PrettyInScarlett

Now for something quite different. Tuesday 13th we went to see Piano circus at Cardiff University School of Music . I was going to say 'new' but turns out the group (ensemble doesn't quite seem to fit) formed in 1989. Piano circus , who according to their website are named after the Latin for circle, perform works for 6 keyboards/pianos and have developed a varied repertoire (which is also listed in full online). One of the reasons for going (apart from pure curiosity) was to try out contemporary compositions. The set list comprised: Erkki-Sven Tüür-Transmission (2006), Conlon Nancarrow- Study No. 5 and Study No. 26, Colin Riley- Recast, Steve Reich Six Pianos, David Lang- Face So Pale (1992) and Lynne Plowman- Hall of Mirrors (2007). Lynne Plowman was in the audience & briefly introduced Hall of Mirrors as sampling parts of lots of other classical piano works (anything from 1 bar to a more recognisable theme) & threading them together. In terms of the works them...

Something of a quiet start to the year for us for one reason or another, so I picked a random band off the Clwb Ifor Bach website and came up with Strange News from Another Star , playing last Friday 5 th February. First time at Clwb Ifor Bach for a while, and it was full (too often there's been an audience just in double figures!) - though as all bands (2 supports, Goodtime Boys and Panic Basket) were local that's not too surprising. I won't waste much time on the dire Panic Basket except to say that screaming "12345678" does not constitute a song! Goodtime Boys were better but neither much our thing. The main guy from SNFAS , Jimmy Watkins, has a good line in banter, starting the gig with a poem about the residents of St Mellons , and with printed flyers satirising David Cameron! Again, the style of music is probably not our thing (more in the line of my earlier student taste) but certainly interesting and worth checking out. They were described as '...

Summer finally seems to be on its way, along with 2 excellent shows in a week! Another first on Tuesday 19 th - a concert in the Cardiff University School of Music 's hall. Originally booked as a 'why not' kind of thing, the recital by Emma Johnson (clarinet) and Pascal Rogé (piano) was very interesting. The set (courtesy of the CUSM website): Weber – Sylvana Variations Debussy – Rhapsodie Brahms – Sonata op. 120 no. 1 in F minor Bernstein – Sonata Stravinsky – Three pieces for clarinet solo Debussy – La Cathedrale Engloutie (from Preludes Book 1) Aaron Copland – Nocturne Milhaud – Scaramouche Suite Personal favourites from the evening, both Debussy pieces and the encores, which were Debussy's 'la fille au cheveux de lin ' and a Benny Goodman solo (not sure which) on the clarinet. The hall was fairly full and show well received, so all in all a good warm up for the duo's later concert at Cadogan Hall, London on 28 th May. Back to something a l...