Podcasts about London Symphony Orchestra

For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted, songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a two-episode look at the song “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention, and the intertwining careers of Joe Boyd, Sandy Denny, and Richard Thompson. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-one-minute bonus episode available, on Judy Collins’ version of this song. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by editing, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Erratum For about an hour this was uploaded with the wrong Elton John clip in place of “Saturday Sun”. This has now been fixed. Resources Because of the increasing problems with Mixcloud’s restrictions, I have decided to start sharing streaming playlists of the songs used in episodes instead of Mixcloud ones. This Tunemymusic link will let you listen to the playlist I created on your streaming platform of choice — however please note that not all the songs excerpted are currently available on streaming. The songs missing from the Tidal version are “Shanten Bells” by the Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” by A.L. Lloyd, two by Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, three by Elton John & Linda Peters, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow” by Sandy Denny and “You Never Know” by Charlie Drake, but the other fifty-nine are there. Other songs may be missing from other services. The main books I used on Fairport Convention as a whole were Patrick Humphries' Meet On The Ledge, Clinton Heylin's What We Did Instead of Holidays, and Kevan Furbank's Fairport Convention on Track. Rob Young's Electric Eden is the most important book on the British folk-rock movement. Information on Richard Thompson comes from Patrick Humphries' Richard Thompson: Strange Affair and Thompson's own autobiography Beeswing.  Information on Sandy Denny comes from Clinton Heylin's No More Sad Refrains and Mick Houghton's I've Always Kept a Unicorn. I also used Joe Boyd's autobiography White Bicycles and Chris Blackwell's The Islander.  And this three-CD set is the best introduction to Fairport's music currently in print. Transcript Before we begin, this episode contains reference to alcohol and cocaine abuse and medical neglect leading to death. It also starts with some discussion of the fatal car accident that ended last episode. There’s also some mention of child neglect and spousal violence. If that’s likely to upset you, you might want to skip this episode or read the transcript. One of the inspirations for this podcast when I started it back in 2018 was a project by Richard Thompson, which appears (like many things in Thompson’s life) to have started out of sheer bloody-mindedness. In 1999 Playboy magazine asked various people to list their “songs of the Millennium”, and most of them, understanding the brief, chose a handful of songs from the latter half of the twentieth century. But Thompson determined that he was going to list his favourite songs *of the millennium*. He didn’t quite manage that, but he did cover seven hundred and forty years, and when Playboy chose not to publish it, he decided to turn it into a touring show, in which he covered all his favourite songs from “Sumer Is Icumen In” from 1260: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Sumer is Icumen In”] Through numerous traditional folk songs, union songs like “Blackleg Miner”, pieces by early-modern composers, Victorian and Edwardian music hall songs, and songs by the Beatles, the Ink Spots, the Kinks, and the Who, all the way to “Oops! I Did It Again”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Oops! I Did it Again”] And to finish the show, and to show how all this music actually ties together, he would play what he described as a “medieval tune from Brittany”, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”] We have said many times in this podcast that there is no first anything, but there’s a reason that Liege and Lief, Fairport Convention’s third album of 1969, and the album other than Unhalfbricking on which their reputation largely rests, was advertised with the slogan “The first (literally) British folk rock album ever”. Folk-rock, as the term had come to be known, and as it is still usually used today, had very little to do with traditional folk music. Rather, the records of bands like The Byrds or Simon and Garfunkel were essentially taking the sounds of British beat groups of the early sixties, particularly the Searchers, and applying those sounds to material by contemporary singer-songwriters. People like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan had come up through folk clubs, and their songs were called folk music because of that, but they weren’t what folk music had meant up to that point — songs that had been collected after being handed down through the folk process, changed by each individual singer, with no single identifiable author. They were authored songs by very idiosyncratic writers. But over their last few albums, Fairport Convention had done one or two tracks per album that weren’t like that, that were instead recordings of traditional folk songs, but arranged with rock instrumentation. They were not necessarily the first band to try traditional folk music with electric instruments — around the same time that Fairport started experimenting with the idea, so did an Irish band named Sweeney’s Men, who brought in a young electric guitarist named Henry McCullough briefly. But they do seem to have been the first to have fully embraced the idea. They had done so to an extent with “A Sailor’s Life” on Unhalfbricking, but now they were going to go much further: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves” (from about 4:30)] There had been some doubt as to whether Fairport Convention would even continue to exist — by the time Unhalfbricking, their second album of the year, was released, they had been through the terrible car accident that had killed Martin Lamble, the band’s drummer, and Jeannie Franklyn, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend. Most of the rest of the band had been seriously injured, and they had made a conscious decision not to discuss the future of the band until they were all out of hospital. Ashley Hutchings was hospitalised the longest, and Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, and Sandy Denny, the other three surviving members of the band, flew over to LA with their producer and manager, Joe Boyd, to recuperate there and get to know the American music scene. When they came back, the group all met up in the flat belonging to Denny’s boyfriend Trevor Lucas, and decided that they were going to continue the band. They made a few decisions then — they needed a new drummer, and as well as a drummer they wanted to get in Dave Swarbrick. Swarbrick had played violin on several tracks on Unhalfbricking as a session player, and they had all been thrilled to work with him. Swarbrick was one of the most experienced musicians on the British folk circuit. He had started out in the fifties playing guitar with Beryl Marriott’s Ceilidh Band before switching to fiddle, and in 1963, long before Fairport had formed, he had already appeared on TV with the Ian Campbell Folk Group, led by Ian Campbell, the father of Ali and Robin Campbell, later of UB40: [Excerpt: The Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Shanten Bells (medley on Hullaballoo!)”] He’d sung with Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd: [Excerpt: A.L. Lloyd, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” ] And he’d formed his hugely successful duo with Martin Carthy, releasing records like “Byker Hill” which are often considered among the best British folk music of all time: [Excerpt: Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, “Byker Hill”] By the time Fairport had invited him to play on Unhalfbricking, Swarbrick had already performed on twenty albums as a core band member, plus dozens more EPs, singles, and odd tracks on compilations. They had no reason to think they could actually get him to join their band. But they had three advantages. The first was that Swarbrick was sick of the traditional folk scene at the time, saying later “I didn’t like seven-eighths of the people involved in it, and it was extremely opportune to leave. I was suddenly presented with the possibilities of exploring the dramatic content of the songs to the full.” The second was that he was hugely excited to be playing with Richard Thompson, who was one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation, and Martin Carthy remembers him raving about Thompson after their initial sessions. (Carthy himself was and is no slouch on the guitar of course, and there was even talk of getting him to join the band at this point, though they decided against it — much to the relief of rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol, who is a perfectly fine player himself but didn’t want to be outclassed by *two* of the best guitarists in Britain at the same time). And the third was that Joe Boyd told him that Fairport were doing so well — they had a single just about to hit the charts with “Si Tu Dois Partir” — that he would only have to play a dozen gigs with Fairport in order to retire. As it turned out, Swarbrick would play with the group for a decade, and would never retire — I saw him on his last tour in 2015, only eight months before he died. The drummer the group picked was also a far more experienced musician than any of the rest, though in a very different genre. Dave Mattacks had no knowledge at all of the kind of music they played, having previously been a player in dance bands. When asked by Hutchings if he wanted to join the band, Mattacks’ response was “I don’t know anything about the music. I don’t understand it… I can’t tell one tune from another, they all sound the same… but if you want me to join the group, fine, because I really like it. I’m enjoying myself musically.” Mattacks brought a new level of professionalism to the band, thanks to his different background. Nicol said of him later “He was dilligent, clean, used to taking three white shirts to a gig… The application he could bring to his playing was amazing. With us, you only played well when you were feeling well.” This distinction applied to his playing as well. Nicol would later describe the difference between Mattacks’ drumming and Lamble’s by saying “Martin’s strength was as an imaginative drummer. DM came in with a strongly developed sense of rhythm, through keeping a big band of drunken saxophone players in order. A great time-keeper.” With this new line-up and a new sense of purpose, the group did as many of their contemporaries were doing and “got their heads together in the country”. Joe Boyd rented the group a mansion, Farley House, in Farley Chamberlayne, Hampshire, and they stayed there together for three months. At the start, the group seem to have thought that they were going to make another record like Unhalfbricking, with some originals, some songs by American songwriters, and a few traditional songs. Even after their stay in Farley Chamberlayne, in fact, they recorded a few of the American songs they’d rehearsed at the start of the process, Richard Farina’s “Quiet Joys of Brotherhood” and Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn’s “Ballad of Easy Rider”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Ballad of Easy Rider”] Indeed, the whole idea of “getting our heads together in the country” (as the cliche quickly became in the late sixties as half of the bands in Britain went through much the same kind of process as Fairport were doing — but usually for reasons more to do with drug burnout or trend following than recovering from serious life-changing trauma) seems to have been inspired by Bob Dylan and the Band getting together in Big Pink. But very quickly they decided to follow the lead of Ashley Hutchings, who had had something of a Damascene conversion to the cause of traditional English folk music. They were listening mostly to Music From Big Pink by the Band, and to the first album by Sweeney’s Men: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “The Handsome Cabin Boy”] And they decided that they were going to make something that was as English as those records were North American and Irish (though in the event there were also a few Scottish songs included on the record). Hutchings in particular was becoming something of a scholar of traditional music, regularly visiting Cecil Sharp House and having long conversations with A.L. Lloyd, discovering versions of different traditional songs he’d never encountered before. This was both amusing and bemusing Sandy Denny, who had joined a rock group in part to get away from traditional music; but she was comfortable singing the material, and knew a lot of it and could make a lot of suggestions herself. Swarbrick obviously knew the repertoire intimately, and Nicol was amenable, while Mattacks was utterly clueless about the folk tradition at this point but knew this was the music he wanted to make. Thompson knew very little about traditional music, and of all the band members except Denny he was the one who has shown the least interest in the genre in his subsequent career — but as we heard at the beginning, showing the least interest in the genre is a relative thing, and while Thompson was not hugely familiar with the genre, he *was* able to work with it, and was also more than capable of writing songs that fit in with the genre. Of the eleven songs on the album, which was titled Liege and Lief (which means, roughly, Lord and Loyalty), there were no cover versions of singer-songwriters. Eight were traditional songs, and three were originals, all written in the style of traditional songs. The album opened with “Come All Ye”, an introduction written by Denny and Hutchings (the only time the two would ever write together): [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Come All Ye”] The other two originals were songs where Thompson had written new lyrics to traditional melodies. On “Crazy Man Michael”, Swarbrick had said to Thompson that the tune to which he had set his new words was weaker than the lyrics, to which Thompson had replied that if Swarbrick felt that way he should feel free to write a new melody. He did, and it became the first of the small number of Thompson/Swarbrick collaborations: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Crazy Man Michael”] Thompson and Swarbrick would become a brief songwriting team, but as much as anything else it was down to proximity — the two respected each other as musicians, but never got on very well. In 1981 Swarbrick would say “Richard and I never got on in the early days of FC… we thought we did, but we never did. We composed some bloody good songs together, but it was purely on a basis of “you write that and I’ll write this, and we’ll put it together.” But we never sat down and had real good chats.” The third original on the album, and by far the most affecting, is another song where Thompson put lyrics to a traditional tune. In this case he thought he was putting the lyrics to the tune of “Willie O'Winsbury”, but he was basing it on a recording by Sweeney’s Men. The problem was that Sweeney’s Men had accidentally sung the lyrics of “Willie O'Winsbury'” to the tune of a totally different song, “Fause Foodrage”: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “Willie O’Winsbury”] Thompson took that melody, and set to it lyrics about loss and separation. Thompson has never been one to discuss the meanings of his lyrics in any great detail, and in the case of this one has said “I really don't know what it means. This song came out of a dream, and I pretty much wrote it as I dreamt it (it was the sixties), and didn't spend very long analyzing it. So interpret as you wish – or replace with your own lines.” But in the context of the traffic accident that had killed his tailor girlfriend and a bandmate, and injured most of his other bandmates, the lyrics about lonely travellers, the winding road, bruised and beaten sons, saying goodbye, and never cutting cloth, seem fairly self-explanatory: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Farewell, Farewell”] The rest of the album, though, was taken up by traditional tunes. There was a long medley of four different fiddle reels; a version of “Reynardine” (a song about a seductive man — or is he a fox? Or perhaps both — which had been recorded by Swarbrick and Carthy on their most recent album); a 19th century song about a deserter saved from the firing squad by Prince Albert; and a long take on “Tam Lin”, one of the most famous pieces in the Scottish folk music canon, a song that has been adapted in different ways by everyone from the experimental noise band Current 93 to the dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah to the comics writer Grant Morrison: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Tam Lin”] And “Matty Groves”, a song about a man killing his cheating wife and her lover, which actually has a surprisingly similar story to that of “1921” from another great concept album from that year, the Who’s Tommy. “Matty Groves” became an excuse for long solos and shows of instrumental virtuosity: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves”] The album was recorded in September 1969, after their return from their break in the country and a triumphal performance at the Royal Festival Hall, headlining over fellow Witchseason artists John and Beverly Martyn and Nick Drake. It became a classic of the traditional folk genre — arguably *the* classic of the traditional folk genre. In 2007 BBC Radio 2’s Folk Music Awards gave it an award for most influential folk album of all time, and while such things are hard to measure, I doubt there’s anyone with even the most cursory knowledge of British folk and folk-rock music who would not at least consider that a reasonable claim. But once again, by the time the album came out in November, the band had changed lineups yet again. There was a fundamental split in the band – on one side were Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, whose stance was, roughly, that Liege and Lief was a great experiment and a fun thing to do once, but really the band had two first-rate songwriters in themselves, and that they should be concentrating on their own new material, not doing these old songs, good as they were. They wanted to take the form of the traditional songs and use that form for new material — they wanted to make British folk-rock, but with the emphasis on the rock side of things. Hutchings, on the other hand, was equally sure that he wanted to make traditional music and go further down the rabbit hole of antiquity. With the zeal of the convert he had gone in a couple of years from being the leader of a band who were labelled “the British Jefferson Airplane” to becoming a serious scholar of traditional folk music. Denny was tired of touring, as well — she wanted to spend more time at home with Trevor Lucas, who was sleeping with other women when she was away and making her insecure. When the time came for the group to go on a tour of Denmark, Denny decided she couldn’t make it, and Hutchings was jubilant — he decided he was going to get A.L. Lloyd into the band in her place and become a *real* folk group. Then Denny reconsidered, and Hutchings was crushed. He realised that while he had always been the leader, he wasn’t going to be able to lead the band any further in the traditionalist direction, and quit the group — but not before he was delegated by the other band members to fire Denny. Until the publication of Richard Thompson’s autobiography in 2022, every book on the group or its members said that Denny quit the band again, which was presumably a polite fiction that the band agreed, but according to Thompson “Before we flew home, we decided to fire Sandy. I don't remember who asked her to leave – it was probably Ashley, who usually did the dirty work. She was reportedly shocked that we would take that step. She may have been fragile beneath the confident facade, but she still knew her worth.” Thompson goes on to explain that the reasons for kicking her out were that “I suppose we felt that in her mind she had already left” and that “We were probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, though there wasn't a name for it back then.” They had considered inviting Trevor Lucas to join the band to make Denny more comfortable, but came to the (probably correct) conclusion that while he was someone they got on well with personally, he would be another big ego in a band that already had several, and that being around Denny and Lucas’ volatile relationship would, in Thompson’s phrasing, “have not always given one a feeling of peace and stability.” Hutchings originally decided he was going to join Sweeney’s Men, but that group were falling apart, and their first rehearsal with Hutchings would also be their last as a group, with only Hutchings and guitarist and mandolin player Terry Woods left in the band. They added Woods’ wife Gay, and another couple, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, and formed a group called Steeleye Span, a name given them by Martin Carthy. That group, like Fairport, went to “get their heads together in the country” for three months and recorded an album of electric versions of traditional songs, Hark the Village Wait, on which Mattacks and another drummer, Gerry Conway, guested as Steeleye Span didn’t at the time have their own drummer: [Excerpt: Steeleye Span, “Blackleg Miner”] Steeleye Span would go on to have a moderately successful chart career in the seventies, but by that time most of the original lineup, including Hutchings, had left — Hutchings stayed with them for a few albums, then went on to form the first of a series of bands, all called the Albion Band or variations on that name, which continue to this day. And this is something that needs to be pointed out at this point — it is impossible to follow every single individual in this narrative as they move between bands. There is enough material in the history of the British folk-rock scene that someone could do a 500 Songs-style podcast just on that, and every time someone left Fairport, or Steeleye Span, or the Albion Band, or Matthews’ Southern Comfort, or any of the other bands we have mentioned or will mention, they would go off and form another band which would then fission, and some of its members would often join one of those other bands. There was a point in the mid-1970s where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport Convention while Fairport Convention had none. So just in order to keep the narrative anything like wieldy, I’m going to keep the narrative concentrated on the two figures from Fairport — Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson — whose work outside the group has had the most influence on the wider world of rock music more broadly, and only deal with the other members when, as they often did, their careers intersected with those two. That doesn’t mean the other members are not themselves hugely important musicians, just that their importance has been primarily to the folk side of the folk-rock genre, and so somewhat outside the scope of this podcast. While Hutchings decided to form a band that would allow him to go deeper and deeper into traditional folk music, Sandy Denny’s next venture was rather different. For a long time she had been writing far more songs than she had ever played for her bandmates, like “Nothing More”, a song that many have suggested is about Thompson: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Nothing More”] When Joe Boyd heard that Denny was leaving Fairport Convention, he was at first elated. Fairport’s records were being distributed by A&M in the US at that point, but Island Records was in the process of opening up a new US subsidiary which would then release all future Fairport product — *but*, as far as A&M were concerned, Sandy Denny *was* Fairport Convention. They were only interested in her. Boyd, on the other hand, loved Denny’s work intensely, but from his point of view *Richard Thompson* was Fairport Convention. If he could get Denny signed directly to A&M as a solo artist before Island started its US operations, Witchseason could get a huge advance on her first solo record, while Fairport could continue making records for Island — he’d have two lucrative acts, on different labels. Boyd went over and spoke to A&M and got an agreement in principle that they would give Denny a forty-thousand-dollar advance on her first solo album — twice what they were paying for Fairport albums. The problem was that Denny didn’t want to be a solo act. She wanted to be the lead singer of a band. She gave many reasons for this — the one she gave to many journalists was that she had seen a Judy Collins show and been impressed, but noticed that Collins’ band were definitely a “backing group”, and as she put it “But that's all they were – a backing group. I suddenly thought, If you're playing together on a stage you might as well be TOGETHER.” Most other people in her life, though, say that the main reason for her wanting to be in a band was her desire to be with her boyfriend, Trevor Lucas. Partly this was due to a genuine desire to spend more time with someone with whom she was very much in love, partly it was a fear that he would cheat on her if she was away from him for long periods of time, and part of it seems to have been Lucas’ dislike of being *too* overshadowed by his talented girlfriend — he didn’t mind acknowledging that she was a major talent, but he wanted to be thought of as at least a minor one. So instead of going solo, Denny formed Fotheringay, named after the song she had written for Fairport. This new band consisted at first of Denny on vocals and occasional piano, Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Lucas’ old Eclection bandmate Gerry Conway on drums. For a lead guitarist, they asked Richard Thompson who the best guitarist in Britain was, and he told them Albert Lee. Lee in turn brought in bass player Pat Donaldson, but this lineup of the band barely survived a fortnight. Lee *was* arguably the best guitarist in Britain, certainly a reasonable candidate if you could ever have a singular best (as indeed was Thompson himself), but he was the best *country* guitarist in Britain, and his style simply didn’t fit with Fotheringay’s folk-influenced songs. He was replaced by American guitarist Jerry Donahue, who was not anything like as proficient as Lee, but who was still very good, and fit the band’s style much better. The new group rehearsed together for a few weeks, did a quick tour, and then went into the recording studio to record their debut, self-titled, album. Joe Boyd produced the album, but admitted himself that he only paid attention to those songs he considered worthwhile — the album contained one song by Lucas, “The Ballad of Ned Kelly”, and two cover versions of American singer-songwriter material with Lucas singing lead. But everyone knew that the songs that actually *mattered* were Sandy Denny’s, and Boyd was far more interested in them, particularly the songs “The Sea” and “The Pond and the Stream”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “The Pond and the Stream”] Fotheringay almost immediately hit financial problems, though. While other Witchseason acts were used to touring on the cheap, all packed together in the back of a Transit van with inexpensive equipment, Trevor Lucas had ambitions of being a rock star and wanted to put together a touring production to match, with expensive transport and equipment, including a speaker system that got nicknamed “Stonehenge” — but at the same time, Denny was unhappy being on the road, and didn’t play many gigs. As well as the band itself, the Fotheringay album also featured backing vocals from a couple of other people, including Denny’s friend Linda Peters. Peters was another singer from the folk clubs, and a good one, though less well-known than Denny — at this point she had only released a couple of singles, and those singles seemed to have been as much as anything else released as a novelty. The first of those, a version of Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” had been released as by “Paul McNeill and Linda Peters”: [Excerpt: Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”] But their second single, a version of John D. Loudermilk’s “You’re Taking My Bag”, was released on the tiny Page One label, owned by Larry Page, and was released under the name “Paul and Linda”, clearly with the intent of confusing particularly gullible members of the record-buying public into thinking this was the McCartneys: [Excerpt: Paul and Linda, “You’re Taking My Bag”] Peters was though more financially successful than almost anyone else in this story, as she was making a great deal of money as a session singer. She actually did another session involving most of Fotheringay around this time. Witchseason had a number of excellent songwriters on its roster, and had had some success getting covers by people like Judy Collins, but Joe Boyd thought that they might possibly do better at getting cover versions if they were performed in less idiosyncratic arrangements. Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway went into the studio to record backing tracks, and vocals were added by Peters and another session singer, who according to some sources also provided piano. They cut songs by Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “You Get Brighter”] Ed Carter, formerly of The New Nadir but by this time firmly ensconced in the Beach Boys’ touring band where he would remain for the next quarter-century: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “I Don’t Mind”] John and Beverly Martyn, and Nick Drake: [Excerpt: Elton John, “Saturday Sun”] There are different lineups of musicians credited for those sessions in different sources, but I tend to believe that it’s mostly Fotheringay for the simple reason that Donahue says it was him, Donaldson and Conway who talked Lucas and Denny into the mistake that destroyed Fotheringay because of these sessions. Fotheringay were in financial trouble already, spending far more money than they were bringing in, but their album made the top twenty and they were getting respect both from critics and from the public — in September, Sandy Denny was voted best British female singer by the readers of Melody Maker in their annual poll, which led to shocked headlines in the tabloids about how this “unknown” could have beaten such big names as Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black. Only a couple of weeks after that, they were due to headline at the Albert Hall. It should have been a triumph. But Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway had asked that singing pianist to be their support act. As Donahue said later “That was a terrible miscast. It was our fault. He asked if [he] could do it. Actually Pat, Gerry and I had to talk Sandy and Trevor into [it]… We'd done these demos and the way he was playing – he was a wonderful piano player – he was sensitive enough. We knew very little about his stage-show. We thought he'd be a really good opener for us.” Unfortunately, Elton John was rather *too* good. As Donahue continued “we had no idea what he had in mind, that he was going to do the most incredible rock & roll show ever. He pretty much blew us off the stage before we even got on the stage.” To make matters worse, Fotheringay’s set, which was mostly comprised of new material, was underrehearsed and sloppy, and from that point on no matter what they did people were counting the hours until the band split up. They struggled along for a while though, and started working on a second record, with Boyd again producing, though as Boyd later said “I probably shouldn't have been producing the record. My lack of respect for the group was clear, and couldn't have helped the atmosphere. We'd put out a record that had sold disappointingly, A&M was unhappy. Sandy's tracks on the first record are among the best things she ever did – the rest of it, who cares? And the artwork, Trevor's sister, was terrible. It would have been one thing if I'd been unhappy with it and it sold, and the group was working all the time, making money, but that wasn't the case … I knew what Sandy was capable of, and it was very upsetting to me.” The record would not be released for thirty-eight years: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Wild Mountain Thyme”] Witchseason was going badly into debt. Given all the fissioning of bands that we’ve already been talking about, Boyd had been stretched thin — he produced sixteen albums in 1970, and almost all of them lost money for the company. And he was getting more and more disillusioned with the people he was producing. He loved Beverly Martyn’s work, but had little time for her abusive husband John, who was dominating her recording and life more and more and would soon become a solo artist while making her stay at home (and stealing her ideas without giving her songwriting credit). The Incredible String Band were great, but they had recently converted to Scientology, which Boyd found annoying, and while he was working with all sorts of exciting artists like Vashti Bunyan and Nico, he was finding himself less and less important to the artists he mentored. Fairport Convention were a good example of this. After Denny and Hutchings had left the group, they’d decided to carry on as an electric folk group, performing an equal mix of originals by the Swarbrick and Thompson songwriting team and arrangements of traditional songs. The group were now far enough away from the “British Jefferson Airplane” label that they decided they didn’t need a female vocalist — and more realistically, while they’d been able to replace Judy Dyble, nobody was going to replace Sandy Denny. Though it’s rather surprising when one considers Thompson’s subsequent career that nobody seems to have thought of bringing in Denny’s friend Linda Peters, who was dating Joe Boyd at the time (as Denny had been before she met Lucas) as Denny’s replacement. Instead, they decided that Swarbrick and Thompson were going to share the vocals between them. They did, though, need a bass player to replace Hutchings. Swarbrick wanted to bring in Dave Pegg, with whom he had played in the Ian Campbell Folk Group, but the other band members initially thought the idea was a bad one. At the time, while they respected Swarbrick as a musician, they didn’t think he fully understood rock and roll yet, and they thought the idea of getting in a folkie who had played double bass rather than an electric rock bassist ridiculous. But they auditioned him to mollify Swarbrick, and found that he was exactly what they needed. As Joe Boyd later said “All those bass lines were great, Ashley invented them all, but he never could play them that well. He thought of them, but he was technically not a terrific bass player. He was a very inventive, melodic, bass player, but not a very powerful one technically. But having had the part explained to him once, Pegg was playing it better than Ashley had ever played it… In some rock bands, I think, ultimately, the bands that sound great, you can generally trace it to the bass player… it was at that point they became a great band, when they had Pegg.” The new lineup of Fairport decided to move in together, and found a former pub called the Angel, into which all the band members moved, along with their partners and children (Thompson was the only one who was single at this point) and their roadies. The group lived together quite happily, and one gets the impression that this was the period when they were most comfortable with each other, even though by this point they were a disparate group with disparate tastes, in music as in everything else. Several people have said that the only music all the band members could agree they liked at this point was the first two albums by The Band. With the departure of Hutchings from the band, Swarbrick and Thompson, as the strongest personalities and soloists, became in effect the joint leaders of the group, and they became collaborators as songwriters, trying to write new songs that were inspired by traditional music. Thompson described the process as “let’s take one line of this reel and slow it down and move it up a minor third and see what that does to it; let’s take one line of this ballad and make a whole song out of it. Chopping up the tradition to find new things to do… like a collage.” Generally speaking, Swarbrick and Thompson would sit by the fire and Swarbrick would play a melody he’d been working on, the two would work on it for a while, and Thompson would then go away and write the lyrics. This is how the two came up with songs like the nine-minute “Sloth”, a highlight of the next album, Full House, and one that would remain in Fairport’s live set for much of their career: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth”] “Sloth” was titled that way because Thompson and Swarbrick were working on two tunes, a slow one and a fast one, and they jokingly named them “Sloth” and “Fasth”, but the latter got renamed to “Walk Awhile”, while “Sloth” kept its working title. But by this point, Boyd and Thompson were having a lot of conflict in the studio. Boyd was never the most technical of producers — he was one of those producers whose job is to gently guide the artists in the studio and create a space for the music to flourish, rather than the Joe Meek type with an intimate technical knowledge of the studio — and as the artists he was working with gained confidence in their own work they felt they had less and less need of him. During the making of the Full House album, Thompson and Boyd, according to Boyd, clashed on everything — every time Boyd thought Thompson had done a good solo, Thompson would say to erase it and let him have another go, while every time Boyd thought Thompson could do better, Thompson would say that was the take to keep. One of their biggest clashes was over Thompson’s song “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”, which was originally intended for release on the album, and is included in current reissues of it: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”] Thompson had written that song inspired by what he thought was the unjust treatment of Alex Bramham, the driver in Fairport’s fatal car crash, by the courts — Bramham had been given a prison sentence of a few months for dangerous driving, while the group members thought he had not been at fault. Boyd thought it was one of the best things recorded for the album, but Thompson wasn’t happy with his vocal — there was one note at the top of the melody that he couldn’t quite hit — and insisted it be kept off the record, even though that meant it would be a shorter album than normal. He did this at such a late stage that early copies of the album actually had the title printed on the sleeve, but then blacked out. He now says in his autobiography “I could have persevered, double-tracked the voice, warmed up for longer – anything. It was a good track, and the record was lacking without it. When the album was re-released, the track was restored with a more confident vocal, and it has stayed there ever since.” During the sessions for Full House the group also recorded one non-album single, Thompson and Swarbrick’s “Now Be Thankful”: [Excerpt, Fairport Convention, “Now Be Thankful”] The B-side to that was a medley of two traditional tunes plus a Swarbrick original, but was given the deliberately ridiculous title “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”] The B. McKenzie in the title was a reference to the comic-strip character Barry McKenzie, a stereotype drunk Australian created for Private Eye magazine by the comedian Barry Humphries (later to become better known for his Dame Edna Everage character) but the title was chosen for one reason only — to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the song with the longest title. Which they did, though they were later displaced by the industrial band Test Dept, and their song “Long Live British Democracy Which Flourishes and Is Constantly Perfected Under the Immaculate Guidance of the Great, Honourable, Generous and Correct Margaret Hilda Thatcher. She Is the Blue Sky in the Hearts of All Nations. Our People Pay Homage and Bow in Deep Respect and Gratitude to Her. The Milk of Human Kindness”. Full House got excellent reviews in the music press, with Rolling Stone saying “The music shows that England has finally gotten her own equivalent to The Band… By calling Fairport an English equivalent of the Band, I meant that they have soaked up enough of the tradition of their countryfolk that it begins to show all over, while they maintain their roots in rock.” Off the back of this, the group went on their first US tour, culminating in a series of shows at the Troubadour in LA, on the same bill as Rick Nelson, which were recorded and later released as a live album: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth (live)”] The Troubadour was one of the hippest venues at the time, and over their residency there the group got seen by many celebrities, some of whom joined them on stage. The first was Linda Ronstadt, who initially demurred, saying she didn’t know any of their songs. On being told they knew all of hers, she joined in with a rendition of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”. Thompson was later asked to join Ronstadt’s backing band, who would go on to become the Eagles, but he said later of this offer “I would have hated it. I’d have hated being on the road with four or five miserable Americans — they always seem miserable. And if you see them now, they still look miserable on stage — like they don’t want to be there and they don’t like each other.” The group were also joined on stage at the Troubadour on one memorable night by some former bandmates of Pegg’s. Before joining the Ian Campbell Folk Group, Pegg had played around the Birmingham beat scene, and had been in bands with John Bonham and Robert Plant, who turned up to the Troubadour with their Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page (reports differ on whether the fourth member of Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, also came along). They all got up on stage together and jammed on songs like “Hey Joe”, “Louie Louie”, and various old Elvis tunes. The show was recorded, and the tapes are apparently still in the possession of Joe Boyd, who has said he refuses to release them in case he is murdered by the ghost of Peter Grant. According to Thompson, that night ended in a three-way drinking contest between Pegg, Bonham, and Janis Joplin, and it’s testament to how strong the drinking culture is around Fairport and the British folk scene in general that Pegg outdrank both of them. According to Thompson, Bonham was found naked by a swimming pool two days later, having missed two gigs. For all their hard rock image, Led Zeppelin were admirers of a lot of the British folk and folk-rock scene, and a few months later Sandy Denny would become the only outside vocalist ever to appear on a Led Zeppelin record when she duetted with Plant on “The Battle of Evermore” on the group’s fourth album: [Excerpt: Led Zeppelin, “The Battle of Evermore”] Denny would never actually get paid for her appearance on one of the best-selling albums of all time. That was, incidentally, not the only session that Denny was involved in around this time — she also sang on the soundtrack to a soft porn film titled Swedish Fly Girls, whose soundtrack was produced by Manfred Mann: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow?”] Shortly after Fairport’s trip to America, Joe Boyd decided he was giving up on Witchseason. The company was now losing money, and he was finding himself having to produce work for more and more acts as the various bands fissioned. The only ones he really cared about were Richard Thompson, who he was finding it more and more difficult to work with, Nick Drake, who wanted to do his next album with just an acoustic guitar anyway, Sandy Denny, who he felt was wasting her talents in Fotheringay, and Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, who was more distant since his conversion to Scientology. Boyd did make some attempts to keep the company going. On a trip to Sweden, he negotiated an agreement with the manager and publisher of a Swedish band whose songs he’d found intriguing, the Hep Stars. Boyd was going to publish their songs in the UK, and in return that publisher, Stig Anderson, would get the rights to Witchseason’s catalogue in Scandinavia — a straight swap, with no money changing hands. But before Boyd could get round to signing the paperwork, he got a better offer from Mo Ostin of Warners — Ostin wanted Boyd to come over to LA and head up Warners’ new film music department. Boyd sold Witchseason to Island Records and moved to LA with his fiancee Linda Peters, spending the next few years working on music for films like Deliverance and A Clockwork Orange, as well as making his own documentary about Jimi Hendrix, and thus missed out on getting the UK publishing rights for ABBA, and all the income that would have brought him, for no money. And it was that decision that led to the breakup of Fotheringay. Just before Christmas 1970, Fotheringay were having a difficult session, recording the track “John the Gun”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “John the Gun”] Boyd got frustrated and kicked everyone out of the session, and went for a meal and several drinks with Denny. He kept insisting that she should dump the band and just go solo, and then something happened that the two of them would always describe differently. She asked him if he would continue to produce her records if she went solo, and he said he would. According to Boyd’s recollection of the events, he meant that he would fly back from California at some point to produce her records. According to Denny, he told her that if she went solo he would stay in Britain and not take the job in LA. This miscommunication was only discovered after Denny told the rest of Fotheringay after the Christmas break that she was splitting the band. Jerry Donahue has described that as the worst moment of his life, and Denny felt very guilty about breaking up a band with some of her closest friends in — and then when Boyd went over to the US anyway she felt a profound betrayal. Two days before Fotheringay’s final concert, in January 1971, Sandy Denny signed a solo deal with Island records, but her first solo album would not end up produced by Joe Boyd. Instead, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens was co-produced by Denny, John Wood — the engineer who had worked with Boyd on pretty much everything he’d produced, and Richard Thompson, who had just quit Fairport Convention, though he continued living with them at the Angel, at least until a truck crashed into the building in February 1971, destroying its entire front wall and forcing them to relocate. The songs chosen for The North Star Grassman and the Ravens reflected the kind of choices Denny would make on her future albums, and her eclectic taste in music. There was, of course, the obligatory Dylan cover, and the traditional folk ballad “Blackwaterside”, but there was also a cover version of Brenda Lee’s “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”] Most of the album, though, was made up of originals about various people in Denny’s life, like “Next Time Around”, about her ex-boyfriend Jackson C Frank: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Next Time Around”] The album made the top forty in the UK — Denny’s only solo album to do so — and led to her once again winning the “best female singer” award in Melody Maker’s readers’ poll that year — the male singer award was won by Rod Stewart. Both Stewart and Denny appeared the next year on the London Symphony Orchestra’s all-star version of The Who’s Tommy, which had originally been intended as a vehicle for Stewart before Roger Daltrey got involved. Stewart’s role was reduced to a single song, “Pinball Wizard”, while Denny sang on “It’s a Boy”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “It’s a Boy”] While Fotheringay had split up, all the band members play on The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. Guitarists Donahue and Lucas only play on a couple of the tracks, with Richard Thompson playing most of the guitar on the record. But Fotheringay’s rhythm section of Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway play on almost every track. Another musician on the album, Ian Whiteman, would possibly have a profound effect on the future direction of Richard Thompson’s career and life. Whiteman was the former keyboard player for the mod band The Action, having joined them just before they became the blues-rock band Mighty Baby. But Mighty Baby had split up when all of the band except the lead singer had converted to Islam. Richard Thompson was on his own spiritual journey at this point, and became a Sufi – the same branch of Islam as Whiteman – soon after the session, though Thompson has said that his conversion was independent of Whiteman’s. The two did become very close and work together a lot in the mid-seventies though. Thompson had supposedly left Fairport because he was writing material that wasn’t suited to the band, but he spent more than a year after quitting the group working on sessions rather than doing anything with his own material, and these sessions tended to involve the same core group of musicians. One of the more unusual was a folk-rock supergroup called The Bunch, put together by Trevor Lucas. Richard Branson had recently bought a recording studio, and wanted a band to test it out before opening it up for commercial customers, so with this free studio time Lucas decided to record a set of fifties rock and roll covers. He gathered together Thompson, Denny, Whiteman, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, pianist Tony Cox, the horn section that would later form the core of the Average White Band, and Linda Peters, who had now split up with Joe Boyd and returned to the UK, and who had started dating Thompson. They recorded an album of covers of songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Otis and others: [Excerpt: The Bunch, “Willie and the Hand Jive”] The early seventies was a hugely productive time for this group of musicians, as they all continued playing on each other’s projects. One notable album was No Roses by Shirley Collins, which featured Thompson, Mattacks, Whiteman, Simon Nicol, Lal and Mike Waterson, and Ashley Hutchings, who was at that point married to Collins, as well as some more unusual musicians like the free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill: [Excerpt: Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band, “Claudy Banks”] Collins was at the time the most respected female singer in British traditional music, and already had a substantial career including a series of important records made with her sister Dolly, work with guitarists like Davey Graham, and time spent in the 1950s collecting folk songs in the Southern US with her then partner Alan Lomax – according to Collins she did much of the actual work, but Lomax only mentioned her in a single sentence in his book on this work. Some of the same group of musicians went on to work on an album of traditional Morris dancing tunes, titled Morris On, credited to “Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield”, with Collins singing lead on two tracks: [Excerpt: Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield with Shirley Collins, “The Willow Tree”] Thompson thought that that album was the best of the various side projects he was involved in at the time, comparing it favourably to Rock On, which he thought was rather slight, saying later “Conceptually, Fairport, Ashley and myself and Sandy were developing a more fragile style of music that nobody else was particularly interested in, a British Folk Rock idea that had a logical development to it, although we all presented it our own way. Morris On was rather more true to what we were doing. Rock On was rather a retro step. I'm not sure it was lasting enough as a record but Sandy did sing really well on the Buddy Holly songs.” Hutchings used the musicians on No Roses and Morris On as the basis for his band the Albion Band, which continues to this day. Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks both quit Fairport to join the Albion Band, though Mattacks soon returned. Nicol would not return to Fairport for several years, though, and for a long period in the mid-seventies Fairport Convention had no original members. Unfortunately, while Collins was involved in the Albion Band early on, she and Hutchings ended up divorcing, and the stress from the divorce led to Collins developing spasmodic dysphonia, a stress-related illness which makes it impossible for the sufferer to sing. She did eventually regain her vocal ability, but between 1978 and 2016 she was unable to perform at all, and lost decades of her career. Richard Thompson occasionally performed with the Albion Band early on, but he was getting stretched a little thin with all these sessions. Linda Peters said later of him “When I came back from America, he was working in Sandy’s band, and doing sessions by the score. Always with Pat Donaldson and Dave Mattacks. Richard would turn up with his guitar, one day he went along to do a session with one of those folkie lady singers — and there were Pat and DM. They all cracked. Richard smashed his amp and said “Right! No more sessions!” In 1972 he got round to releasing his first solo album, Henry the Human Fly, which featured guest appearances by Linda Peters and Sandy Denny among others: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “The Angels Took My Racehorse Away”] Unfortunately, while that album has later become regarded as one of the classics of its genre, at the time it was absolutely slated by the music press. The review in Melody Maker, for example, read in part “Some of Richard Thompson’s ideas sound great – which is really the saving grace of this album, because most of the music doesn’t. The tragedy is that Thompson’s “British rock music” is such an unconvincing concoction… Even the songs that do integrate rock and traditional styles of electric guitar rhythms and accordion and fiddle decoration – and also include explicit, meaningful lyrics are marred by bottle-up vocals, uninspiring guitar phrases and a general lack of conviction in performance.” Henry the Human Fly was released in the US by Warners, who had a reciprocal licensing deal with Island (and for whom Joe Boyd was working at the time, which may have had something to do with that) but according to Thompson it became the lowest-selling record that Warners ever put out (though I’ve also seen that claim made about Van Dyke Parks’ Song Cycle, another album that has later been rediscovered). Thompson was hugely depressed by this reaction, and blamed his own singing. Happily, though, by this point he and Linda had become a couple — they would marry in 1972 — and they started playing folk clubs as a duo, or sometimes in a trio with Simon Nicol. Thompson was also playing with Sandy Denny’s backing band at this point, and played on every track on her second solo album, Sandy. This album was meant to be her big commercial breakthrough, with a glamorous cover photo by David Bailey, and with a more American sound, including steel guitar by Sneaky Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers (whose overdubs were supervised in LA by Joe Boyd): [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Tomorrow is a Long Time”] The album was given a big marketing push by Island, and “Listen, Listen” was made single of the week on the Radio 1 Breakfast show: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Listen, Listen”] But it did even worse than the previous album, sending her into something of a depression. Linda Thompson (as the former Linda Peters now was) said of this period “After the Sandy album, it got her down that her popularity didn't suddenly increase in leaps and bounds, and that was the start of her really fretting about the way her career was going. Things only escalated after that. People like me or Martin Carthy or Norma Waterson would think, ‘What are you on about? This is folk music.'” After Sandy’s release, Denny realised she could no longer afford to tour with a band, and so went back to performing just acoustically or on piano. The only new music to be released by either of these ex-members of Fairport Convention in 1973 was, oddly, on an album by the band they were no longer members of. After Thompson had left Fairport, the group had managed to release two whole albums with the same lineup — Swarbrick, Nicol, Pegg, and Mattacks. But then Nicol and Mattacks had both quit the band to join the Albion Band with their former bandmate Ashley Hutchings, leading to a situation where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport plus their longtime drummer while Fairport Convention itself had no original members and was down to just Swarbrick and Pegg. Needing to fulfil their contracts, they then recruited three former members of Fotheringay — Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, Donahue on lead guitar, and Conway on drums. Conway was only a session player at the time, and Mattacks soon returned to the band, but Lucas and Donahue became full-time members. This new lineup of Fairport Convention released two albums in 1973, widely regarded as the group’s most inconsistent records, and on the title track of the first, “Rosie”, Richard Thompson guested on guitar, with Sandy Denny and Linda Thompson on backing vocals: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Rosie”] Neither Sandy Denny nor Richard Thompson released a record themselves in 1973, but in neither case was this through the artists’ choice. The record industry was changing in the early 1970s, as we’ll see in later episodes, and was less inclined to throw good money after bad in the pursuit of art. Island Records prided itself on being a home for great artists, but it was still a business, and needed to make money. We’ll talk about the OPEC oil crisis and its effect on the music industry much more when the podcast gets to 1973, but in brief, the production of oil by the US peaked in 1970 and started to decrease, leading to them importing more and more oil from the Middle East. As a result of this, oil prices rose slowly between 1971 and 1973, then very quickly towards the end of 1973 as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict that year. As vinyl is made of oil, suddenly producing records became much more expensive, and in this period a lot of labels decided not to release already-completed albums, until what they hoped would be a brief period of shortages passed. Both Denny and Thompson recorded albums at this point that got put to one side by Island. In the case of Thompson, it was the first album by Richard and Linda as a duo, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Today, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and as one of the two masterpieces that bookended Richard and Linda’s career as a duo and their marriage. But when they recorded the album, full of Richard’s dark songs, it was the opposite of commercial. Even a song that’s more or less a boy-girl song, like “Has He Got a Friend for Me?” has lyrics like “He wouldn’t notice me passing by/I could be in the gutter, or dangling down from a tree” [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “Has He got a Friend For Me?”] While something like “The Calvary Cross” is oblique and haunted, and seems to cast a pall over the entire album: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “The Calvary Cross”] The album itself had been cheap to make — it had been recorded in only a week, with Thompson bringing in musicians he knew well and had worked with a lot previously to cut the tracks as-live in only a handful of takes — but Island didn’t think it was worth releasing. The record stayed on the shelf for nearly a year after recording, until Island got a new head of A&R, Richard Williams. Williams said of the album’s release “Muff Winwood had been doing A&R, but he was more interested in production… I had a conversation with Muff as soon as I got there, and he said there are a few hangovers, some outstanding problems. And one of them was Richard Thompson. He said there’s this album we gave him the money to make — which was I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight — and nobody’s very interested in it. Henry the Human Fly had been a bit of a commercial disappointment, and although Island was altruistic and independent and known for only recording good stuff, success was important… Either a record had to do well or somebody had to believe in it a lot. And it seemed as if neither of those things were true at that point of Richard.” Williams, though, was hugely impressed when he listened to the album. He compared Richard Thompson’s guitar playing to John Coltrane’s sax, and called Thompson “the folk poet of the rainy streets”, but also said “Linda brightened it, made it more commercial. and I thought that “Bright Lights” itself seemed a really commercial song.” The rest of the management at Island got caught up in Williams’ enthusiasm, and even decided to release the title track as a single: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Neither single nor album charted — indeed it would not be until 1991 that Richard Thompson would make a record that made the top forty in the UK — but the album got enough critical respect that Richard and Linda released two albums the year after. The first of these, Hokey Pokey, is a much more upbeat record than their previous one — Richard Thompson has called it “quite a music-hall influenced record” and cited the influence of George Formby and Harry Lauder. For once, the claim of music hall influence is audible in the music. Usually when a British musician is claimed to have a music ha

Episode 138: Rick DellaRatta & Paving the Path for Peace through Music: The Amazing story of Rick DellaRatta and Jazz for PeaceABOUT RICKLong known as one of the world's finest Jazz Pianists, Rick DellaRatta also began to receive major recognition as a composer when his symphonic piece “Permutata” was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra at the Beatles famed Abbey Rd. Studios in 1999. He was also recognized as a unique and important vocalist in 2004 when he was included in a definitive listing of the greatest jazz singers of all time in Scott Yanow's Book “Jazz Singers”. Through his lifelong endeavor to help advance people to their highest potential through the understanding of Jazz as well as spreading peace worldwide through his "Jazz for Peace World Tour", Rick is considered to be an innovator and a visionary, a designation that became known by many when he was included by The Foundation Center in their list of the top musician philanthropists of our time along with Bono (U2), Elton John, Peter Gabriel and Sting.CONVERSATION HIGHLIGHTS• The 25-year interval of appreciation for someone's work.• The power of raising your consciousness.• We're not using music to solve any of our problems.• The power of mentors at difference stages of life.• "Damn, I don't know if I want to leave this."• The spiritual journey of the artist.• "...we've got to get out of 3D into 4D and into 5D."• "He has artistically outgrown anything that the superficial world could offer him."• Legacy: Live it now vs. leaving it for later.• We are funding anything but peace at 100%.• Using arts and culture to solve conflict.• Fundraising tips - a trickle up economy for philanthropy. mean,• The power of un-gaslighting (of the self).The MAIN QUESTION underlying my conversation with Rick is, What is it you're capable of that allows you to reach a higher consciousness, one capable of helping others?FIND RICKWebsite: https://jazzforpeace.org/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-dellaratta-08199818/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JazzforPeaceGrant/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jazzmgmtLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-dellaratta-08199818/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDNcDwDyGlYM4ZrajSOODQLinkedIn – Full Podcast Article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/episode-138-rick-dellaratta-paving-path-peace-through-john-m--yz9pf/?trackingId=4nQhocU5Tj6QxvbufCYhKw%3D%3DCHAPTERS00:00 - The Book Leads Podcast – Rick DellaRatta01:07 - Introduction & Bio02:35 - Who are you today? Can you provide more information about your work?14:57 - How did your path into your career look like, and what did it look like up until now?29:13 - When the piano entered Rick's life.51:36 - Music as a product of tragedy in an artist's life.01:10:00 - Rick's experience on 9/11, living near the twin towers / The beginning of Jazz for Peace.01:24:53 - How does the work you're doing today reconcile to who you were as a child?01:28:38 - What do you consider your super power?01:29:54 - What do you say to somebody who doesn't feel they have anything creative to tap into? That01:32:18 - What does leadership mean to you?01:34:04 - Can you introduce us to the book we're discussing?01:38:26 - A breakdown of the chapters in the book.02:16:51 - What's changed in you as a result of this book being out?00:00 - Is there a certain part of the book that resonates most with people?02:20:11 - What other books would you recommend?02:22:26 - What are you up to these days? (A way for guests to share and market their projects and work.)This series has become my Masterclass In Humanity. I'd love for you to join me and see what you take away from these conversations.Learn more about The Book Leads and listen to past episodes:Watch on YouTubeListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsRead About The Book Leads – Blog PostFor more great content, subscribe to my newsletter Last Week's Leadership Lessons, if you haven't already!

#realconversations #JazzforPeace #Jazz #pianist #composer #peace#philantropistCONVERSATIONS WITH CALVIN WE THE SPECIESMeet RICK DELLA RATTA: “I've been around a long time. Livedthrough the Vietnam War. Saw the first Earth Day. Worked for Civil Rights.Women's Liberation. Saw wars and human suffering on TV. My human consciousnessgrows. Perhaps a function of aging, realizations. Met a plethora of influentialpeople who have had a profound impact on me. And today, I met Rick Della Ratta.As this interview title states, he is the Founder of Jazz for Peace, born as hewatched 9-11 unfold from his East Side window. He is a consummate jazz pianist,Composer, Vocalist, and philanthropist —a special human being devoted to peace.Every millisecond of this interview, I absorbed his energy, passion (which hetalks about often), and wondrous spirit to bring us (8 ½ billion together) Anoble deed. But time is not kind. As he mentions, he is hugely underpaid forall he does for peace. He's been to Africa nine times. I watched (video) himperform in Nigeria. I watched the faces of the audience, smiling andmesmerized. An incredible musician. He's helped 850 of the World's MostOutstanding Causes. President Obama praised Rick for bringing together Israeli,Palestinian, and American Jazz musicians. AND I interviewed Rick today. AND heperformed ‘How About You' and ‘Stop and Smell the Roses' at the end of theinterview. AND I'm a happy guy.” Calvinhttps://www.youtube.com/c/ConversationswithCalvinWetheSpecIEs535 Interviews/Videos  9200 SUBSCRIBERSGLOBAL Reach. Earth Life. Amazing People.  PLEASE SUBSCRIBE and COMMENT**RICK DELLA RATTA: Founder, ‘Jazz for Peace'; Jazz Pianist;Composer (‘Permutata'), Vocalist; Philanthropist, Entrepreneur; LIVE from NYYouTube: https://youtu.be/g5slmHZhXhsBIO:  Long known asone of the world's finest Jazz Pianists, Rick DellaRatta also began to receivemajor recognition as a composer when his symphonic piece “Permutata” wasrecorded by the London Symphony Orchestra at the Beatles famed Abbey Rd.,Studios in 1999, and as a unique and important vocalist in 2004 when he wasincluded in a definitive listing of the greatest jazz singers of all time inScott Yanow's Book “Jazz Singers”. Through his lifelong endeavor to helpadvance people to their highest potential through the understanding of Jazz aswell as spreading peace worldwide through his "Jazz for Peace WorldTour", Rick DellaRatta is considered to be an innovator and a visionary, adesignation that became known by many when he was included by The FoundationCenter in their list of the top musician philanthropists of our time along withBono (U2), Elton John, Peter Gabriel and Sting.LINKS:Artist Site & Bio: http://rickdellaratta.com  Organization Website:https://jazzforpeace.org Rick DellaRatta BBS Radio Pagehttps://bbsradio.com/node/270332Baby Boomers promo page:https://babyboomer.org/contributors/RickDellaRatta/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-dellaratta-08199818/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jazzmgmt Twitter Alternate: https://x.com/EmpowermentGra1Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jazzforpeace/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JazzforPeaceGrant/Tick Tock:  https://www.tiktok.com/@jazzmgmt7**WE ARE ALSO ON AUDIOAUDIO “Conversations with Calvin; WE the SpecIEs”ANCHOR https://lnkd.in/g4jcUPqSPOTIFY https://lnkd.in/ghuMFeCAPPLE PODCASTSBREAKER https://lnkd.in/g62StzJGOOGLE PODCASTS https://lnkd.in/gpd3XfMPOCKET CASTS https://pca.st/bmjmzaitRADIO PUBLIC https://lnkd.in/gxueFZw   

Today Labour's Davy Russell narrowly defeated the SNP to win the by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, with Reform coming a close third. The Standard's chief political correspondent Rachael Burford has the latest. And in part two, Rachelle Abbott meets the founder of hip hop band Cypress Hill, B-Real, to discuss the band's new album with the London Symphony Orchestra, which was recorded at London's Royal Albert Hall and was inspired by an episode of The Simpsons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Am 31. Mai beginnen die Pfingstfestspiele im Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. Dort dreht sich in dieser Ausgabe alles um den Jubilaren Pierre Boulez, der in diesem Jahr 100 Jahre alt geworden wäre. Mit dabei ist unter anderem der Pianist und Boulez-Experte Pierre-Laurent Aimard, das SWR Sinfonieorchester, das London Symphony Orchestra unter Antonio Pappano und Ensemble Recherche. Bernd Künzig und Ilona Hanning sprechen darüber, auf welche Perlen und Überraschungen man sich bei den Pfingstfestspielen freuen darf.

durée : 00:13:15 - Le Disque classique du jour du vendredi 23 mai 2025 - Troisième volet d'une série d'opéras de Janacek présentés par le chef d'orchestre Sir Simon Rattle et le London Symphony Orchestra, "Jenufa" réunit les solistes Agneta Eichenholz, Nicky Spence, Aleš Briscein et Katarina Karnéus.

durée : 00:13:15 - Le Disque classique du jour du vendredi 23 mai 2025 - Troisième volet d'une série d'opéras de Janacek présentés par le chef d'orchestre Sir Simon Rattle et le London Symphony Orchestra, "Jenufa" réunit les solistes Agneta Eichenholz, Nicky Spence, Aleš Briscein et Katarina Karnéus.

Doctora en Bellas Artes, licenciada en Historia del Arte y Máster en Diseño de Espacios Expositivos, con una extensa trayectoria en el comisariado de exposiciones, la investigación, la gestión cultural y la dirección de proyectos. Esta tarde hablamos con Blanca de la Torre, la nueva directora del IVAM.La alfombra roja de Cannes encara su octava jornada recibiendo estrellas y proyectando en sus salas las últimas cintas de concurso. Conxita Casanovas ha sumado dos más y le quedan cuatro para poder hacer su quiniela de palmarés. Aunque nos apremia hablar de Carla Simón y su paso por allí, de ella y de su Romería, lo cierto es que la actualidad cinematográfica también pasa por Mariano Ozores. Nos despedimos de esta emblemática figura del cine patrio que ha fallecido a los 98 años.Pintor, dibujante, muralista, cartelista, ilustrador y maestro de toda una generación de artistas, Francesc d’Assís Galí i Fabra tiene desde hoy una interesante exposición en el Museo Nacional de Catalunya. Una muestra para conocer más de cerca a una de las figuras más relevantes del arte catalán de la primera mitad del siglo XX, autor de las pinturas de la cúpula que corona el Palau Nacional. Montse Soto nos lo cuenta.ARIA Classics ha lanzado el álbum Orchestrating the Wild [Orquestando lo salvaje], con la London Symphony Orchestra, dirigida por los estadounidenses Jonathan Pasternack y Bobby Collins. El disco incluye obras de la compositora canadoestadounidense Sarah Louise Bassingthwaighte. El sello español publica por primera vez una producción grabada en Londres con la prestigiosa formación inglesa y el contrabajo solista Steve Schermer. Una edición que se distribuye internacionalmente y en plataformas digitales de todo el mundo.Escuchar audio

Peter Reber ist Musiker, Komponist und Musikproduzent. Mit vier Teilnahmen als Interpret und zwei als Komponist und Produzent ist er vermutlich die Person in der Schweiz mit der grössten ESC-Erfahrung. Ganz sicher aber hat der ESC Peter Rebers Karriere stark unterstützt und beeinflusst. Das liegt nicht nur an den vier Auftritten mit «Peter, Sue & Marc» und Hits wie «Djambo Djambo», «Io senza te» und anderen, sondern vor allem auch an den beiden ESC-Teilnahmen als Produzent und Komponist. Denn mit den Erfolgen von Paolas «Cinéma» und Pepe Lienhards «Swiss Lady» - beides aus Peter Rebers Feder - wurde er auf einmal auch als Komponist und Produzent aus einem kleinen Land international wahr- und ernstgenommen, was zu vielen weiteren Aufträgen geführt hat. Im Gespräch mit Gastgeber Michael Luisier erzählt Peter Reber aber auch von seiner Herkunft aus dem Berner Arbeiterquartier Bümpliz und seiner frühen Förderung als Musiker durch Eltern und Lehrer. Er erzählt von seiner siegenjährigen Segelschiffsreise über die Weltmeere und den sieben Jahren auf den Bahamas. Und er erzählt von seiner Familie, die ihn über all die Jahre unterstützt und überallhin begleitet hat, wofür er ausserordentlich dankbar ist. Vor allem aber erzählt er von der Musik an sich, die ihn auch in diesem Jahr wieder an den ESC führt und immer noch seine grosse Leidenschaft ist. Die Musiktitel: 1. Peter, Sue & Marc - Djambo Djambo 2. John T. Williams - American Collection Theme Yo-Yo Ma, Recording Artists Orchestra of Los Angeles 3. Oscar Peterson Trio - I'm old-fashioned 4. Nina Reber - Flüge wi ne Vogel 5. Rod Stewart - Sailing 6. Sergej Rachmaninow - Klavierkonzert Nr. 2 c-Moll Valentina Lisitsa, London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Francis

Für sein Lebenswerk erhält Simon Rattle den Ernst von Siemens Musikpreis, der mit 250.000 Euro dotiert ist. Nicht zuletzt für das Musikleben in Deutschland war und ist Simon Rattle prägend. Als Chefdirigent der Berliner Philharmoniker erweiterte Rattle das Repertoire des Spitzenorchesters nachhaltig und stieß mit einem großen Tanzprojekt für Berliner Schüler eine neue Art der Vermittlung klassischer Musik an. Danach war Rattle bis 2023 Chef des London Symphony Orchestra, heute leitet er das Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in München.

durée : 00:15:07 - Disques de légende du mercredi 14 mai 2025 - En 1958 paraissait chez Decca une 9ème symphonie de Schubert par le London Symphony Orchestra dirigée par Josef Krips. Une version mal connue mais l'une des plus attachantes de l'œuvre.

durée : 00:15:07 - Disques de légende du mercredi 14 mai 2025 - En 1958 paraissait chez Decca une 9ème symphonie de Schubert par le London Symphony Orchestra dirigée par Josef Krips. Une version mal connue mais l'une des plus attachantes de l'œuvre.

Because…”All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players.”As Rob starts rehearsals for a production of Macbeth he's directing, the boys don their cod pieces and doublets and discuss all things Shakespeare.There's some tenuous links to sport in Shakespeare, the boys chat about their favourite productions they've seen, what Shakespeare means to them, who they'd love to play, Rob tells us about wrestling in As You Like It and Jack gives us a few lines of “But soft…' from Romeo and Juliet (which quickly sends Ken to sleep!)@StageDoorAthletic#JackLoxton #RobShawCameron #StageDoorAthletic #Shakespeare #RomeoAndJuliet #Macbeth #TheDukesTheatreCompany #Hamlet #RoryKinnear #PatrickStewart #IanMcKellen #AdrianLester #Othello #BazLuhrman #AsYouLikeIt #ButSoft #ToBeOrNotToBe #RSC #OpenAIrTheatreRegentsPark #Sport #Theatre #Podcast #SportsPodcast #TheatrePodcast Hosts: Jack Loxton & Rob Shaw CameronProducer: James CourtEdited by: Rob Shaw Cameron@jackloxton1 @robshawcameron@thecourtofjames Stage Door Athletic is a [NON]FICTION PEOPLE Podcast© [NON]FICTION PEOPLE LtdPRS Licence Reference: LE-0036019Shakespeare - Fink ℗ 2014 R'COUP'DOverture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Op. 21: Allegro di molto - John Eliot Gardiner & London Symphony Orchestra ℗ 2018 London Symphony Orchestra Ltd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Long known as one of the world's finest Jazz Pianists, Rick DellaRatta also began to receive major recognition as a composer when his symphonic piece “Permutata” was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra at the Beatles famed Abbey Rd., Studios in 1999, and as a unique and important vocalist in 2004 when he was included in a definitive listing of the greatest jazz singers of all time in Scott Yanow's Book “Jazz Singers”. Jazz for Peace rose from the ashes of 9/11 as a poem and is now considered "The most significant cultural event of our time!", Jazz For Peace. Rick witnessed the extraordinary events of 9/11 from his rooftop less than 1/4 mile away from Ground Zero on that fateful morning when the words of a poem titled “Jazz for Peace” that he wrote on that day went on to lead him to over 850 concerts across the Globe to help the world's most outstanding causes, educational presentations, and instrument donation programs for children.Through his life long endeavor to help advance people to their highest potential through the understanding of Jazz as well as spreading peace worldwide through his "Jazz for Peace World Tour", Rick DellaRatta is considered to be an innovator and a visionary, a designation that became known by many when he was included by The Foundation Center in their list of the top musician philanthropists of our time along with Bono (U2), Elton John, Peter Gabriel and Sting.Socials:Website: https://rickdellaratta.com/Website: jazzforpeace.orgLinkedIn: Rick DellaRatta FB: Rick DellaRatta https://jazzforpeace.wordpress.com/about/unprecedented-achievements/Enjoy the visual here on Youtube

Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid Op. 30 n. 6 (G. 324)Quintettino per due violini, viola e due violoncelli in do maggiore 1.       Le campane dell'Ave Maria 2.       Il tamburo dei Soldati 3.       Minuetto dei Ciechi 4.       Il Rosario (Largo assai, allegro, largo come prima) 5.       Passa Calle (Allegro vivo) 6.       Il tamburo 7.       Ritirata (Maestoso)Le Concert des NationsJordi Savall, conductor *****12:38Concerto n. 9 in si bemolle maggiore per violoncello e orchestra, G 4821.       Allegro moderato2.       Adagio non troppo3.       Rondo. Allegro Pablo Casals, violoncello London Symphony OrchestraLandon Ronald, conductor

Professor Carl Jones is a conservation biologist who is best known for saving the Mauritius kestrel from extinction. He is the scientific director of Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, chief scientist at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and an honorary professor in ecology and conservation biology at the University of East Anglia.He was born in Carmarthen in Wales and was fascinated with animals from an early age, rearing rescued common kestrels, owls and hawks in his back garden. He studied biology at North-East London Polytechnic and, after learning about the plight of the Mauritius kestrel, he was determined to go out to the country to try to save the bird.He arrived in Mauritius in 1979 when there were only two known breeding pairs left in the wild. By the time he left in 1999 he'd established a captive breeding programme and today hundreds of Mauritius kestrels fly over the islands where he spent decades pioneering his, sometimes controversial, methods. Today the Mauritius kestrel is the national bird. He is also responsible for saving from extinction three species of reptiles, a fruit bat and several plants.He was appointed an MBE for his work in 2004 and in 2016 he won the prestigious Indianapolis Prize – the world's leading award for animal conservation.Carl lives in Carmarthen with his wife and two children and assorted animals including two Andean condors called Carlos and Baby. DISC ONE: Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf Opus 67 - The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult DISC TWO: Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. Narrated by Richard Burton and performed by Meredith Edwards, Gwenllian Owen and Gwenyth Petty DISC THREE: Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll - Ian Dury DISC FOUR: La Rivière Noire - John Kenneth Nelson DISC FIVE: Asimbonanga - Johnny Clegg & Savuka DISC SIX: Sega lakordeon – Rene oule bwar mwa - La Troupe de l'Union DISC SEVEN: Londonderry Air - Beatrice Harrison DISC EIGHT: Clear Sky - Catrin FinchBOOK CHOICE: The Collected Works of Dylan Thomas LUXURY ITEM: Binoculars CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Asimbonanga - Johnny Clegg & Savuka Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

JP Jofre is an Argentinian born 2x Grammy Nominated composer and Bandoneon player. His music has been recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and by artists like Paquito d'Rivera. He's appeared as a performer at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and the Beijing National Theatre.My featured song is “The Gift” my recent collaboration with Grammy winning arranger Michael Abene. Spotify link.---------------------------------------------The Follow Your Dream Podcast:Top 1% of all podcasts with Listeners in 200 countries!For more information and other episodes of the podcast click here. To subscribe to the podcast click here.To subscribe to our weekly Follow Your Dream Podcast email click here.To Rate and Review the podcast click here.—----------------------------------------Connect with JP:www.jpjofre.com—----------------------------------------ROBERT'S RECENT SINGLES:“ROUGH RIDER” is Robert's latest single. It's got a Cool, ‘60s, “Spaghetti Western”, Guitar-driven, Tremolo sounding, Ventures/Link Wray kind of vibe!CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL VIDEOCLICK HERE FOR ALL LINKS—--------------------------------“LOVELY GIRLIE” is a fun, Old School, rock/pop tune with 3-part harmony. It's been called “Supremely excellent!”, “Another Homerun for Robert!”, and “Love that Lovely Girlie!”Click HERE for All Links—----------------------------------“THE RICH ONES ALL STARS” is Robert's single featuring the following 8 World Class musicians: Billy Cobham (Drums), Randy Brecker (Flugelhorn), John Helliwell (Sax), Pat Coil (Piano), Peter Tiehuis (Guitar), Antonio Farao (Keys), Elliott Randall (Guitar) and David Amram (Pennywhistle).Click HERE for the Official VideoClick HERE for All Links—----------------------------------------“SOSTICE” is Robert's single with a rockin' Old School vibe. Called “Stunning!”, “A Gem!”, “Magnificent!” and “5 Stars!”.Click HERE for all links.—---------------------------------“THE GIFT” is Robert's ballad arranged by Grammy winning arranger Michael Abene and turned into a horn-driven Samba. Praised by David Amram, John Helliwell, Joe La Barbera, Tony Carey, Fay Claassen, Antonio Farao, Danny Gottlieb and Leslie Mandoki.Click HERE for all links.—-------------------------------------“LOU'S BLUES”. Robert's Jazz Fusion “Tone Poem”. Called “Fantastic! Great playing and production!” (Mark Egan - Pat Metheny Group/Elements) and “Digging it!” (Peter Erskine - Weather Report)!Click HERE for all links.—----------------------------------------Audio production:Jimmy RavenscroftKymera Films Connect with the Follow Your Dream Podcast:Website - www.followyourdreampodcast.comEmail Robert - robert@followyourdreampodcast.com Follow Robert's band, Project Grand Slam, and his music:Website - www.projectgrandslam.comYouTubeSpotify MusicApple MusicEmail - pgs@projectgrandslam.com

Neil Young's most successful solo album is also considered his signature album.  Harvest was Young's fourth solo studio album, and it topped the Billboard 200 chart in the US for two weeks while also spawning two top 40 singles.  Young grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, and began playing and songwriting there in several groups.  His first success as a songwriter came for a song he wrote for The Guess Who which made it to the top 40 in Canada.  He was in the Mynah Birds, a Toronto group fronted by a young Rick James.  The Mynah Birds were attempting to get signed by Motown when James was arrested for being AWOL from the Navy reserves. Shortly after this, Neil Young and bassist Bruce Palmer sold the group's equipment, bought a hearse, and used it to move to Los Angeles.  He then worked as a session musician and a member of Buffalo Springfield before striking out on his own solo work while also joining Crosby, Stills & Nash.Harvest was written after an acoustic tour the previous year, a tour prompted by a back injury Young sustained that required him to play sitting down for an extended time.  The album contains significant acoustic elements, as several tracks he played on that tour would appear on the album.  Many of the lyrics are related to Young's growing relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress.  Young was a success before recording this album, and was able to bring in a number of session musicians on several tracks including Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, and the London Symphony Orchestra.Surprisingly, the album met mixed reviews when released, though over time the critics' assessments would turn much more positive.  The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.Wayne brings us this California country-tinged album for this week's podcast. Heart of GoldOne of the tracks that arose from Neil Young's acoustic tour, this song topped the charts in the United States and Canada, and went to number 10 in the UK.  Despite its success, Young had mixed feelings about the popularity he gained from the song.  Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor provided backing vocals on this track.  The lyrics talk about a man who may be overthinking life, searching for something just beyond his grasp.Old ManThe origin of this song was an encounter that Neil Young had with the caretaker of the Broken Arrow Ranch, which Young purchased in 1970.  The old caretaker was not pleased with the young (literally) hippie-looking Young purchasing the place, and this song's lyrics talk about how the two of them were not that different.AlabamaA continuation of a diatribe from Young's “Southern Man,” this track condemns the racism of the white people in Alabama specifically, and the southern United States in general.  Neil Young would eventually come to see the lyrics as too accusatory, and too easy to misconstrue as a general condemnation of all Southerners.The Needle and the Damage DoneThe inspiration for this song was a number of musicians whom Young had observed as they fell apart due to heroin addiction.  More specifically, Young wrote this song about bandmate Danny Whitten, whom Young had to let go from his tour due to his heroin use. Whitten would die of an overdose shortly thereafter.ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:Cabaret by Liza Minnelli (from the motion picture “Cabaret”)Minnelli stars in this period musical drama based on the Broadway show, set in Germany before World War II. STAFF PICKS:Mother and Child Reunion by Paul SimonRob leads off the staff picks with a one of the earlier rock songs with reggae influences.  The song was written in response to a Jimmy Cliff song in which a mother receives a letter that her son had been killed in battle in Vietnam.  It was also inspired by Simon's loss of his dog.  The title was inspired by a menu item in a Chinese restaurant in New York - chicken and eggs - entitled “Mother and Child Reunion.”I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony) by the New SeekersBruce brings us a hit song which originally appeared as a commercial jingle.  Coca-Cola produced an ad called “hilltop” featuring young people of various races coming together over a Coke.  The success prompted a rewrite of the jingle into a full-length song, dropping the product references.  It became a big hit for both the New Seekers who recorded the radio jingle, and the Hillside Singers who recorded the television commercial.Let's Stay Together by Al GreenLynch features the song which hit the top of the US singles charts, and was named number one R&B song on the Billboard Year-end chart for 1972.  It has been covered by a number of artists, with Tina Turner being the most prominent.  It was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Do You Know What I Mean by Lee MichaelsWayne's closes out the staff picks with a song about a girl that a guy lost to his best friend after taking her for granted.  It reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Lee Michaels came out of the San Francisco music scene, originally as a surf band before moving into a more "blue eyed soul" direction.  Van Halen opened for Lee Michaels at the Whiskey a Go Go in 1977. INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:Joy (feat. Tom Parker) by Apollo 100This jazz instrumental covers the baroque chorale "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J.S. Bach.  Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?” NOTE: To adjust the loudness of the music or voices, you may adjust the balance on your device. VOICES are stronger in the LEFT channel, and MUSIC is stronger on the RIGHT channel.Please follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/whattheriffpodcast/, and message or email us with what you'd like to hear, what you think of the show, and any rock-worthy memes we can share.Of course we'd love for you to rate the show in your podcast platform!**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.

Today's guest is BISHI - singer, electronic rock-sitarist, composer, producer, and performer born in London of Bengali heritage. She has independently released two albums and several EPs on her own label Gryphon Records to critical acclaim. She co-produced her third album ‘Let My Country Awake,' with Jeff Cook, out now on all platforms. BISHI has recorded work with Tony Visconti, Sean Ono Lennon, Jarvis Cocker, Richard Norris and Daphne Guinness. Her collaborations and commissions for the stage include; The London Symphony Orchestra, The Kronos Quartet and  Yoko Ono's ‘Meltdown', and is the founder of WITCiH: The Women in Technology Creative Industries Hub, a platform elevating Women & Non-Binary genders in tech, through commissions, performances & the podcast 'Creative Women in Tech.' Ladies and gentlemen – meet the unique performer Bishi...If you can, please support the Electronically Yours podcast via my Patreon: patreon.com/electronicallyours

William Boyd is the author of eighteen novels, five short story collections and numerous screenplays. His first published novel, A Good Man in Africa, was inspired by his childhood in West Africa. He is well known for writing ‘whole life' novels including Any Human Heart which he adapted as a BAFTA-winning television series. He was born in Accra in Ghana where his Scottish father worked as a doctor, specialising in tropical medicine. In 1964 the family moved to Ibadan, Nigeria where he witnessed the Nigerian Civil War – the Biafran War – which had a profound effect on him both personally and professionally.He read English Literature and Philosophy at the University of Glasgow and became a lecturer in English at St Hilda's College, Oxford. During this period he wrote novels and short stories on the side until his breakthrough novel, A Good Man in Africa, was published in 1981. In 2005 he was appointed CBE for services to literature.William lives in London with his wife Susan and over 10,000 books.DISC ONE: Sunday - Mandy Patinkin (George), Sunday in the Park with George Original Broadway Cast Ensemble and Orchestra DISC TWO: Sorry Sorry - Femi Kuti DISC THREE: Away Down the River - Alison Krauss DISC FOUR: Que reste-t-il de nos amours - Charles Trenet DISC FIVE: Daniel - Elton John DISC SIX: Britten: Violin Concerto, Op. 15: 1. Moderato con moto. Performed by Janine Jansen (violin) London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paavo Järvi DISC SEVEN: Brahms: Horn Trio In E Flat, Op. 40 - 1. Andante - Poco più animato. Performed by György Sebök (piano) Arthur Grumiaux (violin), Francis Orval (horn) DISC EIGHT: Al Otro Lado del Río - Jorge DrexlerBOOK CHOICE: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov LUXURY ITEM: A piano CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Daniel - Elton JohnPresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

Wilhelmina – Mina – Smallman is an activist who campaigns for the safety of women and girls and police reform. She is a former teacher and priest who was the first woman of colour to be an archdeacon in the Church of England.In 2020 her daughters Bibaa and Nicole were murdered as they celebrated Bibaa's 46th birthday in Fryent Country Park. It later came to light that two policemen, who were guarding the crime scene, had posed for and posted selfies with Bibaa and Nicole's bodies in the background. They were later jailed for misconduct. When friends first reported her daughters missing the police didn't launch an official search for them and it was their loved ones who eventually found Bibaa and Nicole. Mina's anger at the failings of the Metropolitan Police, led her to start her fight for justice. In 2021 an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) report, highlighted the Met's failings and advised the force to apologise to Mina and her family.Mina was brought up in London. She was a drama teacher for over 20 years before training for the priesthood. She was ordained in 2006 and took up her first job as vicar at Christ Church on the Thames View estate in Barking. In 2013 she was appointed the first woman archdeacon of Southend in the Diocese of Chelmsford. She retired as an archdeacon in 2016. DISC ONE: Silly Games – Janet Kay DISC TWO: Handel: Messiah, HWV 56 / Pt. 3 - 43. Air: I know that my Redeemer liveth Performed by Dame Joan Sutherland (Soprano), London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult DISC THREE: Easy Terms - Barbara Dickson DISC FOUR: Amazing Grace - The Pipes And Drums Of The Military Band Of The Royal Scots Dragoon DISC FIVE: We Are The World - USA for Africa DISC SIX: Miss Independent - Ne-Yo DISC SEVEN: Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury and the Blockheads DISC EIGHT: I Look To You - Whitney Houston BOOK CHOICE: Woman in White by Wilkie Collins LUXURY ITEM: Hair moisturiser CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Look To You - Whitney Houston Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

Nan Avant|Composing the Wind: Composer and Musician Inspired by Tragedy in MauiToday, we're honored to welcome Nan Avant, an award-winning composer whose music beautifully bridges diverse cultures and genres. From symphonic and orchestral works to jazz, Latin, and Celtic influences, Nan's compositions captivate audiences with their rich storytelling and evocative themes.With a BFA from California Institute of the Arts and training under Emmy-winning composer Hummie Mann, Nan has built an impressive career. She is a four-time Hollywood Music in Media Awards nominee, a Winner of The American Prize, and has received multiple Silver Medal Awards from the Global Music Awards. Her music has been recorded by prestigious ensembles like the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and is featured on Navona Recordings.Beyond accolades, Nan's passion lies in the art of thematic and rhythmic storytelling, crafting music that resonates deeply with listeners. Whether she's composing for, orchestra, chamber ensembles, or indie film, her work is a masterful fusion of technique and emotion.We're excited to dive into her creative process, her inspirations, and the stories behind her stunning compositions. Nan Avant, welcome to the show!Support PEG by checking out our Sponsors:Download and use Newsly for free now from www.newsly.me or from the link in the description, and use promo code “GHOST” and receive a 1-month free premium subscription.The best tool for getting podcast guests:https://podmatch.com/signup/phantomelectricghostSubscribe to our Instagram for exclusive content:https://www.instagram.com/expansive_sound_experiments/Subscribe to our YouTube https://youtube.com/@phantomelectricghost?si=rEyT56WQvDsAoRprPEG uses StreamYard.com for our live podcastshttps://streamyard.com/pal/c/6290085463457792Get $10.00 Credit for using StreamYard.com when you sign up with our linkRSShttps://anchor.fm/s/3b31908/podcast/rssIntroduction

Esta noche os traemos un cambio importante en el programa que desvelaremos al comienzo. Después charlaremos con Jacques Fletcher, explorador e investigador de lo desconocido. Fletcher compartirá con nosotros anécdotas de sus viajes a la Amazonía, sus encuentros con tribus indígenas, experiencias con lo extraordinario y reflexiones sobre el cine, la cultura y la condición humana. Álvaro Anula, en su sección “Enclaves de Leyenda”, nos contará la historia de Omar Ben Hafsun, un rebelde que lideró a bandidos, descontentos y marginados, y que llegó a desafiar al Emirato de Córdoba desde su fortaleza en Bobastro, en la Sierra de las Nieves. Sed bienvenidos y bienvenidas. Podcast Academia de los Nocturnos Dirige: Félix Friaza Presentan: Félix Friaza y Lola Velasco Colaboran: Álvaro Anula y Javier Resines Locución: Laura Cárdenas y Ana Cárdenas Edición y diseño: Paco Cárdenas Si te gusta nuestro programa, suscríbete en Ivoox, comenta y dale a Me gusta a nuestros programas, tu respaldo nos motiva a seguir adelante y a mejorar. Y si los compartes, nos ayudarás a que los conozcan más personas. - Suscríbete a nuestro podcast aquí: https://go.ivoox.com/sq/1523888 - Añádenos a Whatsapp: (+34) 644 848 546 - Nuestro correo: academianocturnos@gmail.com - Síguenos en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcademiaDeLosNocturnos - Las opiniones expresadas por los invitados son de su exclusiva responsabilidad y no necesariamente representan la opinión de la dirección del programa. Créditos de las músicas: - Sintonía: Scarborough Fair – Nox Arcana - Cuña 1: BSO Poltergeist – Jerry Goldsmith – “The calling” - Cuña 2: BSO Nosferatu (2024) – “Once upon a time” - Cuña 3: BSO Encuentros en la tercera fase – John Williams – “Wild signals” - Cuña 4 contacto: “Salem's Lot Soundtrack | Town Theme - Nathan Barr & Lisbeth Scott | WaterTower Music” - Música presentación invitados: BSO The Haunting of Hill House – “Take her down” - Cierre de programa - Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): http://uppbeat.io/t/spinnin-tape/no-joyce - License code: JUYLRAH7OVALM3LC Músicas de fondo: - OST - Raiders of the Lost Ark - In the Jungle · John Williams · London Symphony Orchestra - 2008 Lucasfilm Ltd. - OST - Raiders of the Lost Ark - Bad Dates · John Williams · London Symphony Orchestra - 2008 Lucasfilm Ltd - OST - Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle - Digging Up the Past · Henry Jackman - 2017 Columbia Pictures

SynopsisOn today's date in 1953, Pageant, a new work for symphonic winds premiered with the University of Miami Band. It was written by American composer Vincent Persichetti, who conducted the performance, as he did the work's New York City debut later that same year with the Goldman Band, then America's premiere professional wind ensemble, who had commissioned the work. It might seem odd that an amateur, student ensemble should premiere a work commissioned for professionals, but in the 1950s, when the U.S. college system was rapidly expanding, the savvy Mr. Persichetti was ready and willing to supply both students and professionals with more than a dozen new wind band scores to perform.He put it this way: “I find wonderful performances in the universities around the country. They may be students, but … they'll find something there that you maybe didn't quite even dream of, and make something of it, whereas sometimes the professional orchestras don't always get it as quickly. [The student musicians] have to work harder, but they do this all through high school and college, and by the time they get to the end of college they know what music is about and can phrase and shape it with some conviction.”Music Played in Today's ProgramVincent Persichetti (1915-1987): Pageant; Winds of the London Symphony Orchestra; David Amos, conductor; Naxos 8.570123

Episode Description:In today's episode, I want to take a moment to reflect on the life and impact of Deniis Wick—a name synonymous with excellence in the world of trombone. Denis was not only one of the greatest trombone players of his generation but also a teacher, mentor, and innovator who changed the lives of so many musicians, including mine.From his iconic mouthpieces to his legendary playing with the London Symphony Orchestra, Denis's influence is felt far and wide, both on stage and in the classroom. His dedication to the craft of teaching, his generosity, and his ability to inspire those around him are just a few of the many reasons we will never forget him.In this episode, I share some personal stories about Denis—how I first became aware of his work as a child, the powerful impact his playing had on me as a young musician, and the incredible generosity he showed as a teacher and mentor. I'll talk about the lasting influence he had on me and countless others, how his lessons extended far beyond the trombone, and why his legacy will live on in the music world for years to come.Denis was a guide, a role model, and a friend, and I hope this episode does justice to the remarkable life he led.Key Topics in This Episode: My first encounter with Denis Wick's mouthpieces and the lasting influence they had on me. Denis's powerful, unforgettable trombone playing, including his iconic performance of The Firebird with the London Symphony. His pioneering role in shaping modern European trombone teaching and the British trombone school. Personal anecdotes from my time studying and working with Denis, and how he mentored me both as a trombonist and as a teacher. Denis's approach to business, teaching, and life—how his enthusiasm and generosity influenced everything he did.

durée : 00:16:13 - Le Disque classique du jour du lundi 10 février 2025 - Un nouvelle version du ballet intégral de Ravel par Antonio Pappano à la tête du London Symphony Orchestra et des voix du Tenebrae Choir

durée : 00:16:13 - Le Disque classique du jour du lundi 10 février 2025 - Un nouvelle version du ballet intégral de Ravel par Antonio Pappano à la tête du London Symphony Orchestra et des voix du Tenebrae Choir

Sanfte Klänge und weiche Beats, verwoben mit ätherischen Klavierüberleitungen: Philipp bereitet dich auf deine Reise in den Schlaf vor. Dazu gibt es in dieser Ausgabe noch ein paar Naturgeräusche, die dich endgültig zur Ruhe lassen kommen sollen. Diese Musikstücke hörst Du in dieser Folge: Jess Gillam Ensemble – "Emerald and Stone" // Dominik Eulberg & Hannes Kretzer – "Lichtung" // Jeffrey Tate & London Symphony Orchestra – "Sospiri, Op. 70" // Agnes Obel – "Dorian" // David Arnold & Nicholas Dodd– "City of Lovers" // Den Podcast "Interpretationssache - Der Musikpodcast" von SR Kultur findest Du hier: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/sendung/interpretationssache-der-musikpodcast/12626637/ Wenn Du eine Idee oder einen Wunsch zu einem musikalischen Thema hast, dann schreib mir eine Mail: playlist@ndr.de

durée : 00:16:02 - Le Disque classique du jour du mercredi 05 février 2025 - Signés Bertolt Brecht et Kurt Weill, "Les 7 péchés capitaux" nous emmènent dans une Amérique capitaliste des années 30, pour une critique féroce et joyeuse : une nouvelle version de luxe avec le London Symphony Orchestra dirigé par Simon Rattle et de grandes voix, notamment Magdalena Kožená

durée : 00:16:02 - Le Disque classique du jour du mercredi 05 février 2025 - Signés Bertolt Brecht et Kurt Weill, "Les 7 péchés capitaux" nous emmènent dans une Amérique capitaliste des années 30, pour une critique féroce et joyeuse : une nouvelle version de luxe avec le London Symphony Orchestra dirigé par Simon Rattle et de grandes voix, notamment Magdalena Kožená

Mark-Anthony Turnage is a composer of contemporary classical music. Once called “Britain's hippest composer”, he has been in a rock band, got drunk with Francis Bacon, and tackled anything from drug abuse to football in his works. Mark was born in June 1960 in the Thames estuary town of Corringham in Essex. His musical talent was nurtured by his parents and he studied composition at the junior department at the Royal College of Music from aged fourteen. There he met the composer Oliver Knussen who became his tutor, mentor, and life-long friend. His first performed work, Night Dances, written while still at the Royal College, won a prize and heralded Mark's evolution into what one critic calls “one of the best known British composers of his generation, widely admired for his highly personal mixture of energy and elegy, tough and tender”. Greek, his debut opera, a reimagining of the Oedipus myth whose protagonist is a racist, violent and foul-mouthed football hooligan, shocked the establishment, which flinched, but accepted “Turnage, the trouble-maker” as a forceful voice. Over the past four decades he has sustained a distinguished and productive career that has seen him working closely with conductors of the stature of Bernard Haitink, Esa-Pekka Salonen and, particularly, Simon Rattle. He has been attached to prestigious institutions, such as English National Opera and both the BBC and Chicago symphony orchestras, and has written a vast range of music for many different instruments and ensembles. His influences include soul, gospel, all sorts of jazz and the great symphonic works of the repertoire. He has written operas, ballets, concertos, chamber pieces and choral works together with orchestrating a football match. His key works include Three Screaming Popes and Blood on the Floor (both inspired by Francis Bacon paintings, and the latter containing an elegy for his younger brother, Andrew, who died of a drug overdose in 1995), as well as more operas including one about the former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith. Mark lives in North London with his partner, the opera director, Rachael Hewer. DISC ONE: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 II. Molto vivace - Presto - Molto vivace – Presto. Composed by Ludwig Van Beethoven and performed by The Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle DISC TWO: St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244 Pt. 1 No. 1, Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen. Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Bach Collegium Japan, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki DISC THREE: Two Organa, Op. 27 – 1 “Notre Dame des Jouets”. Composed and conducted by Oliver Knussen and performed by The London Sinfonietta DISC FOUR: Blue in Green - Miles Davis DISC FIVE: Living for the City - Stevie Wonder DISC SIX: Puccini: Madama Butterfly, Act II: Un bel dì vedremo. Composed by Giacomo Puccini and performed by Mirella Freni (Soprano) and Wiener Philharmoniker, conducted by Herbert von Karajan DISC SEVEN: Symphony of Psalms (1948 Version): III. Alleluja. Laudate Dominum - Psalmus 150 (Vulgata) Composed by Igor Stravinsky and performed by English Bach Festival Choir and The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein DISC EIGHT: Let's Say We Did. Composed by John Scofield and Mark-Anthony Turnage and performed by John Scofield, John Patitucci, Peter Erskine, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, hr-Bigband and Hugh WolfBOOK CHOICE: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier LUXURY ITEM: A grand piano and tuning kit CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244 Pt. 1 No. 1, Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen. Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Bach Collegium Japan, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

Music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda is also one of the world's most sought-after conductors, recognized equally for his artistry in  the concert hall and the opera house.Gianandrea's award-winning recordings are distributed by LSO Live, for whom he also records as principal guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.  His discography spans over 80 recordings.He became general music director of the Zurich Opera House in September 2021 and he reached an important milestone in May 2024, conducting two highly praised complete Ring Cycles.In the summer of 2024, he led an international festival tour with European Union Youth Orchestra which took them to the Edinburgh Festival and the Lucerne Festival. In 2019, he was appointed the founding music director of the Tsinandali Festival and Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra in the village of Tsinandali, Georgia.A native of Milan, Gianandrea is Commendatore al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, marking his contribution to the artistic life of Italy. He has been honored as Musical America's Conductor of the Year (2015) and International Opera Awards Conductor of the Year (2016). In 2023, he received the Puccini Award, joining the likes of Maria Callas, Birgit Nilsson, and Luciano Pavarotti.

Many experts believe André Watts was one of the greatest classical pianist of all time. Over the six decades of his career, this celebrated African-American musician performed as soloist with every major orchestra in the United States, and most of the world's finest orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. Watts recorded a variety of repertoire, concentrating on Romantic era composers such as Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt, but also including George Gershwin. In 1973 at the age of 26, Yale University gave Watts his first honorary doctorate, and many more awards would follow. At the age of sixteen, Watts made his nationwide debut on CBS-TV's, Young People's Concert series, and was introduced by legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein. You will hear Andre Watts talk about his remarkable life, in an extensive interview with David Dubal at WNCN Radio in New York City in October of 1983. More at http://krobcollection.com

Bevor Simon Rattle im Herbst 2023 beim Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks Chefdirigent wurde, leitete er sechs Jahre lang das London Symphony Orchestra. Zum 70. Geburtstag von Rattle hat das orchestereigene Label einen Londoner Konzertmitschnitt von 2022 veröffentlicht. Das Album bietet einen Querschnitt durch das Schaffen von Kurt Weill.

Chormusik ist sein Leben und es ist ihm in die Wiege gelegt. 1958 in London geboren als Sohn eines Chorleiters und einer Sängerin, wurde Simon Halsey mit 22 Jahren Musikdirektor der University of Warwick. 1982 lud ihn Sir Simon Rattle ein, die Leitung des City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus zu übernehmen. Das war der Beginn einer jahrzehntelangen Zusammenarbeit. Halsey gründete mehrere Chöre, ging ans Opernhaus Antwerpen, dann zum Rundfunkchor Hilversum und schließlich nach Berlin. Bis 2015 war er Chefdirigent und Künstlerischer Leiter des Rundfunkchores Berlin und wurde für verschiedene Produktionen in dieser Zeit mit dem Grammy ausgezeichnet. Auch in London setzte er seine Zusammenarbeit mit Rattle fort, als Chordirektor beim London Symphony Orchestra und London Symphony Chorus. In diesem Jahr wird der Brite in Hamburg mit dem NDR Vokalensemble das Mitsingkonzert "Singing!" wieder mit Leben füllen. Simon Halsey ist einer der Pioniere der beliebten Mitsingkonzerte, die weltweit Anhänger finden. Halsey hat bereits zigtausend Amateur-Sängerinnen und -Sänger zum gemeinsamen Musizieren animiert. Wo immer er arbeitet und auftritt, er begeistert mit seinem Witz, mit seinem enormen Enthusiasmus und letztlich mit seiner künstlerischen Perfektion.

durée : 01:28:36 - Relax ! du vendredi 10 janvier 2025 - par : Lionel Esparza - La saison musicale reprend de plus belle, en région et à Paris, avec quelques grands noms qui vont nous régaler ! Leif Ove Andsnes, Vilde Frang ou Zubin Mehta, le London Symphony Orchestra ou le Wiener Philharmoniker, Barbe-Bleue ou Carmen sont au programme de vos prochains concerts - réalisé par : Antoine Courtin

A song from an experimental phase that is utterly complete and fully formed, and a cover that should sound like a gimmick but a brilliant band makes it polished and natural. Eleanor Rigby, originally by The Beatles, covered by Kansas with the London Symphony Orchestra.  Outro music is Mama Told Me Not To Come, by Three Dog Night with the London Symphony Orchestra. 

An intimate look at Toumani Diabaté through 30 years of Afropop Worldwide conversations. From his home in Bamako to concert halls worldwide, Toumani revolutionized the kora and brought West African music to new heights – winning Grammys and collaborating with everyone from Ali Farka Touré to the London Symphony Orchestra. Join us as his longtime friend and producer Lucy Durán shares personal stories, while rare recordings capture Toumani's genius at different moments in his incredible career. Through his own words and music, we celebrate a true innovator who never forgot his griot roots. Produced by Banning Eyre for Afropop Worldwide, featuring exclusive archive material and performances.

Imogen Whitehead is a true trailblazer in the world of trumpet performance. Currently the principal trumpet of the Britten Sinfonia, Imogen has performed as principal trumpet with some of the world's most prestigious orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Aurora Orchestra. Alongside her orchestral work, she has also carved out a dynamic solo career, commissioning and premiering new trumpet and flugelhorn music, and championing contemporary compositions.In this interview, we explore the wide-ranging facets of Imogen's career and the personal and professional steps she's taken to build her impressive path. We begin in Part 1 by talking about her recent experience touring with the London Symphony Orchestra, where she reflects on both her audition and the challenges and rewards of playing with such a renowned ensemble.We then move on to discuss her time with the Aurora Orchestra, an ensemble that performs much of its repertoire entirely from memory—a fascinating approach that Imogen describes in detail. She also shares insights into her experience premiering Anibal Vidal's Trumpet Concerto with the Britten Sinfonia, and how this commissioning project came to life.Throughout our conversation, we explore the career strategies Imogen has employed, including the importance of building personal connections and the role that social media has played in expanding her reach. Imogen also takes us back to her time as a student at the Royal Academy of Music, where she recalls a transformative lesson with the legendary Jim Watson.In the second part of our conversation [Subscriber Content], Imogen discusses further studies with Norwegian soloist Tine Thing Helseth in Oslo, shedding light on how brief but impactful experiences can shape a musician's growth. She also provides an inside look at the commissioning process for To Stay Open, a piece by Charlotte Harding inspired by the work of psychologist Pippa Grange.We end on a fun note, as Imogen shares the unique experience of playing in the recording and filming of Mahler's 2nd Symphony for the 2023 Film "Maestro", an American biographical romantic drama about Leonard Bernstein..Whether you're a young player, a seasoned professional, or simply a fan of music, this episode with Imogen Whitehead is sure to inspire you to take chances, put in the work, and grow both as a musician and a person.Would you like more inspirational stories, suggestions, insights, and a place to continue the conversations with other listeners? Visit anthonyplog-on-music.supercast.com to learn more! As a Contributing Listener of "Anthony Plog on Music," you'll have access to extra premium content and benefits including: Extra Audio Content: Only available to Contributing Listeners. Podcast Reflections: Tony's written recaps and thoughts on past interviews, including valuable tips and suggestions for students. Ask Me Anything: Both as written messages and occasional member-only Zoom sessions. The Show's Discord Server: Where conversations about interviews, show suggestions, and questions happen. It's a great place to meet other listeners and chat about all things music! Can I just donate instead of subscribing? Absolutely! Cancel at anytime and easily resubscribe when you want all that extra content again. Learn more about becoming a Contributing Listener @ anthonyplog-on-music.supercast.com!

Send us a textAward-winning music educator Merlin B. Thompson (PhD, MA, BMus) is the Creator and Founder of Teach Music 21C - a music teacher professional development program that highlights 21st century teaching tools and philosophy. Merlin is recognized internationally for his expertise in music studio teaching. His recent projects include working with hundreds of teachers, students and parents throughout Canada, USA, China, New Zealand, Australia, and Finland. Merlin is author of More than Music Lessons: A Studio Teacher's Guide to Parents, Practicing, Projects, and Character. You can find out more at https://www.teachmusic21c.comTop 5 Songs of Encouragement1) "Bali Ha'i" from South Pacific by Rodgers and Hammersteinhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwYvWF5j0a8&t=10s2) "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by Bach, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Norman Luboff choirhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6OgZCCoXWc&t=1s3) "Thankful" by Josh Groban, performed by the Rise Up Children's Choirhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkOEzP-nGZ84) "Summer" from the Four Seasons by Vivaldi, performed by Alexandr Hrustevich Vilniushttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SE222v1eyM5) My Neighbor Totoro by Joe Hisaishihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrL9d4GrIGASupport the show

Send us a textNick and Sebastian visit jolly England to visit the British Trombone Festival. While there they had a chance to sit down with Peter Moore, the prodigious trombonist whose career drew great attention from the age of only 12 years old! From his beginnings in brass bands to his breakthrough on the BBC Young Musician stage, Peter's story is one of talent, resilience, and a relentless pursuit of musical excellence. We traverse through his early days, the pressures of performing on television, and his iconic fashion choices that marked his early performances. With witty exchanges about American and British terminology sprinkled throughout, this episode captures the essence of Peter's vibrant personality and the passion he holds for his craft.Our discussion then moves to the intricacies of Peter's career, including his transformative experience with the London Symphony Orchestra. He candidly shares the emotional rollercoaster of balancing professional commitments with personal growth, and the unforeseen opportunities that shaped his path. We explore the challenges of transitioning from an orchestral role to the uncertainties of a solo career, underscoring the mental strength required to chase new ambitions. Peter's reflections offer profound insights into the world of professional musicianship, highlighting both the exhilaration and the solitude that come with the territory.We wrap up with a forward-looking perspective on Peter's upcoming projects, including new works, albums, and a tour across the United States. This episode is a joyride through the world of trombone performance, exploring the art of musical expression and the global community that defines it. With anecdotes, advice, and a shared love for the trombone, it's a celebration of music, passion, and the shared quest for artistic communication. Whether you're a seasoned trombone enthusiast or new to the brass scene, this conversation with Peter Moore is sure to resonate and inspire.Also introducing special features with Patreon: www.patreon.com/tromboneretreatLearn more about the Trombone Retreat and upcoming festival here: linktr.ee/tromboneretreatHosted by Sebastian Vera - @js.vera (insta) and Nick Schwartz - @basstrombone444 (insta)Produced and edited by Sebastian VeraMusic: Firehorse: Mvt 1 - Trot by Steven Verhelst performed live by Brian Santero, Sebastian Vera and Nick SchwartzThank you to our season sponsor Houghton Horns: www.houghtonhorns.comAlso introducing special features with Patreon: www.patreon.com/tromboneretreatLearn more about the Trombone Retreat and upcoming festival here: linktr.ee/tromboneretreat Hosted by Sebastian Vera - @js.vera (insta) and Nick Schwartz - @basstrombone444 (insta)Produced and edited by Sebastian VeraMusic: Firehorse: Mvt 1 - Trot by Steven Verhelst performed live by Brian Santero, Sebastian Vera and Nick SchwartzThank you to our season sponsor Houghton Horns: www.houghtonhorns.comSupport the show

Send us a textWe're now on YouTube! Enjoy this episode with our new enhanced video content on our YouTube channel, please like and subscribe!!Join us for an inspiring conversation with the legendary trombonist Ian Bousfield as we navigate through the vibrant realm of trombone music. Ian shares his incredible journey in an engaging discussion on the transformative power of music in an unforgettable exploration of musical connections and experiences.Our discussion unfolds the unexpected bonds formed through podcasting, illustrating how stories and respectful discourse can bridge diverse backgrounds. Ian reflects on how podcasting became a therapeutic platform during COVID, offering a space to share opinions and connect with a global audience. The episode emphasizes the importance of understanding music within its cultural context, drawing parallels with wine tasting, and appreciating unique musical interpretations. Insights into the dynamics of conducting in different regions and the evolving definition of musical success provide a deeper understanding of the art form.Furthermore, Ian reveals the emotional depth and familial influences that shape a musician's legacy. He shares touching stories of nurturing resilience in children, balancing a demanding career with family life, and inspiring the next generation of musicians. Through candid anecdotes, Ian recounts pivotal career moments and the enduring friendships formed along the way, from the London Symphony Orchestra to the Vienna Philharmonic. This episode is a celebration of music's profound impact on personal and professional life, encapsulating the shared experiences that unite the global trombone community.Also introducing special features with Patreon: www.patreon.com/tromboneretreatLearn more about the Trombone Retreat and upcoming festival here: linktr.ee/tromboneretreat Hosted by Sebastian Vera - @js.vera (insta) and Nick Schwartz - @basstrombone444 (insta)Produced and edited by Sebastian VeraMusic: Firehorse: Mvt 1 - Trot by Steven Verhelst performed live by Brian Santero, Sebastian Vera and Nick SchwartzThank you to our season sponsor Houghton Horns: www.houghtonhorns.comSupport the show

Show notes: http://deeppurplepodcast.com/?p=32723 Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Anchor.fm, Breaker, PodBean, RadioPublic, Amazon Music, Pocket Casts, or search in your favorite podcatcher!  Leave us a 5-Star Review on Apple Podcasts Buy Merch at Our Etsy Store! Donate on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deeppurplepodcast Website: http://deeppurplepodcast.com/ Contact: info@deeppurplepodcast.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/deeppurplepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deeppurplepodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Deep-Purple-Podcast-333239820881996 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxcThTTLtAC_k7m9sTV5HIw Threads: https://www.threads.net/@deeppurplepodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/deeppurplepod.bsky.social

Show notes: http://deeppurplepodcast.com/?p=32694 Disclaimer: The video used on YouTube is a byproduct of producing our audio podcast. We post it merely as a convenience to those who prefer the YouTube format. Please subscribe using one of the links below if you'd prefer a superior audio experience. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Anchor.fm, Breaker, PodBean, RadioPublic, Amazon Music, Pocket Casts, or search in your favorite podcatcher! Leave us a 5-Star Review on Apple Podcasts Buy Merch at Our Etsy Store! Donate on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deeppurplepodcast Website: http://deeppurplepodcast.com/ Contact: info@deeppurplepodcast.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/deeppurplepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deeppurplepodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Deep-Purple-Podcast-333239820881996 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxcThTTLtAC_k7m9sTV5HIw Threads: https://www.threads.net/@deeppurplepodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/deeppurplepod.bsky.social

On this episode, we discuss our recent travels! For our interview, we welcome Juliana Koch, Principal Oboe of the London Symphony Orchestra, and Professor of Oboe at the Royal College of Music! This episode is brought to you by Barton Cane (www.bartoncane.com/), Ugly Duckling Oboes (uglyducklingoboes.com/), Chemical City Double Reeds (www.chemicalcityreeds.com/)and Oboe Chicago (www.oboechicago.com). Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

We had such a beautiful interview with Ion Zanca, interwoven with music from his new album, ROMANI: The Untold Story. Ion Zanca is the founder of the Dallas String Quartet, a Billboard-charting Classical Crossover ensemble with over 700 million streams on streaming platforms. They have performed for multiple sitting U.S. Presidents, with superstars like Ed Sheeran, Luke Combs, Jason Aldean and Ashley McBryde and their last album debuted at #2 on the Billboard Chart. Their new album "ROMANI: The Untold Story" - composed by Ion Zanca, founder of the Dallas String Quartet - is a poignant musical tribute that honors the history and suffering of the Romani people during the Holocaust. In collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra, the album's five songs explore this dark chapter while celebrating the resilience and rich musical heritage of Romani culture. 50% of album presales are donated to the Roma Foundation.Romani crushes this episode are Charlie Chaplin, Roby Lakatos, and Diego Cigala. Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. Preorder our book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, available from Weiser Books in October 2024. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor Pachas, Ion Zanca, and Charlie ChaplinAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

On Sunday, June 16th, 2024, Jason Drury traveled to London's Barbican Centre to watch and listen to music performed by the world's greatest film music orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra. The evening celebrated the orchestra's 90th anniversary of performing film scores. Under the direction of the equally great Dirk Brossé, they performed suites from twenty scores, some well-known, some underrated, all pure quality. Listening to all that wonderful music gave Jason an idea. Why not produce an Archive Show celebrating the music of the LSO featuring scores all performed by this wonderful ensemble? So, that's what we are going to do today. In addition, as with the concert, Jason will play one cue from the film or a small suite. And, because it is a ‘concert', you will hear several of these suites with as little contribution from your trusted host as possible. Welcome to Cinematic Sound Radio's celebration of the music of the London Symphony Orchestra. Enjoy! —— Special thanks to our Patreon supporters: Matt DeWater, David Ballantyne, Joe Wiles, Maxime, William Welch, Tim Burden, Alan Rogers, Dave Williams, Max Hamulyák, Jeffrey Graebner, Don Mase, Victor Field, Jochen Stolz, Emily Mason, Eric Skroch, Alexander Schiebel, Alphonse Brown, John Link, Andreas Wennmyr, Matt Berretta, Eldaly Morningstar, Jim Wilson, Glenn McDorman, Chris Malone, Steve Karpicz, Deniz Çağlar, Brent Osterberg, Jérôme Flick, Sarah Brouns, Aaron Collins, Randall Derchan, Angela Rabatin, Michael Poteet, Larry Reese, Thomas Tinneny, William Burke, Rudy Amaya, Stacy Livitsanis, Rick Laird, Carl Wonders, Nathan Blumenfeld, Lee Wileman, Daniel Herrin, Mike Kohutich, Scott Bordelon, James Alexander, Brett French —— Cinematic Sound Radio is fully licensed to play music by SOCAN. Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cinematicsoundradio Check out our NEW Cinematic Sound Radio TeePublic Store! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/cinematic-sound-radio Cinematic Sound Radio Web: http://www.cinematicsound.net Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cinsoundradio Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cinematicsound Cinematic Sound Radio Fanfare and Theme by David Coscina https://soundcloud.com/user-970634922 Bumper voice artist: Tim Burden http://www.timburden.com

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.A Note on Notes:I always prefer that the listener goes into each episode cold, not knowing what it's going to be about. So, you might want to tread carefully, as there are spoilers in the notes below. Music L'espagne pour memoire by Michel Portal Find me Tomorrow from Christophe Beck's score to Charlie Countryman The old Soviet philharmonic plays some Shostakovich. The London Symphony Orchestra plays The Blue Danube Waltz. We hear Walt by Mother Falcon. Sombolero by Luiz Bonfa Notes Like a lot of people below, say, 55, I first heard about Olga Fikotova-Connolly when reading her obituary in the New York Times. By far the best thing you can do if you want to know more about her is track down her out-of-print memoir, The Rings of Destiny, which, despite its rather puffed-up title, is so warm and detailed and intimate. It's a delight.  You might also enjoy this late-in-life interview with Olga as well.