Last Saturday our members had the good fortune to experience something that very rare and special. The occasion was Classical Partners pre-Christmas get together at Craxton Studios in London. This is one of our favourite venues, a little hard to get to by public transport but well worth it once you get there. The house is steeped in music and the main performance space is delightful. Have a look at their website if you would like to know more http://craxtonstudios.org.uk/
We arrived at six to set up the bar so that our guests could have a glass or two of pink bubbly on arrival at six thirty. Only a slight panic when the musicians phoned to say they were stuck on the Piccadilly Line and did not know how long they would be. We started to look around our guests for someone who could entertain us! One of the catering staff arrived on a bicycle and was surprised the other was not yet there with the food. Another slight panic! What did we do before mobile phones?
As the guests arrived and started to mingle the food also arrived. Things were starting to fall into place. Just as we were starting to serve the main course the musicians arrived and shot off upstairs to change and warm up.
Well fed and with our glasses recharged the recital began:
The first half of the performance featured pianist William Cale. He started with Beethoven’s Sonata no. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, "Pathetique" I – Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio. At just 22 years old he is a very accomplished pianist but the Beethoven did not suit his style. However he was in his element for Rachmaninov’s Etudes Tableaux op. 39 No. 5 – Appassionato There was real feeling in his playing and the audience responded. He also played Liszt Liebestraume, S. 541 No. 3 – Nocturne in Ab Major which was beautifully tuneful and Debussy’s Pour le Piano I – Prelude, II – Sarabande, very colourful. For the second half William was joined by Russian born Zhanna Tonaganyan to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, op. 35. And boy did they perform it! All of the beautiful melodies were delivered with aplomb and the interplay between piano and violin were perfect. It has to be said that Zhanna was the star of the show. She played with great passion yet still managed to convey the subtler emotions in the quieter passages. We found out after the performance that she has just won the RCM Concerto prize playing this piece. I am sure we will hear a lot more of this gifted young lady.
Something rather wonderful happens when music is played in this environment. With the musicians just a few feet from you and not separated by a podium you get everything that the music brings. Every breath, smile, grimace and contemplation of the musicians is bound up in the performance in a way that often gets lost in the concert hall. I always feel privileged to have been at a performance like this. It exists just for that moment but lives on in my memory in the sure knowledge that it can never be repeated. If that is not the definition of intimacy I don’t know what is.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Grey is Good
A question we often get asked when people are thinking of joining Classical Partners is “What is your success rate?” This is of course a perfectly reasonable question but one we find difficult to answer as success means different things to different people.
It is obviously a success if we introduce two people and they get married.
On the other hand should we not introduce you to anyone then that would obviously be a failure.
In between these two extremes are a whole host of possibilities and it is quite difficult to know where to draw the line.
To start off with not everyone wants to get married. A large number of people are quite happy living together and do not want a formal marriage. Also, increasingly common, is what has become known as living apart together. I would consider both of these outcomes to be success.
To add to the difficulty, we have the long term relationship. When does a relationship become long term? A month, a year, five years? In reality most people would think a relationship was long term after the first six months or so.
Indeed when is a relationship a relationship? This gives us another problem. Do we keep sending more introductions once we know that two people are seeing each other? Sometimes one person thinks something is developing and the other is not so sure and only one of the couple tells us? This is certainly a success but we are getting into more difficult territory.
I don’t think that many people would argue with any of the above, but the next one is a little trickier.
When we introduce two people who meet up a few times but then decide there is no romance between them, yet they are happy to meet as friends as they enjoy each others company and shared interests. Does this count as a success? In my view yes it does. Of course this is not what they were looking for when they joined Classical Partners (although it has to be said that it is exactly what some people are looking for) but a new friend has friends one of which may turn out to be “the one” and you would not have met them if you had not met the first person through Classical Partners.
In all honesty success means different things to different people. Once real people get involved in practically anything very few things are simply black and white. The great joy of Classical Partners is that we are dealing with real people and as a result grey is a very interesting colour indeed!
It is obviously a success if we introduce two people and they get married.
On the other hand should we not introduce you to anyone then that would obviously be a failure.
In between these two extremes are a whole host of possibilities and it is quite difficult to know where to draw the line.
To start off with not everyone wants to get married. A large number of people are quite happy living together and do not want a formal marriage. Also, increasingly common, is what has become known as living apart together. I would consider both of these outcomes to be success.
To add to the difficulty, we have the long term relationship. When does a relationship become long term? A month, a year, five years? In reality most people would think a relationship was long term after the first six months or so.
Indeed when is a relationship a relationship? This gives us another problem. Do we keep sending more introductions once we know that two people are seeing each other? Sometimes one person thinks something is developing and the other is not so sure and only one of the couple tells us? This is certainly a success but we are getting into more difficult territory.
I don’t think that many people would argue with any of the above, but the next one is a little trickier.
When we introduce two people who meet up a few times but then decide there is no romance between them, yet they are happy to meet as friends as they enjoy each others company and shared interests. Does this count as a success? In my view yes it does. Of course this is not what they were looking for when they joined Classical Partners (although it has to be said that it is exactly what some people are looking for) but a new friend has friends one of which may turn out to be “the one” and you would not have met them if you had not met the first person through Classical Partners.
In all honesty success means different things to different people. Once real people get involved in practically anything very few things are simply black and white. The great joy of Classical Partners is that we are dealing with real people and as a result grey is a very interesting colour indeed!
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