Music Tips

Here we travel beyond words to ‘tell the story’... the magical way that music gives a voice to all human experience. From the evils of slavery - which gave rise to the ‘field songs’ which became jazz - to the grand passion of opera, or the lyrical beauty of a Brahms sonata the themes of love, loss, longing and redemption are universal. I see musicians as part of a global musical endeavour, fluent in a language that transcends barriers of class, colour and creed; speaking straight to the heart. I am passionate about breaking down barriers within music too – I am happy to listen to any genre - jazz, pop, classical, and anything in between that moves me. I am fascinated by the moments before a performance begins, those moments of anticipation and silence – and again, the seconds that follow the end of a piece – moments of silent recognition of something profoundly moving…

Music Venues:

The South Bank: www.southbankcentre.co.uk, Tickets: 0871 663 2583

Newly revamped collection of world-class concert halls:

Queen Elizabeth Hall

Royal Festival Hall

The Purcell Rooms

The Wigmore Hall: www.wigmore-hall.org.uk, Tel: 0207 935 2141. Internationally renowned for it’s acoustics and cupola – The Wigmore is a national treasure.

St John’s, Smith Square: www.sjss.org.uk, Tel: 0207 222 1061. Excellent venue, and the best of classical music minutes away from the Houses of Parliament.

The Barbican: www.barbican.org.uk, Tel: 0845 120 7595. Huge, modern auditorium, featuring top international artists, both classical and jazz. Brilliant acoustics.

Cadogan Hall: www.cadoganhall.com Tel: 0207 730 4500. Newly revamped venue, off Chelsea’s Sloane Square. Mostly classical.

Duke’s Hall, Royal Academy of Music www.ram.ac.uk Tel: Tel: 0207 873 7373. A fitting show case for young musicians of the Academy.

Royal College of Music www.rcm.ac.uk Tel: 0207 589 3643
For concerts open to public check website.

The Royal Opera House www.roh.org Box Office Tel: 0207 304 4000
No introduction needed. A truly spectacular setting, world-class music and dance.

English National Opera, Collesium www.eno.org.uk
Bold new productions, newly revamped auditorium.

LSO St. Luke’s www.lso.co.uk Tel: 0845 120 7593

Glyndebourne www.glyndebourne.com
Unique setting for opera loving picnickers in the heart of the English countryside.

Leighton House, Holland Park www.rbkc.gov.uk/LeightonHouseMuseum
A one-off venue for chamber music – see website for listings. Perfect for summer evenings in the city.

Ronnie Scotts, 47 Frith Street, London W1. www.ronniescotts.co.uk
Newly revamped Ronnie’s still has a little of the old magic…

The 606 Club, Lotts Road, Chelsea. SW10. www.606club.co.uk
Way off the beaten track, at the far reaches of the King’s Road – but well worth the trip. Brilliant, intimate jazz venue.

The Bull’s Head, Barnes. www.thebullshead.com

A legendary, laid back jazz venue – well worth the trip to SW13…

Pizza Express, Soho, www.pizzaexpresslive.co.uk
Downstairs for best live music…

Ray’s Jazz , Foyles Bookstore, – for live music and huge specialist jazz CD collection. rays@foyles.co.uk, www.foyles.co.uk Tel: 0207 440 3205
All you ever wanted to know about jazz …under one roof.

The Spice of Life, 6 Moor Street. W1. www.spicejazz.co.uk
Often featuring Dune music’s finest…

Music festivals:

Bestival, Isle of Wight, www.bestival.net Dressing up for grown-ups…

Glastonbury – biggest and hardest to get into… www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Secret Garden Party - Alice in Wonderland mayhem. www.secretgardenparty.com

Festival de L’Anche, Hyeres, Provence. France www.festivaldelanche.com Music festival set in beautiful mediaeval town of Hyeres, South of France. See ‘Travel section’

Buying music:

Best for sheet music, the June Emerson archive – based up in Yorkshire. www.juneemerson.co.uk

Boosey and Hawkes, London W1 www.boosey.com

Buying woodwind/brass instruments:

Dawkes Music Ltd. Huge range of wind instruments and accessories, plus Prof. Anton Weinburg to offer technical advice and repairs. www.dawkes.co.uk

Howarth of London. Just a stone’s throw from the Royal Academy, specialist wind instruments and repairs. Infact, two tiny shops side by side. Knock to get in! www.howarth.uk.com

Courses for Amateur musicians:

Benslow – fantastic residential courses all year long taught by top professionals, www.benslow.org

Dartington Summer School, Dartington, . Devon. Set in the most beautiful grounds just outside the Elizabethan town of Totnes. Featuring a medieval hall for performances and it’s own on-site pub – The White Hart. www.dartington.ac.uk

Books & Magazines on Music

Novels:

Music and Silence. Rose Tremain. Eerily atmospheric. Published by Vintage

An Equal Music. Vikram Seth. A love story. Set London, Vienna and Venice. Published by Phoenix

Non-Fiction:

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Ed. Richard Cook and Brian Morton
Indispensable guide to the what’s what and who’s who of jazz recordings.

The Oxford Companion to Music. Edited by Alison Latham. Oxford University Press. Invaluable guide to classical music.

Whitney Balliett – legendary jazz critic of The New Yorker, described by Philip Larkin as “a writer who brings jazz journalism to the edge of poetry.” Books include: The Sound of Surprise (1959), Dinosaurs in the Morning (1962) and Goodbye and Other Messages (1991) – all featuring collections of his articles.

Philip Larkin. Jazz Notes. Published by Continuum. The forward to the book, by Alan Plater, begins ‘No one ever got rich or famous writing jazz criticism. It is a labour of love and this collection contains massive proportions of both…’

Specialist Music Magazines:

Gramophone www.gramophone.co.uk

Muso www.musolife.com Classical news and views for the 16-30’s

Classical Music Magazine www.rhinegold.co.uk

Opera

BBC Music Magazine www.bbcmusicmagazine.com

Clarinet and Saxophone magazine www.clarinetandsaxophone.co.uk

Jazzwise www.jazzwise.com

Jazzreview.com www.jazzreview.com