Travel Diaries
We were performing the last song for the evening to a packed hall at St. Mary’s Church in Haddington (Scotland). The emotion had built through the concert, and peaked with this particular song. Some swayed gently in their seats, a couple brushed stray tears away, and many had locked
Music Education
Many musicians spend their early years of training – and maybe some of the later years – fighting a cold, hard fact about their practice habits: the slow way is the fast way. Slowness is the magic ingredient that makes the idea of repetition valuable. When a singer or an instrumentalist is
News
Five music lovers (Satish Kamath, Hari Gopinathan, Jelaja Kumari, Mohammed Bashir and Raju Harilal) have come together to start a world-class Academy for Western instruments and Vocal skills development in Trivandrum, India, called Trivandrum Academy for Western Music (TAWM). Their vision is of an Academy that will provide the most
Music Education
Parts 1 and Part 2 covered what, why and how to practise and the final article explores the final stages of examination preparation. When to change the focus of practice Once the initial stages of learning are secure and the musical detail, phrasing, interpretation and speed are stylish, the focus
News
Symphony Orchestra of India marks UK debut in February 2019 with six-concert tour, including Russian romantic showpieces and Zakir Hussain’s Peshkar India’s growing appetite for Western classical music has led many to forecast a coming age of rich cultural exchange and vigorous creative dialogue. The Symphony Orchestra of
Music Education
Among the British Library’s extraordinary collection of materials relating to the history of Indian music in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries lie dozens of European accounts of the nautch—intimate musical parties at which troupes of high-status North Indian courtesans would sing, dance, recite poetry, and match wits
Interviews
Subha Das Mollick’s ‘Calcutta Sonata’ looks at how the piano became an integral part of the cultural fabric of Calcutta. “Nobody remembers when the first piano was disembarked from the ships that docked by the shores of the river [in Calcutta],” declares the narrator early on in Subha Das
News
2018 marked the year when Trinity College London, the international examinations board, reaffirmed its long standing engagement with India. The Trinity Fest, which brought under one umbrella the many examination suites offered, ranging from the oldest – classical music, to contemporary music – Rock & Pop, Drama and Performance, Communication Skills, performance
Know Your Composer
Orlando Gibbons (1572-1625) was born in Oxford, son of a town wait—essentially a town musician whose duties included playing his instrument for the townsfolk, welcoming Royal visitors, and leading processions on civic occasions. William Gibbons moved back and forth between Oxford and Cambridge, and young Orlando became a chorister
Features
Latest News from On High: From now on in your town Fidelity is banned. If you are found to be faithful on The Day of Sacrifice, you and your partner shall be devoured by the Lake Monster. By Order. It had better not be you! Get unfaithful, quick! This is
Music Education
The first of these articles discussed the need for practice to be relevant in terms of fluency and accuracy, musical detail, style and character. This article explains how to practise mindfully. How to practise Practice should be mindful, with clear objectives that take account of what needs to be learned
News
Since 2010, Con Brio has been pushing the limits of Western classical music performed in India with a focus on local talent. By Florestan Furtado Back in November 2009, when cellist Friedrich Kleinknecht and Parvesh Java met for an early morning coffee at Café Leopold and decided to celebrate the