piano

David Drew
British writer, editor, music publisher, recording producer

Annual Records 2003-2004
Gruber at 60, Musée Maurice Ravel, Neighbour at 80

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2003
H K Gruber


3 January: In Rotterdam for a concert of music by Stravinsky, Hindemith, Antheil, Bernstein, Schuller and Weill, given at De Doelen by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and conducted - on the occasion of his 60th birthday - by HK Gruber (who sings as well as conducts the Weill numbers forming the second half of the programme).

4 January-24 February: Severe viral infection - all work discontinued.

17 January: Cambridge University Press have taken over the responsibility of publishing Tempo, which for 63 years has been published in London by Boosey & Hawkes. On 17 January, the Syndicate of the University confirm the formation of an internationally based Advisory Board of musicologists, composers, critics, and writers (including Drew).

26 February-13 August: Article on Royal Palace for Andrew Porter Festschrift.

4-14 March: "What's Happened to German Music?"; manuscript for later publication.

20 March: With objectives re-defined in terms of 'regime change' and an end to the alleged threat from 'weapons of mass destruction', Iraq is invaded by American and British forces representing, in the words of President George W. Bush, a 'coalition of the willing'. The immediate significance of this pre-emptive strike is clearer than the likely consequences in the medium and long term. Meanwhile, the event marks a turning-point that cannot safely be ignored in any corner of the 'Western' world, however sequestered - the musical world, whether classical, popular or unpopular (i.e. contemporary classical) being no exception.

20-24 March: D in France.

22 March; To the Musée Maurice Ravel at Montfort l'Amaury - otherwise known as 'La Belvédère'. The house was occupied by Ravel from 1921 until his death in 1937, and until now it has been faithfully preserved as the home he lived and worked in, having decorated and 'composed' it, room by room, in characteristic and loving detail. Handmade wallpapers he and his brother had produced and installed may no longer be as smooth and spotless as once they were; yet they remain unique and are inimitable. Here and there, one may observe a frayed curtain, a chipped corner, or a patch of crinkled and curling paintwork - but only as part of a pattern of continuity with the creator of, say, the Chansons Madécasses or the G major piano concerto. (Inevitably something of that pattern will be lost as a result of the refurbishments scheduled for the autumn of 2003 by well-meaning civic and ministerial authorities).

On this quiet Saturday afternoon, the museum's Curator, Mme. Moreau, ushers the two Japanese visitors and the three English ones into Ravel's 'salon de musique' and cordially invites anyone who so wishes to try the piano. Daunted perhaps by the surroundings, each defers to the other and no-one comes forward - much to Mme. Moreau's disappointment. Her invitation is renewed, almost as if the health and well-being of the instrument depended upon it. The appeal succeeds. Seating himself at the piano - a fine one, in excellent condition - D plays the last page of Oiseaux tristes. To this, one of the Japanese visitors - who has been admiring Ravel's remarkable collection of Oriental artefacts and objets d'art - responds with a spirited rendering of Chopsticks. In the circumstances, as well as in the interest of symmetry, D feels obliged to conclude the impromptu recital, and does so via the first pages and the final bars of L'Enfant et les Sortilèges.

La Belvédère

 

Madeleine Milhaud

23 March: Informal visit to Madeleine Milhaud. The pages in front of her in the picture above are a print-out of the Milhaud section from this website (see Composers).

1 April: Friends and former colleagues of Oliver (Tim) Neighbour are invited to join him at a reception held in London on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

Oliver Neighbour (Tim)

April-October: 100-page essay on Boris Blacher for the Akademie der Künste in Berlin. 25% of text cut and reserved for subsequent English language edition.

Summer/Autumn: Sifting and collating the manuscripts, performance material and music-related papers of Christopher Shaw, at the request of the heirs of his widow Jean Shaw.

16 September: Sing Ariel, a collection of essays in honour of Alexander Goehr, is launched in London. For DD's contribution, Articles, Essays, Reviews.

31 October: After six months of uninterrupted work, D completes a 32,000-word essay on Boris Blacher for a centenary volume to be published under the auspices of the Archive of the Academy of Arts in Berlin.

   
2004

January: Publication of Boris Blacher (Wolke Verlag).

23-28 January: Research in Germany (for AdK projects).

February: Publication of Andrew Porter Festschrift (see August 2003).

20-27 March: In Vienna for a conference and a series of concerts dedicated to Austrian musicians who found refuge in the United Kingdom in the 1930s. Delivers a paper (Articles) at the Jewish Museum. Exhibition in honour of Egon Wellesz and Hans Gál, curated by Michael Haas. Closing concert ends with the Austrian premiere of (and only the second performance!) of Gal's masterly Violin Concerto (1933). First discussions with the Swedish composer and teacher Gunnar Bucht since D's meetings with him in Darmstadt in 1955; other important discussions with musicians and musicologists attending the conference - among them, Rudolph Stephan, Reinhard Kapp, and Erik Levi.

19 April-8 May: In Berlin for library and archive research, as guest of the Stiftung Archiv der Akademie der Künste. Meetings with Wolfgang von Schweinitz - currently at work on a major piece for the 'Musica Viva' series in Munich.

22-26 May: Following the publication in Opera of his article on Hartmann's Simplicius Simplicissimus, D attends two performances of the work in a new production by Stuttgart Opera.

10 June: Transfer of the Christopher Shaw papers to the British Library.

12-23 July: Research in Vienna.

2 August: Article-cum-review of Stuttgart Simplicius for Opera.


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Material Copyright © 2002 David Drew.