The weather in England had been mild this winter but the beginning of February saw it come under the auspices of a Siberian cold front and the temperatures plummeted with a record low of minus 17 degrees overnight. As I drove from Bournemouth towards Buckingham in the early morning the temperature gauge on the car hovered around minus 8 degrees. There was snow covering the fields on each side of the highway and the trees, bare of leaves, but with frozen white tendrils hanging from them, sparkled in the weak sunshine. It was so pretty, at least, while I was sitting in a warm car, I could appreciate it.
My sister had invited me to a Valentine's Day Concert at lunchtime which was to be held in the Radcliffe Centre, part of Buckingham University. The building had been erected as a Nonconformist church and and was named after John Radcliffe (1652-1714) the physician, who also gave his name to a number of buildings in Oxford, including the Radcliffe Camera and the Radcliffe Infirmary. John Radcliffe is famous for, among other things, becoming royal physician to King William and Queen Mary. In 1713 he was elected to parliament as a member for Buckingham.
The lovely old church was now used as a lecture theatre and concert venue and had been completely refurbished with under floor heating so that the audience could sit in comfort and appreciate the ambience of the site and the event taking place, without freezing on the hard upright chairs previously provided.
Today, one of the students, Giles Wollenmann, described in his profile as a pianist and composer, was going to play a selection of romantic music on the Grand Piano. A tall, handsome man clutching a hot water bottle entered to the applause of the audience. He explained that because of the freezing weather he was trying to warm his hands so that they would be more adept at playing the more difficult pieces he had chosen for us to hear. Giles is studying towards a PhD in Security and Intelligence which seems a long way from being a pianist and composer (more information about counter intelligence can be found on the web if you enter his name).
He had the wonderful talent of weaving stories, regarding the composers and their music, into his performance which enhanced the interest in the piece. Two pieces by Eric Satie 'Gymnopedie No. 1' (you can hear on Youtube if you google
composer's name) and 'Gnossienne No 1' were illustrated by a description of Satie's love affair with Suzanne Valadon. Suzanne was a nude life model who sat for Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Renoir but was also a great painter in her own right. She had a six month affair with Satie and he proposed marriage but this never happened and she left him after six months. He never had another intimate relationship and was said to have written Gnossienne No 1 for his lover when she left.
We then went on to hear a Mazurka composed by the Polish genius Chopin. Apparently Chopin hated playing for large audiences and was more comfortable in salons in Paris. He had an long affair with George Sands and they lived in Majorca for some time to try and alleviate the symptoms of Chopin's tuberculosis.
He caused a scandal on the island by living with a married woman and the port authorities refused to import his piano without a large sum of money being paid for the privilege, which George eventually paid. He was a master of romantic music and we then listened to the waltz 'L'Adieu' written for a young Polish noblewoman Maria Wodzinska. He proposed marriage but her extreme youth and his delicate health postponed the ceremony and it never happened.
A great friend of Chopin's was the Hungarian composer Listz who was the opposite of Chopin in that he was a showman. He had great technical genius on the piano but would not tolerate anyone talking or disturbing a performance. He
stopped a performance given for the Czar of Russia for this reason. He was very wealthy and a good businessman. We listened to the beautiful and well-known Hungarian Rhapsody.
Certainly Beethoven had to be included and the haunting and famous 'Moonlight Sonata' was extremely appropriate. It was written for Countess Giulietta who was a former piano pupil, master and pupil had loved each other but the affair came to nothing. Beethoven’s relationship with Giulietta appeals to romantics. The beautiful Moonlight Sonata, which is dedicated to her, captures the spirit of their relationship: it sounds like moonlight on rippling waters.
We were told of the precision of Bach in his composing , his music written like a mathematical equation and heard a Bach's Prelude in C Major. Bach had four children by his first wife and thirteen children with his second wife Anna Magdalena.
Giles also played some music that he had composed from the Sarajevo variations.
The concert came to a close after two hours, it had been a memorable Valentine's Day spent among historical romantic composers and a truly uplifting experience.
(All music mentioned can be heard on Youtube as an initial step towards enjoying it).
My sister had invited me to a Valentine's Day Concert at lunchtime which was to be held in the Radcliffe Centre, part of Buckingham University. The building had been erected as a Nonconformist church and and was named after John Radcliffe (1652-1714) the physician, who also gave his name to a number of buildings in Oxford, including the Radcliffe Camera and the Radcliffe Infirmary. John Radcliffe is famous for, among other things, becoming royal physician to King William and Queen Mary. In 1713 he was elected to parliament as a member for Buckingham.
The lovely old church was now used as a lecture theatre and concert venue and had been completely refurbished with under floor heating so that the audience could sit in comfort and appreciate the ambience of the site and the event taking place, without freezing on the hard upright chairs previously provided.
Today, one of the students, Giles Wollenmann, described in his profile as a pianist and composer, was going to play a selection of romantic music on the Grand Piano. A tall, handsome man clutching a hot water bottle entered to the applause of the audience. He explained that because of the freezing weather he was trying to warm his hands so that they would be more adept at playing the more difficult pieces he had chosen for us to hear. Giles is studying towards a PhD in Security and Intelligence which seems a long way from being a pianist and composer (more information about counter intelligence can be found on the web if you enter his name).
He had the wonderful talent of weaving stories, regarding the composers and their music, into his performance which enhanced the interest in the piece. Two pieces by Eric Satie 'Gymnopedie No. 1' (you can hear on Youtube if you google
composer's name) and 'Gnossienne No 1' were illustrated by a description of Satie's love affair with Suzanne Valadon. Suzanne was a nude life model who sat for Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Renoir but was also a great painter in her own right. She had a six month affair with Satie and he proposed marriage but this never happened and she left him after six months. He never had another intimate relationship and was said to have written Gnossienne No 1 for his lover when she left.
We then went on to hear a Mazurka composed by the Polish genius Chopin. Apparently Chopin hated playing for large audiences and was more comfortable in salons in Paris. He had an long affair with George Sands and they lived in Majorca for some time to try and alleviate the symptoms of Chopin's tuberculosis.
He caused a scandal on the island by living with a married woman and the port authorities refused to import his piano without a large sum of money being paid for the privilege, which George eventually paid. He was a master of romantic music and we then listened to the waltz 'L'Adieu' written for a young Polish noblewoman Maria Wodzinska. He proposed marriage but her extreme youth and his delicate health postponed the ceremony and it never happened.
A great friend of Chopin's was the Hungarian composer Listz who was the opposite of Chopin in that he was a showman. He had great technical genius on the piano but would not tolerate anyone talking or disturbing a performance. He
stopped a performance given for the Czar of Russia for this reason. He was very wealthy and a good businessman. We listened to the beautiful and well-known Hungarian Rhapsody.
Certainly Beethoven had to be included and the haunting and famous 'Moonlight Sonata' was extremely appropriate. It was written for Countess Giulietta who was a former piano pupil, master and pupil had loved each other but the affair came to nothing. Beethoven’s relationship with Giulietta appeals to romantics. The beautiful Moonlight Sonata, which is dedicated to her, captures the spirit of their relationship: it sounds like moonlight on rippling waters.
We were told of the precision of Bach in his composing , his music written like a mathematical equation and heard a Bach's Prelude in C Major. Bach had four children by his first wife and thirteen children with his second wife Anna Magdalena.
Giles also played some music that he had composed from the Sarajevo variations.
The concert came to a close after two hours, it had been a memorable Valentine's Day spent among historical romantic composers and a truly uplifting experience.
(All music mentioned can be heard on Youtube as an initial step towards enjoying it).