Monthly Archives: November 2010

Happy Birthday, Ben

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Christine Stevenson

St Cecilia’s day today  – and Benjamin Britten’s birthday. The Britten-Pears Foundation has celebrated by launching  EBB Music Publishing, releasing four of his previously unpublished works. Imogen Holst, in her diary entry of November 22, 1953, writes of Britten’s 40th birthday: ‘ I … Continue reading →

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Two recording studios, two pianos

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Christine Stevenson

To Angel Studios in bustling Islington this week for a recording session with a chamber ensemble. The piano – a Grotrian Steinweg, recently renovated, but still very bright. Grotrian manufactures a Duo piano too, literally – a conjoined pair of … Continue reading →

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And finally – Chopin among Friends

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Christine Stevenson

There it is – Chopin’s profile beneath a statue of a weeping Muse, which is dated ‘Clésinger 1850’. The monument was erected a year after the funeral, and was sculpted by Clésinger, who was also the architect of the rift  between George Sand and … Continue reading →

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At La Madeleine – Chopin’s funeral, revisited

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Christine Stevenson

30 October 1849 – Chopin’s funeral. 30 October 2010 – and it is a shock to hear the organist practising a Chopin Prelude as I walk into La Madeleine, and to discover that the concert there this evening will feature the music from Chopin’s … Continue reading →

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Walking the Walk – to Chopin’s Grave

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Christine Stevenson

Poulenc, Piaf, Proust and Pissarro have more in common than their creative artistry and the initial letter of their surname. They are all buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery, that pleasant ‘cité des morts’ in Paris’s 20th arrondissement, the final … Continue reading →

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