Monthly Archives: February 2012

The Sounds of Silence

Posted on February 24, 2012 by

One morning recently, when an early start was less than welcome, Petroc Trelawney’s cheerful invitation on R3 Breakfast to suggest music to be played as a wake-up call prompted me grumpily to think of recommending John Cage’s 1952 work, 4’33”. The piece is … Continue reading →

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E is for Estampes – Debussy

Posted on February 12, 2012 by

A Javanese gamelan, a Spanish habanera and French children’s songs rub shoulders in Debussy’s Estampes, three pieces for piano completed in 1903. At the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889, Debussy had witnessed a Javanese gamelan orchestra, with its metallic percussion … Continue reading →

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D is for Danseuses de Delphes – Preludes, Book 1, No 1

Posted on February 1, 2012 by

375-330 BC, or thereabouts, and a supporting column is built near Apollo’s Temple at Delphi in Greece, with three sculpted dancers frozen in time at its summit. Wearing short tunics, barefoot, an arm raised in gesture or perhaps holding crotales, they were rediscovered amongst the toppled ruins in 1894 … Continue reading →

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