Playing Elgar – with Dr Christopher Kent
Elgar’s image-consciousness could put many modern celebs to shame. As photography got into its stride at the turn of the 19th century, he posed for the camera as the dapper country gent (above) or the distinguished composer about to dash…
Jane Watts
I foolishly passed up an opportunity in February to hear Jane Watts in London, and now I’m kicking myself, after listening to her on Spotify. Her technique is so fluent that nothing gets in the way of the music, which…
Go away, I’m practising
There’s something about an organ being played – like a traffic accident or a crime scene – that draws a crowd. Some excellent organists simply do not play in public, and I understand where they are coming from. If your…
Classical composer timelines
Was John Blow a contemporary of Albinoni? Find out with these classical composer timelines from Classical Net which you can download for free as pdfs. They helped me put all those Baroque composers in their rightful place when studying Bach…
Organlive and Positively Baroque
Thank you to Lillian’s students in NJ for a link that led me to US internet radio station Organlive.com, devoted to the classical organ. It’s great for background listening – they’re streaming Bach right now in honour of his birthday. …
Welcome
Organists are, by and large, a reticent bunch. We like to grumble, but we seldom complain. We know why we play, but we don’t talk about it much*. Maybe it’s because our chosen instrument is so darn difficult – after…
websites for organ geeks
For all you organ geeks out there (you know who you are) here’s a starter list of appropriate web links: though perhaps I should say aspiring organ geeks, because true geeks will have found these sites and more already…
apps for organists
Many of the music apps for iPad, iPhone and the like are of the Christmas cracker variety – fun for a few minutes but not of any lasting use. However here are some that have stood the test of time…
Marjorie Meinert
Thank you Kayla, for pointing me towards a theater organ site that’s given me another US organist to consider – Marjorie Meinert. A big-timer on US radio and TV in the 40s and 50s, at the height of her career…
Barbara Dennerlein – hot stuff on the Hammond B-3
I am no expert on jazz, and and couldn’t for the life of me tell post-bop from hard bop, but I have huge admiration for what Barbara Dennerlein has done for the organ. For starters, Barbara has revived the legendary…
A 50s revival – the London Royal Festival Hall organ
Dubbed the Marmite organ (you either love it or loathe it), the 1950s Royal Festival Hall Harrison & Harrison panorama organ has always been controversial. It’s two thirds through renovation, following a major refurbishment of the Hall itself, including a…
Pipedreams with Michael Barone
Pipedreams, website of the US public radio show, is well worth a visit, even if we can only listen to the archives, not the live programmes, outside of the USA. Their archives contain hundreds of hours of online…
Marie-Claire Alain – Maitresse de l’orgue
The death has just been announced of Marie-Claire Alain at the age of 86. She came from a distinguished musical family, whose friends, associates and teachers included just about everyone of musical importance in France at the time. Her brother,…
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