by Kenneth Woods | Jun 1, 2014 | A view from the podium, Bobby and Hans, Explore the Score, Nuts and bolts
‘When his time to reach for the stars had arrived, Schumann’s personal language was fully formed, and just as the subtlety of his piano style had been an immense asset for the songwriter, so the expressiveness of his vocal melody was a bridge to the ‘voices of men and...
by Kenneth Woods | May 27, 2014 | A view from the podium
As the father of a four-year-old and a six-year-old, birthday parties are suddenly a big part of my life. Scarcely a week goes by without a summons for one or both of the kids to attend two hours of fun, sugar and silliness in celebration of someone’s birthday....
by Kenneth Woods | May 5, 2014 | A view from the podium
It was the most unexpected gift I received this past Christmas- both the nature of the gift and the identity of the givers. Why the nature? Anyone who knows me well, knows how deeply immersed I was in the music of Jimi Hendrix throughout my teens and early twenties,...
by Kenneth Woods | May 4, 2014 | A view from the podium, Explore the Score
Gál: Symphony No.2 in F Op.53 ‘The personal experience which is always expressed in music is very deeply buried in one’s own consciousness. One doesn’t know. One never knows.’ Hans Gál Hans Gál was born in 1890 just outside Vienna, where he studied with Richard Robert...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 14, 2014 | A view from the podium
A review from the popular “Classical Candor” blog of volume four in the Orchestra of the Swan’s survey of the complete symphonies of Robert Schumann and Hans Gál. Read the original here. “Gal’s First Symphony is relatively brief, about...
by Kenneth Woods | Apr 9, 2014 | A view from the podium, Mahler, Mahler- Performer's Perspective
A few years ago, Julian Johnson’s excellent book “Mahler’s Voices” had been languishing on various bookshelves here in an embarrassingly half-read state. Eventually, with a performance of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony on the horizon, I began skimming through...
Recent Comments