When I was about 12 years old my mother worked at a Catholic school, and one Easter our whole family was able to go on the trip to Rome. Even as a pre-teenager, the ancient splendour of the city impressed me and I have always wanted to go back. In actual fact, I have been back...
I have a window seat on the flight back from Cologne. I’m a creature of habit and whilst I don’t mind this seat on a short flight, on a long haul I always end up feeling rather trapped and stuck in my place. Looking out at the wing, which is obscuring my view as we descend...
As it’s nearly Christmas, you’ll forgive me if I jettison my normal dry academic precision for a little bit of end of term amusement. I am pleased to report that the LSC were staying in a different hotel from the orchestra in a another part of Paris which rendered my...
If an alien life form were to land unannounced backstage at a concert in 2012, they would make some basic assumptions about human behaviour which I once would have thought unfounded. Now I'm not so sure. One of the many changes I have seen in my time on the world touring...
From the comfort of the train speeding through the Spanish countryside, you could be forgiven for thinking that it is summer. The sun is high and the deep blue stretches far into the distance, the only clouds visible on the horizon look like chalk cliffs. But the thermometer...
Code Nom masculin (latin codex) a) Ensemble de...
The orchestra sat in near silence on the train this morning. The tension rising with the outside temperature as we sped through the mountains. I haven't felt this much pressure on a train since Sue Mallet was on a trip and was looking for volunteers for something or other. She...
I am at the moment sitting in a...
Mahler's Third Symphony is always an event, partly due to the size of forces needed and the space required. The famous opening with the horns in full flight is truly astonishing writing and the power unleashed by Gergiev's hands in the ample acoustic of the Lincoln Centre is...
