David Matthews: Real Art

Ann Arnold - The Rainbow
Reproduced with the kind permission from the artist

Composer David Matthews ponders the parallels between the zeitgeist of art and music in our time.

On our way back from the Presteigne Festival, my wife Jenifer and I went to see the artists Graham and Ann Arnold, who have a cottage in a small village in deepest Shropshire. They have lived in the village for many years, having forsaken city life in the 1970s when they were members of the Brotherhood of Ruralists, whose aim was to recapture the spirit of Samuel Palmer and the Pre-Raphaelites, in deliberate rejection of the styles and attitudes of many of their contemporaries. The Brotherhood has ceased to exist, but Graham and Ann – Graham now in his early 80s, Ann a few years younger – have continued to uphold its beliefs in their work.

Tom Hammond on Sibelius and The Tempest

Conductor Tom Hammond writes about his performance with the Hertford Symphony Orchestra next May. They will perform Sibelius’s little-known music for Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

In a space of its own – The Presteigne Festival

James Francis Brown gives a composer's view of a much-loved contemporary music festival.

Discovering Music: Aesthetic Foundations

Byrd Mass for Five Voices
Note the bass line

Rob Edgar ponders the aesthetics of music aimed at children, how they may have changed over the years, and what the effects of this change might be.

Guest Blog: Frances Wilson on The Power of the Programme

In a guest article for the Music Haven Blog, our friend Frances Wilson from the Cross Eyed Pianist Blog writes on how a sensitive concert programme can make or break the premiere of a contemporary piece of music.

Recently I attended two concerts, one in London at St John’s Smith Square and the other in Brighton as part of the Fringe Festival, which included world premieres of new works for piano. The new works were interspersed with more familiar repertoire which made interesting and witty connections between old and new, as well as offering a varied and contrasting listening experience. It struck me that this was an intelligent, accessible and enjoyable way of programming new music by giving audiences an opportunity to experience it without hitting them over the head with it, as is sometimes the effect if one attends a concert comprised entirely from brand new music. It was refreshing to come across these programmes in which familiar works were placed alongside the new and not-so-familiar, for such juxtapositions can shine a new light on the old and highlight previously undiscovered connections between works and composers.

Q&A With James Francis Brown on Amateur Music Making Part 2

In a two-part blog Robert Edgar, questions conductor Tom Hammond and composer James Francis Brown about the world of amateur music-making.

Part Two

James Francis Brown talks about amateur music making from the point of view of the composer. He has written numerous works, at varying levels of difficulty, for both professional and amateur ensembles.

Comments Fixed

Apologies to all our readers who may have been trying to post comments to the blog. There were a couple of gremlins which we have found and banished, hopefully for good.