With restrictions of movement meaning that we're spending an increasing amount of time at home, we're all looking for new things to do and different ways to stay entertained during this period of confinement. Music is one thing that a lot of people are turning to. Its ability to embody a range of emotions and to connect to all of us on different levels makes it a comfort during these uncertain times. Join Head of Music Programmes, Dr Catherine Hocking, each week as she shares a selection of some of her favourite pieces.
A year ago I was in Nepal trekking a circuitous route over steep mountain passes to Everest Base Camp. As with so many other people I miss being in the mountains, revelling in their scale and majesty, as well as relishing the physical and mental challenges of tackling steep ascents and descents.
The landscapes we are missing currently aren’t necessarily those of cancelled holiday destinations but also more local ones that we’re accustomed to having access to. Here, in the East Midlands, it’s the rolling hills and escarpments of the Peak District, the winding River Trent, the coastal stretches of Lincolnshire.
There’s something completely life-affirming about being outdoors absorbing natural landscapes and while that experience currently isn’t available to most we can still listen to music that uplifts us in similar kinds of ways.
RACHEL PODGER – J.S. BACH VIOLIN SONATA NO.3 IN C MAJOR, BWV 1005: ALLEGRO ASSAI
In the last week we would have welcomed violinist Rachel Podger and the Aronowitz Trio to perform in the Djanogly Recital Hall at Lakeside. Instead, here are movements from two pieces programmed for these concerts that I find particularly uplifting.
TRIO WANDERER – SCHUBERT PIANO TRIO IN B FLAT B898 – ALLEGRO
The Aronowitz Trio has not yet recorded this Schubert Piano Trio so I’ve chosen a recording by Trio Wanderer who performed at Lakeside in 2017.
HOWARD SKEMPTON – SOLITARY HIGHLAND SONG
Pianist William Howard’s love of romantic songs without words inspired him to launch, with Master of the Queen’s Music Judith Weir, a global competition and commissioning of 14 contemporary short piano pieces. I selected several to be performed by William Howard at Lakeside in 2018. Howard Skempton’s Solitary Highland Song resonated particularly for its quiet simplicity.
ELENA KATS-CHERNIN – ROSES IN A BOX
Elena Kats-Chernin's Roses in a Box completes this week’s playlist.