by Kenneth Woods | May 6, 2009 | A view from the podium, Performing Life
I’m feeling almost too busy to think this week, but I really, really wanted to share a few final thoughts on Shostakovich, Barshai and the op83a Chamber Symphony we performed in Guildford on Saturday. I’m generally very open to arrangements and transcriptions, as were...
by Kenneth Woods | May 2, 2009 | A view from the podium, Explore the Score
When Shostakovich began work on his Fourth String Quartet in 1949 his life and career were at a low ebb. After spending most of the late 1930’s in fear for his life, painfully aware that Stalin was watching his every move, Shostakovich had become somewhat used to a...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 30, 2009 | A view from the podium
The big topic of conversation this week has been the 5th and final Prokofiev Piano Concerto, which I conducted on Saturday night with Daniel de Borah and the Surrey Mozart Players. Many of you will have already seen the review, which came out yesterday. The reviewer...
by Kenneth Woods | Dec 15, 2008 | A view from the podium, Repertoire Reports
You can view the 2008 KW Repertoire report here, which lists every piece of music I’ve performed in the 2008 calendar year. I thought I would take advantage of the painstaking efforts of my research assistant, former Lehman Brothers Executive VP Flurp Van Doogle and...
by Kenneth Woods | Nov 8, 2007 | A view from the podium
I write this morning from the warm confines of the KLM Elite lounge at Birmingham Intl airport. Perhaps the only perk of spending so much time traveling is that, every once in a while, the airlines throw you a tiny little biscuit, such as being able to use the posh...
Recent Comments