PrettyInScarlett

After purchasing tickets for Lubomyr Melynck, I saw this performance and thought - yep, that sounds good! People on Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag) is a German silent film from 1930, filmed in summer 1929. A portrayal of daily life in Berlin at the time and the desire of workers to enjoy their leisure time! múm are an experimental group from Iceland. Think indie/electronic/ambient and very enjoyable.  The combination - a highly enjoyable, informative, funny, relaxing evening. I hadn't seen Menschen am Sonntag before and it was interesting to watch - bits of Berlin that I recognise, beer drunk from big goblets (think oversized wine glasses), the feel of warm sunshine and the breeze off the lake. Great! As was the social commentary - including how modern the lifestyles of the characters were (or maybe, how much continuity there is between the late 1920s and today). The live improvised score from múm was very in keeping with the film - both matching the sunny weather and the scenes...

Courtesy of Erased Tapes, Lubomyr Melynck was already on my radar so his concert at Leeds' Howard Assembly Rooms on 24th February was an easy choice. The Hungarian/Canadian pianist describes his style as 'continuous music' and treated the audience to a witty monologue before his performance. I will leave Lubomyr to describe continuous music himself - see his website .  The fastest pianist in the world is also a strong proponent of acoustic listening and was delighted that the concert could be performed acoustically (no amplification) due to the acoustics of the Howard Assembly Room. The performance was of 4 pieces of which special mention goes to Butterfly - definitely my favourite. The piece exists in solo piano and 2 piano versions, and in different recorded versions (excellent CD of this piece purchased at the show). So full of hope and beauty. The final piece performed was Windmills , which is written for 2 pianos. Lubomyr had recorded one part earlier that aft...

Somehow I missed the information for Hausckha 's Leeds concert until a few weeks ago... hurriedly planned but a great end to a holiday week. I first came across Hauschka in the German language magazine PIANONews and from there discovered his album with violinist Hilary Hahn, Silfra . Prepared piano is an intriguing concept - Hauschka's website has a good explanation - so it was really something to see it done live. At the Howard Assembly Room , Hauschka came on after his two support artists. introduced himself and a bit about the evening, then proceeded to perform for 50 minutes solid. Just the stamina was impressive - but also the ebb and flow of the pieces. A camera mounted onto the end of the piano meant the audience could see the prepared elements - where they were, how they moved and when Hauschka changed or removed them. At the end of the 50 minutes they were all on the floor by the piano stool. The soundscape was really quite different to Silfra - in some ways similar ...