Sometimes an introduction becomes as famous as the piece that follows. The dramatic chords at the beginning of Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto in Bb minor are instantly recognisable in their own right, even though their principal purpose is simply to command…
Reflections on the Birmingham Conservatoire Study Visit OCA students and staff joined colleagues from Birmingham Conservatoire for a day of rehearsals, debate and reflection, culminating in a concert to mark tutor Andy Glover’s recent birthday. Such study visits are an…
‘An artist is never ahead of his time but most people are far behind theirs’ (Edgard Varèse) If you could have dinner with anybody, from any era, who would it be? For me, the answer would undoubtedly be Edgard Varèse,…
The recent death of the conductor Sir Colin Davies, a venerable 85-year old one-time tyrant of the rostrum and the longest serving principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, deprives us of a formidable champion, not only of much British…
Following on from my past blogs regarding compositional tools for students, I want to take a look at how technology can affect the process and, in turn, the reception of a composition. Last December I happened upon a music video…
Hands up all those who have heard of Friedrich Gernsheim? Yes, I thought so! Unless you are a sad case like me, who looks hard for these rarities, you almost definitely wouldn’t have chanced across him. The reason that he…
For the last few years, I’ve been working on a PhD at the Royal College of Music. My research has been practice-based and has focused around Kingma System alto and bass flutes, their technical capabilities and their repertoire. The Kingma…
The first in what we hope will be a series of music study visits is planned for Tuesday 30th April at the Birmingham Conservatoire. Music tutor Andy Glover is hosting a concert to celebrate … erhm … a major birthday…
It is not at all difficult to discover the inspiration of great (and sometimes not so great) literature upon composers past and present, though there are some who for instance may have been more motivated by the reputation of Goethe,…
Since the release of David Bowie’s greatly anticipated new musical works, and his collaboration with the contemporary artist Tony Oursler on the video for the single ‘Where Are We Now’, I have been considering the relationship between art and music.…
It is sad when we must prepare our valediction for the demise of yet another great high-street store. There was a shock of near incredulity when the rumours of the possible disappearance of Woolworths suddenly became a reality, and within…
This blog is the first by music tutor Andy Glover, to whom we extend a warm welcome… Every few weeks I will be introducing listening items which will be different from the usual fare served up by the BBC or…
