Music for Life: 100 Works to Carry You Through

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The concerto starts in flickering darkness, with soft, shuddering low strings interrupted by a solitary flute melody. Some performers prefer to sing her chants in groups, or accompanied by a drone, but the solo voice has an unmatched purity. Holst used these words to preface his 15-minute orchestral tone poem, an austere but radical work that expresses a pagan spirit of place. His own charming personality was often thwarted by depression, which interfered with his creative work. If this speaks to you, try the piano sonatas, especially the late ones, the symphonies, or any – yes, any – of the 600 songs.

Fiona Maddocks - Classical Music Fiona Maddocks - Classical Music

Her work – choral, orchestral, chamber – is distinctive, close to the world of Fauré and Debussy in its poetic, sensual nature. Published by Headline in the UK and Doubleday in the US, it was described by the literary agent Felicity Bryan Associates as a "great critical success", and was later reissued by Faber and Faber; [4] by 2019 it was on its 5th reprint. Maddocks's] companionable prose makes an invigorating and at times very moving read, and her historical and biographical digressions greatly enrich the narrative. Brought up by nuns in a children’s home before being adopted at three, he invested his music with a sense of ritual and chant.

Since most of us now live in towns, Holst’s music offers a welcome fantasy exposure to the wilds from the safety of an urban postcode. The rise of online lessons means that an army of tutors awaits the chance to discover your dormant virtuoso. This was followed by a compilation of interviews with the composer Harrison Birtwistle, published in 2014 to coincide with his 80th birthday. I had booked, months earlier, to go to Berlin in October 2022 to hear Daniel Barenboim conduct his last Ring cycle. Above all, I wanted the “equipment”: an eighth-sized violin and silk scarf to wrap it in, bow, spare strings, heavy wooden case with green felt lining (just as I’d wanted the kilt, jacket, sporran, jabot and special laced shoes for dancing).

Fiona Maddocks | Faber Goodbye Russia: Rachmaninoff in Exile by Fiona Maddocks | Faber

A treatise by Timothy Bright warned of the risks of a poor diet, counselling against plovers, sparrows, sodden wheat, porpoise, eel and salt fish.This is the peaceful summer residence where Rachmaninov lived in in the 1930s and where he composed the Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini and the Third symphony.

Fiona Maddocks | Faber Fiona Maddocks | Faber

The two players, on two pianos, share the opening, bold statement then joyfully interweave and alternate, as if playing chasing games with each other. The quiet plucking of lute or oud sometimes wafts up through the floorboards (a rare boast in Peckham, south-east London).Taking its name from the Japanese port city, this piece – mallets on wood – is an aural palate cleanser.