PrettyInScarlett

Almost at the Christmas break and hectic as ever! This last week was a two-concerts week (with a Christmas party in the middle) and it was guitars all round. First up, on 11th December, were Gitarrissima of Vienna at Skipton Music . The quintet (reduced to a quartet on Tuesday due to illness) performed A Christmas Celebration - seasonal music and a very jolly evening all round. The group perform on a mixture of concert guitars, an octave guitar and an acoustic bass guitar and the sound is remarkably rounded, not necessarily to be expected for reductions of orchestral pieces. Each set of pieces was introduced by a different member of the group. In a lot of ways, Gitarrissima reminded me of Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain with their clever arrangements of well-known pieces as well as musical excellence. The programme included excerpts (arranged by the group) of Bizet's Carmen , Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, all of which were performed very well but som...

Since starting to attend Skipton Music concerts the quality has been very high, but this season seems to have started off exceptionally well. The seasons' concerts are in Christ Church Skipton, as the Town Hall is being refurbished, and the ambience and acoustic are very good.  Catching up from 23rd October, adaptable chamber group Ensemble 360 showcased a contemporary piece by Jörg Widmann alongside its inspiration, Schubert's Octet in F,  D803 . The Widmann, an Octet in five movements, was composed in 2004 and references Schubert rhythmically, and also with leanings towards the many hundred songs that Schubert wrote (third movement Lied ohne Worte ). The first movement, Intrada , felt warmly off-kilter and Lied ohne Worte had a fantastic horn solo. However the piece was not that accessible to listen to. Whilst it certainly got the audience talking I'm not sure that may were big fans. The Schubert Octet was more warmly received and I particularly enjoyed the...

She may be a jet-setting, world class musician but Kathryn Stott clearly likes to return to her 'home patch' area of Skipton. The audience like it too - Skipton Music's Tuesday 19th June concert (rescheduled from February) was I believe a sell-out. I have read articles about (and authored by) Kathryn in the pages of Pianist Magazine and similar publications so it was a treat to see and hear her in person. The concert theme was Song and Dance - a celebration of an upcoming milestone. The programming was excellent - whilst Kathryn is clearly a pianist of considerable talent, she programmed pieces that are within range of keen amateurs, such as Grieg's Lyric Pieces Op. 52 . Although I've not tried any of the Op. 52 set, I have learned some of the other Lyric Pieces and Tuesday's performance was an example of how the pieces really are songs without words. The first half of the recital moved from the smooth Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and Grieg throu...