Comment: A Shostakovich Casebook

In light of Lewis Owen’s new play Like Chemist from Canada, Rob Edgar writes about A Shostakovich Casebook, a collection of essays on the composer.

The story of Shostakovich, the man, calls to my mind the old thread sticking out of a jumper metaphor; when you pull on it to investigate, the whole thing unravels. There is much conflicting information about the composer, as would be expected for any historical figure, but the confusion is amplified by a dysfunctional state attitude that, in those days, bordered on the deranged, a state which, quite aside from its now well-documented crimes, was notoriously bad at keeping accurate records. If you follow one particular thread of his life too closely, everything else falls apart.

A Day for the Record

James Francis Brown writes about the recording process from the composer's perspective:

Most of us support the motto ‘keep music live’. We all recognise the special, sometimes thrilling presence of a living, breathing human-being giving their utmost and reaching deeply into the recesses of their imagination.

Report: Le tombeau de Rachmaninov World Premiere

Peter Fribbins, Cecilia McDowall, James Francis Brown, Alan Mills, Peter Davison
Noriko Ogawa (at piano)

Rob Edgar writes about the recent world premiere of Le tombeau de Rachmaninov, a new work from Music Haven:

The composers are back from a trip up to Manchester for the world premiere of Music Haven's latest project for piano solo, Le tombeau de Rachmaninov which was performed by Noriko Ogawa at the Bridgewater Hall. The piece was commissioned by the hall for their Ravel & Rachmaninov series. It is designed as a companion to Ravel’s famous Le tombeau de Couperin and follows the same format, celebrating the life and works of the two composers featured in the series.

Welcome to The Music Haven Blog

Welcome to the Music Haven blog. Here you can find opinion pieces from our composers (and perhaps, in the future, guests); the occasional review or news piece on subjects we find interesting; and more in-depth information about forthcoming performances, scores, and other projects.