by Kenneth Woods | Jul 8, 2024 | A view from the podium, Mahler, Mahler- Performer's Perspective, Nuts and bolts, Performing Life
What follows is an essay about my new Performing Version of Mahler’s arrangement of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden String Quartet, premiered at Colorado MahlerFest in 2024. Schubert, Franz arr. Mahler/Woods – String Quartet in D minor (Der Tod und...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 16, 2024 | A view from the podium
I had the pleasure this week of reading a recent essay by the cultural historian Joseph Horowitz called “Three Who Quit,” a moving meditation on the later-life silences of Elgar, Ives and Sibelius. Joe and I will be recording a podcast on the topic later this week, so...
by Kenneth Woods | May 25, 2024 | A view from the podium
I’ve just been listening to this latest interview between Rick Beato and Ted Gioia. Gioia is one of today’s most interesting and illuminating cultural commentators, and it’s especially interesting to hear him in dialogue with someone like Rick Beato, who has been so...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 29, 2024 | A view from the podium
What follows is a Twitter thread I wrote in response to some excellent recent essays on UK arts funding. I’ve been thinking about a very important and balanced essay from Richard Bratby on the promise and perils of private arts funding in the UK. His description...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 23, 2024 | A view from the podium
Maybe it’s the curmudgeon in me, but I was never a fan of the all-star charity track. From “We Are the World” to “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” I always found most of the songs saccharine and cloying, and the constant change of superstar vocalists off-putting. Perhaps...
by Kenneth Woods | Oct 25, 2023 | A view from the podium
Thought for the day. A colleague I admire was talking today about how one might make the lists of orchestral audition excerpts more diverse. I take a different view. The professional orchestra audition process, especially in America, has got to be one of the hardest...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 26, 2023 | News and Reviews
I am excited, grateful and relieved to be able to say that the English Symphony Orchestra have received a generous grant in support of our Autumn 2023 season from Arts Council England.Words can’t fully express my gratitude to everyone who wrote in support of our...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 18, 2023 | A view from the podium
It’s been an amazing weekend seeing Philip Sawyers’ new oratorio Mayflower on the Sea of Time come to life. Huge congrats to Philip S and to librettist Philip Groom for a piece that blew the roof off Worcester Cathedral. The word I keep coming back to is...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 27, 2023 | A view from the podium
It was heartbreaking to learn of the death of Christopher Gunning, although I’d been aware he had been unwell for some time. Chris was the sort of person one felt lucky to know. He could be incredibly funny, even wicked. His vault of amazing and amusing...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 4, 2023 | A view from the podium
Among Wayne Shorter’s many huge musical accomplishments, one can’t help but be awed by his ability to establish a completely distinct artistic space for himself as a tenor and soprano saxophonist when the shadow of John Coltrane’s enormous musical...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 1, 2023 | A view from the podium
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Overture – “The Hebrides” (“Fingal’s Cave”), opus 26 Symphony no. 3 in A minor, “Scottish”, opus 56 HEAR IT LIVE ESTHER ABRAMI @ THE MOUNT WITHOUT 9TH MARCH 2023 at 7:30 PM THE MOUNT WITHOUT, UPPER CHURCH LANE, BRISTOL BS2 8FN MUSIC...
by Kenneth Woods | Feb 12, 2023 | A view from the podium
There’s an interesting piece in The Strad from Peter Quantrill on the state of the violin concerto. Of course, I remember well the lovely cover feature he mentions from 2017 which focused much well-earned attention on Deborah Pritchard’s concerto Wall of...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 6, 2023 | A view from the podium
Well, that didn’t go to plan. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, it was often said that no sector was hit harder than music. Concert halls were silenced, recordings postponed, musicians furloughed. Musicians and music lovers fought back. Where there was goodwill and...
by Kenneth Woods | Nov 13, 2022 | Explore the Score
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Symphony no. 45 in F-sharp minor, HOB I:45 “Der Abschied” (“The Farewell”) HEAR IT LIVE 7.30PM 23RD NOVEMBER 2022 GREAT MALVERN PRIORY, CHURCH ST, MALVERN WR14 2AY PROGRAMME Haydn – Farewell Symphony David Matthews – Le Lac Barber –...
by Kenneth Woods | Nov 5, 2022 | A view from the podium
I would like to share a few thoughts about yesterday’s Arts Council England announcement of the results of their application process for the new National Portfolio, speaking purely for myself, and not on behalf of the English Symphony Orchestra or the Elgar Festival....
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