November Bonanzas 3 and 4: Sarah Fox; Peter Martens.

Third night in a row, this time back in Skipton for the next Skipton Music concert. The November concert was a song evening, featuring Sarah Fox accompanied by Alexander Taylor.

Normally I am not a big fan of opera and not always of classical song; but season ticket = no excuse! However it was a very enjoyable evening. Sarah programmed songs by Schubert, Richard Strauss, Duparc, Canteloube, Britten and ended with a selection of Cole Porter and Gershwin songs. The songs by Henri Duparc were super and had great piano parts too; and the selection from Songs of the Auvergne by Joseph Canteloube were great fun.

A few days' rest for the ears before another Leeds University lunchtime concert. This time the performer was South African cellist Peter Martens, accompanied by Richard Casey. The standout piece from this concert was the Sonata for Cello and Piano (2010) by South African composer Peter Klatzow. Peter Martens introduced the work, explaining that Klatzow is one of South Africa's most well known contemporary composers. The piece was in 4 movements with a dose of asymetric meters. Very listenable (recommended!) and in particular I enjoyed the 'andante tranquillo' and the 'vivace'. The 'vivace' incorporated a call-and-response dialogue found in many African genres - this neatly dovetailed with the book I am currently reading (which is also recommended): The Other Classical Musics contains a chapter about the West African tradition of Mande jaliyaa.

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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 .

Hidden Witness

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Mini update

I have finally sorted out my site links to reflect some new/renewed interests and my current location. We have something of a National Arts Centre bonanza shortly: I had already booked to see Angela Hewitt on 16th Feb but found a good ticket offer on LivingSocial.com to see Radu Lupu this coming Wednesday, 26th. In addition to all that, New Yorker music critic Alex Ross (his recent book, Listen To This , is excellent, as well as his previous tome, The Rest Is Noise ) is giving a talk there on 13th February. This is all followed in March by a complete about turn to the Bronson Centre to see Finnish band Apocalyptica . They have been somewhere on my radar for a while but I was spurred on to book tickets after a bout of nostalgia. M and I were regular visitors to Wolverhampton UK to see various bands at Civic Hall/Wulfrun Hall; a few months ago a mutual friend posted on that there Facebook thing about seeing said Apocalyptica at Wulfrun Hall. Nostalgia for the venue and renewed intere...

PrettyInScarlett

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