by Kenneth Woods | Apr 25, 2019 | Mahler
In all the long history of symphonic music, with the possible exception of Berlioz, there has probably never been a symphonic debut as audacious as that of Gustav Mahler in his First Symphony. Becoming Mahler In the 130 years since it was written, this work has become...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 17, 2019 | Mahler, Mahler- Performer's Perspective
On the 19th of May, Colorado MahlerFest will give the world premiere of the new Critical Edition of Mahler’s First Symphony being published by Breitkopf & Härtel. It is the first attempt at a Critical Edition from outside the International Gustav Mahler Society in...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 8, 2019 | News and Reviews
A wonderful new five- star review from Guy Rickards in Musical Opinion Quarterly for our latest Nimbus Records recording of concerti for violin and trumpet by Philip Sawyers featuring soloists Alexander Sitkovetsky and Simon Desbruslais under the baton of Kenneth...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 5, 2019 | A view from the podium
New on MusicWeb. Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op 26 (1861, orch. Kenneth Woods, 2008-15, revised 2017) English Symphony Orchestra/Kenneth Woods rec. 2017, Wyastone Concert Hall, Monmouth, UK NIMBUS NI6364 [49:17] The orchestration...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 5, 2019 | News and Reviews
Published in the Birmingham Post and the Midlands Music Review ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN REVIEW A SUBTLE THREAD WOVEN BY ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN STRINGS ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN Stratford Play House ***** Whether by happy accident or design, this remarkable concert from the...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 1, 2019 | Not quite the news, Satire
A newly-released Critical Edition of Mahler’s First Symphony reveals that the composer made major changes to the work following its final performances in New York in 1910 and that musicians, for the last 100+ years, have been playing the work completely wrong. Newly...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 28, 2019 | A view from the podium, Mahler
Tuesday 2 April at 7:30 Orchestra of the Swan Stratford Playhouse David Matthews Winter Remembered Mahler Symphony No.10 (mvt 1 arr for strings) Mozart Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K.546 Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge Kenneth Woods conductor Carmen...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 14, 2019 | A view from the podium
Sunday the 28th of April at 6:30 PM Kings Place London Book here There is a love story at the heart of today’s programme. Bohuslav Martinů was, alongside Dvořák, Smetana and Janacek, one of very greatest of all Czech composers. Like his near contemporary from Hungary,...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 13, 2019 | A view from the podium
I am studying Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge for a concert next month with the Orchestra of the Swan. Winter Remembered It is a work that never ceases to astound me. Literally every bar is full of invention and inspiration, but what lifts the...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 13, 2019 | A view from the podium
An email this morning got me thinking. Dear Ken I’m not sure you’d remember me, but I used to go to Hereford Sixth Form College and sang in the choir and you did several events and workshops with us whilst I was there. I’m now an undergraduate at Merton College,...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 7, 2019 | A view from the podium
150 years after his death, Hector Berlioz remains one of music’s most fascinating and contradictory figures. He wrote some of the most exciting music ever to be heard in the concert hall, and yet even in a work as popular and electrifying as Symphonie...
by Kenneth Woods | Feb 26, 2019 | Nuts and bolts
I’ve wanted to make a string orchestra version of Tchaikovsky’s Third String Quartet for almost as long as I’ve known the piece. Growing up in the USA, most musicians I knew seemed to only know of “‘the’ Tchaikovsky String...
by Kenneth Woods | Feb 26, 2019 | A view from the podium
Here’s an attempt to comb through some of the threads which join together the four works on this weekend’s programme in Hereford’s beautiful Shirehall. Book your tickets here. Phone Booking 01905 611427 In person at the Huntingdon Hall Box...
by Kenneth Woods | Feb 11, 2019 | Nuts and bolts
It was a dark and stormy night. Really, it was. A man races through a maelstrom, his energy rapidly leaving him. Cold, soaking and exhausted, he sees a house and makes for it. He makes his way inside. As the last drop of adrenaline drains from his system, he lays down...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 16, 2019 | A view from the podium
When John Joubert passed away this week (on January 7) at the age of ninety-one, he left behind a vast body of work, reaching to nearly 200 opus numbers, including seven operas, three Symphonies and four Concertos. If it is a source of frustration for those of us who...
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