Tony Fitzpatrick, UK. blog@tonyfitz.uk

Late night Prom featuring Bach's most famous Brandenburg ("Going for a song"), and some lovely cantata with Iestyn Davies as the counter-tenor. Geist und Seele wird verwirret (Spirit and soul become confused) was composed by Bach in his fourth year as Thomaskantor (musical director) in Leipzig. A positive message, accentuated with the use of trumpets, it derives from the analogy that as the tongue of the deaf mute man was opened, the believer should be open to admire God's miraculous deeds. The relatively brief Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust (Delightful rest, beloved pleasure of the soul) was first performed on 28 July 1726. The text is drawn from Georg Christian Lehms' Gottgefälliges Kirchen-Opfer from 1711 and speaks of the desire to lead a virtuous life and so enter heaven and avoid hell.

Carlos Simon (b. 1986) is an African-American composer from Washington DC. His "Four Black American Dances" received it's European premiere with great ovation - powerful melodic stuff in a prom focusing loosely on "dance music". To quote "This piece is an orchestral study of the music that is associated with the Ring Shout, the Waltz, Tap Dance and the Holy Dance. All of these dances are but a mere representation of the wide range of cultural and social differences within the Black American communities." I also especially enjoyed Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F major having rarely heard it before - a sort of "Rhapsody in Blue - the sequel". Lots of references to that iconic work, and Gershwin's musicals. Good to hear modern American music from an American orchestra.

The finest example of travel writing about that much documented city, Venice, is by repute from the pen of Jan Morris CBE FRSL (1926-2020). Morris also wrote about her transition from male to female in a book entitled "Conundrum". This well produced BBC radio drama sets her descriptions of Venice against her documentary of transition, at a time when very few had trodden that path. Born James Morris she knew from a very young age that she was born into the wrong body, and underwent hormone treatment and surgery in the late 60s/early 70s. Curiously she had her operation abroad in Morocco, furious at the Harley Street insistence that she should divorce her wife Elizabeth first. The parallels with the story of Venice are complex - the city straddles the Orient and the West with one foot in each camp, as Morris straddled male and female, and the City has on occasion teetered on the verge of collective insanity, as Morris suffered bouts of loneliness and depression at her condition. I enjoyed the play very much, although to be honest "Conundrum" received by far the lions share of the dialogue. Morris's writing is however beautiful, her descriptions of people and places poetic, and she richly deserves her status as one of Britain's best loved travel writers. Cast included Edalia Day, Theo Fraser Steele, Julian Harries, Leon Bedwell, Mary Malone, Gilian Cally, Peter Hamilton Dyer, Bunny Cook, Nigel Campbell, and Patrick Brown. Written by Robin Brooks. Based on the works of Jan Morris. Directed and produced by Fiona McAlpine. First broadcast 30 July 2023.

This was well written with at times a hard and complicated plot. Brunetti is called from his slumbers to discover the Carabinieri have raided the home of a paediatric doctor in Venice, beaten him up, and taken his eighteen month old son into the care of social services. The plot then develops to encompass the shady world of Albanian women carrying surrogate pregnancies, selling the children, and of Italian fertility clinics doing under the table deals with those who are unable to conceive. In the background Brunetti keeps reflecting on his own relationship with his children, and how he would feel if put in a similar position. We also get a parallel plot with a Catholic moralistic do-gooder running a pharmacy and using stolen medical history to publicly embarrass and ridicule people who have had abortions, VD, and the like. I found it a very compelling read, and the way in which the various story lines intermingled was well done. Once again Donna Leon gives us lots of examples of corruption in Italian public services, the rise of right wing nutters who detest immigrants, and the shady world of influence peddled by the rich and titled in the ancient city. The relationship between Brunetti and his deputy Vianello is also developed in this story, which is good to see. Sad ending though.

First published January 2007. Read on Kindle.

Neither the present King's Great-Grandfather or Grandfather were ever expected to become King (George V and George VI respectively). Both had elder brothers who either died or abdicated. George V was the bridge between the Victorian/Edwardian worlds of Victoria and his playboy father Edward VII, and the modern age. His reign was typically regarded as boring - he and his wife, Mary of Teck, being ordinary people who happen to be thrust into the limelight. Jane Ridley's long (576 pages) biography in many ways backs this up. George was a simple man, poorly educated, destined for a life in the navy, who nevertheless steered the ship of monarchy through the choppy political waters of 1905-1936. He had to cope with the First World War, the Great Depression, his unsuitable son and heir, scandals, and all around the fall of the great European Royal Houses (Russia, Germany, Austria). That he did so well, and the that the monarchy came through the abdication crisis unscathed is a tribute. It was an interesting and well paced read (although the historical narrative moved about a bit). George as typical of his class and age was devoted to slaughtering birds - he was one of the top six "shots" in the country, and his wife was an avid collector - jewels, paintings, furniture. He was also beastly to his children, believing they should be scared of him, which in hindsight did not serve anyone very well. However he and his wife were devoted public servants, and without his perceptive and careful approach to the role of being a constitutional monarch the history of Great Britain in the early 20th century may have been very different.

My favourite quote... "George had steered the monarchy through the turmoil of the First World War, emerging stronger from a crisis which caused the fall of the three great empires of Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary. He played the role of mediator over Irish Home Rule, concerned above all to prevent civil war. He intervened to enable the appointment of prime ministers at times when, either through war or through political realignment, the party system was not functioning as it should to produce agreed candidates for the office. The King and his private secretary, Lord Stamfordham, would descend in their frock coats and set to work to fix the problem and find a new prime minister."

Published November 2021. Read on Kindle.

Shostakovich's 10th Symphony received it's premiere from the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky on 17 December 1953. However it had been written much earlier, with sketches for some of the material dating from 1946. To have published it earlier would have meant the gulag. To possibly quote Shostakovich in Solomon Volkov's book "Testimony": "I did depict Stalin in my next symphony, the Tenth. I wrote it right after Stalin's death and no one has yet guessed what the symphony is about. It's about Stalin and the Stalin years. The second part, the scherzo, is a musical portrait of Stalin, roughly speaking. Of course, there are many other things in it, but that's the basis". Wonderful electric performance.

Brahms 2nd Concerto is a masterpiece of four movements expanding over 45 minutes. I had forgotten how wonderful it is, with that "Brahmsian" theme in the last movement. Written in 1878-1881, a gap of 22 years since his first concerto it was dedicated to his teacher, Eduard Marxsen. Premiered by the Budapest Philharmonic in November 1881 it was an immediate success.

Samy Moussa's 2nd Symphony was very much like the wonderful music of John Adams - part of it could even have slotted unobtrusively into "Nixon in China". Composer and conductor Moussa was born in MontréaI in 1986, and is Artist in Residence of the Toronto Symphony orchestra. I enjoyed it very much, as I did the other two works - the wonderful aggressive "7 beats to a bar" Shostakovitch 2nd Piano Concerto and the concert version of the Firebird. This was the Proms debut of 36 year old New Zealand conductor Gemma New.

The comedy revue "Beyond the Fringe" was supposedly the point at which it became acceptable in Britain to publicly lampoon politicians, the upper classes and most of all members of the establishment. Dudley Moore, Peter Cook, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller were all either students or recently ex-students, and came together on a contract for £100 each to do one week at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival. The success of that show led to it's tour and transfer to London, and the careers of the four performers then took off. This BBC radio drama describes how it came to be, and the challenges that Johnny Bassett the Festival Deputy Director had in making this brilliant but poorly disciplined group work together. It was very very funny, and the repartee between them was hilarious. I had also forgotten what a talented musician Dudley Moore was. In the years that followed we had "That Was The Week That Was", David Frost, Robin Day and Paxman! Cast included Patrick Walshe McBride, Ian Dunnett Jnr, Matthew Durkan, Tom Durant-Pritchard, David Reed, Hasan Dixon, Samuel James, and Rhiannon Neads. Written by Jeremy Front and directed by Sally Avens. First broadcast August 2023.

Hour long webinar from the Footsteps of London collective of official tourist guides, covering key sites in the City of London that reflect aspects of Shakespeare's life and writings. Presented by David Charnick. For me the most interesting revelation was the existence of a monument to Henry Condell and John Heminges, actors who had worked with William in The Globe Theatre. After Shakespeare’s death in 1616 they collated and printed the First Folio, publishing in 1623. This included those eighteen works previously published plus another eighteen unpublished - although not Pericles, Prince of Tyre, The Two Noble Kinsmen, or the two lost plays, Cardenio and Love's Labour's Won. Both men lived in the St. Mary Aldermanbury parish and were buried in it’s churchyard in Love Lane, where this monument was placed. Commissioned by Charles Clement Walker, manager of the Midlands Ironworks in Donington, Shropshire, and a Shakespeare enthusiast, and unveiled on 15 July 1896. Made from pink granite, it is topped with a bust of Shakespeare by C. J. Allen, dated 1895.

Alma Mahler-Werfel (1878-1964) was apparently an evil bitch. Adored by many men, including her first husband (of three) Gustav Mahler, she was antisemitic, cruel, in later life a big Nazi supporter, and believed the world owed her a living. She adored Mahler but hated his music, and after his death (he predeceased her by 50 years) she destroyed all their correspondence concerned that history would show her for the monster she was. Her husband refused to allow her to compose, and despite her faults she wrote some very lovely songs. Coupled with works by Croatian Dora Pejačević, they were performed beautifully by Sarah Connolly. I have never heard Rachmaninov's 1st symphony at a concert, although I am aware of the terrible story when a drunk Glazunov conducting its first performance mangled it and it was torn to pieces by the critics, putting Rachmaninov off composition for ages until hypnotherapy could restore his confidence. It is not obviously Rachmaninov, but great stuff, with echoes of Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky.

Fun concert from the Budapest Festival Orchestra, who also sometimes double up as a choir (as they did during an encore performance of Brahms "Little Swallow" song). Powerful and enjoyable performances of both the (for it's time) ground breaking Schumann Piano Concerto, and the Mendelssohn Scottish symphony. Apparently Schumann tried to get the first movement accepted for publication as a "Fantasy for Piano & Orchestra" with no luck, and only the influence of his wife Clara convinced him to turn it into a full three movement concerto. Mendelssohn conducted the second ever performance in January 1846.

Jörg Widmann, German composer, conductor and clarinetist, was apparently the third most performed contemporary classical composer in the world in 2018. Born in 1973, he has composed extensively, including several operas and an oratorio. Widmann has written musical tributes to Classical and Romantic composers, and is the composer in residence of the Berlin Philharmonic for 2023/24. This April 2023 CD release combines Mozart's clarinet quintet from 1789 with Widmann's own work "which picks up on the omnipresent themes of "floating, love, and chant" in Mozart’s notes". Jörg Widmann (clarinet), Hagen Quartett (string quartet). World premiere recording of the Widmann quintet.

Harry Christopher's choral singing group "The Sixteen" has published it's latest in a series exploring the work of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-94). This is wonderfully relaxing stuff, and this disc includes the Missa Ut re mi fa sol la, composed maybe 1563, plus other scared works notably to celebrate St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist. CD released June 2023. The Mass is an 8-voice Mass based upon the hexachord – the first six notes of the scale.

Aaron Copland's final symphony was written between 1944 and 1946. It is so obviously music by Copland, with much of the style of his wonderful ballet music (Rodeo, Appalachian Spring etc.), and incorporating the Fanfare for the Common Man in the final movement. It can justifiably be said to be the point at which the American symphony departed the constraints of it's European stylistic forebears. Suited to a large orchestra, it is perfect music for the talented youngsters of the NYO. Before the interval we had Hindemith's reworkings of themes by Weber, and the always moving Four Last Songs of Richard Strauss. performed by South African soprano Masanae Cecilia Rangwanasha.

The first of Walton's two symphonies took him ages to write, so much so that the first performance by the LSO under Hamilton Harty in 1934 only included the first three movements due to his writers block. It was finally finished and fully premiered at the end of 1935. Well received from the beginning, with critical suggestions that Walton was very inspired by the symphonies of Sibelius, and that the work was the greatest English symphony since Elgar. I like it very much - powerful stuff, with a very rousing final movement. The wonderful Sinfonia of London and John Wilson are now a regular Proms visitor, and they gave a super performance of Rachmaninov's best loved work, the 2nd Piano Concerto, with Alim Beisembayev standing in for an indisposed Benjamin Grosvenor. His encore was a piano transcription of part of Stravinsky's Firebird suite. Lili Boulanger's tone poem, D'un matin de printemps, composed just before her early death at the age of 24 in 1918 was the curtain raiser.