Bringing classical music to the people

“Most performers pretty much ignore the audience – they play and go off … Don’t get me wrong. I worship these guys! But what will make someone who hardly knows about classical music listen to to Grigory Sokolov for two hours straight, and in total silence? you have to work your way up to that … It’s such rubbish that classical music is for the ‘intelligent’ upper classes. My mission is to bring it to as many people as possible.”

– James Rhodes, English pianist.

Cited in: Erica Worth, “Alternative Routes”, Piano. April/May 2011, Issue 59, Warners Group Publications, p.22.

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Writing music is easier than words
"I would rather write 10,000 notes than one letter of the alphabet."' Beethoven.  Letter, 28 November 1820.  Cited in: Kelly, Henry & Foley, John (1998) Classic FM: Musical Anecdotes.  London: Hodder & Stouhgtan, p.68.
A monkey on his shoulder
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Shaw on the cello
In the nineteenth century, the cello was regarded as an important solo instrument.  George Bernard Shaw wrote in 1890 “I am not fond of the violoncello: ordinarily I had as soon hear a bee buzzing in a stone jug.” Siblin, Eric (2009) The Cello Suites.  Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, p. 71.
The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us -Psalm 125 (126). SATB, woodwind, brass, and organ
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Composer: Joe HisaishiArranger: Greg SmithTitle: “Memories”, from The Boy and the HeronInstrumentation: Piano Solo This item is available from Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.
Abstraction XIII
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Ravel’s compositional process
Robert de Fragny recalled a conversation with Ravel about his compositional process: The G major Concerto took two years of work, you know.  The opening theme came to me on a train between Oxford and London. But the initial idea is nothing.  The work of chiseling then begun.  We’ve gone past the days when the […]