Classical Music, Poetry and stuff

[robertlouis]

LOL well awful they might be but at least they are keeping the theatre alive, wouldn't you agree? They may well be the equivalent of fast food, but the good thing is that a fair number of people are introduced to the theatre world via fast food and once they get tired of the cardboard munching they move on to something more hearty and nutritious for the soul

Well that's the theory anyhow lmao!!

x

Reluctantly, I have to agree, Aeryn, at least as far as keeping theatres open is concerned. As I've said, I'm very selective about musicals that I'd be prepared to see, but I tend to be a lot more daring when it comes to straight theatre (which isn't as opposed to gay theatre, of course). The reviews in the quality press are fairly reliable guides too.

What's the theatre scene like where you are? The State Theatre in Sydney is one of the most stunning theatres I've ever seen.

[Stavros]

I have to agree: once a decline sets in I think it would be hard to stop, although I don't believe there is any evidence that, for example, long running shows like The Lion King and Mamma Mia subsidise revivals of Pinter and Beckett. Also, I think that as an introduction to the theatre for children and young people, musicals are ideal -in today's climate when the attention span is so limited, the stop-start structure of a musical is ideal: however I would prefer musicals on original themes, rather than being a loose collection of songs by the same band/person: Evita was at least original, even if it had little to do with the real Eva Peron. I was taken to the theate and ballet when I was 10, and the opera when I was 11, which also included Gilbert & Sullivan: great for an 11 year old but by the time I was 16 I thought G&S passe.

Live music, and if possible, participation through singing, dancing or playing an instrument is priceless: I sang in the church choir and it was thrilling, exciting and one of my most treasured memories. I aso think that a personal experience of music enables people to distinguish between good musicianship and the rest, regardless of the genre. I don't care if its Wagner, Gilbert & Sullivan, Kylie Minogue or I Am H-A-P-P-Y -the alternative is silence, a very dull life indeed.

[robertlouis]

Is anybody else here enjoying the proms season on Radio 3, BBC4 and occasionally BBC2?

The Brahms Concert on Friday night featuring the 3rd symphony and the 1st piano concerto with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Bernard Haitink conducting was simply sublime. The symphony in particular was the finest rendition I have yet heard.

[Stavros]

In the late 1970s I used to work with a Havegal Brian enthusiast; if you have ever met one you will realise that even being obsessed with Delius cannot compare to the Brianistas who are convinced he is the most neglected genius of British music. He had every symphony on tape that had ever been broadcast. These days I suspect only the Proms could do the Gothic (or ' das Siegeslied') but while it was brave -or foolish- to, perform it, it was a sad waste of resources. I can't remember which Brian symphonies I liked, it might have been the 6th, but overall his work is not something I would actively pursue.

I haven't been able to listen to as many Proms as I would like. Although I liked Prokofiev's concerto for turntables and orchestra, it would have been so much better without the turntables, a worthless gimmick that failed in whatever it was supposed to achieve. I feel ambivalent about Haitink. To me he has an astonishing ability to transform beautiful and dynamic music into something bland and lifeless, yet the best Mahler 4 I heard was at the Concertgebouw with the same man conducting.

I bought Yuja Wang's cd of Rachmaninov's piano concerto no 2 and the Paganinni rhapsody a while ago, and its one of the best recordings of those perennial favourites I have ever heard; she has real sparkle in her playing, although I don't know how one pianist can sound so different from another. Her Bartok last Tuesday was brilliant -in fact, so far this and the National Youth Orchestra Proms were the ones I have enjoyed most.

[robertlouis]

Saw a musical called Parade at the Southwark Playhouse last night with my goddaughter, who knew several of the cast from her own background in musical theatre. Played in traverse, so very close to the action, and in the vaults, with the trains from London Bridge rumbling overhead.

I have to be persuaded to go to musicals - I hate the contrived pop group lyrics like Queen and Rod Stewart with a passion, am bored by endless revivals of supposed classics from the canon, and "spectacles" like the Lion King or Phantom (indeed anything by the dreaded ALW leave me stone cold.

But this was very, very different. It was a revival of a 1998 musical, book and score by Jason Robert Brown, based on a true story, which concerns the lynching, in Georgia 1914, of a New York Jew falsely accused of the rape and murder of a young girl. Dark, terrific score and coruscating lyrics superbly delivered by a young and very committed cast.

If you're in London, I urge you to see it. Not in the West End, so not west end prices - our seats cost £16 each. And an excellent pre-show dinner for £12 each directly overlooking the Thames on a sunny evening. Perfect.

[buckjohnson]

I play it cool
and dig all jive
Thats the reason
I stay alive
My motto is as
I live and learn
is dig and be dug
In return.

[Prospero]

The beat poets are reborn courtesy of Buck Johnson. Do you wear a black beret, smoke Gitanes and listen to Juliette Greco?

[buckjohnson]

Black beret, yes. I like cool and funky hats.

[Stavros]

The artist Richard Hamilton has died at the age of 89; he is remembered as a central force in the so-called 'Pop Art' movement of the 1960s, which in his case was the creation of multi-surface images which used paint, collage and photography simultaneously. I used to see his work as a regular visitor to the old Tate Gallery in London, and was never once impressed, neither by the indidivual works, nor by his style. I am not a renaissance reject, I do like contemporary art -Bridget Riley is one of my favourite artists of all time and if I had the money I would commission a work from her. Hamilton never did it for me. In fact, I see his work as a precursor to the self-advertisements of Tracy Emin and Gilbert/George, that one-way route to indifference.

I await the opinions of BM's with eager anticipation....

[robertlouis]

The artist Richard Hamilton has died at the age of 89; he is remembered as a central force in the so-called 'Pop Art' movement of the 1960s, which in his case was the creation of multi-surface images which used paint, collage and photography simultaneously. I used to see his work as a regular visitor to the old Tate Gallery in London, and was never once impressed, neither by the indidivual works, nor by his style. I am not a renaissance reject, I do like contemporary art -Bridget Riley is one of my favourite artists of all time and if I had the money I would commission a work from her. Hamilton never did it for me. In fact, I see his work as a precursor to the self-advertisements of Tracy Emin and Gilbert/George, that one-way route to indifference.

I await the opinions of BM's with eager anticipation....

I suspect your tongue is so firmly in your cheek, Stavros, that if you were to hold your breath as well you'd only last about three minutes.

FWIW I agree with your assessment of Hamilton. One of those strange contradictions who managed to be influential without at the same time creating any worthwhile art of his own.