by Kenneth Woods | Sep 2, 2015 | A view from the podium, Not quite the news
Ex-trustfunder turned billionaire-blowhard-reality-show-junkie-cum-presidential-candidate Donald Trump waded into fraught cultural waters today with a speech in Vetterficker, Alabama during which he promised to “put an end to horn splits and fracks in my first 100...
by Kenneth Woods | Sep 1, 2015 | Nuts and bolts
NOW AVAILABLE Elgar- Piano Quintet, Sea Pictures. Orchestrated by Donald Fraser. £12.00 As many of you know, all of us at the English Symphony Orchestra are busy gearing up for our 2015 Elgar Pilgrimage from the 7th-10th of October, with concerts in some of...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 2, 2015 | A view from the podium, Piano, pianists and pianism
It was with real sadness that I learned today of the passing of this pianist Ivan Moravec, a man who was widely recognised as one of the greatest pianists of his generation, but who never quite earned the fame or fortune his artistry merited. The many recordings he...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 17, 2015 | A view from the podium, Not quite the news, Satire
The music industry reacted with wide-eyed amazement this month as the world’s leading orchestra announced they were appointing someone to the prestigious position of Principal Conductor based on his ability to conduct. Across Europe, North America and the Far East,...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 11, 2015 | A view from the podium
A study on the life arcs of 1980’s-era heavy metal fans has been making the news this week, and its main conclusion is no surprise to me: In fact, researchers find that former metal fans “were significantly happier in their youth, and better adjusted...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 4, 2015 | A view from the podium, Lists
I gave up a long time ago on trying to find much meaning or substance in music for patriotic occasions. We live an age of such small-minded, parochial jingoism that thinking of any music in terms of nationalist celebrations seems only to cheapen the music. This year I...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 25, 2015 | A view from the podium
Rehearsals have been going well for this weekend’s performance of my arrangement of the Brahms A major Piano Quartet for orchestra in Guildford. For some reason, the A major has always been the least played of the Brahms Piano Quartets. I’m sure it’s...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 23, 2015 | A view from the podium
I met Gunther at his wonderful festival at Sandpoint in the 1990’s. On the second night of the festival, I ran into him in the bar and in spite of our vast difference in age, achievement and knowledge, had one of the all-time great bar hangs of my life....
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 20, 2015 | A view from the podium
The idea for this orchestration of the Brahms Piano Quartet in A Major, opus 26 came to me spontaneously in a flash of inspiration while I was coaching chamber music at the Ischia Chamber Music Festival in 2008. I vividly remember the bright blue sea and...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 18, 2015 | A view from the podium
I was not aware of what had just happened, but sometimes, it’s better not to know. Today my colleagues (Matthew Sharp, David LePage, Suzanne Casey and Catherine Leech) and I played a noontime recital as part of the English Symphony Orchestra’s Magna Carta 800...
by Kenneth Woods | May 18, 2015 | A view from the podium
This is a Reblog: Read the original official press release from MusicCo International UPDATE- A new interview as Ken speaks to Peter Alexander at Sharps and Flatirons here. Coverage from Norman Lebrecht’s Slipped Disc here: “The Colorado MahlerFest in and...
by Kenneth Woods | May 7, 2015 | A view from the podium
Next week the Berlin Philharmonic picks a new Chief Conductor. Hans Gál and Robert Schumann- Third Symphonies £12.00 There’s always bound to be curiosity about who is going to get the best job in any field of interest to the general public (there seems to be...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 26, 2015 | Headlines
From the May 2015 issue of Gramophone Magazine Deborah Pritchard- Wall of Water £7.00 Pritchard Violin Concerto, “Wall of Water” Harriet Mackenzie vn English String Orchestra / Kenneth Woods Nimbus Alliance (S) CD NI1555 (21’ . DDD Every now and then, a new...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 23, 2015 | A view from the podium
Part of a series of vlogs exploring magical minutes in music history- here’s a quick look at the first few bars of the Agnus Dei from the Mozart Requiem. The ESO will be performing the Mozart Requiem on the 24th of April at St John’s Smith Square....
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 20, 2015 | A view from the podium
There’s no point in compiling a “worst orchestrators” list- the guilty parties would all be hopelessly minor and un-interesting composers. Far more interesting is to have a look at the who the great composers are who are most able to humble, wrong...
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