Archive for the ‘Concerts’ Category

O magnum mysterium

Posted by Susan Tomes on 14 December 2009 under Concerts, Daily Life, Inspirations  •  2 Comments

Yesterday I was in King’s College, Cambridge to hear the ‘Carols from King’s’ service, which will be broadcast on Christmas Eve on BBC2. When I was a student at the college, the choir sang Evensong every day and I missed most of the services, telling myself that I could go any time I liked. Now [...]

Small is beautiful

Posted by Susan Tomes on 11 December 2009 under Concerts, Daily Life, Musings, Reviews  •  Leave a comment

Still feeling cross that the Guardian, in its review of classical music in the past decade, did not say a single word about chamber music. Guardian writer Tom Service devoted almost his whole summary to opera and orchestral music. This happens year after year, no matter who the writer is. Each Christmas I have to [...]

Playing from memory

Posted by Susan Tomes on 7 December 2009 under Concerts, Musings, Travel  •  30 Comments

On Saturday night I gave a solo recital in Cambridge. It was unexpectedly enjoyable because of the audience’s warm response. Even in this season of coughs and colds, they kept utterly silent while I was playing (which has not always been the case elsewhere this winter). Every audience has its own character, and this audience [...]

Three women writers on music

Posted by Susan Tomes on 5 December 2009 under Books, Concerts, Daily Life  •  Leave a comment

I’m looking forward to taking part in a literature event at the South Bank on Monday evening at 7.45pm. The novelist Eva Hoffman has invited fellow novelist Janice Galloway and me to join her in a discussion of what it’s like to write about music. I don’t really know either of them except through their [...]

Our Italian hero

Posted by Susan Tomes on 3 December 2009 under Concerts, Daily Life, Florestan Trio, Travel  •  Leave a comment

This photo shows me outside the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, standing beside the poster for the Florestan Trio’s three concerts. On the day after the concerts, Bob and I caught the old tram up the hill of the Alfama district to visit the castle. While we were standing on the crowded tram, Bob’s wallet was [...]