In the last few minutes I've been raiding the Southbank Centre's online booking service and have secured front stalls tickets for the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela's two concerts in April 2009 

Plus a balcony ticket for Verklarte Nacht and Das Lied von der Erde with Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, on 1st October this year

...the others being Flight and... errr... Nixon in China?

Oh yes, Ruth: award yourself a Cosi....

Ah, t.p. a musical treat awaits you if you intend to acquaint yourself with the work of Michael Tippett (1905-1998).     His regular appearances at The Proms until quite late in his life always brought forth a burst of warm spontaneity as he made his sprightly way to the platform.

I recommend his biography 'Those Twentieth Century Blues' (1991); he spanned the greater part of the century and the traumatic events hugely influenced his work.    During the 1970s, I attended several courses at the renowned Morley College (North Lambeth) and I often went into the concert hall to remember Tippett and his immense influence there.

Looking at the back jacket of his biography, the following kudos may help.

"His compositions are a distinct national asset"    Ralph Vaughan Williams

"A magical distillation of wonder, curiosity and joy, innocence and wisdom"   Sam Wanamaker  - (this, really, says it all for me.)

"I wish your piano parts weren't so difficult"      Benjamin Britten

"What attracts me most in his music is the vibrancy and exuberance it gives off"    Aaron Copland

"There was also the homosexual in pink socks and suede shoes, plus the wife who takes a whip to her husband"       Evening Standard on 'The Knot Garden'  - (this always makes me laugh.)    Peter Hall directed the opera at Covent Garden with Colin Davis as conductor in the early 70s.

My particular favourites are "King Priam" and "The Midsummer Marriage" which I recall from a fine WNO Prom performance and a later ENO revival.    I have several reservations about "The Ice Break" at Covent Garden, circa 1976, now seen as an opera-oratorio but with the underrated David Atherton in the pit it wasn't a wasted evening and certainly deserves a much belated revival.   I also remember the 'special offer' front-amphi seats for £1  50- my Scottish roots come to the fore at times like these.

I also recommend the Chandos recording of "A Child of Our time". an oratorio, for early listening.   The gradual transition to the spirituals is sheer magic.  And I also warm to Boyhood's End in fne company with Britten's Who are these children?  6 Holderin Fragments.   Mark Padmore, accompanied by Roger Vignoles.

Tippett's orchestral work; symphonies, concertos and string quartets are ablaze with invention.   Hist you to your local CD library for a recording of the Triple Concerto; Colin Davis (of course) with LSO and Pauk, Imai and Kirshbaum who provide a lyrical feast on Philips 476 7144, along the Concerto for Orchestra.

t.p.   I envy you making this journey for the first time.

Hi chaps,
I have arrived oop North to be greeted by my mum with ' I lent on the computer keyboard last night when I was writing down a recipe for broccoli and the picture is now at a 90 degree roatate to the left.' Well that was fun as to see the screen to read I had to turn my head  completely to the side!! All fixed  now . If anyone else does this while writing down a broccoli recipe you press ctrl/alt and an arrow key!! ( Mind you because I kept doing it when it wouldn't work it kept going round , but slowly)
Quite an entertaining start to the weekend..... now to sort out the cd player !!!!!!!!

A

Hi t-p,
Yes, it's not a bad journey from London to Manchester... and everyone please note... it is NOT raining!! (Everyone says it always rains in Manchester t-p!!)

A

Never rains when I'm there!

I'm impressed by the broccoli-writing and computer usage ... if my mum's still doing that kind of thing when she's 92 I certainly won't mind the occasional upside-down computer screen to sort out.