The Dragon's Spell at The Assembly House

On the evening of Tuesday 18th February 2013 I attended The Dragon's Spell - a reading by George Szirtes and Friends at The Assembly House, Norwich as part of the Norwich Dragon Festival 2014. The powerful and fascinating symbol of the dragon is an ideal way to explore and promote Norwich's rich cultural heritage.

George Szirtes, winner of the T S Eliot Prize for Reel and shortlisted again in 2013 for Bad Machine, launched The Dragon's Spell with a reading from his work. This event organised by Writers' Centre Norwich in the elegant surroundings of The Assembly House was full of wonderful poetry and music.

The Dragon's Spell was curated by the singer-songwriter Robyn-Astrid and featured readings on the theme of dragons and monsters by Meghan Purvis and Keiron Pim. This was a night at The Assembly House when the mythical symbol of the dragon captured our imaginations.

The Clarinet Trio at The Assembly House

At lunchtime on Wednesday 22nd May 2013 I attended the last of this year's Royal Academy of Music Concerts at The Assembly House, Norwich as part of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival featuring the Clarinet Trio. This was another wonderful concert brought to us in the annual visit to the Festival by virtuosi from the Royal Academy of Music.

The Hommage a Schumann concert was played by Antanas Makstutis - clarinet, Ugne Tiskute - viola and Morta Grigaliunaite - piano. The programme consisted of Marchenerzahlungen Op.132 - Schumann, Hommage a Robert Schumann - Kurtag and Acht Stucke Op.83 (selection) - Bruch.

The Marchenerzahlungen (Fairy Tales) was composed by Robert Schumann in 1853 which was the year that saw his first meeting with Johannes Brahms. This piece has echoes of Schumann's earlier works. These Fairy Tales seem like an escape into musical fantasy.

Gyorgy Kurtag's Hommage a Schumann was composed in 1990 and is one of the most exciting pieces in the clarinet, viola and piano repertoire. It is directly linked to Schumann's Fairy Tales through its title and instrumentation. The final movement Farewell creates a procession like atmosphere that ends with a heavy bass drumbeat played by the clarinet.

The Acht Stucke was written by Max Bruch in 1910 and was dedicated to Princess zu Wied. His attention to the combination of viola and clarinet resulted in some wonderful repertoire. Bruch recognised that the instruments were in the same register. The composer's son Max Felix Bruch was an exceptionally talented clarinettist who was compared to Richard Muhlfeld.

This was a fantastic finish to this year's Royal Academy of Music Concert Series with a very enjoyable and strong performance from the Clarinet Trio. The Assembly House is full of life during the Festival and with brilliant music like this, it is always a joy to visit.

An evening of 19th century song at The Assembly House

I was back at The Assembly House, Norwich on the evening of Monday 20th May 2013 for the Sam Furness and Matthew Fletcher concert at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. This concert was in the Royal Academy of Music Concert Series which has become a vital and much-loved feature of the Festival.

The programme consisted of An die Leier - Schubert, Dichterliebe - Schumann, Des Abends, Aufschwung (from Fantasiestucke Op.10) - Schumann, Chanson triste - Duparc, Oh quand je dors - Liszt, An die ferne Geliebte - Beethoven, Etude No.3 in E major Op.10 - Chopin and Three Petarch Sonnets - Liszt.

This varied programme of chanson and lieder provided a wonderful overview of 19th century song which featured works by the leading masters of the genre. Tenor Sam Furness and Pianist Matthew Fletcher opened the concert with Schubert's An die Leier, a song published in 1826 that is a setting of a poem by Franz von Bruchmann which is based on the sixth century BC Greek satirical poet Anacreon.

Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe song cycle was written in 1840 with texts taken from Lyrisches Intermezzo, a set of poems written in 1822-23 by Heinrich Heine. Schumann chose twenty to set to music with a dramatic narrative, however only sixteen of the resulting songs made it into the first edition. Fantasiestucke is a selection of eight solo piano pieces written by Schumann in 1837, inspired by the selection of short stories Fantasiestucke in Callots Manier by E.T.A. Hoffman.

Chason Triste was written by Henri Duparc in 1868 to a poem by Henri Cazalis. who wrote under the nom de plume Jean Lahor. Oh! Quand je dors was written in 1842 by Franz Liszt as a setting to a poem by Victor Hugo. The song calls for the singer's beloved to come to him while he sleeps.

An die Ferne Geliebte is widely considered to be the first ever song cycle. This set of songs was composed by Beethoven in 1816 to poems by Alois Isidor Jeitteles. It is a selection of reflections by the poet as he sits on a hill thinking of his beloved, from whom he is separated.

Etude No.3 was composed by Chopin in 1832 and was dedicated to his friend Franz Liszt. Chopin considered it to be his most beautiful composition. Franz Liszt's Three Petarch Sonnets were published in 1846 but were composed several years earlier. Liszt set sonnets by the Italian poet Petrarca who, having seen a woman called Laura in church, was inspired to write Rime Sparse. The songs were written in a very emotional, Italianate style to match the poetry.

This was a brilliant night to be at The Assembly House as the large audience in attendance were treated to a night of chanson and lieder in French, German and Italian. Sam Furness, who is already establishing an international profile and Matthew Fletcher, winner of numerous prizes at the Royal Academy of music put on a performance of the highest quality which was one of my musical highlights at this year's Festival.

The Bartholdy Quartet at The Assembly House

On the afternoon of Sunday 19th May 2013 I attended the Royal Academy of Music concert at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival featuring The Bartholdy Quartet and Kei Takumi at The Assembly House, Norwich. This annual visit from the Royal Academy of Music is a vital and much loved feature of the Festival.

The programme consisted of String Quartet No.25 in C Op.20 No.2 - Haydn and Piano Quintet in G minor Op.57 - Shostakovich. The Bartholdy Quartet are Tessa Ho - violin, Marisol Lee - violin, Ricardo Gasper - viola and Raphael Lang - cello. Pianist Kei Takumi studied with Vera Gornostaeva and Hironao Suzuki at the Yamaha Music School.

Joseph Haydn composed the six string quartets from Op.20 in 1772 and are among the great works that earned him the nickname 'the father of the string quartet'. At the time of these compositions Haydn's musical ideas were influenced by the ongoing shift in European philosophical and political thought.

Piano Quintet in G minor, Op.57 was composed by Dimitri Shostakovich in 1940. It was written for the Beethoven Quartet and was premiered by them with Shostakovich himself at the piano on 23rd November 1940 at the Moscow Conservatory, to great success. In 1941, it was awarded the Stalin Prize.

This was a wonderful afternoon performance from The Bartholdy Quartet who after playing Haydn's String Quartet were joined by pianist Kei Takumi for the Shostakovich Piano Quintet. This is the part of the Festival where we get to hear the classical music stars of tomorrow and based on the music played at this concert, The Bartholdy Quartet and Kei Takumi have a bright future ahead of them.

La Mer Trio delight at the Assembly House

On Friday 25th May 2012 I attended the La Mer Trio lunchtime concert at Norwich Assembly House at the Norfolk and Norwich. This concert was part of the Royal Academy of Music Lunchtime Concert Series. The La Mer Trio are Renate Sokolovska - flute, Maja Wegrzynowska - viola and Hannah Stone - harp.

The programme consisted of Elegiac Trio - Bax, Le Tombeau de Couperin - Ravel, And Then I Knew 'Twas Wind - Takemitsu, Trio Sonata in D Op.2, No.8 - Leclair and Triptyque de la Lande - Oehler. This was the world premiere of Triptyque de la Lande with the composer Thomas Oehler in attendance at Norwich Assembly House.

This was a delightful concert at Norwich Assembly House as the La Mer Trio put on a brilliant performance in a packed music room as once again this year the Royal Academy of Music Lunchtime concert series proved to be one of the most popular features at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. From the invisible motion of water in a stream from the piece by Toru Takemitsu to the landscape of Brittany which inspired the music composed by Thomas Oehler this was a concert full of imagination which was complemented by the distinctive playing from the La Mer Trio.

Opera in the forest

I walked down to Norwich Assembly House on the evening of Monday 21st May 2012 for the pre-performance talk with Frederic Wake-Walker the Artistic Director of The Opera Group in conversation with Patrick Dickie. This gave me a great insight to the night's performance of Bow Down at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival which was being performed in association with London Sinfonietta.

The Artistic Director told us of how they came to perform this opera and the history behind how it was written during a six month strike during 1977. Due to a lack of technical and stage staff Tony Harrison and Harrison Birtwistle had to make the piece incredibly simple to stage, using very sparse resources. There was a freedom in the Opera Group's staging of the piece meaning that every performance will vary with actors bringing their own personalities into play as they switch roles.

At 8.30pm I got on the coach outside Theatre Royal for the journey to the secret woodland location with great excitement as I looked forward to the performance. When we arrived at the site there was a short walk through the woods with flames lighting the way. This was an amazing setting for the Opera Group to perform this classic folk tale. Bow Down is the story of two sisters in love with the same man and torn apart by jealousy. The dark sister drowns the fair sister to take her lover. The murdered sister’s body is discovered and her bones and hair are used to build a harp which is played at her sister’s wedding. The harp denounces the murderess, who is put to death.

It was brilliant how the rhythms in the spoken text worked with the rhythms of the percussion instruments. This along with the beautiful sounds of the flute and oboe made for an amazing experience among the trees late at night. This has to be my personal highlight of this year's Norfolk and Norwich Festival. It was an unique occasion as The Opera Group took us into a mythological world. The opera in the forest was a cool and though provoking night. There were two sisters in a bower, their father was a baron of power.

Prokofiev magic at Norwich Assembly House

On Monday 14th May 2012 I attended the Royal Academy of Music Lunchtime Concert at the Assembly House, Norwich as the Norfolk and Norwich Festival brought us more splendid classical music. Violinist Midori Komachi and pianist Riyad Nicolas brought us a varied programme to delight the large audience who gave the duo a warm Norfolk welcome to the Festival.

The programme consisted of From Far Beyond Chrysaanthemums and November Fog - Takemitsu, Sonata for Violin and Piano No.2 in D, Op. 94a - Prokofiev, Piece en forme de Habanera - Ravel, Poeme op. 25 - Chausson and Souvenir de Moscou op. 6 - Wieniawski.

Midori Komachi and Riyad Nicolas put on a brilliant performance with my personal highlight being the Prokofiev Sonata which highlighted the musical talents of these two young musicians. This is a wonderful opportunity for the Royal Academy of Music to showcase some of the stars of the future at such a beautiful venue as Norwich's Assembly House and their series at the Festival is always very popular.

Mark Padmore at Norwich Assembly House

On Friday 27th April 2012 I attended the Britten Sinfonia at Lunch concert at Norwich Assembly House which featured tenor Mark Padmore. Also performing were Nicholas Daniel - oboe, Emer McDonough - flute, Jacqueline Shave - violin, Miranda Dale - violin, Clare Finnimore - viola and Caroline Dearnley - cello.

The programme consisted of Ten Blake Songs - Vaughan Williams, The End - Jonathan Dove - The End and The Curlew - Warlock. This performance was the World Premiere of Jonathan Dove's The End which was commissioned with the Tenner for a Tenor campaign.

This concert highlighted the host of British composers who found inspiration in the poetry and folksongs of the British Isles in the first half of the twentieth century. Also Jonathan Dove's The End was performed in the middle of the concert. This was a concert of the highest quality which began with Vaughan Williams' Ten Blake Songs which were written as settings of Blake's poetry for the film The Vision of William Blake.

Jonathan Dove's commission is music composed for Mark Strand's poem The End. The music suggests the gentle rocking motion of a ship slipping into darkness and the sound of birds suspended in flight. The concert finished with Peter Warlock's The Curlew which is a song cycle of poems by W.B. Yeats. This was a brilliant lunchtime at Norwich Assembly House with Britten Sinfonia once again giving us a performance to remember.

Heroic concert at the Assembly House

On Friday 20th April 2012 I attended the UEA School of Music concert in the Music at One series at Norwich Assembly House featuring pianist Alison Lincoln. The programme consisted of Sonata No.21 in C, Op.53 Waldstein - Beethoven and Grande Polonaise, Op.53 - Heroic.

Beethoven composed his Waldstein sonata in 1804 during his middle or Heroic period. This piece was dedicated to Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein who famously wrote to Beethoven on hearing that he was moving to Vienna, "you shall receive the spirit of Mozart from Haydn's hands."

The second piece in the programme was written by Chopin in 1842. Grande Polonaise kept with the heroic theme of the lunchtime programme. This was another wonderful concert at Norwich Assembly House from the UEA School of Music.

Piano fun at Norwich Assembly House!

On Friday 30th March 2012 I attended the UEA School of Music concert at Norwich Assembly House in their Music at One series featuring Simon Ireson on piano. The programme for this lunchtime concert was Cantata Die Seele Ruht in Jesu Handen - Bach arr Bauer, Kreisieriana - Schumann and Rondo Capriccioso Op.14 - Mendelssohn.

This was a very interesting programme for a Friday lunchtime in the Music Room which delighted the audience. I particularly enjoyed the Schumann's Kreisleriana. He write the following in a letter to his future bride, Clara Wieck about this piece. " How full of music I am now, and always such lovely melodies! Only fancy, since my last letter I have finished another whole book of new things. You and one of your ideas are the principal subject, and I shall call them " Kreisleriana," and dedicate them to you ; yes, to you, and to nobody else; and you will smile so sweetly when you see yourself in them."

We were then treated to a bonus concert from Will Ferguson playing a programme of Liszt who once played at Norwich Assembly House and slept where the bar is situated at the present day. Complete in sunglasses and grey suit Will Ferguson to an exciting and fun performance. This was definitely one lunchtime well spent.

Giants in the Sky at Norwich Assembly House

On Friday 24th February 2012 I attended the latest concert in the UEA School of Music concerts in the Music at One Series at Norwich Assembly House. The concert featured Ellen-May Shipp - Soprano, Alison Lincoln - piano and Meredydd Cheeseman - Bass/Baritone.

The programme consisted of Vergebliches Standchen - Brahms, La Zingara - Donizetti, Du Bist wie eine Blume - Schumann, Standchen - Schumann, Lost Is My Quiet - Purcell, All I Ask Of You - Lloyd-Webber, Stars - Schonberg, Giants In The Sky - Sondheim, Something's Coming - Bernstein, It Was A Lover And His Lass - Finzi and The Vagabond - Williams.

This was a wonderful way to spend a Friday lunchtime at this historic Norwich building full of splendid singing that lifted the spirits of everyone in attendance. There are giants in the sky from the musical Into The Woods composed by Stephen Sondheim was one of the highlights.  Dreams full of fairy tales are made from music that inspires to brighten all our lives.

Lunchtime Music at Norwich Assembly House

On Friday 10th February 2012 I attended the UEA School of Music's Music at One lunchtime concert at Norwich Assembly House which featured Hannah Obasaju - clarinet with William Fergusson - piano and Robert Peck - Alto and Soprano saxophones with David Runciman - saxophone.

The programme consisted of Pastoral - Bliss, Sonatina - Horovitz, Two Majorcan Pieces - Horovitz, Dear Old Stockholm - Fryxell, Autumn Leaves - Kosma, Beautiful Love - Young, King and Van Alstyne, Everything Happens to Me - Dennis and My Favorite Things - Rodgers.

This was a wonderful concert at Norwich Assembly House that attracted a large audience on a cold Friday lunchtime. The concert started with music for clarinet and piano from Bliss and Horovitz while the second half was very jazz influenced with a fine performance of My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music to finish the concert in splendid style.

Music at One

On Friday 27th January 2011 I took an extended lunch break to attend the Music at One series concert at Norwich Assembly House put on by the UEA School of Music.

The concert featured Jessica Allen - oboe with Elizabeth Willians - piano and Kathleen Lower - flute with Camilla Rossetti - piano. The programme consisted of Italian Dance - Dring, Concerto in E flat major - Bellini, Duo for Flute and Piano - Copland, Sonata for Flute and Continuo - Bach, Spiral Lament - Clarke and Orange Dawn - Clarke.

This was a wonderful concert full of splendid and varied music that filled the Assembly House with echoes of Italian Dance and visions of the Great Rift Valley of East Africa. The Music at One concert series is a brilliant way to spend your Friday lunchtime.

Trio at Norwich Assembly House

On Friday 20th January 2012 I attended the Britten Sinfonia at Lunch concert at Norwich Assembly House which featured works for oboe, bassoon and piano. There was a large crowd at this historic venue for a colourful and varied programme that showed the full range of musical possibilities with this combination of instruments.

With a line-up of Nicholas Daniel - oboe, Sarah Burnett - bassoon and Huw Watkins - piano Britten Sinfonia brought us a programme that consisted of Trio Sonata No.24 - Handel, Trio for piano, oboe and bassoon - Andre Previn, The Homing Call - Elspeth Brooke and Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano - Poulenc.

Half way through the final piece of music being played a member of the audience collapsed and unfortunately brought the concert to an early finish. As you would expect the music played was of the highest standard and was the world premiere of Elspeth Brooke's The Homing Call. This was a jazz influenced concert and showed Britten Sinfonia's commitment to playing in Norwich.

Piano and Horn Concert at Norwich Assembly House

On Friday 25th November 2011 I attended the UEA Music at One series concert at The Assembly House, Norwich which featured Perez Kwong on piano and Steven Musk on horn. These are two of the UEA School of Music's most promising talents.

The programe consisted of Polonaise - Chopin, Reverie - Glazunov, Les Adieux, Romance - F Strauss, Aufschwung - Schumann, Nocturne - Gilere, Nocturno - F Strauss and Impromptu - Chopin. Both players gave excellent performances and provided the audience with a wonderful lunchtime treat of Classical Music.

Today the UEA Council announced that the School of Music would close which is very sad news. The Save UEA Music Campaign have vowed to fight on trying to save the School of Music.

Bruch at lunch at Norwich Assembly House

It was Britten Sinfonia at lunch on Friday at The Assembly House, Norwich as we were once again treated to a wonderful varied concert at this historic building in the Fine City. The line up on 18th November 2011 was Thomas Gould - violin, Miranda Dale - violin, Caroline Dearley - cello, Stephen Williams - double bass, Joy Farrall - clarinet, Andrea de Flammineis - bassoon and Stephen Stirling - horn.

The programme consisted of Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders - R. Strauss arr. Hasenohrl, Borderland - Charlie Piper and Septet in E flat, Op. posth - Bruch. The opening piece was made by Franz Hasenohrl in 1954 when he turned R. Strauss' fifteen minute tone poem for an orchestra into an eight minute piece for a quintet.

Borderland composed by Charlie Piper was on it's World premiere tour and was co-commissioned by Britten Sinfonia and Wigmore Hall. The piece is based on the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep. The programme was completed by Bruch's Septet in E flat, Op. posth that was composed in 1849 when the composer was eleven years old. It was only discovered in 1981.

This was another high quality performance from Britten Sinfonia when even the Sun tried to get in on the action as Thomas Gould had to ask for the blinds to be drawn during the closing piece. Maybe it will be sunglasses at lunch next time.

Songs of Freedom at Norwich Assembly House

On Saturday 22nd October 2011 I attended the A Candle, Songs of Freedom concert at Norwich Assembly House celebrating 50 years of Amnesty International. This event was a collaboration between Big Sky and Norwich Amnesty who invited Helen Chadwick, Sianed Jones, Karen Wimhurst and Katherine Zeserson to compose new pieces based on poems on the theme of freedom.

The first half of the programme was Songs of Freedom with songs composed by Helen Chadwick and Katherine Zeserson while after the interval the newly composed pieces were performed as A Candle. The cycle of 8 songs were Travel Tickets, Boris Vilde, Listen, For John Harris, Star, Bird and Autumn, Words, As The Heart Beats and The Poet's Voice.

Norwich community choir Big Sky were conducted by Sian Croose in a moving performance of this thought provoking music with this being the first of a series in which choirs and Amnesty groups from around the country will perform these new works. I don't want freedom gram by gram, grain by grain. I have to break this steel chain with my teeth! I don't want freedom as a drug, as a medicine, I want it as the sun, as the earth, as the heavens.

Sunday afternoon at Norwich Assembly House

The Assembly House, Norwich venue for the
Ensemble Millefleurs concert

On Sunday afternoon I attended the UEA School of Music concert at The Assembly House, Norwich. This performance was from the Ensemble Millefleurs with Erika Arul as Conductor and Kumaran Arul as Pianist Soloist.

The programme consisted of Concerto Grosso Opus 6 No.2 - Handel, Appalachian Spring - Copland and Piano Concerto No.5 Opus 73 "Emperor" - Beethoven.

This was a delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon at this historic Norwich building with a programme of wonderful music. Starting with Handel's Opus 6, No.2 that was performed in the style of the early twentieth century.

We were then treated to Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring that evokes the spirit of the American pioneers. A Spring celebration of a bride and her marriage to a farmer starting a new life in their Pennsylvania farmhouse.

The highlight of the concert was Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.5 Opus 73 "Emperor" which was composed in 1809 after the composer had survived Napoleon's bombardment of Vienna. As with the Handel performance this was performed with inspiration from the earliest recordings of this work.

At the end of the concert there was a retiring collecting for Come Singing! This is a singing group in Norfolk for people of all ages living with dementia.

Kate Symonds-Joy at Norwich Assembly House



Kate Symonds-Joy delights the Norfolk
and Norwich Festival at lunch

On Friday I attended the Royal Academy of Music lunchtime concert at Norwich Assembly House featuring Kate Symonds-Joy and William Vann as part of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. This event took place in the splendid Music Room.

The programme portrayed women who displayed the qualities of being sad, mad or bad. This consisted of Mad Bess - Henry Purcell, Disprezzata regina - Claudio Monteverdi, Arianna a Naxos - Joseph Haydn, Kdyz mne stara matka zpivat - Antonin Dvorak, Songs my mother taught me - Charles Ives, Sequenza III - Luciano Berio, Je ne t'aime pas - Kurt Weill and Imagine the Duchess's feelings! - Noel Coward.

Kate Symonds-Joy has an amazing powerful voice that truly delightful the audience with the support of pianist William Vann. She sang in Czech for Dvorak's Kdyz mne stara matka zpivat (Songs my mother taught me) while on Berio's Sequenza III she had to express forty four different emotions unaccompanied.

I'm sure we will hear lots more from this mezzo-soprano in the future. Another very enjoyable lunchtime concert at The Assembly House.

Tango time at Norwich Assembly House

Marcelo Nisinman with his bandoneon

This Friday was the last Britten Sinfonia at Lunch concert this season at Norwich Assembly House. It was tango time as we were spoilt with some Latin American treats.

The programme consisted of Hombre Tango - Marcelo Nisinman, Ciudad Triste - Tarantino arr. Marcelo Nisinman, Nanobots - Enrico Chapela and The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires - Piazzolla.

Playing on this occasion were Thomas Gould - violin, Caroline Dearnley - cello, Stephen Williams - double bass, Huw Watkins - piano and Marcelo Nisinman - bandoneon.

The opening piece Hombre Tango was composed by Marcelo Nisinman where the main theme includes a repeated B. The music was inspired by cellist Eduardo Vasallo.

Osvaldo Tarantino composed Ciudad Triste which means Sad City. Marcelo Nisinman wrote this new version for violin, bandoneon and double bass.

Nanobots composed by Enrico Chapela was on it's world premiere tour. Nanobots are microscopic machines that could be a revelation for the human race in the future. This is a very experimental piece of music based on binary code. I particularly enjoyed this composition as this was trying to be progressive and different.

The highlight of the concert had to be Astor Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. This is a truly wonderful piece of music. Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring all interpreted delightfully. Piazzolla was the pioneer of Nuevo Tango adding new instruments and elements like jazz and baroque. Think of Vavaldi's The Four Seasons with an Latin temperament. 

The packed Assembly House all applauded loudly at the end and we were treated to an encore. This was a very special musical experience which will live with me for a long while. I went to Prelude Records in the afternoon and purchased a CD of Piazzolla's music that I have got on repeat play this morning.