Advent 4: Can I have that on a…
In the years that I’ve been playing for student ballet teachers, I’ve always found the notion of asking for ‘dance rhythms’ a bit silly, unless dance rhythms are your thing.…
Advent 3: On being too ‘musical’
In the summer of 2000, Christopher Hampson (a.k.a. Chris in this blog elsewhere) created a five-minute graduation-day piece for the final year students at the RAD called Finale, for which…
Potton Hall
Just back from Suffolk, where I’ve been recording the latest Studio Series album (No. 5) with Andrew Holdsworth & Chris Hampson, and adding two tracks to another album with cellist…
Tchaikovsky’s Großvater
Tchaikovsky’s Großvater: two sources The source of Tchaikovsky’s Großvater (the “grandfather dance” in the party scene in Act 1 of The Nutcracker, and the tune that Schumann quotes in Carnaval…
Prague Masterclasses again
The sixth year running, and the International Ballet Masterclasses in Prague are still as exhilarating as ever. Last night, Beatrice Knop told us the story of how she got through…
The Three Graces
Greetings from Prague, where I finally caught up with Chris who flew in from New Zealand on Sunday night at 10pm. By 10.20pm we’d hooked up with these two lovely…