{"id":1638,"date":"2010-05-21T11:46:25","date_gmt":"2010-05-21T10:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/?p=1638"},"modified":"2010-05-21T11:46:25","modified_gmt":"2010-05-21T10:46:25","slug":"birmingham-post-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2010\/05\/21\/birmingham-post-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham Post Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a nice interview with me in the Birmingham Post today<\/a>. Chief critic Chris Morley managed to take the conversation to a few places I’d \u00a0never been asked about, particularly my affection for the music of William Walton, whose Facade I’m conducting with Orchestra of the Swan on May 31st in Compton Verney as part of the \u00a0Spring Sounds festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved Walton\u2019s music. He and Elgar have held a special place in the pantheon for me since I was very young.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018I doubt you would find many people who listened to the Walton Cello Concerto (composed in Ischia) more times between the ages of 14 and 18 than I did.When my cello teacher finally told me he would work with me on it, I was overjoyed.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018The only tragedy with Walton is that there isn\u2019t a huge output, and most of the works are both very difficult and written for quite a large orchestra. That makes his music a tough sell in America, where he\u2019s not well known.<\/p>\n

\u201cStill, I adore the three concertos, the First Symphony is an absolute masterpiece, and so are the Variations on a Theme of Hindemith, which I\u2019m conducting for the first time this summer. I\u2019ve been trying to programme that piece for 15 years,\u201d Kenneth adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cFacade really stands apart from the rest of his output because of the extremely witty and colourful poems, which he sets with incredible sharpness and fantasy. You wouldn\u2019t expect the man who wrote the last movement of the Cello Concerto to be so good at comedy, but genius is like that.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018It\u2019s a pity he didn\u2019t get more commissions that would have pointed him towards other unexpected paths during his life \u2013 he was one of those rare talents who could just compose whatever a situation demands.<\/p>\n

Read the whole thing here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Details on Orchestra of the Swan Spring Sounds Festival<\/a> and my concert on the 31st.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Date<\/strong> : Monday, 31 May 2010<\/p>\n

The final orchestral concert of Spring Sounds 2010, join us at this beautiful Palladian house set in the rolling Warwickshire countryside.<\/p>\n

\n

Walton’s Facade
\nMonday 31st May 2010, 3pm
\nCompton Verney<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joanna Lee: The Chronicles of Archy – world premiere
\nWalton: Facade – an entertainment<\/p>\n

Sarah Leonard: soprano
\nKen Woods: conductor<\/p>\n

A pre concert talk will take place at 2.15pm<\/p>\n

Tickets: \u00a315 – includes gallery admission
\nCompton Verney Members: \u00a35 –\u00a0includes gallery admission<\/strong>
\nAvailable at\u00a0www.comptonverney.org.uk<\/a> or 01926 645500<\/strong><\/p>\n