent duo, who treated the audience to a programme of the following:    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91): Larghetto & Allegro in E flat [1781]  Percy Sherwood (1866-1939): Sonata for Two Pianos in C minor [1890 rev. 96]  Aaron Copland (1900-1990): El Salón México (arr. Leonard Bernstein) [1932-6]  Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943): Suite No.2 Op.17   Closing my eyes during the Mozart, I could almost imagine an evening soiree in a Viennes...

After Thursday's fabulous music and with a head still full of Basia, on Saturday we went for a day trip to York to see acclaimed British pianist Martin Roscoe . Martin was performing as part of the inaugural York Chamber Music Festival , held in Bootham School over the weekend 13th-16th February. After a stroll around the centre and a bite at the lovely Licc (excellent apple pie and ice cream) we headed to Bootham.  I had been keen to see Martin for a while and particularly after a review from a friend who saw him at Ottawa Chamberfest 2013. Perhaps unusual for a pianist in solo recital, Martin performed with the music (no page turner to help, but very quick and efficient page turns). His York concert was themed around fantasy: Mozart Fantasy in D minor K.397 ; Beethoven Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia Op. 27 No. 2 'Moonlight ; Brahms, 3 Fantasies Op. 116 Nos. 1, 4 and 7 ; and Chopin Fantasy in F minor Op. 49 . The hall in Bootham School was set up with a Grotrian-Steinweg gra...

Time flies and already it is a year since we returned to the UK from Canada. Perfect coincidence then that hugely talented Canadian singer-songwriter Basia Bulat came to the UK this week for her first UK tour. Her nearest show to us was in Leeds' Belgrave Music Hall, so M and I braved the horrid weather for a superb show - the best gig we have been to since at least Ólafur Arnalds.  Basia Bulat Belgrave Music Hall is a great intimate place in the centre of Leeds. Going in there was a large bar (wide variety of beer) and seating area with different food outlets (local franchises I believe). The show was up on the 2nd floor in a very cosy, sofa filled space with a smaller bar at the back.  Once we we all settled, support act The Sea and I came on for a short support slot. I have seen better and seen worse. Their best 2 tracks were right at the end of the set; everyone except the lead singer seemed disinterested, even bored to be there. A quick glance at their w...

Durham now has a new music shop for instruments, books and more. Added Brass , based at 17 High Street, Langley Moor, primarily stocks brass instruments and accessories but is looking to expand into other instruments and a wide range of sheet music. They are open weekdays 5-7 with extended afternoon hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; and Saturdays 10-5, also via Facebook . Owner Brian Yates was also featured in local news ahead of his official opening in January.   Reading around online at the weekend I came across the website for Yorkshire Festival 2014 , which runs from March-July 2014 to celebrate the Grand Départ of this year's Tour de France. 100 days of cultural events of all shapes and sizes - definitely worth a visit!