The Archives

• Concerts, Thoughts

  After the wall

  02.03.09 | Permalink | Comment?

  Billed as a solo cello recital with an all contemporary programme and no seats in an art gallery, it is with great pleasure that I can report that we were just a little shy of 200 at the Ingleby Gallery on Friday night. Add this to the various other “rule breakages” that went on (the [...]

• Thoughts

  The Seat of History

  01.15.09 | Permalink | Comment?

  Germany has a long standing tradition of cultural excellence, and, pleasingly, excellent audiences. A pretty rough estimate of Germany’s total concert hall capacity is 24,863 (excluding churches, galleries and other “imaginative” venues). The UK, also with a history of excellence but less so for turnout has 46,698 seats. The US has a whopping 460,866.
  Interestingly, the US [...]

• Concerts, News

  It’s getting close, and close means exciting.

  01.12.09 | Permalink | Comment?

  After an absolutely fantastic meeting at Outside Line today and Howard Goodall’s recording is done, I’m really excited and focussed about The Words on The Wall.
  The programmes are back from the printers, the music is ready, the venue is going to be stunning and the interaction interface is going to be incredible. It’s going to [...]

• Concerts

  Some New Year Newness

  01.06.09 | Permalink | 1 Comment

  Happy 2009!
  Sorry for radio silence - things have been utterly manic here, what with The Words on The Wall publicity push starting and all the things that go with presenting a concert where all of the new exciting component parts are, well, new and exciting! 
  On top of all this, I am also learning twelve new pieces for [...]

• Concerts, News

  The Words on the Wall

  12.14.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  Writing on the wall. Cavemen did it over 12,000 years ago and the Egyptians were at it 6,000 years ago. It’s a well established means of communication and documentation.

  So, writing on wall is nothing new.
  In modern terms, this act has been often stigmatized negatively as graffiti but, sometimes, it is celebrated; think Banksy or Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol’s protege:
  You [...]

• Thoughts

  How much for that appetite?

  09.21.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  We consume more media in more formats today than ever before, yet live audiences are apparently struggling.
  Have we, the producers, inadvertently pushed the consumers away from live performance and into the conveniently comfortable arms of recordings?
  I believe it was, as they say, ever thus.
  Whenever something cheaper, faster and more convenient comes along, the buying majority go there. Think [...]