by Kenneth Woods | Feb 18, 2012 | A view from the podium
The composer Felix Mendelssohn made many visits to the British Isles during his short life, yet it is little known that he stayed in North Wales for several weeks in 1829, visiting many of its famous beauty spots. But fact can indeed prove stranger than fiction, since...
by Kenneth Woods | Feb 5, 2012 | A view from the podium
Over the last five or six years, I’ve gradually been building up a rather nice library of orchestral parts, all marked with my bowings and any special requests (such as “on the string”: I haven’t yet tried writing in things like “stop glaring,...
by Kenneth Woods | Feb 4, 2012 | A view from the podium
From the February 3, 2012 Surrey Advertiser: Surrey Mozart Players on top form for Electric Theatre performance Those who ventured out to the Electric Theatre last Saturday were in for a real treat. The Surrey Mozart Players under their charismatic conductor Kenneth...
by Kenneth Woods | Feb 4, 2012 | A view from the podium
One might think that having a blog would mean never having to bottle up a rant. Sadly, I’ve found that the opposite is true- when you never know who (if anyone) is reading or why, it’s best not to carelessly let fly with whatever is bothering you. Better to save the...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 26, 2012 | A view from the podium, Bobby and Hans
What follows is a bit of a treasure. It is an interview with Hans Gál, done in 1971. It is unknown who the interviewer was, or if , when and where it was published. Nevertheless, it contains some of Gál’s most extensive commentary on his own creative work, his...
by Kenneth Woods | Jan 26, 2012 | A view from the podium
How music speaks to power? The doubtful legacy of Theodor Adorno Readers of this blog will know that Ken is a great enthusiast for composers like Shostakovich, Sibelius, Elgar and Schumann – among many others. His taste is catholic, and he is even open to...
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