Let me tell you a fairy tale. It’s probably familiar. Once upon a time, there was a talented musician. Their family was almost certainly poor. When they were a small child, their parents noticed with astonishment that they could sing back entire complex melodies before they could even really walk.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Great Composer, over the course of their life, and however Great a Composer they are considered to be, is likely to write something that is actually not so very Great at all. Something a bit under par. Something you might even be
Earlier this week, I came across a post by a performer-musicologist friend of mine who was having a ‘what’s it all for?’ moment. ‘Do we really need historical musicology?’ he asked his Facebook friends. ‘Suppose it all just stopped right now, and we just made do with what we know,
I’m delighted to welcome Dr Kevin Malone to the site, who kindly consented to write the first ever guest post here! Kevin is Senior Lecturer in Composition, and former Head of Composition at the University of Manchester. He is writing here in a private capacity, in response (initially) to the
One upsettingly warm evening this week (autumn has apparently not got the memo yet), as I was collapsed in front of the TV, I found myself watching a re-run of that wonderful magic and mystery show, Jonathan Creek. Faked suicides, walking through walls, missing paintings… I love this kind of
Alright, nobody panic. Yes, this post involves the ‘W’ word, and yes, it’s quite likely that inequalities of some nature will be mentioned. But let’s all take a deep breath, leave the soapbox in the corner for a minute, and take a moment to enjoy a little speech by the
