The Piano Cloud in Manchester, 2014 edition

After last year's success, I was really excited about this year's The Piano Cloud meetup event at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Even more so once the room booking was confirmed - 2 Steinway Model D pianos!!!

Present for the afternoon were Andrew (Keyquest Music), Terry (Purple Rhapsody), Luke (Freemondo), Jacob Uhlig, Chris, and myself. Amongst a lot of chat and eating of Krispy Kremes, we enjoyed a super afternoon of music. Terry and Andrew both played pre-written pieces: Terry played a few songs from his new album Momentary Muse, including the fabulous Legions of Poppies, as well as treating us to a rare live improvisation:

Andrew treated us to 'Prelude to a Better Year', and the pair treated the rest of us to a really fun sight-read of Kevin Olson's 'Hoedown at Cripple Creek'. Andrew's good friend Chris also pleased with a few improvisations.

Luke once again showed his breathtaking improvisational ability, including a duet with Jacob. Jacob, although still very young, has recently crowd-funded and recorded a new album which will be out soon (EP available here). His 'classical new age' style has a fresh and uncluttered sound; it was a real treat to hear.

For a little fun, we also attempted 8 hands sight-reading as well as 2 explores of 8-hands 12 bar blues and 8-hands Chopsticks improv. Counting gets really hard sometimes! Having not attempted the 'group play' last year, I really enjoyed this, even though it was a real step outside of my comfort zone.

The Piano Cloud in Manchester

For my part, I brought along a few improv-based pieces(one semi-written and another on the spot improvisation), a little Philip Glass, some Tolkien songs (this book is amazing! - The Road Goes Ever On) and Clara Schumann's 'andante con sentimento'. Before the event, I thought that the 'repertoire' pieces would be easiest to perform, but when I sat down to play, I was much more nervous for the Schumann. A little disconcerting, as I am scheduled to play 'andante con sentimento' in a concert next month...

All in all a fabulous day and lots of inspiration!

Comments

Pigeon Funk

Notes on a very random purchase. Earlier today I acquired Venetian Snares 'Rossz Csillag Alatt Sz ü letett ' purely on the basis of the language and artwork. Its certainly something different - and most definitely not pop. After a bit of searching: Venetial Snares is, according to Wikipedia, the performing name of Aaron Funk, who seems to specialise in experimental tracks in odd time signatures. Article here . The sleeve notes for this album (whose title is Hungarian for 'Born under a bad star') poses the question: what if, for just a day, we could both be pigeons? Interessant. Apparently this concept (a day in the life of a Hungarian pigeon) is non-typical of Venetian Snares sound, but one could ask, does Mr Funk do 'typical'? On first listening, the sound of this CD mixes classical/traditional Hungarian sounds and breakbeats. but aside from that? Definitely a 'listen for yourself' artist; try the website , fan site or myspace .

Angela Hewitt Week, 14th-20th May 2012

I just received information from a friend about Angela Hewitt Week in Ottawa, 14th-20th May as declared by Mayor Jim Watson. Ms Hewitt is performing with Chamber Players of Canada on Friday 18th May; there will also be An Afternoon With Angela Hewitt on 20th May at the National Arts Centre hosted by the Canadian Friends of the Trasimeno Music Festival .

Musical discoveries in Oslo

Last week I finally had the opportunity to visit Oslo with M. Amongst all the sightseeing and visiting friends, we managed a couple of musical activities. By way of an odd prologue, Thursday evening (autumn equinox) there was a torchlit riverside walk along the Akerselva river into downtown Oslo, complete with random but interesting sound, light and music installations along the way, including a few singer-songwriters, choirs and fire-eaters! light installation on Akerselva Friday evening we went to the Oslo Konserthus to see the excellent Oslo Philharmonic featuring Janine Jansen performing Britten's Violin Concerto Op. 15. From our cheap seats behind the orchestra, we enjoyed the Concerto - including the odd macabre bits - and the opening work, No 1 from Leó Weiner's Hungarian Folk Dances Op 18. For our ears the concluding work, Dvořák's Symphony No 8 was something of a let-down - too formulaic and predictable after Britten. No negatives from Saturday af...

PrettyInScarlett

Search This Blog