PrettyInScarlett

With all the excitement about moving, we will definitely miss this place! Arriving here still homesick for Ottawa, it was great moving into such a friendly area. I'll miss the music groups most definitely; whilst Durham Amateur Pianists isn't continuing in present form, Let's Play the Piano! Newcastle and the Gateshead Piano Workshop are still strong.  Farewell home grown apples   After the amazing Eliza Carthy back in August, it's been so hectic we've not made any concerts etc. I finally made it to Empty Shop the other week for their Cassette Store Day related music fair thing and some good beer. No cassettes purchased (many years since I last had a tape deck) but I did acquire The Caroline EP by local band Dennis . Warm, bouncy, feel-good songs with a brass twist, very nicely done. Also on Facebook . Back there just yesterday for Wax In The Attic , an all-day vinyl fair/event. My most notable 'why not?' purchase was Musique de film imaginé by...

Piano at the ready! (by M) After a good few months prep, the concert Piano Music and Poetry (organised through the Gateshead Piano Workshop folks) came around pretty quickly. As one of the participants, I was excited and also a little nervous about the prospect of a Paying Audience. The work paid off, as all the performers were excellent! Well appreciated by the compact audience. The format was in relation to National Poetry Day which was on 2nd October. Each performer chose a poem either in direct or indirect relation to their piece. A summary of the programme: Alan - Liszt Consolation No 4 and Mozart Adagio in B minor Graeme - Chopin Nocturne Op. 62 No. 2 with 'Uncertainty' by Adam Mickiewicz me - Clara Schumann, andante con sentimento with 'Clara Wieck und Beethoven' by Franz Grillparzer Jim - R Schumann Kinderszenen 1 and 7 with 'My child, we were just children' by Heinrich Heine Ernie - Debussy Clair de lune with excerpt from 'Fêtes g...

Yesterday I was privileged to attend a masterclass at the Lit & Phil in Newcastle by Prof. Vanessa Latarche of Royal Conservatory of Music. The masterclass had been organised by the Gateshead Piano Workshop and featured some of their regular attendees.  The class was informative yet informal. Vanessa worked well with all the performers and made them feel very much at ease. The repertoire presented was a range of known and more obscure pieces from the Romantic end of the spectrum. First up with a 'new to me' piece was Neil, who played beautifully Madeleine Dring 's 'Prelude' from Prelude and Toccata . The Prelude is a fabulous piece, very atmospheric  - English nuances with French impressionism - with an insistent left hand part that haunts the piece throughout. The rest of the class was as follows: Chopin -  Prelude No 25 c# Brahms -  Intermezzo in A Op. 118 Mendelssohn – Andante and variations in Bb Op. 83 - theme and variations 1-4. Schubert  - W...

Since moving to Durham I have been looking for fellow amateur pianists, with some success: the inaugural 'Durham Amateur Pianists' group met earlier this month and another meeting is scheduled for October. I also attended 2 other amateur piano events. Chris Jolley on the Yamaha piano First up on Wednesday was Gateshead Piano Workshop , a montly event held at Caedmon Hall in Gateshead Library. The established workshop features teacher and performer Venera Bojkova . The programme, pre-announced about 2 weeks beforehand, included Brahms' Op.117 Intermezzo in Eb ; andante from Sonata in C K545   and adagio in B minor from K540 by Mozart; and the last 4 from Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky. A really friendly and informative evening! Something slightly different yesterday, as I went to Manchester for the UK meeting of online group The Piano Cloud . The Piano Could is a SoundCloud and Facebook group whose members encompass all genres and abilities including ...